Standedge Tunnel, Marsden

Huddersfield Narrow Canal

This is a bit of departure for me.  My blogposts are usually about what I've been making, the exhibitions I've seen or the workshops I've attended or given.  However, apart from mixed media, textiles and art more generally, I also have a penchant for civil engineering projects.  I particularly like bridges but recently I have visited a tunnel.  And not just any tunnel, but the Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal at Marsden, which is near Huddersfield.  The tunnel is the longest, highest, deepest tunnel in Britain.  It is 3.5 miles long (5.2km) at a height of 645 feet (196.6m) above sea level and 638 feet (194.5 m) below ground.  

View of the Standedge Tunnel at Marsden

In 1794 there was an Act or Parliament authorising the construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.  The canal is a little less than 20 miles long and runs from Huddersfield to the Ashton Canal in Ashton-under-Lyne.  It was completed in 1799 apart from the Standedge Tunnel and the flight of locks at Diggle, which is at the other end of the tunnel from Marsden.  

Standedge Tunnel Entrance

The Standedge Tunnel, which goes under the Pennines, wasn't completed until 1811. It took 16 years to complete.  The original engineer on the project was Benjamin Outram but he resigned after 5 years when the tunnel wasn't finished.  Thomas Telford took over and established that the two tunnels (the tunnel was being dug from both the Marsden and Diggle ends) were not going to meet in the middle.  He designed a gradual S-bend in the middle to get the two sides to join up.  That's also why you can't see light at the end of the tunnel.  It took 2500 navvies (short for navigators), who were manual labourers, to build the tunnel.  More than 50 died in the process.

Standedge Tunnel showing the supporting brickwork put in after the railway tunnel was built

It's a very narrow tunnel and there is no towpath so the barges had to be legged through the tunnel. A legger is someone who legs a canal boat through a tunnel by propelling it along by walking their legs along the tunnel walls whilst lying on a board on the barge.  To get through the Standedge Tunnel in this way could take upto 4 hours depending on the cargo and the weight of the boat.  Even today, with motors, it takes 1.5-2 hours to get a barge through.  Today, the boats have to be measured by the Canal & River Trust to make sure they will fit and a chaperone travels with them to make sure they get through safely. Barges can't be more than 6 feet 10 inches wide, 6 feet 2 inches in height above water with a draught below the water of no more than 3 feet 3 inches. You have to make an appointment to travel through the tunnel.  It's a one way system as there are no passing places.  In the past upto 40 boats a day might go through.

The tunnel is very narrow.
The barge takes up almost all the space

When the lights aren't on it's pitch black in the tunnel

There are also 3 adjacent railway tunnels.  Two to the left of the canal tunnel which are no longer in rail use, and the current two track mainline tunnel on the right.  The ventilation shafts for the canal also serve the railway tunnels and all the tunnels are connected by adits (horizontal passages) so that you can get between the tunnels.  The tracks have been removed in the middle railway tunnel and emergency vehicles can be driven through it, should the need arise.  When the mainline tunnel was being blasted this destabilised the canal tunnel and brick supports had to be built in parts of the tunnel to shore it up.  The rest of the canal tunnel is bare rock.

One of the Tunnel Adits

Regular traffic through the tunnel ceased in 1913 and the canal was abandoned in 1944 by an Act of Parliament. Restoration began in the 1980s and the Canal reopened in 2001.  You can now book a short trip into the tunnel.  It's fascinating and if you sit at the front of the boat, prepare to take a shower as you pass under one of the 7 ventilation shafts which are pouring with water! 

There's an interesting video about the tunnel and travelling through it by Foxes Afloat on YouTube here.

You can get to Marsden by train, although there are lots of steps to get out of the station and there is a boat that will take you to the Standedge Tunnel if you don't want to, or can't walk, along the tow path. There is also a Visitor Centre in the old canal warehouse near the mouth of the tunnel. Marsden itself is an attractive small town with several cafes and restaurants.  Definitely worth a visit!

Monet at York Art Gallery

Claude Monet - The Water-Lily Pond - 1899

 

As part of the celebrations of the National Gallery's 200th year, a number of its famous works have been loaned, from London, to regional galleries.  The Water-Lily Pond, painted in 1899, by Claude Monet (1840-1926) came north and was central to an exhibition at York Art Gallery from May to September 2024.

