100 years ago

A deputation of parents attended an education meeting in Barnoldswick to protest against plans to introduce a byelaw that children must pass the seventh standard at 14 years old before they could leave school.

Dr Dow was making his way through Bentham on his motorcycle in a snowstorm when he ran into a horse and cart coming the other way. The doctor escaped with a slight bruise on his knee, and the horse and cart were none the worse for the collision.

During the keen frost, skating was indulged in at the sewage farm at Foulridge. Many journeyed there to enjoy the pastime.

50 years ago

Skipton Urban District Council agreed to a grant of 6d per meal towards the cost of a meals on wheels service in Gargrave. The council was told that there were 14 people in the village eligible for the service.

The year had been satisfactory for the Skipton textile industry, with sufficient orders in hand for a comfortable time ahead. Evening shifts started by firms several months previously were still taking place.

Skipton consultant Dr Ian Stewart wrote in the British Medical Journal on the importance of crash helmets and safety straps.

25 years ago

Ambitious plans for a luxury 60-bedroom hotel, with leisure centre, at Snaygill were revealed. Thomas and Ombra Randell – who already ran Pennine Cruisers and Gateway Holiday Properties – wanted to extend their business empire. If approved, the hotel would create 100 jobs. Mr Randell said: “Skipton is slowly awakening to its importance as a tourism centre and the hotel will offer excellent accommodation with additional facilities such as a leisure centre and a choice of restaurants.”

Craven District Council had a new planning chief. Stanley Briggs had stepped into the post at a time when the authority was dealing with more major applications than at any time since it had come into existence in 1974. “It is a challenge and an opportunity,” said Mr Briggs, who had been with the council since its formation. He was previously deputy chief planning officer.

Sacked Silentnight strikers at Barnoldswick and Sutton-in-Craven called off their 20-month strike because they were “not making progress to winning back their jobs”. More than 60 strikers met and voted to end the longest-running dispute in the country. The Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union had withdrawn its support for the strike before Christmas.

10 years ago

A buyer was being sought to save 250 jobs at a Steeton call centre. IMS Response had gone into administration, unable to generate sufficient profits to cover its investment in a fixed line telephone network and new building systems. It had doubled its workforce four months previously.

Craven was again hit by floods, with some residents on red alert. A Cononley farmer lost 50 sheep, Linton was cut off from the main Grassington road by three feet of water, and firefighters were called out to nine flooded premises between Starbotton and Kildwick. Burnsall was turned into a lake, Carleton’s roads were impassable and underground drains burst at Cracoe, damaging the road surface. Dorothy Carthy, of Kelbrook, who had been monitoring rainfall since the 1960s, said a record-breaking 3.13 inches of rain had fallen in 24 hours.

Health watchdogs called for an independent inquiry into mental health provision at Airedale Hospital, Steeton. Airedale Community Health Council made the call after several serious incidents involving patients on mental health wards. These included one patient setting fire to himself and four being killed on the nearby railway line. CHC chairman Peter Putwain said there was something seriously wrong.