Craven through the years

9:27am Friday 19th October 2007

100 years ago

ELDERLY youths and men were kicking young children off their own playground. Skipton Urban Council was to investigate measures to stop land at the top of Raikes Road being misused. It emerged that a number of teenagers and men from other parts of the town were monopolising the area and telling children to leave.

A Midland Express train was forced to stop at Kildwick and then limp on to Skipton after a "mishap". The London to Glasgow train was pulling towards the village, drawn by two engines, when several castings connecting parts of the engine fell into the tracks. The train stopped for half an hour in Kildwick before it set off slowly to Skipton to have its broken engine repaired.

50 years ago

A NEWS vendor from Skipton could not appear before magistrates because he was "in a trance". The 27-year-old man was charged with stealing a wooden door, but his mother told the court he was unable to attend. She said: "He is not fit to come, he loses himself every so often." When asked by the clerk if he had lost himself that morning, his mother confirmed he had. She said she could have brought him to court, but he would have been in a trance for a few hours and would be "just like a dummy". However, the police were sent to bring him to the court. The man confirmed he sometimes had blackouts, but said he was all right to face the charges and pleaded guilty. He was fined £2.

A cockerel owned by J Collins, of the Fosters Arms, Barnoldswick, appeared to take objection to certain individuals - especially bus drivers and conductors. The sight of a uniform sent the bird into a "veritable rage" and it frequently attacked bus crews parking at the pub. One conductor fell into a ditch during an attack and was off work for some time. A customer told the Craven Herald he would not go through the yard unless he was armed with a stick.

25 years ago

Farmer's daughter Margaret Caygill was named the new Dairy Maid for England and Wales. The 20-year-old, from Rylstone, won the title after coming third in the final of the National Dairy Queen Competition. Margaret was already the reigning Dairy Princess of the North. She competed against 11 other area princesses to win the new title. She won a £75 grooming course at the London Academy of Modelling, a luggage set and a beauty bag.

Dog training classes were allowed to restart in Skipton Town Hall's annexe - providing organisers covered the floor. The classes were cancelled after complaints about dog hairs and smells. However, Craven District Council decided the organisers could continue to hold the classes, as long as they put a floor covering down.

10 years ago

THE first woman to head one of Britain's national parks was appointed in the Yorkshire Dales. Heather Hancock, from Littondale, beat 160 applicants with her impressive credentials. Mrs Hancock had previously been the personal secretary to three Home Secretaries and helped establish the Department of National Heritage.

A fire gutted an Appletreewick hostel that was used by schoolchildren on field trips. Two fire crews from Skipton, one from West Yorkshire and volunteers from Grassington and Summerbridge battled for two hours to get the blaze at the old Skyreholme School under control. It was believed the fire started while workmen were renovating the building.

Motorists were being caught short in Gargrave because of wrongly placed double yellow lines. Previous parking restrictions left enough space for four or five cars to park outside the public toilets in South Street. However, after the road was resurfaced, contractors put double yellow lines along its whole length. A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council highways admitted there had been a mistake.

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