A RENOWNED tourist guide will give a talk about the history of Saltaire at Otley next month.

Maria Glot will discuss Saltaire World Heritage Site, 1803-1876, when she appears at Otley Courthouse on Friday, April 5.

Maria is a long-term resident of Saltaire who has worked in the tourism industry for years. She is part of a team that presents guided walks around Saltaire village in character, as one of its original inhabitants, to provide a memorable interactive experience.

Her costumed character, ‘Mrs Elin Dooley’, lives in an ordinary worker’s house on Amelia Street with her husband, Henry and 12 children - with another on the way.

In 1980 Maria was appointed as the Bradford District’s first Tourism Officer and was also instrumental in training the first Blue Badge Guides in Yorkshire.

A member of Saltaire History Direct, she also supports the Saltaire WI, Saltaire Traders, Saltaire Village Society and Saltaire Festival.

A Courthouse spokeswoman said: “Maria’s guided walks, talks and after dinner speeches are legendary and refreshingly different, so this should be a fascinating evening.”

The Otley talk starts at 7.30pm and tickets cost £8 for adults, £6 concessions.

Before that on Thursday, March 28 the Courthouse will present its next National Theatre Live event - a recorded screening of The Tragedy of King Richard II*.

Recorded from the stage of the Almeida Theatre in London, the play is a new production focused on the limits of power and features Simon Russell Beale as Shakespeare’s Richard II.

It is directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, whose previous plays include Little Revolution at the Almeida and Absolute Hell at the National Theatre.

The story shows Richard II, King of England, as irresponsible, foolish and vain. His weak leadership sends his kingdom into disarray and his court into uproar.

Conflict unfolds when, seeing no other option but to seize power, the ambitious Bolingbroke challenges the throne and the king’s divine right to rule.

The screening takes place at 7pm and tickets cost £13 or £12 for Courthouse Friends.

Tickets for both events, and all forthcoming Courthouse shows, can be booked by visiting www.otleycourthouse.org.uk, calling (01943) 467466 or popping into the Courthouse, on Courthouse Street.

*Although the 1623 First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s work listed it as a ‘history’, an earlier edition of 1597 described the play - which is based on the life of King Richard II of England, who reigned from 1377 to 1399 - as a tragedy.