100 years ago

Skipton folk saw their dream of getting a library in the town fading. There had been no official announcement from the Public Free Library Committee as to the progress of the scheme by which the town would secure £3,000 from Andrew Carnegie. And according to the Herald there was a strong contingent of people who did not even want to accept the "Carnegie millions". They felt that a free library was "useless except for pandering to the craze for sensational novel reading and providing the loungers and idlers with comfortable quarters in which to doze away their useless existence".

Meanwhile Hellifield residents were getting a step nearer towards their new church. They were only £1,000 short of their £3,000 target but this had not been hiccup-free. Church fundraisers had committed the "heinous" crime of using part of the elementary school to store church furniture and had incurred the wrath of the West Riding Education Committee. This did not go down well with church officials especially as the school had been paid for by the church. Their displeasure at the "tone of the county committee's correspondence" was put on record.

Two Ingleton lighting companies commenced battle in the chancery division of the High Court. The case of Ingleton Electric Lighting and Power Company versus the Ingleton Gas Company was heard by Justice Warrington. The plaintiff claimed damages and an injunction after one of the defendant's "servants" damaged one of their cables. The damage occurred after the plaintiff started work to supply Ingleton with power. The work had plunged the village into darkness for a whole night.

50 years ago

SKIPTON Rural District Council had to deal with the thorny question of whether the town had reached saturation point with council houses. Members were being asked to consider whether future building work should be curtailed given the "prevailing financial circumstances". After much debate, the verdict was to defer a decision (some things on the council never change) pending further information.

Thirteen-year-old Christine Ives, of Skipton, met the Queen when she visited the Royal National Institute for the Blind. The youngster, who was a pupil at Chorleywood College, demonstrated how braille music was taught to potential pianists.

Hebden sailor Raymond Bowdin was back home after a goodwill visit to the Russian port of Leningrad. He was an engineer aboard HMS Decoy - one of five ships involved in the visit - and said they had received an enthusiastic welcome. However, the ships had had to be escorted into the port by a Russian gunboat to avoid the numerous mines at large.

25 years ago

HARTLINGTON Hall was on the market - and had a price tag of £67,500. For that, buyers would get an historic four bedroomed house, one-and-a-half acres of garden and a renovated tree-lined drive.

The contents of the Devonshire Arms, Bolton Abbey, went under the hammer. The business had been run by the Hodgson family for many years, but they had decided to retire. The hotel was being refurbished and would in future be run by the Duke of Devonshire's Bolton Abbey Estate. The sale included three grandfather clocks and a Bechstein grand piano and made £60,000.

Twenty-year-old Shauna Davies became the first fully skilled female engineer at Rolls-Royce, Barnoldswick. She passed her final City and Guilds examination with flying colours. Earlier in the year, she had finished third in the male-dominated Skills Olympics.

Geoffrey Watts, a cook at Airedale Hospital, won the Yorkshire Hospital Cooks Competition. His winning dish was a mouthwatering liver pate.

10 years ago

SKIPTON businessman Warren Smith headed a consortium which was hoping to buy first division football club Portsmouth FC. Mr Smith, who ran Chamberlains recruitment agency, said: "I would like to see the club return to its glory days." Portsmouth, which was fighting relegation at the time, was owned by the Gregor family who had yet to react to Mr Smith's bid.

There was new hope for Hayfields Mill at Glusburn. Harden-based Ellison Circlips announced it was moving its operation to the mill and would be creating 100 new jobs over the next few years. "It is a superb site," said chairman Michael Ellison. The building was previously owned by wool producer Sirdar, who had decided to shut its Glusburn production line in July with the loss of 260 jobs.

Acting principal Alan Blackwell beat off strong competition from 52 other applicants to take the top job at Craven College. He told the Herald: "I want Craven College to be viewed as a friend that people can turn to a different stages of their lives."