Day: June 5, 2025

Rombald’s Rocks: Keighley Sculpture Trail is a community art project that is spread around the town centre. Each Rombald Rock has been displayed in a specially chosen location to create an interesting tour of the town and to celebrate some of Keighley’s wonderful landmarks and businesses.

Keighley Creative

This local arts charity is well-known for its exciting arts projects and Rombald’s Rocks is no exception (not that we’re biased! lol). We are proud to have supported Keighley-based artist, and one of our studio holders, Leonie Briggs in bringing this project to life.

Keighley Creative offers a range of services to local people looking for artistic opportunities be it providing education sessions, putting on fun community workshops, offering affordable studio spaces to hire and much more.

The sculpture we are proud to display as part of the Keighley Sculpture Trail is “Popcorn” designed by artist, Catherine Fortey. It is a tribute to the Picture House, a treasured historic cinema and Keighley institution.

We are also hosting an exhibition that is running alongside the sculpture trail, namely “The Making of Rombald’s Rocks”, which explains all about the people behind the project and what went on behind the scenes.

“Popcorn” can be seen through our window on Cooke Lane near Subway, however if you would like to view the exhibition, then it is open:

• Mondays, 10:00am till 12:30pm
• Wednesdays, 1pm till 4pm
• Saturdays, 11am till 3pm
• Until 29th June 2025

For more information on us, Keighley Creative, please read some more of our website or follow us on social media 🙂

Keighley Market

Located on Low Street in the centre of Keighley, the Market has long been a colourful and lively shopping destination so is the perfect place to provide a temporary home for one of the artworks on the Keighley Sculpture Trail.

Their sculpture has been decorated by young people at the One In A Million group at the Sue Belcher Centre, a charity supporting disadvantaged young people, and artist, Sian Atkinson. The team decorated the sculpture using acrylic and mixed media and named the sculpture “Cole” after one of the group members. 

Keighley Market is home to quality food, fashion, jewellery, materials, shoe repairs, haberdashery, workwear, pet supplies, gifts, homeware, cleaning products, carpets, party supplies and lots more and we know our Rombald’s Rock feels very at home here.

The Market is situated between Low Street and Morrisons and is open Monday to Saturday 8:30am till 5:00pm and closes early on Tuesday at 2pm.

Royal Arcade

Built in 1899, the Royal Arcade is a hidden gem but one of the most stunning pieces of architecture in Keighley. This Victorian shopping arcade was built to house a range of stylish and interesting stores, a purpose which it still fulfils today!

It’s current tenants include some amazing independent businesses offering a wealth of products including women’s fashion at Blue Ginger, handmade products and gifts at The Kindred Bizzare and Dollie Daydreams, tattoos at Ink Rethink and The Little Tattoo Rooms, flowers at House of Astor, sweet treats at The Cake ‘Ole, dog grooming at Ossie’s Hot Dogs, party suppliers at Helium, appliance repairs at Keighley Washer and Vac, musical instruments at Aire Valley Guitars, wellbeing services at The Retreat and hair dressing at S ‘n’ T Hair Studio, Kaos and MCK Design. 

Thanks to the wonderful building, spooky cellars and interesting history, the arcade offers they also regularly host events such as ghost hunts, markets and the soon-to-be-repeated Twilight Market. 

The Royal Arcade is housing the sculpture named As I Walk Along the Moor decorated by the Wednesday Leisure group and artist Laura Alice. They used mono-printing techniques to decorate the sculpture. 

To visit the sculpture or one of the many fantastic independent retailers, access the Royal Arcade via the frontage on East Parade or via the steps at the back of Hanover Street. The centre is open 9am till 6pm Monday to Saturday, however please check opening times for individual businesses.

Old Parcels Office Cafe, Bar and Restaurant

The Old Parcels Office at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) is hosting a Rombald’s Rock artwork as part of the Keighley Sculpture Trail.

As a town, we are incredibly proud to be the home of the KWVR, a 5-mile-long heritage railway in the Worth Valley, which runs from Keighley town centre to Oxenhope. This recently refurbished café bar and restaurant, overlooking the tracks of Keighley Station, is a great venue for food and drinks in the centre of town and is popular with both locals and tourists alike. 

This year, as part of the Bradford 2025 celebrations, the railway are extremely pleased to be hosting a theatrical performance of The Railway Children, which will be held throughout the summer and The Old Parcels Office is already seeing an increase in trade as a result. 

The name of their sculpture is Ronnie and it has been designed by The Good Shepherd Centre’s craft group and Ukrainian artist Olha Zhydetska using acrylic and mixed media. 

To find out more about the KWVR or to book a ticket to one of their experiences or The Railway Children performance, just visit their website or follow their social media.

Three Little Birds Bakery

One of the locations for the Keighley Sculpture Trail is the famous Three Little Birds Bakery. This successful Keighley business is known for making beautiful cakes that actually get eaten.

