Armed with mops, dusters and paint brushes several volunteers set to work on Friday, January 29, to clean the Dales Countryside Museum at Hawes ready for it to re-open on February 1.  As a Friend of the Dales Countryside Museum I went along not just to take some photographs but to join the cleaning brigade.

Marcia Howard, David Wright. Donald Brown and Tony Dobson were in the train carriages. I didn’t recognise Marcia at first in her workman’s hat and white overalls. Like David she was repainting the doors and walls so that they were sparkling white again.

Armed with a duster I joined Sue Foster (chairman of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum) and Eleanor Scarr and began cleaning the exhibits in the main display rooms. It was certainly a much closer encounter with old knitting machines and weaving looms than I had ever experienced before. I couldn’t help wondering who had carved their names or initials on the old loom.

I certainly didn’t dust the mining or peat cutting exhibits – that would have robbed them of that look of authenticity!

Sue and Eleanor had a much bigger job cleaning all the items in exhibits showing the work of tinsmiths, cobblers and shoe makers in the past.

It was Sue who enlightened Eleanor, Lottie Sweeney and myself about the tar pot in the “sheep pen”.

“I used to do that job when I was a little girl,” she said. “When they were sharing the sheep by hand I had the tar brush. When they nicked the sheep by mistake we put a bit of tar on the cut. It worked – it kept the flies off and that sort of thing and they healed up very quickly.

Eleanor commented: “It’s a blue iodine spray now.”

We didn’t have to dust in the traditional Dales kitchen because Lottie was cleaning up after completing her re-vamp of that display.

Once our work was done we gathered in the small room beside the museum’s own kitchen for tea, coffee and cake.

Click here for photographs taken on January 29, 2016

“It’s brilliant – spot on. It’s far more realistic,” Eleanor Scarr announced when she saw the way the traditional Dales Kitchen  at the Dales Countryside Museum had been re-vamped by Lottie Sweeney of Feasts of Fiction.

While the museum was closed in January Lottie  had prepared fake pies that would never age and worked on the fireplace to make it more three dimensional. She explained that she had been contracted in January 2015 to make replica havercakes (oatcakes), butter and cheese for the kitchen. At that time she had commented that she could make the whole display much more effective and so had been invited back this year.

“You want it to tell a story,” Lottie said. And she does a lot of research so that she can create authentic replicas.

Eleanor regularly gives talks in the museum’s traditional Dales Kitchen.  For many years this was done by Ann Holubecki who, like her sister José  Hopper, was a stalwart of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum.

Eleanor explained: “Ann was in her late 70s when she said to me ‘Now look – what’s going to happen to my kitchen when I’ve gone because there’s nobody younger who knows what they’re doing. I want somebody to look after it.’  So I helped her for quite a number of years. I learnt a lot because she could just talk from memory and I didn’t really know as much.”

Ann then encouraged Eleanor to join the Friends of the DCM committee in her place. Now Eleanor also helps in the museum’s Research Room, assists with cataloguing the books in the Mcfie-Calvert collection, and is on the editorial panel of Now Then.

The Dales Kitchen originated in the 1950s  after Ann Holubecki’s mother, Margaret Hopper, helped at an event at Bolton Castle to celebrate the Festival of Britain.  Ann wrote later: “The castle was brought back to life as in Tudor times: the year 1568, to be exact – when Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned there.

“My mother was in charge of the kitchen tableau. She was ‘Mistress of the Stillroom’ and I was the ‘First Still Room Maid’ (i.e. skivvy). It was great fun.”

After the Festival Mrs Hopper inspired others to donate items and the collection of Victorian furniture and utensils from the Dales grew. Eventually the then Lord Bolton allowed them to create a Dales Kitchen at Bolton Castle and this was formally opened in April 1965.

It was an interesting attraction for many years but by the 1980s Mrs Hopper was no longer able to care for it as well as she had. Hurricane Charlie finally put the “tin lid” on it in 1986 when the castle roof was damaged and water poured into the Dales Kitchen.

“After its 22 years at the castle, it now seemed a good idea to remove it and salvage what we could,” wrote Ann. “The kitchen display from Bolton Castle eventually became the foundation of the ‘new’ Old Dales Kitchen in our museum at Hawes. The Kitchen was re-opened at the Dales Countryside Museum in 1994.”

Her daughter, Janina Holubecki, wrote in her postscript to Ann’s account which was published in Now Then  in 2014: “For many years, until her death in 2013, Ann Holubecki continued to be closely involved with the Museum – in particular the Dales Kitchen. She had regular ‘demonstration days’: Washday, Baking, Butter and Cheese-making, Pig Killing and Preserving Time. She passed on her knowledge of those old domestic tasks to younger museum volunteers – such as Eleanor Scarr, Evelyn Abraham and Brenda Watering – so that the Dales Kitchen demonstrations could continue.”

Click here for pictures taken on January 29, 2016

I’m enjoying being a beginner when it comes to helping in the Research Room at the Dales Countryside Museum. There are so many interesting books and documents there, from census material about those who have lived in the northern part of the Yorkshire Dales to the books in the Macfie-Calvert collection.

