100 years ago

THE Liberal Club on Cross Hills Main Street was destroyed by fire. It was locked up at 10.30pm but the following morning a dyer's wagonner noticed smoke billowing from the building. The loss was untimely for the committee, which had been looking for a new building because of its growing membership.

Crude sewage was flowing into the stream at Long Preston from a drain above the railway viaduct. The district inspector of the West Riding River Board had complained about the pollution and ordered that it be investigated. The Sanitary Inspector said the sewage was coming from two or three houses which were not yet connected to the main sewer. He said the pollution would cease as soon as the connection was made.

The residents of Sutton decided to install a clock in memory of the late vicar, Rev Canon Wilson, in the tower of the parish church. Rev Wilson had served the parish for 30 years.

50 years ago

CONSERVATIVE candidate Burnaby Drayson was returned to Parliament for his third session as MP for the Skipton Division. It was a success reflected across the country as Winston Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street after the election defeat of Clem Attlee.

The Herald carried a picture of the Queen at York during an inspection of the First Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry of which she was commander-in-chief. Escorting Her Majesty was Skipton's own Lieut-Col J C Preston, commander of the battalion.

A Barnoldswick man who had worked for the same cotton manufacturers for 54 years, finally retired. Seventy-four-year-old JK Askham was given a rocking chair from his friends and employers to mark his retirement from J Widding and Sons Ltd. Mr Askham had supervised the same set of looms he started with 50 years before. He had started in the trade aged 10.

25 years ago

WORKERS at the Rolls-Royce factory in Barnoldswick were urged to write letters to their MPs calling for a halt in cut backs in the aerospace industry. The main concern was that 6,000 jobs were to be lost over the following year and a factory in Scotland had recently been closed. The feeling was that the gradual run-down of the company would ultimately lead to Rolls-Royce losing its title as a world force in aircraft engineering.

Glusburn Parish Council announced that it might not have enough money to last until the end of the financial year. Clerk Alan Markham said if spending went ahead as planned there would only be a £20 leeway left in the general fund. The reason given for the financial problem was that street lighting improvements on the Keighley to Colne Road had cost more than expected. The council had set aside £4,500 but they had cost about £5,500.

10 years ago

THE Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont was in Skipton to open Skipton Building Society's new headquarters at The Bailey. He claimed the economy was on the mend and should continue to improve towards the end of the year. Mr Lamont was met by senior members of staff and directors including chief executive John Goodfellow. He officially declared the building open by cutting a ribbon and enjoyed a tour of the new premises.

Fingers were crossed that the sale and development of the derelict Earby Victoria Mill site would finally go ahead. The large run down site had blighted Earby for the past five years. Developers had announced that the mill would be transformed into housing, a beckside walk and small retail unit. Ten years on the residential side has been completed but the retail section has never been occupied.

Local councillors claimed taxi drivers in Skipton were causing chaos by parking in the town's bus station instead of keeping to the nearby taxi rank. They had received complaints from bus drivers who said they could not get their vehicles in and out because of the number of taxis taking up space. The taxi drivers said the single file taxi rank was inadequate and that if they received a call whilst waiting in the middle of the queue they could not respond. Craven District Council said it would investigate improving the rank.