The business is owned by baker and entrepreneur, Bec Severs, who is also the Chair of the Keighley BID and is passionate about our town and making it a wonderful place to work and live. She really values the project saying:

“As a creative business in Keighley, we are so excited to be part of this event organised by Keighley Creative who provide such an important contribution to the town. The arts make life enjoyable, whether that’s through music, sculpture, dance, or indeed cake decorating. We are looking forward to seeing lots of people celebrating our local artists and having fun finding Rombald’s Rocks around Keighley! Thank you to Keighley Creative for inviting us to be part of this event.”

Three Little Birds Bakery are hosting “Princess Rocky Samra”, the Rombald’s Rocks inspired sculpture designed by the Highfield Community Association and Lisa Holmes of Photo Hub North CIC. The artwork is finished using images created using cyanotype, a photographic printing process. 

To see this work-of-art in full, just pop in to the Three Little Birds Bakery at 14, Cavendish Street. They are open Monday to Friday 9.30am till 5pm and Saturday 9.30am till 3.30pm.

H. Brooks DIY

This firmly established family business is proud to be hosting a “Rombald’s Rock” as part of the Keighley Sculpture Trail.

This stalwart of Lawkholme Lane offers a huge range of DIY products, hardware, paint and wallpaper and a level of personal service you just won’t find anywhere else thanks to their decades of experience. 

The sculpture that they are hosting has been shaped and carved by local artist, Leonie Briggs, and then decorated by Hainworth Wood Community Centre and artist Ciara Sturgess. The group named their rock, Roohoo, and decorated it using monoprinting techniques. 

Michelle Simpson, one of the team at H. Brook DIY said:

“We feel privileged to host a Rombald’s Rock. The trail is another great idea from Keighley Creative to help encourage footfall in the town and bring a bit of colour, creativity and joy.”

So next time you’re doing some DIY, before you head to a big national chain store, pop to your local, friendly hardware dealer for some expert advice and support one of Keighley’s wonderful independent businesses. 

They are based at 33, Lawkholme Lane near the Cavendish pub and are open 8.30am till 5pm Monday to Saturday and 9.30am till 1.00pm on Sunday. (Bank holiday opening hours may vary.)

Melia Powell

Melia Powell Funeral Service has been helping local families during times of bereavement since 2013 through our funeral homes in Keighley and Sandbeds. The team at both branches provide support and guidance at every stage of the funeral planning process to ensure the funeral is as individual and unique as your loved one.

Melia Powell kindly offered to host one of the sculptures as they have a prime location on the corner of Cavendish Street and Town Hall Square. They also organised and ran a free workshop on the launch day for local people to make memory pebbles, which was a wonderful creative activity and very well attended.

The team at Melia Powell recognise the importance of such community projects and how encouraging local people to get involved in the arts can help bring people together and have a positive impact on the town as a whole. 

The sculpture was decorated by Keighley-based artist, Jon Britten, who named her Interstellar Bella having been inspired by the idea of a rock floating off into space. 

To find out more about their business, please visit their website. The sculpture is housed at 111-115 Cavendish Street in Keighley town centre. 

Hairavanti

Family-business, Hairavanti, are a huge supporter of their hometown of Keighley and proud to be hosting one of the sculptures as part of the Rombald’s Rocks project.

This iconic Keighley business was for many decades on Cavendish Street but in 2024 moved to their fabulous new premises on the beautiful North Street. They offer a range of hairdressing services as well as selling a range of hair and beauty products and gifts.

In celebration of the project, Hairavanti are pleased to be offering a special deal in celebration of the Keighley Sculpture Trail so are offering 20% off some skincare products and gifts being sold in store. All you need to do to claim this discount is snap a selfie with Moor Born Gem, the Rombald’s Rock sculpture, and post it on your social media tagging @hairavanti.

The sculpture’s light-up design is created by local street artist, Dripsy, using acrylic, spray paint, and all the crystals were carved by hand out of foam. 

Hairavanti are located at 68, North Street next to Town Hall Square. They are open Tuesdays to Saturdays. Check their website for more information.

Keighley Bus Station

Positioned on Towngate in front the the Airedale Shopping Centre, the bus station is at the heart of Keighley. It’s is a hub for local people travelling for work or pleasure in and around the district and sees thousands of people pass through its doors everyday.

Buses travel to and from Keighley from all over the Bradford district and beyond, travelling around town and even travelling further afield onto Leeds, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Ilkley and Burnley in Lancashire.

Keighley Bus Station was delighted to be asked to host one of the Rombald’s Rocks as they thought an interesting piece of art might brighten up an often dull corner of this busy place and give something new and interesting to entertain all the commuters and day trippers.

