Craven through the years

3:05pm Saturday 12th July 2008

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100 years ago

The annual sale of work of inmates of the Skipton Union Workhouse took place. The aim was to encourage the poor people to employ their talents in some useful craftsmanship. The majority of inmates were incapable of heavy work, but light and useful craftsmanship seemed to come easily to them, reported the Herald.

About 80 members and friends of the Barnoldswick Wardenship of the Randell Habitation of the Primrose League accepted an invitation to a strawberry picnic at The Limes. There was a liberal supply of strawberries and cream and afterwards games and pastimes were played in the adjoining field.

At Earby Council, mention was made of the "exceptionally dangerous" Wisick Hill, between Thornton-in-Craven and Earby, where several accidents had been reported. It was decided to ask the county council to look at the matter and see if something could be done.

50 years ago

Eleven-year-old Richard Slater, from Grassington, was saved from drowning by the prompt actions of 15-year-old David Kitchener, of Gargrave. Richard was paddling in the River Wharfe, near Grassington, in about 18 inches of water, but the river had a ledge which ended in a sharp 10-foot drop and, by accident, Richard fell off the ledge. Being unable to swim, he was soon in difficulty but David pulled him out, thus averting near tragedy.

A four-foot sundial which used to show the time on the original steeple of Silsden Parish Church was found buried in the vicarage orchard. The sundial had been removed in 1877 when extensive alterations were made to the church and it had been lost for some 40 years.

Charged with parking his car between a pedestrian crossing and the studs which marked the approach to the crossing in Swadford Street, Skipton, Henry W Keil, of Tudor House, Broadway, wrote that he, a stranger, had been accosted by two constables wishing to take particulars. "This shows very little forbearance on the part of the town and naturally one feels piqued and somewhat resentful," he wrote. Keil was fined 20 shillings.

25 years ago

Maurice Bradshaw retired from winding the church clock at All Saints Church, Burton-in-Lonsdale, after 21 years. He climbed 124 steps a week to reach the clock and a parishioner had calculated that Maurice had climbed the equivalent of seven ascents of Mount Everest.

Parents and teachers in North Ribblesdale were once again battling to save their village school. Residents in Langcliffe and Stainforth saved the village schools in 1980, but they were once again under review. Villagers believed that closing the schools would be a denial of parental choice.

There were some sticky moments for the creators of what was thought to be the world's biggest trifle as the sun beat down on Settle Carnival. The record-breaking recipe included 96 Swiss rolls, 48 tins of strawberries, 48 jellies, four bottles of sherry and nine gallons of custard.

10 years ago

Two hundred and fifty tonnes of stone was airlifted onto the slopes of Ingleborough in an attempt to halt footpath erosion.

Fears that the Burnside area of Skipton could become a ghetto were allayed with the rejection of a bid to build more housing there. A brownfield site at the edge of the estate had been earmarked for housing under Craven District Council's local plan. Campaigners did not think that one of their few open spaces should be used for low-cost housing. At an extraordinary meeting of the council the local plan was modified to reduce the amount of housing allocated for Burnside.

Earby's in-line skaters were reaping the harvest of 18 months of hard campaigning and fundraising for proper facilities for their sport. A second and bigger purpose-built ramp had been installed at the new skating facility at Sough Park and was already seeing a lot of action.