The picture, which is a cropped view with loads of texture from the thick brush strokes, depicts Monet's much loved water garden at his house in Giverny in France.  Monet was a founder of Impressionism, a 19th Century art movement concerned with painting ordinary subjects, often outdoors, accurately depicting light to create a picture that caught the essence of a scene rather than an accurate depiction.

Having imagined I had plenty of time to see this exhibition, I only managed to get there on the final day.  I don't think I was the only one who was in that position, as all the online tickets had sold out and there was a queue to get in!

Claude Monet - The Water-Lily Pond
Details showing texture

There was a short film of Monet painting in his garden at Giverny.  What struck me most about this was the fact he was smoking while painting and his cigarette had an very long end of ash which I kept expecting to see fall onto his paint palette.  Added texture - who knows?

Camille Corot
The Convent of Sant'onofrio on the Janiculum, Rome
1826

To accompany the exhibition there were works by artists who led the way in painting in the open air, as Monet did and also artists who were influenced by Monet's work and then new work by contemporary artist Michaela Yearwood-Dan, who was inspired by both Monet's The Water-Lily Pond and by the Japanese woodblock prints of which he was so fond.

Narcisse-Virgilio Diaz de la Pena
The Feast at Fontainebleau - 1865-70

Diaz (1807-1876) not only painted outdoors but was a core member of the Barbizon School, who were a group of painters who gathered near the village of Barbizon to paint the Forest of Fontainebleau.

Monet had a fondness for Japanese woodblock prints.  This one is by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)...

Utagawa Hiroshige
Shimotsuke Province: Mount Nikko, Urami Waterfall - 1853 

Ethel Walker (1861-1951) was inspired by the Impressionist Exhibitions she visited in Paris and this influenced her style...

Ethel Walker - Landscape at Robin Hood's Bay - 1942-48

It was also interesting to see that the canvas had been stitched together...

Ethel Walker - Landscape at Robin Hood's Bay detail

Leticia Marion Hamilton (1878-1964) was also influenced by the Impressionists, evidenced by this unusual view of Ouse Bridge and her painted textures ...

Leticia Marion Hamilton - Ouse Bridge, York - 1925-31

The Michaela Yearwood-Dan: Una Sinfonia series of paintings were alive with colour and texture incorporating ceramic petals and beads.  She took the seasons as her starting point and Monet's fascination with the changing quality of light.

I loved these large colourful canvases...

Michaela Yearwood-Dan
When the green turns to gold, I settle in your nook

Michaela Yearwood-Dan - Ready, Steady, GO!

Her paintings included ceramic flower petals...

Michaela Yearwood-Dan
Ready, Steady, GO! - detail

and beads...

Michaela Yearwood-Dan
Will you still love me tomorrow?

We are told that Michaela Yearwood-Dan's work draws on a range of influences: Blackness, queerness, femininity healing rituals and carnival culture and that she endeavours to build spaces of community, abundance and joy.  I certainly found her work very joyful.

There was lots more to see at the York Art Gallery including some particularly fine work by women artists.  In addition there is a large selection of British Studio Ceramics in the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) which is on the first floor.  I particularly liked this chap (see above) but I didn't catch his name.

Create/Elevate at Harewood House

Stitched Detail from Common Threads

 

On until 20 October at Harewood House (inside and outside), Create/Elevate is the third Harewood Biennial and celebrates the power of craft to inspire people, collaborate and imagine new worlds.  Sixteen British and international artists have their work on show within three interwoven themes: New Narratives which offer fresh perspectives on Harewood's collections and history, The Use of Land addressing issues of local and global ecology and Nourish which explores the conviviality of sharing food and knowledge.  

The Harewood estate was founded on money from the West Indian sugar trade. The money came from owning plantations, slaves, ships and warehouses and thus is steeped in colonialism. “I believe very strongly that we can change things in the present, but for better or for worse there is nothing that any of us can do about history and the past.” David Lascelles, Earl of Harewood.  We are told that "The contemporary exhibits provide new ways to engage with the centuries of craft artistry embedded within the interiors of Harewood House. Create/Elevate shows how artists and makers work collectively to affect societal change and promote social equity."

