IT was a true weekend to remember in Chapel-le-Dale this bank holiday as 100 past pupils recalled their schooldays in the village.

St Leonard's Church was filled with memorabilia from the tiny school, discovered abandoned in a box by Rev Tim Ashworth in 1998.

Old records and photographs record the children who spent their formative years at Chapel-le-Dale over a century ago. Other records detail the punishments handed out in the Corporal Punishment Book for offences such as disobedience, bullying or "going on the road"!

Dating back to 1862, the school attracted over 40 pupils in its heyday, many walking miles across the moorland for their lessons. It closed in 1973 as numbers fell.

The last headteacher, Eva Parsons, travelled from Grantham, Lincolnshire, for the exhibition and met many of her ex-pupils.

Local historian Gerald Tyler said: "The exhibition was jam-packed, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I think it captured people's interest in the local history of the area and the school.

"There was a lot of reminiscing. Many old friends met up again and we were able to get a lot of help identifying the names on some of the photographs. One lady came from Newcastle and others travelled from areas such as Accrington and Kendal."

Many former pupils brought with them more old photographs, one featuring the first head of Chapel-le-Dale School, John Kilburn, taken around 1870.

Mr Tyler also launched his book "A School Bell Rings in the Dale" chronicling the history of the dale and the school. The book has been enhanced by the personal recollections of old scholars and friends and around 200 copies were sold raising funds for the Friends of St Leonard's Church.

During the weekend a plaque was unveiled in the churchyard in memory of the navvies and their families who lost their lives during the construction of the Settle-Carlisle railway.

An estimated 200 people are buried in Chapel-le-Dale churchyard having lost their lives during accidents on the railway or through the smallpox epidemic which devastated the shanty towns at Ribblehead.

The plaque was unveiled following a special service conducted by Rev Ashworth and the Rt Rev Ian Harland, former Bishop of Carlisle, and featuring Settle and Giggleswick Brass Band.

The weekend concluded with a nostalgic supper at the Old School house for past scholars, family and friends, with demand for tickets almost exceeding supply.

Mr Tyler said: "The good ladies of Chapel-le-Dale have worked incredibly hard and a tremendous amount of work was done by them. They did a fantastic job."

The school records will now be handed over to North Yorkshire archives department for permanent safekeeping.