100 years ago

Skipton’s new waterworks were declared complete and received a formal and public dedication. It was the largest the “capital of Craven” had yet seen and cost £80,000.

The Parish Church Sunday School teachers held their annual trip, with Kendal being chosen as the destination. Leaving Skipton by Cook’s excursions, the party travelled to Windermere and then by steamer up the lake to Bowness, going forward by train to Kendal.

In celebration of the seventh anniversary of the opening of the Wesleyan chapel at Burnsall, a strenuous effort had been made to wipe out a debt of about £200 on the building. A bazaar was held in the new village hall to raise funds.

50 years ago

Opposition to the transfer of any schools in the area to the proposed county barrier of Keighley was unanimously expressed. Keighley Town Council proposed taking over Silsden and South Craven as part of the reorganisation of local government.

While exploring the Mossdale Cavern system above Conistone, two students lost their way when one of their lamps failed. They chalked a route but found themselves going round in circles. They were rescued after being in the cave system for 17 hours.

The attention of the Public Health Committee was called to a fly nuisance at The Junction, Cross Hills. The council agreed to make supplies of insecticide available at cost price to the occupiers of premises affected by the flies.

25 years ago

The General Secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, Fred Smithies, reminded members of the Skipton and Settle branch of the union of their “enormous grievance” over pay at a meeting at the Anchor Inn, Gargrave. And he warned that, with many teachers not being prepared to work “all hours God sends” to get them done, many children would not have reports to take home at the end of term. Mr Smithies also had some harsh words for local authorities, which he claimed had played “fast and loose” by making promises and then, when the time came to help, “voted the wrong way”.

Residents of Middleton, Cowling, were to be canvassed by Craven District Council on whether they wanted the hamlet to be a General Improvement Area. The purpose of such an area was to enhance the local environment and improve the housing stock.

Air rifles brought terror to the village of Steeton. Tales of pot-shots being taken at schoolchildren and passing trains were revealed at a parish council meeting. There were also stories of houses being showered with pellets and of missing animals. Local councillors agreed to call for legislation to strengthen the control of the use of air rifles.

10 years ago

The biggest building project since a school was constructed in the 1960s has been given the go-ahead by the Yorkshire Dales National Park. New classrooms, offices and a reception area were planned for Upper Wharfedale School in Threshfield. The project – to cost in the region of £318,000 – would involve removing two of six temporary classrooms, which had been part of the site’s history for at least 20 years.

A small Dales hill farm was to be declared a national nature reserve. New House Farm, high on Malham Moor, was to receive the official designation from the chief executive of English Nature, David Arnold-Forster. He said: “National nature reserves are the jewels of England’s natural assets. The meadows at New House Farm are of exceptional quality with over 30 different plant species being found in any given square metre.”

Two Craven teachers beat stiff competition from colleagues across the North of England to win awards for excellence. Giggleswick School teacher David Fox gained a Lifetime Achievement Award and Threshfield headteacher Helen Jarvis a Leadership Trust Award at the Teaching Awards. A third teacher, Pamela Hall, was commended for her work at Threshfield School in the Teacher of the Year category.