Common Threads
Collaboratively embroidered textile panels
Themes: New Narratives & Nourish

A couple of the exhibits were part of the British Textile Biennial (BTB) which took place in Lancashire in 2023 which you can read more about here, here & here. Common Threads was one of these. Part of both the New Narratives & Nourish themes here at Harewood, Common Threads was stitched by women from the South Asian community in Burnley, Leeds, Pendle & Karachi, Pakistan, introduced by textile artist, Alice Kettle. Participants shared stories of family and home and working with artist Rabia Sharif, stitched their experiences of these into panels...

Common Threads
Collaboratively embroidered textile panels
Themes: New Narratives & Nourish

Rebecca Chesney, another BTB exhibitor, made her windsock installation from tents discarded after music festivals.  She sees it as an indicator of current conditions and a barometer of the climate crisis.  I was particulary pleased to see this, as I hadn't managed to see it at the BTB.  It is an indicator of the amount of waste left behind after festivals..

Rebecca Chesney - Conditions at Present
Windsocks made from reclaimed tent fabric
Theme: The Use of Land

Jakup Ferri's exhibit was co-created with women artisans from Albania, Kosovo, Burkina Faso & Suriname. We are told that the installation supports carpet making and embroidery as techniques of inclusion, coherence and community building.  It was wonderfully colourful and quirky..

Jakup Ferri - The Monumentality of the Everday
Handwoven carpets, embroidered textiles & paintings
Theme: New Narratives

Jakup Ferri - The Monumentality of the Everday
Handwoven carpets, embroidered textiles & paintings
Theme: New Narratives

Jakup Ferri - The Monumentality of the Everday
Handwoven carpets, embroidered textiles & paintings
Theme: New Narratives

Emefa Cole is honouring the spirit of enslaved Africans through her Baobab tree sculptures.  This African tree is revered for its ability to survive in the harshest conditions and is a great source of natural health remedies..

Emefa Cole - Untitled
Wax-cast Bronze Sculptures
Themes: New Narratives & The Use of the Land

Rosa Harradine's brushes and brooms explore the notions of functionality, beauty & experimentation...

Rosa Harradine - Fibre & Form
Handmade brushes & brooms
Themes: New Narratives & The Use of the Land

Rosa Harradine - Fibre & Form
Handmade brushes & brooms
Themes: New Narratives & The Use of the Land

The design of Mani Kambo's block printed wallpaper comes from her research into the global exchange of ideas and styles across Harewood's collections and interiors...

Mani Kambo - Layered Legacies
Hand block printed wallpaper
Theme: New Narratives

Britto Arts Trust's large Rasad (meaning: ration) installation reimagines a small town Bangladeshi street market and includes handcrafted objects that point to colonialism, economic extraction and exploitation...

Britto Arts Trust - Rasad (detail)
Ceramics, textiles & metal produced collaboratively in workshops in Dhaka
Themes: New Narratives, The Use of the Land & Nourish

Britto Arts Trust - Rasad (detail)
Ceramics, textiles & metal produced collaboratively in workshops in Dhaka
Themes: New Narratives, The Use of the Land & Nourish

Britto Arts Trust - Rasad (detail)
Ceramics, textiles & metal produced collaboratively in workshops in Dhaka
Themes: New Narratives, The Use of the Land & Nourish

BEIT Collective collaborated with Lebanese designer Hamza Mekdad and craftspeople based in Lebanon to create items that reflect everyday culinary and domestic rituals.  The use of the Corinthian capital (top part of classical columns) is a common decorative element in Lebanese vessels..

BEIT Collective - The Essence of Home
Crafted homeware objects exploring the importance of the classical Corinthian order in Lebanese domestic life
Themes: New Narratives & Nourish

There is of course lots more to the exhibition and apart from that there is Harewood House itself which has marvellous ceilings...

Decorative Ceiling - Harewood House

 

and amazing grounds...

Walled Garden _ Harewood

View of the Lake - Harewood

There's plenty of parking at Harewood and lots of grounds (+ playground) to wander through, the house to visit, refreshments in the cafes and, of course, a shop.  Art Fund members get a 50% discount on ticket prices.