From the archives (From Craven Herald)

From the archives

2:54pm Thursday 10th May 2012 in Pick of the Past

100 years ago

The announcement that the King would pay his accustomed visit to Bolton Abbey as the guest of His Grace, the Duke of Devonshire for the grouse shooting season created the liveliest of satisfaction in the neighbourhood.

The Cross Hills Naturalists held their second ramble of the season. The ramble was from Skipton to Draughton by the old coach road.

50 years ago

A professor from Stockholm spent three days classifying the remains of bears and cave lions at the Settle Pigyard Club’s Museum. It was the first time a detailed report had been done on the remains.

A decision was made to close Wigglesworth Church of England school by the end of the year.

Staff, visitors and patients at hospitals in Skipton and Settle were to be asked to refrain from wearing stiletto heeled shoes.

25 years ago

Grassington man Alec Stubbs won two major awards at the North of England Horticultural Society’s spring show, which was held at Harrogate. He was awarded a silver medal for his alpines and primroses and the Joint Rock Garden Plant Committee Trophy. Mr Stubbs was a partner in Grassington’s Wharfedale Nurseries.

Conistone and Kilnsey residents launched a rescue mission – to save roadside plants from destruction. They were concerned about the verge outside the village hall, which was due to be dug up for a road widening scheme and which was home to a number of plants including spring cowslips. The residents enlisted the help of the Manpower Services Commission and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to move the plants to the village green.

Craven District Council voted 18-11 to support the principle of employing a tourism officer. It also agreed to negotiate with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Richmondshire Council on a joint tourism approach for the Dales. But the move was not backed by several senior councillors. Coun Peter Willey said Skipton was already jam-packed and the money would be better spent on creating “real” jobs, and Coun John Tosney said the influx of tourists and daytrippers had reached saturation point.

10 years ago

A veteran Rolls-Royce came home to Craven after more than 20 years in the United States. The 1931 coupé was now in the possession of retired airline director Richard Crabtree who, as a boy in the 1940s, was driven about in the car by his mill-owning grandfather Joseph King, who lived in Thorlby. He ran it for 25 years until 1956 when it was bought by an American, who restored it and shipped it to Maryland. After retiring, Richard tracked down the car through the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club and bought it back. “It was almost a case of money was no object,” he said.

Skipton held its first waterways festival for 40 years. It proved such a success that it was set to become an annual event. The revived festival was organised by British Waterways and attracted more than 100 boats and crowds of curious landlubbers.

North Yorkshire’s longest-serving fireman, Settle-based Michael Douglas, retired after 36 years. During his career, he had tackled a number of major fires, including ones at Woolworths in Skipton, Angus’s at Bentham and Roberts Paper Mill at Langcliffe. He said he would be sorry to leave the brigade and would miss the companionship of fellow firefighters.