Millstone Grit

Been to the beauticians in Haworth today and I thought this would be a good spot for a picture of local architecture.

I hadn't counted on the Christmas decorations already being up but never mind. Haworth is a tourist spot because of it's connections with the Bronte family, but it is very scenic too.

The houses here are like many in our area including our village and indeed I could have used a picture of my son's house. The cottages are built in terraces, often on a hill due to the local topography. Sometimes they are two story and sometimes three as here. The main thing that relates them to Yorkshire is that they are built out of Millstone Grit. A sandstone common to the Pennine areas of Yorkshire.
The houses would have been built for Mill workers as all these villages would have had mills, often weaving woollen yarn and cloth.

Many people think the stone is blackened due to the smokeyness of these areas years ago but in fact millstone grit naturally weathers to this darker colour. A few years ago there was a trend to have these houses sandblasted to restore the natural sandy colour but they would start to darken again even now we have laws controlling smoke emissions. Personally I think they look best as they are.