People can go back in time to enjoy some folk music nostalgia memorabilia in the Holme Valley – and it includes a photo of Patrick Stewart from decades ago before he found fame and fortune as a film star.

The event called Folk Memories will be held this Sunday (November 12) at Southgate Theatre in Honley.

The free drop-in event will share previously unseen photographs and memorabilia from the archives of the late local photographer, Brian Lawton, to celebrate folk music in Holmfirth and Huddersfield from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Brian, of Fartown, left an archive of thousands of photographs covering all kinds of popular music, theatre and television.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Holmfirth Film Festival has taken on responsibility for cataloguing initially the folk photographs and capturing local peoples’ stories and memories.

The open day will share newly digitised photographs and display programmes, correspondence and photograph albums that highlight the important place of Huddersfield and surrounding areas in folk history. It is part of a programme of exhibitions and other events over the coming months that will highlight the folk music collection as part of the larger Brian Lawton Legacy archive.

Project Director Heather Norris Nicholson said: “We really hope that people will come forward with memories of events, people and places in these photographs to give a wider context to this wide ranging collection. Brain Lawton’s informal pictures of musicians and their fans give an important sense of folk music’s significance in local life. Visiting clubs, pubs and halls - and at open air festivals - was how performers established themselves, connected with their fans and developed their distinctive musical styles and reputations. The local area was very important in the so-called revival of British folk music and the growth of a vibrant folk heritage that also brought dancers from other areas.”

If you would like to help or are interested in the Project and have memories of the period please contact Heather Norris Nicholson 01484 854772 /h.nicholson@hud.ac.uk