100 years ago

AN insight into the workings of Skipton's fire brigade was revealed in an article praising their efficiency dealing with a fire at the Patent Window Company on Broughton Road. The siren was apparently heard in Rylstone as the men ran from all over town to the fire station (then on Coach Street, where Craven College's Hair and Beauty Salon is situated today). Horses had to be brought from stables some 400 yards away yet within six minutes they were yoked, the engine brought out and the equipment laden. Large crowds would also turn out upon hearing the siren and the directors of the company were so pleased with their work that they gave a gratuity to each man in tribute - something "absolutely unique" in the fire brigade's history.

Regular readers will know that Embsay had the reputation for tragic events and the latest was recorded. A blind woman, Jane Parkinson, living in the vicinity of the Elm Tree pub, was left in her house as her husband and daughter left to work in the mill. She was cooking meat in a pot when the fat caught fire. Neighbours were alerted by her screams and when they arrived her clothes were on fire. She was badly burnt and died the next day in the hospital. An inquest returned a verdict of suicide. The coroner ordered one absent juror to pay five shillings to the dead woman's husband.

A special train left Skipton for Harrogate to cheer the rugby team on in its defence of the Yorkshire Cup. Alas Skipton had a man sent off and were beaten 6-0.

Roadworks at Kilnsey were taking out two sharp bends and removing a nasty hill near the river at Chapel House.

50 years ago

THE whole of Skipton Castle and its estate was to be sold to pay off death duties. The family of the castle owner, the second Lord Hothfield, of Appleby Castle, Westmorland, who had died in December 1952, announced it was selling the castle, its 5-6,000 acres and 20 farms to meet the tax on his estate. There was considerable speculation that Skipton would follow the example set by Clitheroe, where the local council had bought the castle and its estate for the benefit of the townspeople.

A special ceremony was held to mark the building of the 1,000th council house by Skipton Urban Council. The ceremony was at the house, 81 Western Road, as the new tenants, Mr and Mrs EF Wilkinson were handed the keys. They had previously lived in Star Inn Yard and had been on the council waiting list for two years.

A Skipton pilot was commended by the Royal Air Force for successfully landing a burning aircraft at Portsmouth airport. Flight Lieutenant WV Smythe was flying the plane from Sussex to Lee-On-Solent when the port engine burst into flames. The source of the fire was traced to a fracture in a fuel pipe. Although the port wing suffered extensive damage and the engine was completely burnt out, Flight Lieutenant Smythe and the three other crew members on board the aircraft were unhurt.

At Skipton County Court, an Earby man was alleged to have sold a piano to a blind woman for eight pounds, claiming it only needed a bit of tuning and a repair to the football pedal. After it was delivered, a piano tuner examined it and said it was beyond repair. Mrs Irene Smith, of Barrowford, claimed £9 and 5 shillings as damages for misrepresentation.

25 years ago

Hundreds of people visited the new £160,000 surgery suite in Earby after it was opened by the oldest patient on the books of Earby doctors. Arthur Hanson, 96, of Heber Drive, East Marton, was a farmer and cattle dealer and he was still as fit as a fiddle. A man of few words, he did not say a thing throughout the opening ceremony, but simply cut the ribbon. The new suite had cost a lot more than anticipated and the doctors had to agree to part finance the repayment of the overdraft themselves.

10 years ago

A TEENAGER had to swim to safety after his car spun off the road and into a canal. Edward Randell, 17, of Bradley, emerged dazed but thankfully unhurt. The accident happened as he was driving along the A65 Skipton to Gargrave road at 11.25pm. He lost control of his car and it ploughed straight through a drystone wall, skidded across a field, and plunged into the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. He was taken to Airedale Hospital in Steeton for a check up, but he was not detained.

Ex-Supertramp star John Helliwell gave up his mansion in Los Angeles and swapped it for a rather more sedate life in North Craven. In the 1970s Supertramp had sold millions of records with albums such as Breakfast in America. However Mr Helliwell said he wanted to play more jazz.

Twenty-two sheep found themselves with a week's detention at Ingleton Middle School after the headmistress, Mary Parker, impounded the woolly creatures. The wandering flock had meandered into town during bad weather, preferring the grass of the school field to the wild common. If the sheep were not claimed within 14 days the school was told it could sell them at market and use the proceeds to repair the school field.