QUITE a few of the pastimes of our forebears seem quaint, if not unfathomable, from the perspective of the 21st century - with the original purpose of last week’s Craven Curiosity, pictured below, being a case in point.

Several readers pointed out that it could be seen outside the Yorkshire Bank on Skipton’s High Street setts, and Dean Pompey correctly said that it was for tethering a bull.

As the nearby plaque makes clear, it was actually used for bull-baiting, seen as a ‘sport’ until under 200 years ago.

The baiting of bulls - and bears - in Britain is thought to have started around the middle of the 16th century, and became fairly common in provincial towns.

The bull was tethered so that it could move to a radius of 20-30 feet and was then set about by dogs who would attempt to immobilise it.

Before the event started, the bull’s nose was often blown full of pepper to enrage the animal. It was also commonly believed that baiting made the bull’s flesh tender when it eventually came to be eaten. By the early 19th century, the sport began to die out, both because the baiting caused a public nuisance and because of growing concerns about animal cruelty.

A bill for its suppression was introduced into the House of Commons in 1802, but was defeated, and it was not until Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835, that the practice was finally discontinued.

The Act forbade “the keeping of any house, pit, or other place for baiting or fighting any bull, bear, dog, or other animal.”

This week’s Craven Curiosity, pictured top, was spotted by a colleague while out walking. Its function would seem to be fairly obvious, but does anyone know how old the object might be or anything else about it?

Send your suggestions to: news@cravenherald.co.uk by 8am on Monday.