The sculpture titled “Stories of Keighley” has been carved by Leonie Briggs and then decorated by illustrator, Nicola Storr. It is positioned near the ticket office and is open to view during opening hours of 5:00am and 11:30pm.

Airedale Shopping Centre

The hub of Keighley’s shopping district, the Airedale Shopping Centre has recently welcomed a new window display to catch shoppers’ eyes. 

Situated between Next and Boots, “Stan” was carved by sculptor Leonie Briggs as part of the Keighley Sculpture Trail and then decorated by artist Sven Shaw. Sven has taken inspiration from the stained-glass windows at Cliffe Castle and used acrylic paints to create the finish. 

The Airedale Shopping Centre is situated on Hanover Street, Low Street, Towngate and Cooke Lane and is open 7 days a week. The centre includes many big names such as Costa Coffee, Card Factory, Peacocks, Specsavers, The Works, Superdrug, Trespass, Bon Marche, Poundland, Holland & Barrett, Bodycare, New Look, Shoezone and Max Spielman as well as arts charity, Keighley Creative.

A key part of the Rombald’s Rocks: Keighley Sculpture Trail was ensuring that different people and communities felt they could contribute to the artworks. We wanted it to be community art in the true sense so directly approached a number of groups and asked if they would like to take part. 5 local groups then took part in workshops guided by an artist to decorate a sculpture.

The groups were as follows:

Hainworth Wood Community Centre

This community centre welcomes people of all ages from Keighley East, Hainworth Wood, Spring Bank and surrounding areas. When it came to decorating their Rombald’s Rock they welcomed a number of families and young people to come along and get creative.

The workshop was led by artist and creative facilitator, Ciara Sturgess, and the theme the group focused on what was important to them, having fun, learning and connecting with other people.

To see their fabulous sculpture, “Roohoo”, do the Keighley Sculpture Trail and discover their artwork at H Brook DIY shop on Lawkholme Lane.

To find out more about the group, visit Hainworth Wood Community Centre’s page on Facebook.

Highfield Community Association

Highfield Community Association is a well-established group based in Keighley Central that welcomes everyone from around the area to join in with a wide range of activities designed to bring people together and create opportunities for education and employment.

Keighley Creative hosted their workshop and photographer, Lisa Holmes from Photo Hub North CIC came along as a facilitator. Lisa demonstrated the photography technique of cyanotype and the group were encouraged to create their own individual pieces of art using this technique which were then put together to decorate their sculpture.

The final artwork, Princess Rocky Samra, can be seen “in the flesh” at Three Little Birds Bakery on Cavendish Street. Just grab or download a map of the Keighley Sculpture Trail to see all 10 Rombald’s Rocks.

The Good Shepherd Centre on West Lane

This community centre and charitable organisation is a hub for people aiming to empower, engage and educate economically and socially disadvantaged people in Keighley. They support individuals and families with links to Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. It offers a safe haven and a warm welcome and the team their understand how art and being creative can help those that are struggling or have been displaced.

Their group attended a workshop led by Olha Zhydetska, a Ukrainian artist, someone who herself has experienced displacement as she came to Keighley as a refugee following the invasion by Russia. She is passionate about folk art and so encouraged the participants use different materials like textiles, modelling clay and paint to illustrate what Keighley means to them.

To see their sculpture, pop in to the Old Parcels Office bar and restaurant at Keighley Railway Station.

To find out more about The Good Shepherd Centre, just visit their Facebook page.

One in a Million at the Sue Belcher Centre in Bracken Bank

This spring special workshops were held at the Sue Belcher Centre in Keighley where children from the One In A Million project were invited to decorate one of the 10 Rombald’s Rocks that would form part of the Keighley Sculpture Trail.

This project is all about offering disadvantaged children opportunities and education to help break the cycle of deprivation and helping their identify and celebrate their value and uniqueness as they are all “one in a million”.

The workshop was led by facilitator and artist, Sian Atkinson, who is passionate about using play and creative arts as therapy.

She helped the young people to use the sculpture to celebrate their passions, uniqueness and positivity with the use of bright colours and make their sculpture, Cole, one-in-a-million, like them!

To see Cole, pop along to Keighley Market where the sculpture will be on display until 29th June.

The Wednesday Leisure Club – currently on tour!

Wednesday Leisure is a special group run by and for adults with disabilities and additional needs. Their weekly group is normally held at Keighley Leisure Centre and they are given lots of opportunities to try new things and develop their passions, be it crafting, wheelchair games, bowling, whatever!

Their workshop was led by creative practitioner Laura Alice who has a passion for printmaking and mark-making. Together the group generated wonderful imager based on their experience of Rombald’s Moor and it’s nature.

The sculpture was named As I Walk Along the Moor and is on display in the historical Royal Arcade on East Parade during opening hours, 9am till 6pm, Monday to Saturday.

To find out more about the Wednesday Leisure Club, visit their Facebook page.

