Although Robert Taylor Clough (1923 -1982) was primarily an architectural historian and author and became better known for a series of sketches of buildings in and around the Keighley area that now offer a useful visual social record of the town and district in the 1970s. These were reproduced in his book: ‘Townscapes of Keighley, West Yorkshire. and Other Drawings of Scenes in North Yorkshire and Cumbria’ (1980).
Robert Taylor Clough was born in Keighley, the grandson of Keighley industrialist Robert Clough (1847-1936). He was educated at Rydal School and then at Leeds School of Architecture, where in 1946 he was awarded the Diploma in Architecture with Distinction.
Married, with a son and a daughter, Robert had a varied career with part-time teaching at both the Leeds and Sheffield Schools of Architecture and was a former partner with the Leeds firm of Gribbon and Froggitt. He lived with his family at Utley, near Keighley, and a number of the older buildings in the village are featured in his sketches.
Greenhead Lane, Utley, near Keighley, 1978.
Robert was awarded a research scholarship by Pilkington Brothers of St. Helens for studies already published around the history of the northern lead industry and was a founder member of The Historical Metallurgy Society, a member of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, fellow of The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and past president of both The Three Peaks Club and the Northern Mine Society. He was also a Chairman of the Bradford Branch of the Royal Institute of British Architects .
He was the author of ‘The Lead Smelting Mills of the Yorkshire Dales and Northern Pennines‘, originally published in 1962 and republished by The Scolar Press in 1980.
Robert Clough wrote in the foreword to his ‘Townscape of Keighley…’ prints:
These enclosed drawings have been done partly in an effort to portray the natural good quality of many local scenes; townscape constantly changes and it is important to have a record for future generations to see.
Greenhead Lane, Utley, 1978.
Thornhill House, Highfield Lane, Keighley, 1973.
The Old White Bear Inn, Crosshills, near Skipton, 1978.
An exhibition of the original sketches was held on 15th and 16th May 1981 in the offices of Malcolm G. Riley, High Street, Skipton.
A set of prints of the sketches was sent by the artist to Keighley News in January 1981 and this set is now held in the physical archive of the Keighley and District Local History Society and can be seen on the Society’s Flickr site at R.T. Clough Sketches and Documents
After his death in 1982 he was buried at Utley Cemetery close to his home in the village.
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With thanks to the Keighley and District Local History Society for their research on the life and work of R.T. Clough, most of which is reproduced here and can be seen on the Flickr site, link shown above.