Ted Hughes: Iron Man, Wild Words and more at Bankfield

Alan Dearling shares some insights from his first visit to this bustling arts hub

When I visited there was a double helping of Ted Hughes’ work on offer. In the main gallery it was the art works  of Chris Mould, with a striking selection of his illustrations from the Ted Hughes’ novel, ‘The Iron Man: a children’s story in five nights’. It also featured a monumental model of the Iron Man itself, plus more book illustrations by Chris from ‘Animal Farm’, ‘War of the Worlds’ and other books.

During my visit for a couple of hours, Bankfield was bustling with school groups which is always a positive sign of relevance and good old fashioned fun!

It has now finished, but when I visited Bankfield, the Ted Hughes’ ‘Wild Words’ exhibition was also on display, featuring a stimulating mix of Ted’s words interlinked with the texturally beautiful landscape photos of Fay Godwin. The rugged and intensely atmospheric  Pennine hills, valleys and old mill towns has provided the inspiration for many poets including Ted Hughes and the current Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. Fay Godwin (1931-2005), to my mind, was one of the most individual landscape UK photographers of her day. Her images accompanied Hughes’ words in the book, ‘Remains of Elmet’ (1979), later re-issued as simply, ‘Elmet’ (1994). 

The origins of Elmet are described by Ted Hughes in the introduction to the book:

 “Elmet is still the name on maps for part of West Yorkshire that includes the deep valley of the upper Calder and its watershed of Pennine moorland…Elmet was last an independent Celtic kingdom in England.

When the local regimes (and combined operation) of Industry and Religion started to collapse in the 1930s, this architecture emerged into spectacular desolation – a grim sort of beauty…Gradually, it dawned on you that you were living among the survivors, in the remains.”

Here’s a sample page from the 1994 edition of ‘Elmet’, featuring one of Fay Godwin’s stunning photos being wonderfully brought to life through the words of Ted Hughes. And, Bankfield Mansion in 1866.

There’s a nice rich mix and diversity of exhibits at the Bankfield Museum.  There are local exhibits about the Coiners, who counterfeited coins in vast quantities, by creating forgeries from strimming the edges of genuine coins, and about the infamous Gibbet, an early guillotine used for executions in Halifax. There are also displays about the local model village of Akroydon, built by local entrepreneur, Colonel Edward Akroyd to house his mill workers, and the imposing All Souls Church, completed in 1859 under the Colonel’s patronage. Sadly, it is now only used for occasional visitor-tours. It is situated adjacent to the Bankfield Museum and Akroyd Park. Bankfield Mansion was developed by Colonel Akroyd between 1838 and 1851 as the Colonel’s family home.

But many visitors have also been enticed into the museum by the exhibits of costumes from TV and film series filmed on location around Halifax, especially in Shibden Hall. These include some of the most popular TV shows and films of the last quarter of a century including, ‘Downton Abbey’; ‘The King’s Speech’; Elizabeth R’; ‘Pride and Prejudice’; ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Gentleman Jack’.

This Facebook page is the home of the Bankfield Museum (you may have to log into Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BankfieldMuseum

The Costume Drama Exhibition at Bankfield runs until Saturday 20^th December 2025. And The World of Chris Mould until Saturday 30^th August 2025.