THESE were the charred ruins of Fred Simpson's drapery stores at 220-226 Oakworth Road, Keighley, on July 16, 1908.

Simpson was an entrepreneur whose business boasted a score of employees and included furniture, carpets and boot and shoe departments, all of which had been well-stocked preparatory to Keighley Parish Feast.

A neighbour had spotted the rear of the premises enveloped in flames the previous evening and staff from the nearby workhouse had tackled the blaze with standpipe and hose before the arrival of the fire brigade.

"The cause of the fire is a mystery," commented the local press, particularly since the stores had appeared normal less than half an hour before the alarm was raised. Blame was laid on some inflammable goods in the millinery department, but local gossip thought it significant that the whole loss was covered by insurance.

In 1910 Simpson's Emporium in Cavendish Street was to burn out under similar circumstances and in 1911 he opened the Oxford Hall picture house in a spacious building on his Oakworth Road site!

Indeed, Fred Simpson - who at the Oxford Hall produced his own homely comedy films using local actors and scenery - is a shadowy character about whom one would like to know more.

He subsequently ran a business in Low Street where he sold bankrupt stocks by auction. He died in 1929.