Craven through the years

SHORT-shrift was given by local farmers to a suggestion to amalgamate the agricultural societies of Bingley, Keighley and Craven and hold an annual show in each place in turn. It was felt that this would destroy all local interest in the show and this would mean ruin.

There was an outbreak of diphtheria in Silsden. Concern had been raised about a 'midden' from which liquid was percolating into the yard at Aireview Infants' School and this was suspected to be the cause. At the time of publication there had been 16 cases from 12 houses.

A furniture workshop and warehouse in Skipton was destroyed by fire. The fire on Newmarket Street had obtained a serious hold of the three-storey building which became "one mass of flame". The building was left intact after the fire but the floors and stock were utterly destroyed - the source of the fire was beyond trace.

50 years ago

THE Settle area was hit by the worst floods in memory as the Ribble burst its banks. Houses were flooded on Sandholme Drive and the wooden Locks footbridge linking Stainforth and Langcliffe was swept away by the torrent. Robert Cox, a resident of Bridge End, had lived in the house for 40 years but had never seen anything approaching the flood levels and there were trout swimming in his flooded cellar.

Large numbers of dead sheep were spotted in the river but there was a lucky escape for pigs kept in Kingsmill Yard. Rescuers got to them just in time as they were left with just their snouts poking above the water.

To make matters worse, there was a lengthy power cut but electricity engineers borrowed a rowing boat constructed by Settle schoolboys Philip Mackley and Peter Simpson to row across flooded fields at Giggleswick to reach a transformer.

Horton-in-Ribblesdale was also badly affected and the main Glasgow to Leeds train was stranded at Helwith Bridge by a flooded track. After four hours it retreated to Ribblehead where the passengers continued their journey by coach.

Malham Show was badly hit by the rain and attendance was well down. A loss of £60 was predicted.

One of the finest collections of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone cascades and roof pendants in Britain was uncovered in Dow Cave, Kettlewell, by members of Craven Pothole Club. The "veritable Fairyland" was found by 22-year-old John Hobson and his next door neighbour Arthur Boston - who was on his first ever potholing trip.

After exploration work the club announced its existence and called it the Miner's Chamber. It was accessed from an existing chamber by a chimney, named Hobson's Choice after the discoverer, who was due to emigrate to New Zealand two weeks later.

Farnhill Parish Council postponed a decision on taking a loan of £335 to pay for more electric lights in the village because only nine ratepayers attended the public meeting to make the decision.

Foundation stones were laid at a new building for Skipton Trinity Methodist Sunday School. The original plan was to build a new chapel and house the Sunday School in the old chapel but the war had intervened and caused a change of plan

25 years ago

THE first jackpot winner of Craven District Council's lottery was former milkman Alan Jones and the then warden of the old people's bungalows on Prince's Drive, Skipton. He purchased a ticket from the special booth outside Skipton Town Hall for 25pence and it won him the first prize of £1,000.

Ted Holmes was to retire as postmaster at Thornton-in-Craven after 25 years. He was moving to a cottage on Cam Lane. Barnoldswick cricketer Graham Whipp had bought the post office.

Horton-in-Ribblesdale parish council objected to plans to construct two outdoor activity centres for adolescents of mixed sexes on opposite sides of the main street. The parish said it was "courting disaster" and that Horton-in-Ribblesdale was already saturated with centres for outdoor activities.

10 years ago

A RARE comma butterfly was spotted in the garden in Grassington of lepidopterist James Birdsall. One of Britain's rarest butterflies, they were mainly found in the south and only four had been recorded in Yorkshire since the war until one descended on Mr Birdsall's buddleia.

Unlucky Robert Hudson, from Malham, suffered disappointment at Kilnsey Show. He had opened a big lead in the fell race but approaching the finish he fell and injured himself. An ambulance took him to hospital where the injury turned out to be a badly sprained ankle. Alfie Atkinson, a 17-year-old, took advantage of his misfortune to become the youngest ever winner of the Kilnsey Fell Race.

Four Lothersdale women said that comments about their weight had been like a red rag to the bull. So, led by sub postmistress Jan Braidley, they were ready to take part in the fell race organised by the village's Young Farmers' Club and were making those who had goaded them into action pay sponsorship.