100 years ago

THE Vicar of Giggleswick, Rev Theodore P Brocklehurst, was unhappy with clothing worn by Settle workhouse inmates on the Sabbath. He wrote to the Board of Guardians asking them to provide garments "woven of ye honest, Craven wool of Yorkshire called cloth, rather than of ye cotton stuff of Lancashire known as corduroy". This "little luxury" would cost only £2 or £3, he said, and might even encourage inmates to attend church in favour of other attractions.

Meanwhile, the workhouse was to be connected to the telephone system. The annual charge would be £3 10s with a 1d charge for each local call and 6d for a call on the trunk line.

A woman who attempted suicide by jumping in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal appeared before local magistrates. Two police officers dragged her from the water after hearing her screams. She told the court she had been driven to suicide by her husband, and was let off without punishment after promising not to do such a thing again. Her husband was told to look after his wife better.

50 years ago

A RARE find was made in a pothole near Grassington when members of the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association discovered the skeleton of a brown bear, complete in almost every detail. The skeleton was believed to date back to between 3000 and 5000 BC and was said to be only the third bear of its kind found in the country. The experts declared that the area where it was found was known as a den for bears. It was thought it could have been carried into the pothole by a larger animal, or by ancient tribes. Once the skeleton had been reassembled, it was to be given to the Grassington Field Society.

Meanwhile the Fell Rescue Association, formed two years before, was moving to a new HQ. The group had formerly been based at Grassington Police Station but members had renovated an old railway van in which their equipment would be stored at Station Yard.

The keys for Skipton's 200th post-war-built house were handed over to a couple who had been on the housing list for four years. The keys were presented by the retiring chairman of Skipton Urban District Council, Col F Longden Smith.

25 years ago

PLANS for an estate of 60 houses at Carleton could provide the slums of the future, as well as putting a burden on the school, water and gas supplies, the annual parish meeting was told. Outline planning permission had been granted for the new homes, planned for a six-acre demolition site on West Road. Carleton Parish Council was objecting to the density and style of the new homes, but the developers had indicated they may change the type of houses from terraced to semis.

Protests were raised over the proposed demolition of the Drill Hall in Skipton's Otley Street. The Department of the Environment was in favour of knocking down the building, following comments that it was prone to vandalism, a fire hazard and beyond economical repair. But local people said it would lead to the loss of a structurally-sound building when the town was badly in need of a letable hall.

Bentham firm Angus Fire celebrated winning the Queen's Award in Industry for exports with a buffet lunch attended by local dignitaries.

10 years ago

THE mysterious disappearance of a 66-foot maypole brought the press flocking to Burnsall. The maypole had been put in place ready for the May Day celebrations, but villagers awoke to find it missing. Coincidentally, a maypole mysteriously appeared in neighbouring Thorpe overnight, concreted in place and flying the Union Jack. There was a clue in the parish magazine, however, which quoted an article published in the Craven Herald on May 9 1874. The story told of a maypole taken from Burnsall in the dead of night by merry cobblers from Thorpe. Following an encounter between residents of the two villages the maypole was returned to Burnsall in triumph.

A service of thanksgiving was held to celebrate 75 years of cub scouting in Craven. Members joined in a parade through Skipton led by Kildwick and Farnhill Brass Band, followed by a service.

A planning application unveiled details of the £10 million re-development of Skipton's Coach Street area. Called Millfields, it was designed as an extension to the town's attractions, drawing visitors away from the High Street. The plans included a decked public car park, shops, offices, houses, a medical centre, cafes, restaurants, a canal-side pavilion and possibly an art gallery and museum. None of it, save the medical centre, came to fruitition, which seems to be the story of Skipton.

"Dirty, untidy and boring" was how Skipton's Aireville Swimming Pool as described to a local councillor. Craven District Council was discussing putting the management of the pool out to tender and Coun Paul Whitaker said it would be a step in the right direction.