1885

On Wednesday evening a rather singular accident again happened at the river near Low Mill. An oatcake baker from Silsden was supplying his customers at New Rouses, and for this purpose had left his horse and cart standing on the road. When the man left the horse it began pasturing on the roadside, and in a few minutes had backed into the river, which at this point is deep. The horse was in this critical position for some considerable time, until a boat was procured from Low Mill, and with considerable help the animal was freed from the cart and got out. This accident again forcibly reminds us of the many accidents which have happened at this place, notably the one three weeks ago, and of the very urgent need for the road to be protected on the side of the river. Surely something ought to be done before accidents happen.

The Duke of Devonshire v. Kendal – In the Queen’s Bench Division on Thursday, before Baron Pollock and Mr Justice Manisty, Mr Cyril Dodd said he appeared on behalf of the plaintiff but no one appeared on behalf of the defendant in opposition to his motion which was for an injunction restraining the defendant from shooting game on Langbar Moor, near Ilkley, in Yorkshire. The Duke of Devonshire was Lord of the Manor and owner of the soil, but the defendant was honestly under the impression that he had a right to shoot grouse. The magistrates had found so and therefore it was necessary to bring this action.

1910

News of the death of King Edward VII was received in Ilkley with painful surprise. Notwithstanding the alarming nature of the bulletin issued on Friday evening, scarcely anyone seemed to anticipate a fatal ending. It was not until the arrival of the Saturday morning newspapers that the news was learnt, and then it spread like wildfire. During the morning the minute bell was tolled at both the Parish Church and St Margaret’s Church and in the afternoon a muffled peel was rung on the Parish Church bells.

A Royal proclamation is not the great pageant that once England knew, yet a good deal of the ancient ceremony is still left to see, and this has been in evidence throughout the length and breadth of the land. The Proclamation of King George the Fifth’s accession at Ilkley took place on Thursday at 12 noon and attracted a crowd of two or three thousand people. At the entrance to the Town Hall a platform was erected for the purpose and two trumpeters in uniform played a fanfare and Royal Salute.

1935

It was royal weather for last weekend and Wharfedale celebrated the silver jubilee of the reign of King George V right royally. At Ilkley it was a day such as even those with clear memories of the jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria and of the coronation festivities associated with King Edward and King George declare they remember nothing like it. The highlights of the celebrations were the carnival procession with nearly 400 entries, over 200 of which were children in fancy and comic costumes; the swimming sports in Ilkley’s new bathing pool, which has at one bound sprung into the position of the most popular attraction in the town; the happy sports for school children in the Rugby Union playing field and free teas for all of them; the United thanskgiving service at the Parish Church which opened Monday’s proceedings; and the lighting of the beacon fire on Beamsley Beacon at night, the signal for which was given by a novel chain of rockets from the Ilkley Tarn to the Beacon itself.

The long distance balloon competition in connection with the balloons being sent up from the Jubilee sports ground in Ilkley on Monday has resulted up to date in 11 balloons being returned. The furthest away are from Lincolnshire and Derby, and others have come to hand from Doncaster, Keighley, Thornton-in-Craven, Sutton-in-Craven and Leeds, revealing a remarkable variation in wind direction.

It was amid expressions of the warmest admiration that the Ilkley open-air bathing pool was officially opened on Saturday. It was an ideal day and in that perfect setting, with flags flying, with the sparkling water reflecting the blue of the sky, and with the background of Middleton Woods through which came shimmering the gleam of the carpet of bluebells, the scene induced the gayest of holiday feelings.

1960

When the week-ends come the residents of High Mill Lane, Addingham, close the windows and doors of their houses. Living conditions become appalling as the excessive week-end traffic passes along the lane on its way to the caravan site further up the road, leaving the air filled with swirling dust from the dusty track road. On Monday their appeal for something to be done about it was heard at the monthly meeting of the Parish Council.

A schoolboy was placed on probation for two years at Otley Juvenile Court on Tuesday, when he was found guilty of stealing coins and medals – including a set of Royal Maundy money – from the Olicana Museum at Ilkley Town Hall. The boy had denied taking some of the items listed on the summons. It was alleged he took nine Guernsey coins, eight Eire coins, a South African medal, a Natal medal, a Merchant Marine Service Medal, a General Service medal and a “Lusitania” commemorative medallion. The father suggested that there might be some explanation in that his boy had been very upset about the death of a dog to which he had been very attached.

1985

A unique two-week driving ability course for six students based at ASBAH’s residential holiday and training home at Five Oaks, Ben Rhydding, has proved such a success that more are being planned for the future. For many disabled people the ability to drive would solve the perennial problem of mobility, and by doing so would lift the restriction in their choice of lifestyle and emplyoyment. At present, however, there is only one driving assessment centre for the disabled in the UK, run by the Queen Elizabeth Foundation in Surrey.

Pupils of Bolling Road school, Ben Rhydding, learned more about caring for tortoises when they were recently visited by Mr and Mrs Rob and Barbara Waller. Mr and Mrs Waller began a club for tortoise lovers in an attempt to dispel ignorance about these misunderstood pets.