Our Newsletters.

Paul Blakey MBE — Street Angels

Paul told gave us the history of the Street Angels in front of a large audience of members, friends and visitors.

Ian Philp – A History of Hove Edge and Walter Clough Valley

Ian Philp presented his local history talk in front of a large audience of members and friends.

Craft Fair

Storm Amy brought rain and high winds on the day of our craft fair but she did not dampen our spirits.

Dr Sammi Lukic-Scott – On the Trail of the Last Supper

There are some art works that have a hold over the public imagination. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper is one of those.

Pat Lee – Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Pat Lee, a volunteer with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service for 17 years, gave us a very interesting presentation on the work of the service.

Roger Davies

Friends of the Rydings were pleased to welcome Roger Davies as their speaker for their April event.

Philip Wilkinson

Friends of the Rydings were pleased to welcome Philip Wilkinson as their speaker for their March event.

St Andrew’s Junior School join Roger Davies for an Art Workshop

Roger Davies inspires young artists with his Welcome to Calderdale exhibition.

Christine Booth

Friends of the Rydings were pleased to present a talk on John Lister, last resident of Shibden Hall Halifax, by Chris Booth, local historian.

David Glover

Friends of the Rydings were pleased to present a talk on Bess of Hardwick by David Glover, local historian.

Christmas Crack

The Yorkshire Dialect Society held their Christmas Crack and event supported by the Friends of the Rydings.

Christine Leveridge

The Friends of the Rydings were pleased to present A Trip to Halifax Zoo, a talk by Christine Leveridge.

Statue renovation

Statue cleaning and renovation.

Service of Remembrance

Act of remembrance led by Fr Stephen Hanam.

John Lyte

The Friends of the Rydings were pleased to present Why do we say that? a talk by John Lyte on Saturday 27th October.

Opera for the People

Brighouse Library Community Cafe and Friends of the Rydings held a musical evening.

Peter Mathers

The Friends of the Rydings were pleased to present Paradise Revisited, a talk by Peter Mathers on Saturday 28th September.

Marjorie Atkinson

The Friends of the Rydings were pleased to present Reminiscences from a Long Life on Saturday 29th June at 1.30.

Councillor Blagbrough

Friends of the Rydings welcomed Cllr Blagbrough to their May speaker event.

The 1912 Royal Visit to the West Ryding

Christine Leveridge treated us to a fascinating talk on King George V and Queen Mary’s visit to the West Ryding in July 1912.

St Andrew’s Infants celebrate caring mothers

The work of our young artists was on display in the gallery.

Roger Davies – library painting

Brighouse artist, Roger Davies was on hand to unveil his picture of the library at our March event.

Flower arranging demonstration

Members were treated to a superb flower arranging demonstration by Deidre Sparks.

Vegas Elvis

A lively evening in the gallery!

Sairish Hussain – author

On Saturday, the Friends of the Rydings welcomed author Sairish Hussain as their speaker.

The Friends of the Rydings – support for our library and gallery

The Friends of the Rydings are pleased to inform members of their recent support for our library and gallery.

William Smith – his legacy

Chris Helme attracted a large crowd to our speaker event on 27th January.

He gave us a tremendous presentation on William Henry Smith and his legacy.

Christmas Crack

A Chris Helme presented Christmas Memories from the Past and members recited their favourite poems and anecdotes.

Bee Keeping

Did you know that there are roughly 250 species of bumble bee?

Did you know that ‘bumble’ means to hum?

Michael introduced us to these facts and a wealth of information about the intricate lives of bees.

Study of a Life Time

Members were entertained by Ann Evans who has been part of a government study since she was born.

Craft Fair

Our craft fair was held in the galleries on Saturday.

Henry Francis Lyte

What do you know about the writer of the well-loved hymn Abide with Me?  John Lyte shared the fascinating story of his antecedent with us on Saturday.

Thermopylae

Visitors to the Library are once again able to view the model of the Thermopylae.

Calendar of events

Here are the details of our programme from autumn 2023.

Please note that any changes will be communicated through this website and by email to members.

Thank you