OTLEY is to hold a series of events to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Thomas Chippendale.

The tercentenary of the renowned cabinet maker and furniture designer, the town's most famous son, takes place in 2018.

A special committee - including members of the Town Council, Town Partnership, Otley BID, Otley Pub Club and the Courthouse - has been put together to ensure the occasion is marked in style.

Part of the Chippendale Society's Chippendale 300 initiative, the committee has plans for everything from a giant birthday party to themed walking trails and the brewing of a special beer, the Chippend'Ale.

Talks by Chippendale experts at the Courthouse, a poem by Otley Town Poet Matthew Hedley Stoppard and an Antiques Roadshow-style attraction and antiques fair are also in the pipeline.

Although he achieved fame after leaving Otley for London in his early twenties, Chippendale was born in the town in June, 1718 - and baptised in All Saints Parish Church on June 5.

Lawrence Ross of Visit Otley and Otley Town Partnership, who is chairing the local 300th anniversary organising committee, said: "Thomas Chippendale may have found his fortune elsewhere, but his early life was shaped here in the shadow of Otley Chevin and the skills that later helped him become such a renowned figure were honed in and around Otley.

"We think it is only right that we make the 300th anniversary of his birth a celebration to remember."

It is believed that Chippendale learned many of the skills that would serve him so well while working with his father, joiner John.

Some scholars suggest the pair even worked together on Farnley Hall, the stately home outside Otley that is owned by the Horton-Fawkes family.

Key 'Chippendale spots' in Otley itself include the Parish Church, where he was christened, and the corner of Boroughgate and Wesley Street where the cottage he was born in once stood.

The Chippendale Tea Rooms on Bondgate, meanwhile, are where the young Thomas lived with his uncle Joseph.

And The Old Grammar School on Clapgate - now the Stew & Oyster - is where he went to school and the location of a statue and plaque in his honour.

Otley residents who have further ideas for how the town should celebrate his 300th anniversary, or who would like to help coordinate events, should send an e-mail to Lawrence at admin@visitotley.co.uk .