TWENTY-five years ago, Craven welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Bradford Diocese. It was believed to be the first time the head of the Anglican Communion had visited the area. Lindsey Moore looks back on the visit.

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, arrived late for a civic reception at the Falcon Manor, Settle.

A two-hour hold-up on the M1 only served to heighten the anticipation of guests, who represented all facets of life in Craven.

The reception was hosted by the chairman of Craven District Council, Cllr Mollie Bell, who made sure the archbishop spoke to all 30 guests individually.

Among them was former Giggleswick School music teacher Hugh Stalker, who had studied with Dr Runcie at Oxford University. The two men spent several minutes exchanging reminiscences.

In her welcoming speech, Cllr Bell said she wanted to show the archbishop some of the things are made Yorkshire great – and that included the quality of its people, who had already demonstrated their patience!

And she added the county had a tradition of caring for its people and communities and that was something for which she was very thankful.

She then presented him with a figurine of a shepherd and his sheep and a hand-carved shepherd’s crook, which Dr Runcie said was providential as he had just broken his old crook, along with a statute of shepherd with his flock.

In reply, the archbishop praised the resilience local people, saying he had expected to find them limp from standing around waiting for them to arrive. But he said he had greatly under-estimated their spirit.

Dr Runcie added: “Obviously the party was in full swing and it was a privilege to enter into it. I have learnt a lot in a short time. I go to lots and lots of different activities and have experience of picking up atmosphere.

“You can quickly tell whether people are happy to be in a place and are happy to be with each other. You certainly get that from the tables here and that makes a very good start to my visit to the diocese for its 70th anniversary.”

He said individuals could only prosper if they were loved and he could see there was much love present in the diocese. “I couldn’t hope for a finer group of people.”

He also joined in the national Children in Need fundraiser by challenging the Bishop of Bradford, the Right Rev Robert Williamson, to a “blowing out candle” competition.

Although both church leaders had three candles left at the end, Dr Runcie claimed victory because he claimed he had had more candles than his opponents. Their efforts raised nearly £400.

The Archbishop presented Cllr Bell with a signed copy of the latest edition of The Canterbury Tales before leaving for another engagement at Ingleborough Hall, Clapham, where he heard about the realities of rural ministry.

The bells of St James’ Church – which was floodlit for the occasion – rang out a welcome and inside the outdoor centre were 90 people representing the rural part of the diocese.

A former country vicar, Dr Runcie was welcomed by the Rev John Dalby, who had charge of four local parishes, and churchwardens John Farrer and Peter Lowis.

He looked around various exhibits depicting life in a rural deanery, presented by the churches, schools and community organisations.

Five children from Clapham School – Laura Holliday, Sam Roberts, Henry Strong, Esther Coates and Cara Pearce – presented him with a book of work from all the pupils.

And, to mark the local Food and Farming Festival, Austwick School’s Johnathan Cowperthwaite, Gary Robinson, Rachel Pettiford, Eleanor Morton and Tracey Rogers gave him gifts of savoury jellies, made at the school, and a local sheep’s milk cheese.

Dr Runcie also received two books – one from the Archdeacon of Craven, the Ven Brian Smith, on behalf of the archdeaconry, and the other from Mr Dalby on behalf of the parishes of Clapham, Austwick, Eldroth and Keasden.

In return the archbishop presented a Wedgwood plate of Lambeth Palace to Jean Greenway, of Ingleborough Hall, and a stained glass window ornament to Mr Dalby.

Speaking to the Herald afterwards, Mr Dalby said it was marvellous and the children were thrilled to bits. "It was nice that the local schools could show the work they had done for the Food and Farming Festival," he added.

And diocesan communications officer the Rev Rob Marshall said everything had gone well and the delayed arrival hadn’t seem to affect things.

“The archbishop was very impressed with people’s commitment to their community – with the sense of living and learning together – and he was very sorry that he was unable to see the lovely scenery around.”

However Dr Runcie had been given a glimpse of what he was missing through a slide show given by Dr Farrer and he promised to return to see the area in daylight.

Next day, the archbishop learnt about the problems of a city community with a large immigrant population and preached at a packed service in Bradford Cathedral.

He told worshippers that the diocese’s agenda may be large, but issues such as deprivation, theological controversies and ecumenism had to be tackled with energy, vision and urgency.

“Handle all things well and we shall bring light to the world and light to those who live in this banana-shaped diocese. Handle them badly and we may steer ourselves into some ecclesiastical cul-de-sac.”

Bishop Williamson said the visit had been a wonderful success, which had given Dr Runcie a short but valuable insight into the diocese.