A row over the use of this land below Addingham Moorside led to a Ministerial inquiry in 1958. The inspector ruled that the land, on Bark Hill, should revert to a field by 1960. Photograph by Anning, Ilkley

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125 years ago

The Ilkley Overseers received information that a rat catcher, a native of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, was lying dangerously ill and in great pain in a stable at Low Hall, Ilkley, having visited the town in pursuit of his vocation. Despite the attentions of a doctor and an injection of morphis he succumbed to a disorder of the bladder.

Since the visit of Her Majesty's Inspector in 1881, a large addition has been made to Ilkley Catholic School. Another room had been added to the building after the inspector described the infant part as unsatisfactory'. The new part of the school was opened on the return of the children from the school holidays and there is now accommodation for 150 children.

A hawker of the Leeds Daily News in Ilkley has changed quarters for the worse. Found carrying a bundle by police in the early hours in Broad Street, he was asked his business. Looking for the Morning Star' he replied. He was taken into custody and the bundle was found to contain stolen property. The man was committed to for trial.

100 years ago

On Monday last Otley Council occupied the major portion of its time discussing the question as to the desirability or otherwise of changing the time of the public holiday from the first week in August to that of September. To our minds the reasons given for a change were puerile, illogical, and utterly unconvincing: they deepened the conviction that any meddling with the August holiday will be resented by a vast majority of the inhabitants.

It seems somewhat unfair to the ratepayers of Menston that, owing to the circumstances for which they are not responsible, they should be put to the inconvenience and discomfort of broken, dangerous roads. No-one will gainsay that Dick's Garth, Leathley Road, Farnley Road and the road near Walker's Buildings are a source of great inconvenience in places and positively dangerous to traffic. The parish council is not indifferent to this state of affairs but are powerless to act if the Rural Council refuses to take responsibility for the roads.

Advertising to the announcement last week that the Leeds Corporation purposed making application to Parliament for powers to extend the tramway system from Horsforth to Guiseley again brings into sight the possibility of Otley being put into closer touch with Leeds - in fact, the complete linking up of Wharfedale.

75 years ago

To mark the remarkable achievement recorded by Mr Charles Mellor, who retired a fortnight ago from the position of postman at Ilkley after 43 years' service on the Langbar-Nesfield round, in which he walked 226,000 miles, the residents of the area presented him with a cheque and an address signed by all subscribers expressing their esteem and appreciation of his conscientious service over the years.

How schoolchildren benefit from the provision of subsidiary nourishment' - in plain English, milk - was brought out in a discussion at the meeting of the Ilkley and District Education Sub-Committee. The school medical officer had found a decided improvement in the general condition of the scholars and had reduced the number of free' cases (the children who needed feeding up because of malnutrition). The principal reductions in the number of free' cases affected the following schools: Ikley C of E boys; Ilkley RC; Burley Infants; Burley Mixed.

Further consideration of the situation which is likely to arise in Ilkley during the coming winter as a result of increasing unemployment was given by a meeting of the Council of Social Welfare. Canon Hamer suggested that they might ask motor owners to have their cars cleaned oftener. In this way they could provide work even if they did not provide direct monetary subscriptions to a suggested loan fund.

50 years ago

Propaganda which would look into the distant future and not only the next 24 hours was the only solution to the present situation in the Middle East, said Lt Gen Sir John Glubb (Glubb Pasha') when speaking to a public meeting, organised by the Ilkley Conservative Association in the King's Hall on Monday evening. Sir John was paying his second visit to Ilkley to speak on the Middle East and his talk this time was entitled The Story of the Arab Legion.

Ilkley and Burley district were involved in a chain of thefts covering an area from Skipton to Yeadon between Friday evening and early Saturday morning last week. Three shops were concerned at Ilkley and one at Burley. A GEC radio and a Hoover cleaner were stolen from the Yorkshire Electricity Board's Showrooms. At Burley the premises of Jepson, Electrical Engineer, had been tampered with but not entered.

A talk by Dr Martin Niemoller, the former German U-Boat commander who became a priest and was imprisoned by Hitler for resisting the Nazi regime, was the highlight of a house party spread over three days last weekend at the Craiglands Hotel. The party was organised by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Dr Niemoller is at present Church president of the Evangelical Church in Heese and Nassau.

25 years ago

To mark United Nations Sunday the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Mrs Joan Lightband and other civic dignitaries attended morning service at Ilkley Parish Church. The tone of the Morning Prayer was set by the reading of the preamble to the United Nation's charter by Coun Mrs Renton from the Chancel step.

The shelter at the top of Brook Street, Ilkley, may be demolished because it has become a centre for rowdy youths with the results that the surrounding area has become permanently disfigured with refuse, graffiti and unpleasant noise. It was just over 26 years ago that the shelter was presented to the town by Ilkley Rotary Club.

The first meeting of Ilkley Computer Club at Ilkley Grammar School was attended by 18 people, a PET, three VIC 20s, an Acorn Atom, two BBC machines, and a ZX81. The meeting took the form of a computer workshop and members had the opportunity to get to know each other and each others' machines.

8:35am Thursday 25th October 2007

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