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Bringing park life to village 100 years ago

8:10am Saturday 26th May 2012

The Victorians invented and shaped the concept of public parks. They were built to provide clean fresh air to those people who were living in increasingly built-up areas and were seen as a means to boost the local economy and civic pride by making towns and cities attractive places to work and live. Many of the Victorian public parks were philanthropic gifts to the people of the local community by wealthy industrialists and landowners. One such park was in Sutton-in-Craven, which is about to celebrate its centenary. Here we look at its history, with information supplied by Sutton-in-Craven Parish Council, which owns, manages and maintains the park

The day the earth moved

9:10am Saturday 19th May 2012

Thanks to the so-called Craven Fault, the district is no stranger to seismic activity. In the first of two articles on earthquakes in Craven, Adrian Braddy looks back into the Herald archives from 1944, when the whole of the north of England was shaken by a significant quake, which was seemingly centred on Gargrave.

Houses of Parliament’s connection with Craven

2:50pm Saturday 12th May 2012

A number of celebrations will take place throughout the country this year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Victorian architect and designer Augustus Pugin.

Recollections of wartime Craven

1:30pm Friday 4th May 2012

Children attending Clapham School - and doubtless other schools - have been introduced to life during the Second World War (1939-45) through stories, songs and dances. Dr Bill Mitchell, of Giggleswick, was invited to recall to the Clapham children incidents in Craven during World War Two. During the latter part of the war he served on the editorial staff of the Craven Herald and subsequently had two years of service in the Royal Navy.

Recalling casualties of conflict 30 years on

8:30am Saturday 28th April 2012

It is 30 years since the Falklands Conflict raged in the South Atlantic. On April 2, 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkand Islands, over which Britain had had sovereignty since 1833, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher retaliated by sending British ships to the area while peace talks took place. The talks broke down and hostilities ensued. The conflict lasted 74 days and claimed more than 900 lives - including 255 Britons. Work experience student Laura Brockbank looks at how the conflict affected Craven.

Cup winners given rousing welcome by jubilant town

10:30am Saturday 21st April 2012

A hundred years ago, Skipton folk came out in their hundreds to welcome home their triumphant Rugby team. It had beaten Otley 7-0 in the final of the Yorkshire Challenge Cup - known as t’owd Tin Pot. It was the third - and last - time Skipton had taken home the splendid cup. Lesley Tate looks back at its Yorkshire Cup record.

Craven's reaction to Titanic tragedy

8:50am Saturday 14th April 2012

On April 15, 100 years ago, RMS Titantic – the largest passenger liner the world had ever seen – sank after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 people died, including the Colne-born leader of the ship’s band, Wallace Hartley, who was hailed a hero and whose funeral was attended by an incredible 30,000 mourners. Reporter Lesley Tate looks back on how the tragedy was reported in Craven

The biking doctor of the Dales

9:00am Saturday 7th April 2012

Our photograph, taken in the village of Austwick, features Dr Thomas Lovett, his family and a pet dog. Lovett, the village doctor in the 1920s and 1930s, was fond of driving around on a motorbike. He once took the machine to the open fell when his medical services were needed at Gaping Gill on Ingleborough.

Shooting that shocked a community

3:40pm Friday 23rd March 2012

A row over money led a tollhouse keeper to shoot and kill his wife on the street between Kildwick and Steeton almost 150 years ago. Editor Adrian Braddy delves through the archives to find out more about a crime that would have shocked the quiet South Craven community in Victorian times.

Early health warnings failed to stub out smoking habit

8:10am Saturday 17th March 2012

It was 50 years ago when experts started saying smoking might not be the healthy pursuit it was cracked up to be. Following a damning report by the Royal College of Physicians, a circular letter from the Ministry of Health was sent to councils up and down the country. The report made the link for the first time between smoking and lung cancer and bronchitis - and said it was almost probably linked to heart disease. So, the advice from the Ministry to councils was plain – educate your communities and steer them away from smoking. It was a tough call. Not only did the vast majority of adults, and many children, smoke, but it was seen as healthy and glamorous. Just about every Hollywood star smoked, cigarettes were used in advertisements to promote a certain aspirational lifestyle, doctors smoked in consulting rooms and hospitals handed out cigarettes to patients. It is no surprise, then, that the news was going to take some swallowing. Lesley Tate investigates.