Happy Yorkshire Day!
Perhaps only in Yorkshire, can one of the county’s most famous symbols – the Yorkshire Terrier – still be proudly kept on display, alongside the Egyptian mummies. In body, though not in spirit.
This little chap was a true hero of the people of Keighley in West Yorkshire. Many Keighley – working-class – notables had paintings commissioned in their honour during the Victoria era. Rather unusual to spend such money on the plebs, I’m sure you’ll agree.
But the good people of the town also wanted to celebrate several acts of bravery that this particular wee Yorkie carried out. You can read more about him if you head to Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley. I know that putting him in a display box, seems more than a little bit bizarre by our modern day standards, but by the late 19th century, the Yorkshire Terrier was a legend in Victorian society, having saved working-class people from disease brought by the filth, the mice and the rats.
So, please do remember the little Yorkshire ones today. The underdogs that made this county great. Even if you prefer to do it without the creepy glass case.