The team behind the Rombald’s Rocks project would like to give a huge thank you and big shout out to all the communities and individuals that took part in these community workshops. Their contribution ensured that the Keighley Sculpture Trail is truly a piece of community art and has shown off Keighley, its wonderful people and their creative talents!

The Rombald’s Rocks project employed 5 local artists to decorate a sculpture as part of the Keighley Sculpture Trail. A key aspect of the project was to provide paid opportunities for local people to be creative and help them pursue sustainable careers as artists.

To do this we asked artists to apply for the opportunity; they had to tell us about themselves and their ideas for decorating a Rombald’s Rock sculpture. The applications were then considered by a volunteer panel of community representatives to ensure a fair process for all and the panel chose 5 successful applicants.

Jon Britten

Jon is a self taught creative artist currently residing in Bronte Country, West Yorkshire.

With no formal education or training in the arts he took it upon himself explore creation and experiment with various mediums to express the creative energy from within, including music creation/production, wood carving, crafting and more recently, since 2020, revisiting acrylic painting.

Jon’s sculpture is called Interstellar Bella and can be viewed at Melia Powell Funeral Services on the corner of Cavendish Street and Cooke Street in Keighley.

To find out more about Jon and his work, follow @wilfy_jon_studio or visit him at his art studio at Keighley Creative.

Sven Shaw

Sven is an illustrator and painter based in Baildon, West Yorkshire. He always knew he wanted to get into the creative industries sohas been doing design and illustration jobs since he left university in 2005.

As Sven explained: “I have enjoyed drawing since I was child and just never stopped, really.”

Growing up in Yorkshire, a lot of Sven’s work has a local flavour. It celebrates our landmarks and architectural heritage, as well as the communities across the region. He has designed and painted many murals, including Bradford city centre, Bingley 3 Rise Locks, Myrtle Park and Seacroft.

Sven’s sculpture for the Rombald’s Rocks project is called Stan and can be viewed in a window between Next and Boots in the Airedale Shopping Centre. It is inspired by a local architectural landmark; go and see it and see if you can guess!

To find our more about Sven, follow @svenshaw on Instagram or Sven Shaw Illustration on Facebook.

Nicola Storr

I’m Nicky (Nicolour Illustration) is an illustrator, art teacher, and workshop facilitator who believes everyone can draw. She is passionate about inspiring creativity and love encouraging others to explore their artistic side, always with a smile. When I’m not working, you can find her outdoors, soaking up inspiration from nature.

Nicolas is excited to be a part of the Rombald’s Rocks project as she said: “I am thrilled to bring more art to the community. My mission is to make art fun, accessible, and full of joy!”

Nicola’s sculpture is titled Stories of Keighley and is displayed in Keighley Bus Station. Pop down to see her Rombald’s Rock in the flesh and find out what inspired it.

To find out more about Nicola, follow her on Instagram @nicolourok.

Catherine Fortey

Catherine Fortey is a Shipley-based author, illustrator, printmaker and potter.  Her creative practice has a firm foundation in storytelling and amplifying voices. She works across multiple disciplines, and experiments with a playful, exploratory process.  

Catherine has achieved lots of notable successes: she was a Picturehooks Buddy artist, mentored by Chris Mould (2022/2023), a DYCP recipient (2023/2024), and a BPH Explore artist (2024). Her first children’s book cover was published in 2024.  

Recently, Catherine has been co-creating art with a women’s cycling group (Hatch/Capital of Cycling), and was a guest artist, delivering workshops and exhibiting at a creative activism event for survivors of CSA (Viv Gordon Company).

Catherine’s sculpture is titled Popcorn and can be viewed at Keighley Creative on Cooke Lane near Subway in Keighley. Can you recognise which iconic Keighley building inspired the design?

To find our more about Catherine, visit her website www.catherinefortey.com or follow her on Instagram @thequietblackbird

Dripsy

Dripsy is an anonymous Street Artist who is proud to be born in the hills of The Brontë Country but raised by the streets of Keighley. 

Their usual work includes big scale street art murals using a combination of spray paint and intricately hand cut stencils. An example of this would be the “Urban Garden” Project that they did for the Airedale Shopping Centre’s 100ft x 50ft wall, where they turned the dilapidated space into a nice welcoming space full of sunflowers, butterflies and bees. 

Dripsy also creates smaller scale artwork and a limited edition clothing line from their studio space inside Keighley Creative. 

Dripsy’s Rombald’s Rock sculpture is titled Moor-Born Gem: Echoes of Rombald and can be viewed at Hairavanti on North Street in Keighley.

For more information on Dripsy, please follow @iamdripsy on Instagram.

To find out more about the Rombald’s Rocks projects, pick up or download a map and complete the Keighley Sculpture Trail or explore the exhibition “The Making of Rombald’s Rocks” which is running until 29th June 2025.