Ruined houses are a passion for a Yorkshire artist who can’t help but attempt to reveal their secrets
Yorkshire is her muse, says artist Kate Lycett (Image: Sarah Mason Photography)
Kate Lycett is a Hebden Bridge-based artist who has taken on an ambitious project to rediscover a few of the former grand country homes of the South Pennines. ‘I’m painting a body of work in which I hope to recreate some of the lost houses of the South Pennines using plans, written accounts photographs and the sites themselves,’ said Kate. ‘I first had the idea for this project over six years ago after I learned about New Cragg Hall and then about Castle Carr. Both were grand mill owners’ houses that stood for a very short space of time. There was a vast amount of new money in my area of Yorkshire at the height of the industrial revolution. These crazy “brass castles” went up, and decayed when the textile industry went into decline. ‘Many were destroyed by fire, or were just pulled down in the 1940s and 1950s. There are some records, a few photos, and architectural plans hidden away in archives. I would love to paint some of them as they were, incorporating some of their history and uncovering the mysteries surrounding them. I want to show the houses in their original form, so they can be remembered and the people can re-tell their stories.
‘Ruins have always captured my imagination. The rise and fall of the textile industry in this area and fortunes that were made and lost with it mean that West Yorkshire has a huge number of derelict and ruined buildings and others which are now just memories.
‘I think it’s important to tell this story. Fifty years ago the buildings – not just houses, but industrial and civic buildings too – were considered too modern to be worth preserving. The wealth that built them was no longer there to maintain them. I think the clearance and demolitions are bitterly regretted now. That said, the buildings are only just within, or perhaps just one generation away, from living memory. I am doing this now because in 10 or 20 years time they may be completely forgotten. Really, this is all about reminding people what was there. Quite a few of these houses stood on what are now public parks. I love to tell my children about the beautiful houses that used to stand where they now play.’
Kate is only half way through the project and she is taking her time to research each house before she paints them. She is asking readers to help her discover information about the following houses: Manor Heath (Halifax), Harrowins (Queensbury, Littlemoor (Queensbury), Oakworth House (Oakworth), Norland Old Hall (Norland), Fallingroyd House (Hebden Bridge), Crow Nest (Halifax), Wycollar Hall (Wycollar, Lancashire), Horton Old Hall (Little Horton, Bradford), Hayfield (Glusburn, Keighley) and Centre Vale Manor (Todmorden).
Kate’s first love is landscape painting and says Yorkshire is her muse. ‘It wasn’t until I moved to Hebden Bridge that I started to paint landscapes and the change was instant. Before moving here my work was abstract and full of patterns. It was colourful, but rarely figurative. I find the Yorkshire landscape incredibly inspiring.’ w
Contact Kate with any information and find out more about her work through her website katelycett.co.uk