100 years ago

THE threat of eviction isn't normally a cause for merriment - but perhaps a century ago things were different. A family on Farnhill Moor was determined to stand firm when threatened with eviction from its "old fashioned, one-storey dwelling." An eviction order had already been met with a stout refusal but when the family returned to find their furniture in the road, the woman of the house took a new course of action. She remained outside, said the Herald, and a "social evening" was spent in the road while her brother sought legal advice in Keighley.

In the meantime a large crowd gathered and, at the woman's suggestion, someone came forward with the harmonium and performed Home Sweet Home! A good deal of merriment and drinking prevailed until the brother returned and the family then invited bystanders to help move the furniture back inside. The case would end up in the courts, predicted the Herald.

Kettlewell finally obtained a clock for its church tower. Every villager had contributed towards the timepiece, which was bought from Messrs Potts & Sons, of Leeds.

50 years ago

THE future of Skipton Gala was assured, reported the Herald. However the organisers, Skipton and District Hospital Committee, decided to change their name to the Skipton and District Charities Gala Committee in readiness for when the hospital was taken over by the state in July. The new title would allow the group a wider discretion in the allocation of the money raised, members agreed.

Meanwhile, the last annual report of the Skipton and District Hospital as a voluntary institution reflected its increasing work and usefulness. The report remarked upon the continuing development of consultants' services and the appointment of a house surgeon.

25 years ago

A 60-FEET long canal barge laden with coal made the journey from Bingley to Skipton to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. It recreated the scenes of 1773, right down to a horse pulling the barge on the last section of the journey. Hundreds of people gathered at the canal basin to witness the scenes. When the canal first opened, a Leeds newspaper reported that all the church bells in the town were rung, bonfires were lit and there were scenes of great joy - principally because the price of coal and other goods would fall with the new transport.

One note of irony. The barge was owned by a Shipley firm which had purchased four to transport cotton, wool and timber between Skipton and Leeds. The owner, a Mr John Cheetham, explained that it was far more economical than using road transport. Alas, his hopes appear to have been dashed for, as far as we are aware, there is no such thing as canal freight in Craven these days.

The first betting shop in Ingleton was to open after planners dismissed a petition from local church groups because it gave no reason in law why it should not proceed. Malcolm John Bennett was given a licence to operate from 1 The Square.

Under a health service review there was talk of building a new, if small, hospital in Settle with around 50 beds for elderly patients and those continuing treatment after leaving Airedale. But locals were more in favour of extending Harden Bridge.

10 years ago

IT was the end of an era as the last Craven Herald to be printed in Skipton rolled off the old (Victorian actually) presses. While all the newsgathering and assembly of the pages were to continue from our High Street office, in future the modern facilities of the Telegraph and Argus would be used to publish the paper. Editor Jack Heald mourned the passing of the old ways but said it was inevitable that the paper had to change with the times. Advertisers and readers were dissatisfied with the "black blobs" which passed for photographs on a press which had been built for the Yorkshire Post in 1900 and which had been bought by the Herald in the 1930s.

Ten years on and again the Herald is facing a major step forward in its production. Over the summer Newsquest, owners of the Craven Herald, are investing £2 million in a major press upgrade which will further improve the quality of the Craven Herald. Chief benefit for readers and advertisers will be a greatly expanded colour facility which will enable more colour pages in the paper. On top of a major refurbishment of our High Street offices, the Herald is looking forward to the future with some confidence.

That last edition of the paper featured a picture of a partly demolished Embsay Village Hall. It was being replaced by a new purpose-built hall at a cost of £130,000.

Identical twins who lived three doors away from each other in Barnoldswick both died of natural causes on the same day. The two widows were born, married and died on the same day. Both were found by their nephew, who after discovering one of his aunts had died, had gone round to the other to inform her of the sad news.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.