THE Royal Arcade in Low Street was originally built in 1899.

William Gott moved his ironmongery into the arcade in 1901 and took Frank Butterfield into partnership in 1910. They branched out into household goods, bicycles and eventually camping equipment. The partnership only lasted seven years and the company became simply Butterfield’s, which finally closed in 1983.

The arcade itself was closed from the late 1980s but then underwent extensive restoration in the early 2000s, and reopened in December 2003.

All images are provided by Keighley and District Local History Society, with research by Tim Neal, who thanks Eddie Kelly for his help. The society meets on the second Wednesday of each month in Keighley Local Studies Library. Further information can be found on its website and Facebook page. On December 11, the society will be remembering historian Ian Dewhirst, who died at the beginning of this year, with a special Christmas-flavoured meeting.