100 years ago

Hellifield and the surrounding district was looking forward to getting a gas supply for the coming winter. The Hellifield and District Gas Company had been registered, with a capital of £7,000 in £1 shares to manufacture, sell and supply gas for light, heat and motive power.

A Salterforth worker made a plucky rescue when a young boy fell into the Leeds to Liverpool canal. Despite being unable to swim, Henry Watson, who worked in offices nearby, jumped into the water and brought the boy to safety.

There was a grand re-opening for the newly restored Kildwick Church. Choirs from Carleton, Cononley, Cowling, Skipton Parish and Skipton Christ Churches, plus Sutton, Bradford and Gargrave converged for the celebration. The restoration had been extensive and taken two-and-a-half years to complete, costing £4,200. The date of the earlier church buildings went back to the reign of Henry VIII.

A brass band competition was due to be held in Elslack in which many local bands were taking part.

50 years ago

Considerable flooding was reported in Ash Street and elsewhere in the parish of Glusburn. From Whit Monday onwards Ash Street had been flooded five times, said the Herald. Three years before it was flooded 15 times in one summer. One man reported a manhole being lifted four feet by the water.

A £100 reward was offered for information leading to the recovery of £2,000 worth of cigarettes and tobacco stolen from a warehouse in Skipton.

Meanwhile a cheeky thief entered a home in Eastburn, stole cash and goods - and sampled a sponge cake. They must have taken a dislike to it, however, because they left the cake and stole apples and oranges instead.

An application was submitted to transform Short Bank Hotel in Skipton - which was used as accommodation for Land Girls during the war - into housing.

25 years ago

THE film "Yanks" was being shot at locations in Steeton and Keighley and one of its stars, Chick Vennera, visited local cadets of the Keighley Air Training Corps. The film starred Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave.

Skipton businessman Philip Atack was chosen to lead a British trade delegation to the Middle East. The eight-man mission was to spend two weeks selling British furniture to Arabs in Saudi Arabia.

A trip abroad for local school pupils was under threat following new EEC regulations which meant all vehicles carrying 10 passengers or more on the continent had to install tachographs. Pupils at Aireville School in Skipton and South Craven, Cross Hills, had planned a French adventure trip using the Skipton Youth Centre's minibus, but it did not conform to the standards which were introduced three weeks before the planned journey.

The curiosity of Wakes Weeks holidays in Barnoldswick was featured in a lengthy article in the prestigious American newspaper The New York Times. Concentrating mainly on Burnley, American journalist Robert D. Hershey Jnr wrote that since workers were not paid during the holiday, at one time it was considered a lock-out.

Remnants of a Craven Herald, dated 1877, were found while work on the demolition of North Street Baptist Church, Barnoldswick, was in progress.

10 years ago

A GIGGLESWICK man was attempting to undertake the Three Peaks challenge twice in one day as a charity fundraiser. Twenty-four year old Gareth Evans took on the 52-mile trek to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Plans for a £7.7 million road improvement scheme for the A629 were revealed - but failed to win support from local residents. The plans were for a dual carriageway with a southbound slip road linking it to Bradley's Ings Lane. The scheme aimed to cut the number of accidents at the bends near the junction with Cononley and Farnhill. Another scheme is currently under consultation.

The Craven Rural Help Initiative was launched to help suicidal farmers. It was found that farmers were twice as likely to commit suicide than the average member of public. The initiative involved the Samaritans, Citizen's Advice Bureau, Bradford Diocese and Relate.

The first man to be appointed onto the staff at Skipton Girls' High School retired. Chris Wilkinson had been head of chemistry since 1959.