CLAPHAM Garage will close down today after 84 years meeting the needs of North Craven's motorists.

The garage is owned by HL Gorner, dealers in Mercedes Benz and Daihatsu vehicles, but has fallen victim to Mercedes Benz centralisation policy.

Mercedes Benz manufacturer Daimler Chrysler is axing dealerships across the UK in favour of larger Mercedes centres in major cities. The whole franchise is being split between two large vehicle traders - Pendragon Plc and Bramall Motor Group.

The garage closes with 15 employees on the books, all of whom are entitled to transfer to the incoming dealer in Preston.

Susan Gorner, human resources director for HL Gorner, said: "It's all very sad. It's the end of an era."

The future of the site has yet to be decided, although local speculation favours it being developed for housing, and this seems the most likely.

Mrs Gorner said: "The site is very likely going to be sold. Nothing has been finalised yet."

Stuart Davidson, marketing manager for the H L Gorner group commented: "The closure of both the Dalesview and H L Gorner dealerships at Clapham is very sad for everybody concerned.

"Our longest serving member of staff has been here for 43 years.

"It's inevitable that everyone is upset as both garages employ local people and have been a key part of the local economy and the business success of H L Gorner.

"Despite our best efforts no other potential alternative business opportunity has proved viable for the site. We would just like to thank all those customers who lobbied Daimler Chrylser to retain the garage here at Clapham and thank everyone for their custom over the years."

Service manager Brian Price says goodbye to a complete way of life when the garage closes.

For Brian, 57, of Clapham Station, manned the petrol pumps as a youngster before being taken on at the age of 15 as an apprentice. Forty-three years later he has been offered a job at Bramall's Mercedes garage in Preston, but will probably take redundancy.

"It has certainly changed a lot since I first started here when Simmy Hartley owned it.

"It was Austin and Morris then and it was an old wooden hanger," said Mr Price.

The wooden structure burned down in the late Sixties - quite an event as the then main road ran past the door - and was rebuilt as a more permanent structure.

Mr Price recalled that Clapham was already a Mercedes-Benz service agent when the fire occurred, as a Mercedes vehicle was lost in the blaze. In the early Eighties a body shop was opened over the road and the building became the centre for Daihatsu and Kia sales.

"It has been good working here. I had hoped to have seen out my working days here," said Mr Price.

Clapham Garage was originally built by the agent for the Ingleborough estate, Claude Barton, who lived at Hall Garth in the village.

Mr Barton was something of a motoring pioneer in Craven. One of the barns on the estate had a pit and he used it to repair cars for people in his spare time.

After the First World War there was talk of the nationalisation of land and Mr Barton, fearing for his future, turned to his hobby for inspiration. He obtained permission from estate owner Jamie Farrer to build a garage and started his own business, explained Mr Barton's daughter, Giggleswick resident Joan Dutton.

The story goes that Mr Barton built the garage when the Farrers were away on holiday. On their return they were so shocked at the scale of the garage, visible from their Ingleborough hall home, that they insisted a line of trees be planted to shield the eyesore!

Mr Barton employed someone to run the garage for him and continued his job running the estate. However, he visited the garage every day for afternoon tea at 4.30pm, staying until around 7pm.

The business was one of the first commercial garages in Craven and Mr Barton also established a taxi service linking Clapham station with the village. Cars were sold as well as maintained, fixed and filled with fuel.

Back then there was no Clapham bypass and all the traffic passed through the village.

"They used to have a policeman or AA scout on the corner by the New Inn waving people through. There was one everyone called "Dead Slow North" because he made everyone slow right down. Even so, a few ended up in the stream," recalled Mrs Dutton.

A Hillman was used as a breakdown truck and was sent with a load of wheel chains to Buckhaw Brow whenever it snowed.

Mr and Mrs Barton were also pioneers of caravanning, and the garage had caravans to hire or buy.

The working day started at 8am and could finish as late as 7.30pm. Men were sometimes summoned during the night and they took it in turns to work on Sundays.

In the 1940s Mr Barton sold the garage to the Lamb family and it later passed to ES "Simmy" Hartley, who sold to Gorners in 1986.

Former Dalesman editor Bill Mitchell wrote about the garage in the magazine, interviewing employee Bert Cross. "They used to hand pump the petrol into cars and on one occasion a big car drew up. Bert had to say 'excuse me Sir, do you mind cutting your engine, you are gaining on me!' The car was burning the fuel faster than Bert could fill it," recalled Mr Mitchell.