SELSIDE photographer Hilary Fenten has captured the people who epitomise the Dales and who make up its wide-reaching landscape through a series of photographs in a compelling new book.

Hilary’s husband, Wilf, an independent environmental advisor, former councillor and past member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, says the collection is ‘capturing a moment in time of a fragile area on the brink of change’.

He writes:

“With any new book about the Dales, its landscape or people, there is the danger of presenting a nostalgic view of cute cottages, old codgers dressed in frilly smocks chewing their pipes and other images of a false rural idyll.

“Of course, the Dales – and the area around Ingleborough in particular – is an idyllic place with spectacular landscapes, neighbourly communities and, for many, an enviable way of life.

“However, such images of quaint nostalgia can hide the often stark reality of shops and schools closing, few facilities and services, a social fabric under pressure.

“What then did the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) expect to find when, about two years ago, they commissioned Hilary to create a “snapshot in time” of Ingleborough’s social history?

“It was to be part of the highly successful four-year Stories in Stone programme of community and heritage projects developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership, led by YDMT and mainly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

“Debbie Boswell, YDMT’s Stories in Stone Discover Ingleborough Officer, was very clear about the aim from the outset: “to portray a snapshot in time of the diverse range of folk who live, work and visit our Ingleborough project area’.

“ To achieve that the YDMT needed to find a photographer who lived in the area and understood rural communities.

“Luck would have it that Hilary attended the first Stories in Stone birthday event where Debbie noticed Hilary’s great enthusiasm for documenting the Yorkshire Dales.

“Debbie thought she was the obvious choice.

“During the following meetings a clear brief was prepared and Hilary began to meet as many people as possible in the local area, well over 150 of them.”

Debbie explained: “We could have photographed a hundred or so more characters vital to our area; it was very hard to pick a good cross-section.

“We chose the best geographical spread and a range of people from quarry workers to local heroes.

“Many of them were people who would normally go under the radar but Hilary was clear what she felt should be captured.”

Wilf added: “Hilary wanted to select as many people and activities, showing the importance of farming, conservation, tourism, caving, etc., all of which gives the Ingleborough area its special character. “This is a rural, northern place and it is reflected in the everyday activities of the people who are here: not urban, not southern; this is Yorkshire and the Dales.

“Once all the photographs had been taken there followed the painful selection of which images to choose - just over 30 for a series of exhibitions and a longer list of 70 or 80 photos for a commemorative book.

“After the first exhibition at Settle’s Folly in September 2018 came several others in two historic railway stations at Ribblehead and Horton.

“They then graced the Ingleborough Community Centre, the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes and even a mini-exhibition in a former Settle telephone box, all part of the local fabric.

“Debbie said the main reaction from the community has been pride and a feeling of belonging and it was clear that, after the success of the exhibitions, the book should follow.

“Does the book then give a truthful picture of this Dales area, avoiding the temptation to paint a chocolate-box idyll or over-emphasising the real pressures of rural life such as schools and shops closing, poor transport, lack of affordable house or well-paid jobs? “By concentrating on just how much is happening here - sheep shows, pantomime, culture, caving, quarrying, local farming - and highlighting in her photos the broad spectrum of skills and ages, full of energy and smiles, Hilary has succeeded in making us glimpse a slice of real Yorkshire life.

“Again, Debbie Boswell, who guided this project so skilfully, said at first many subjects were wondering why they had been chosen to feature at all.

“But seeing the exhibition come together, their portraits on a wall alongside others and the completion of the book, it showed how essential each individual role is to forming the working fabric our community.

“The photos will now travel out of the Ingleborough area to Airedale General Hospital for the final exhibition destination enabling them to be enjoyed by many others.

“Some will also be displayed at Castleberg, our local, recently reopened community hospital in Giggleswick. We couldn’t think of a better final destination place.”

The book will be launched on November 4 at The Folly, Settle, but is already available from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, Main Street, Clapham.

After the book launch it will also be sold from other outlets.