From the archives (From Craven Herald)

From the archives

10:10am Saturday 14th August 2010 in

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100 years ago

The first open-air angling contest promoted by the Skipton Angling Association took place on the Leeds to Liverpool Canal at Niffany. No fewer than 55 people took part. The weather conditions were against large catches, the largest weighing 1.25 ounces.

Skiptonians left the town in large numbers for the annual week’s holiday. The mills were shut and the shops, except those whose trade required partial opening, remained closed from Saturday to Wednesday. In all, there have been 3,500 special bookings from Skipton.

50 years ago

Support for the General Certificate of Education was given by the headmaster of Ermysted’s Grammar School, Mr ML Forster, at the annual speech day held at The Odeon Cinema, Skipton. One had but to open some of the morning newspapers to hear some headmasters’ rebuttal of it, he said, but he refused to join in the chorus. Indeed, he applauded the fact that in individual certificates, the standard of pass at ordinary level was to be higher than it was in the school certificate.

Police were making inquiries into vandalism which had taken place at the churchyard at St Alkelda’s, Giggleswick. Eight graves had recently been damaged and in three cases the gravestones were broken to pieces. Crosses were overturned. The cost of the damage was estimated at £75.

The Craven Potholing Club of Skipton, which was holding its 12th annual camp on the banks of Fell Beck, was asking if there was a seventh entrance to Gaping Gill.

25 years ago

John Watson, MP for Skipton and Ripon, sought a meeting with Lynda Chalker, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, to press for a bypass for Coniston Cold. His move came shortly after she virtually dismissed the possibility. In a reply to a letter from parish council, Mrs Chalker said she held out “little hope that a bypass will be included in the national programme for some time to come”.

A trail highlighting some of the industrial features of “old Barlick” was to be sold as a tourist attraction in a new Pendle Borough Council brochure. Members of the council’s Leisure Committee went for a walk in the pouring rain through the back streets of Barnoldswick. Many of them had never seen some of the sights they came across on the trail, but they all agreed the trek could attract visitors from around the world.

West Craven farmers flocked to Kelbrook for a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Michael Jopling, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, and their MP, John Lee. Around 40 - half of the farmers in the West Craven area - attended the meeting at Middle Hague Farm, where local people got to ask the minister behind Government affairs on farming questions. Milk quotas was the topic that roused most of the discussion, and most of the local dairy farmers present had some grievance or complaint to put to Mr Jopling about the situation.

10 years ago

Hellifield vicar Canon Graham Walker was rushed to Airedale Hospital after an allergic reaction to a wasp sting caused him to lose consciousness at the wheel of his car. To the horror of onlookers, the 65-year-old vicar, who was in the car with his wife, Christine, crashed into tables and chairs outside Ye Old Naked Man Cafe in Settle’s Market Place. Luckily, no-one was injured in the accident, but Canon Walker had to receive treatment at Airedale for anaphylaxis shock.

Silsden, Steeton and Eastburn residents were pressing for a footbridge to be built over the busy Aire Valley Trunk Road. Thousands of pounds had been spent by the Highways Agency installing safety measures on the A629 at the Silsden roundabout. The work included rumble strips to slow down the traffic, special crossing places for pedestrians and cyclists, and warning signs. But residents who lived in the three nearby villages said people were still taking their lives into their own hands when they crossed the road and they wanted a footbridge to be built.

Well away from Albert Square in Walford, EastEnder Dot Cotton found a warm welcome waiting in West Craven. Sunshine and smiles greeted the soap star - alias actress June Brown - when she appeared as celebrity guest at Barnoldswick’s Millennium Gala, organised by the local Round Table. As she stepped up to the microphone to open the event, in true Dot Cotton style, she told the waiting throng: “I’ll just put me fag out!” The EastEnders star then crowned the millennium gala princess, Joanne Honeyman.