100 years ago

The poor and afflicted in Skipton were looked after right royally at Christmas. Indeed, so far as the public and rate-aided institutions were concerned, there were those who thought that the public had been too generous and that a considerable amount of the good things might have been distributed among those who shrank from parading their poverty.

The snow came too late in Grassington for an ideal Christmas Day. Sickness was very prevalent in the village, which meant everything seemed quieter than usual. Children went round carol singing and the brass band spent most of Christmas Day in the village playing Christmas carols and hymns. The strains of the band lent a festivity that would otherwise have been lacking.

The annual New Year's tea and entertainment, organised by a local Skipton committee for the benefit of the poor children of the town, took place in the town hall. About 800 children were entertained and provided with an appetising meal. An entertainment was provided by Jesse Pye's Juvenile Minstrel Troupe.

50 years ago

During the whole of 1957 full employment had continued throughout the area covered by the Skipton Exchange. All industries reported there had been an outstanding demand for both men and women throughout the year.

Rain followed by snow made New Year's Eve decidedly unpleasant from a weather point of view. Dances and parties, however, went on as wholeheartedly as ever. The inclement weather did away with the traditional midnight dancing at the top of Skipton High Street and most of Craven's brass bands stayed indoors.

A woman police officer found a car unattended in Victoria Road, Earby, with the engine running. Five minutes later the driver, a pattern maker from Barnoldswick, returned. Skipton magistrates fined him £1 for leaving the car with the engine running. In a letter to the court, he said his car was hard to start and he thought he would only be away two or three minutes.

25 years ago

A record 38 teams braved the heavy rain to compete in Wharfedale Rugby Club's annual pram race. Prams of all shapes and sizes were pushed by a very odd assortment of people. Starting at the club, the course took competitors to seven public houses in Grassington, Linton and Threshfield. Everything from traditional prams to converted shopping trolleys was raced in the event, which raised £500 for charity.

White was out of favour as far as the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority was concerned. National park officer Richard Harvey was seeking to get rid of white as the predominant colour among static caravans. The authority was considering the idea of repainting the caravans in approved colours to reduce their impact on the surroundings.

Yorkshire Water approved a £522,000 scheme to ensure more reliable water supplies for Settle, Giggleswick, Clapham and Langcliffe and £225,000 improvements to Skipton's sewage treatment. Bill Jollans, director of operations, said a lot had been done to improve rural water supplies, but there was still a long way to go.

10 years ago

A family had a lucky escape when a large beech tree crashed through their roof in Christmas Eve gales. Colin Mitchell, Alexandra Fox and their two children escaped unhurt when a tree smashed through three bedrooms at their house on Carla Beck Lane, Carleton. The weather was so bad neighbours did not hear anything.

Craven Council faced a bill of £713,000 to bring car parks up to an acceptable standard. A survey of the 11 pay and display car parks in the area found potholes, subsidence and other problems, particularly in the car parks in Millfields and Coach Street, Skipton. The cost of using the car parks was also set to increase.

Despite hundreds of anti-hunt campaigners turning out nationally on Boxing Day, the Craven hunt largely escaped any ill-feeling on the busiest day of the hunting calendar. Senior master of the Pendle Forest and Craven Hunt, Michael Bannister, said the 2,000-plus crowd at the hunt was a testament to local feeling.

9:20am Friday 4th January 2008

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