Craven through the years

9:07am Friday 24th August 2007

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100 years ago

SKIPTON Rural District Council applied to borrow £2,850 for the purposes of sewerage in Cononley and certain works in Farnhill. At the last inquiry in November 1901, objections were made to the works being in close proximity to dwelling houses of considerable value.

The Cowling Parish Floral and Agricultural Society held its 11th annual show. A large marquee had been erected for the exhibits, but the entries were said to be "meagre and not fully developed", owing to the cold and wet summer. The attendance was also down.

The Prince of Wales concluded his visit to Bolton Abbey and proceeded by motor through Skipton, Gisburn and Clitheroe to Abbeystead Park, where he was due to visit the Earl of Sefton for a few days of shooting.

50 years ago

A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was fined £1 by Skipton magistrates after being found guilty of riding his pedal cycle without due care and attention. Inspector JE Dobbs said the boy had collided with a pedestrian on Shortbank Road, Skipton. The boy was on the correct side of the road, but had his head down against the driving rain.

A rodent inspector was furious when he found large quantities of "foodstuffs" had been thrown in Sutton Beck, leading to a rat infestation. Half a loaf of bread, a large ham shank and a piece of fish were among items found in the beck, between the Baptist Church and the Bull Bridge. The inspector said it was "little wonder" there was an infestation. The chairman of the parish council pointed out there was a sign prohibiting items being thrown into the beck.

A female swan that had been missing for 11 days was captured thanks to "considerable ingenuity". The swan, which had taken up abode on the River Aire, was caught by its owner, Mr JH Hargraves and Mr K Chatterton. The pair used a crate containing a male swan and a football net. The male swan was left in its crate on the river bank and when the female approached the men captured it in the net. She was returned to her home in Glusburn where her wings were clipped "to avoid any further escapade".

25 years ago

SIXTEEN-year-old Carol Haigh became the first female to complete the Burnsall fell race - 100 years after it was first held. It fact, 1982 was the first year women had been allowed to take part in the race to the summit of the 1,350 feet fell. Two hundred people took part, despite bad weather making the going "treacherous."

A Skipton newsagent was fined by magistrates after employing children to work long hours. Two 13-year-old girls regularly ran the shop on a Sunday between 8.45am and 4.45pm, even though children of that age were not allowed to work more than two hours on a Sunday. The owner said he did not know he had done anything wrong and only got involved with the police when the girls were accused of stealing.

Craven Council had made more than £23,000 since the introduction of car parking charges in Skipton five months earlier. It was estimated that by the end of the financial year, the income from the charges would total £53,000, excluding expenditure.

10 years ago

UNSUSPECTING Yorkshire Water workers got more than they bargained for when they discovered a prehistoric skeleton while replacing pipes in Kettlewell. The remains were thought to be a young male and around 4,000 years old. DNA tests were planned to see if the man was a descendant of anyone still living in the village.

A Cowling couple spent their first day of married life dressed as jelly babies. Beverley Bullock and Robert Brown tied the knot in Cowling church the day before taking part in the village pram race. The couple entered the race the previous year and enjoyed it so much they decided to delay their honeymoon to compete again. The event was started by Emmerdale star Clive Hornby.

Farmer Stephen Brennand, of Nutstile Farm, Ingleton, could not believe his eyes when one of his Friesian heifers produced triplets. "We have been here 42 years and we have never had a set of triplets. It is particularly rare to get triplets out of a heifer," he said.

Four fundraisers from Skipton Building Society were transporting four cans of beer to Paris using just £10. Claire Brooker-Carey, Joanne Lockey, Rick Holden and Jason Newhouse took up the Bass Beerjolais challenge to help raise money for Scope. They had to get themselves and four cans of Bass Beer to Notre Dame in 24 hours with only £10 to pay for it.