125 years ago

An Ilkley lad named Joseph Moon had a very narrow escape from being drowned. He fell into a very large excavation, being filled with water to a depth of nearly six feet. Had it not been for the prompt action taken, there is no doubt that he would have been drowned, for he was much exhausted when rescued and had to be carried home. Happily he is now none the worse for the immersion.

Thomas Wright of Ben Rhydding was summoned for allowing a ferocious dog to be at large and not under proper control. Mr Woodhead said he was afraid of the dog as it was a ferocious brute and a half-bred mongrel. He went to Mr Wright's house to complain about the dog and Mr Wright appeared and slammed the door in his face.

A lecture on America for the Ilkley Congregational Mutual Improvement Society heard that tenement buildings in New York were not fit for habitation and when young children were taken to live in them they died in their hundreds. Dr J F Little, of Ben Rhydding, said that before the rebellion an American was always disagreeable when meeting an Englishman but since the Alabama Question had been settled they had been more agreeable.

100 years ago

As a Rochdale firm of spinners have intimated their intention of building a weaving shed for 450 looms on the Southfield estate at Addingham, the village is looking forward to a new era of prosperity. Land for the new mill is said to have changed hands at the rate of 5d per yard, or £100 per acre.

The Wharfedale Board of Guardians was occupied for a long time at their meeting in considering a proposal by Mr Sugden, one of Ilkley's representatives, for an increase of guardians for the township from three to five. Mr Cross said he was never more struck in his life than he was with the amount of poverty that existed in Ilkley. Many people looked upon Ilkley as a wealthy place, but more poverty he never saw.

A certain individual, resident in Ilkley, is said to be an adept at testing the quality of coal. The other day, when at Addingham, he ventured to demonstrate his ability but in a way that has not previously been the custom. To test the coal he got a pint of cold ale, for which someone else had to pay, and into this the coal was dropped. He drank the ale with considerable celerity and then proceeded to describe the quality of the coal, but whether his ability at coal testing was equal to his beer drinking we leave those who witnessed the demonstration to say.

75 years ago

Mr Henry Bland, better known to a full generation of railway passholders as Harry Bland, who retires on March 22 from the Railway Company's services, has set up a series of remarkable records. He is the first railway servant actually to retire from Ben Rhydding Station. He has been in the Railway Company's service three months short of 40 years. Though his early morning turn' necessitated his being at the station as early as five o'clock, on only two occasions was he late for duty.

For the second year in succession a loss on the year's working was reported at the annual meeting of the Ilkley Coronation Cottage Hospital. In the past year the accounts showed the expenditure had exceeded the income by £137, and in the previous year by £146. Mr R Morley, in presenting the financial statement, said the loss of £283 in the past two years was certainly going in the wrong direction.

The Bishop of Bradford (Dr A W Blunt) preached for the first time in the Ikley Parish Church on Sunday morning, when there was a large congregation for the Lenten service.

50 years ago

Although there was a 14 per cent reduction in accidents within the Ilkley Urban District during 1956 the area still more than the other five in the Otley division. The 226 accidents reported in the Ilkley district represented just over 20 per cent of the divisional total. Even so, there was one morsel of good news arising out of the statistics. The Ilkley area still showed the greatest decreases in the division as far as accidents and casualties were concerned.

Ilkley Rotarians told that after 40 and 50 years of age they were only in the twilight of health' were advised not to accept the excuse that their wives hadn't time to bake their own bread', and to concentrate on natural food to improve their health. The speaker, Miss Edith Simpson of Huby, criticised the white loaf that had been baked out of flour from which so many things such as bran and wheat germ essential to health had been removed.

At the Road Safety Committee meeting, Mr H Hargrave asked if anything could be done about the number of children causing danger to pedestrians and road users by roller skating. Captain Codrington said the Royal Society had investigated a similar matter in years past and come to the conclusion that it was no offence to skate on the pavement providing it did not cause any nuisance such as knocking people over and that sort of thing.

25 years ago

An abrupt turnabout by Bradford Metropolitan Council's controlling Labour Group over the proposed merger of Ilkley and Bradford Colleges has sparked off a new controversy. The group's decision not to go ahead with the merger has upset unions at Ilkley College and raised fears for the college's future. Members of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education were worried that the latest decision could lead to the closure of Ilkley College.

Work on a £m scheme to provide a new back-up water tank for Ben Rhydding should be complete by the end of June. The tank is being constructed on common land adjacent toBen Rhydding golf course, to replace an existing tank nearby. The finished tank will measure 17 by 19 metres but the only evidence of its existence after it is finished will be four grates.

Ilkley should have its long-awaited VHF radio relay station in operation in about two years' time, BBC chairman George Howard has told Ilkley Parish Council. VHF reception in Ilkley has been much criticised in the past, and in May 1979, a promise was made that Ilkley would be one of the first places in England to be provided with a VHF relay station.