100 years ago

THE annual parish meeting at Embsay was a fiasco said the Herald. It explained that there were two schools in the village, one Church of England and the other used mostly by Nonconformists although there were other denominations. But the Skipton Education Committee considered that the community could not support two schools and recommended that they should merge but the Church of England school objected to the transfer of pupils from the other school.The education committee asked for the matter to be discussed at the parish's annual meeting but, despite a large attendance, no-one rose to discuss any matter and the chairman declared the meeting closed. The non-decision caused great excitement in the village and no-one knew what would happen next.

Skipton Rugby Club was wretchedly patronised by the town said the Herald. Although the holders of the Yorkshire Cup, they would have much bigger gates if they were professionals and the treasurer had the melancholy duty to report an increased deficit at the year end. The same problem faced the Skipton cricket club. It had expenditure of £160 but only £22 had been taken in admission receipts.

At Settle's annual parish meeting, a tradesman wanted to know why his colleagues had to pay five shillings a year for water for each of his horses but doctors and gentlemen paid nothing. The reply was that the doctor and others had their stables included in their rates, and it was not fair to charge them twice.

50 years ago

THE Dales Fox Fund, set up in 1942 to combat the menace of foxes in the upper Dales, celebrated its destruction of its 2,000th fox at the annual dinner at the Buck Hotel, Buckden. The fund operated by paying a 10 shilling bounty on every fox tail within a radius of 10 miles of Hubberholme.

Owners of pet and show rabbits were advised to have their animals inoculated against myxomatosis or cover their hutches with buttered muslin.

Discussions affecting the future of two Skipton pubs, the Royal Shepherd and the Cross Keys were being held. Both pubs were in slum clearance areas. At the Royal Shepherd there was talk of demolishing Watson's Houses and extending the pub.

Stage and film actress Muriel Aked died at her home in Ingfield Avenue, Settle. Her biggest role was as Queen Victoria in the film 'Mr Gilbert and Mr Sullivan'. She had also featured in films starring Robert Morley, Rob Wilton, Max Miller and, most famously, as Sandy Powell's mother in the film 'Can You Hear Me Mother'. Brought up in Settle she had gone from Settle Amateurs to roles in the West End.

25 years ago

THE Craven Herald editor Ian Plant died in the murky waters of a Dales cave as he tried to discover a link between two potholes.

Mr Plant, who was only 31 and lived in Settle with his wife and two-year-old-daughter, was one of a party of 12 trying to find a link between Bull Pot and the Witches and Aygill Caverns, 400 yards across Leck Fell, near Kirkby Lonsdale. For years it had been known that water which disappeared into the floor of Aygill surfaced again in Bull Pot. Mr Plant went down the cave system with a radio but contact was lost and his fellow divers realised something was wrong. A major rescue operation was launched and it was hoped Mr Plant had found an air pocket but his body was recovered the following day.

Tributes poured in to Mr Plant, who was the youngest ever editor of the Craven Herald, appointed to the post just five years previously after the death of his predecessor, Reg Waterhouse. Rescuers acted as pallbearers at his funeral.

An increase in traffic levels would destroy the last vestiges of rural life in Cross Hills and Glusburn, warned the parish council chairman at the Aire Valley road inquiry. The parish council supported the construction of the road providing a Cross Hills link road was not constructed. Such a road, from Kildwick to Eastburn bridge, would encourage the use of the A6068 through Cross Hills to East Lancashire.

10 years ago

MODERN life finally caught up with churchgoers in Malham. For 200 years the Methodist church had held services on Sunday afternoon to fit in with farmers' needs. But the services were to switch to 9.30am to cater for the congregation, most of which had no farming connection.

David Curry MP cut the first sod on the construction of the Greatwood and Horse Close Community Centre.

Barnoldswick's Rob Rimmer became an Irish rugby international when he played for the Ireland rugby league team against the USA in Washington DC. The Irish ran out 24-22 winners and the American media dubbed the big prop 'Big Red' due to the colour of his hair.