R.A. Scott MacFie’s passion for the culture and history of upper Wensleydale, Mallerstang and the surrounding dales led to him collecting some fascinating books until he died in 1935. The Trust set up to take care of those  books later acquired Kit Calvert’s collection. The trustees are now busy re-cataloguing and re-organising the MacFie-Calvet Collection and the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum (FDCM) are paying for some of the books to be rebound.

During the cleaning day Eleanor Scarr pointed out to me the bound volumes of the Wensleydale Advertister which was published in Hawes for a few years in the mid 19th century. So when I was on duty in the Research Room on February 3 I was keen to have a look at them.

But first there was work to do for there was a request for information which led to me searching the MacFie-Calvert catalogue for any information about local amateur dramatic societies in the dales between the WW1 and WW2, as well as delving into the archives of Yorebridge Grammar School for a local couple.

The Research Room is open from Monday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm and FDCM volunteers like myself are available to help with research every Monday and Wednesday from 10am to 4pm. The Macfie-Calvert Collection can only be viewed by appointment or when a volunteer is there.

I didn’t read many issues of the Wensleydale Advertiser that day but did find some interesting local stories among the eclectic mix of poems, national news and whatever else interested the editor. I was especially fascinated by the account of the funeral of James Anderson at Wensley church in February 1844.

His relatives and friends were joined by 70 members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and, as a token of respect, Miss Chaytor, his last employer. The newspaper reported: “He entered into service when but six years of age, and after living 15 years in one family, and 28 years in another, he died at the age of 49; having thus spent 43 years of that time in active service. His industry, attention, strict integrity, and indefatigable exertions in behalf of his employers rendered his services truly valuable.”

It was noted that Anderson was a useful and consistent member of the Odd Fellows by “endeavouring faithfully to discharge the duties attendant upon that station of life in which it had pleased God to place him; although that was but in the humble office of a servant, yet by his good conduct therein he succeeded in making that station honourable.”

That provided some food for thought revealing, as it did, how far we have come from that type of class-dominated society here in Britain. The 19th century was not an easy time to be unemployed and poor.

In Hawes Township in 1844 it was announced:  Take care that the first Letter of the said Township with the Letter P, be put to the upper Coat of each Inhabitant who receives the Alms of the said Township: and if the said poor Inhabitant refuse constantly to wear the said Badge, his or her allowance may and ought to be withdrawn.”

Another article, published in March 1844, showed just how much Hawes has changed.  This stated:

“There are few places, we imagine, which have risen so rapidly from a state of obscurity to comparative respectability as the small market town of Hawes. Individuals are now living who can well remember its thatched cottages, and the humble and yet hospitable hearths of its inhabitants when trade and commerce were scarcely known in its streets, and when few opportunities were afforded for the exchange of money or goods beyond the simple and ordinary wants of a primitive community, similar to what Hawes presented at that period.”

The writer went on to call for a general tidy up, lamenting the dirty shambles and the filth due to imperfect drainage which greeted any visitor.

I did like the article published in May 1844 about taking those responsible for road repairs to court if the work had not been carried out!

Above: Carol Haynes (on the left) playing with the Northern Camerata. She began learning to play the cello three years ago.

The Wensleydale Concert Series celebrated its first anniversary with another first-class and very enjoyable concert at Aysgarth church on Saturday, May 14. The series began in May 2015 with a memorable concert by the world-renowned cellist, Corinne Morris accompanied by pianist, Nico de Villiers. The other concerts during the first year were by Alicja Fiderkiewicz, Jonathan Bloxham , the Melicus Duo (Marie Vassiliou  and Nico de Villiers), and Fenella Humphreys with Daniel Grimwood.

Corinne returned on May 14 and this time she was accompanied by the Northern Camerata conducted by Andy Jackson. Carol Haynes, who runs her Dales Computer Series business from her home in Carperby, joined the Northern Camerata for that concert.

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Carol told me:

As the first year closes there are a lot of good memories to look back on, and on a purely personal note it has been inspirational and great fun getting to spend so much time with our wonderful musicians and even get to play with them at home.

I started Wensleydale Concert Series twelve months ago for a number of reasons. Firstly, I was travelling a lot to go to concerts and having talked to some elderly Dales people realised that many people who would like to go to concerts really cannot cope with driving to concert halls.

Secondly my own passion for playing the cello led me to meet and become friends with a number of world-class professional musicians and I began to realise just how hard it was for them to generate concert work, especially if they have had to take time away from concert work.

I also noticed that most local concert series heavily focus on bringing young musicians to play and more mature musicians are left struggling. The motivation to start our concert series really crystallised from my friendship with the cellist Corinne Morris who suffered from a debilitating shoulder injury for a number of years.She was trying to rebuild her career – not an easy task after being off the concert stage for so long.

Finally as we started I was aware that there were concerts in Richmond in the winter and the Swaledale festival for two weeks in the summer but for the rest of the year there was not very much classical music to go and hear in Wensleydale.

It has been particularly good to see our audience grow too and, whilst it will be good to grow it further, we have a really solid core audience who are becoming regulars and very enthusiastic. We have also learned some lessons along the way, the main one being that concerts in the winter months can be very difficult in bad weather and so we are now limiting our efforts from March to October.

We want to develop the concert series in a number of ways. Firstly we want to keep the standard as high as possible … this is going to be a big challenge as in the first year I have had an enormous amount of help from musicians I know most of whom have performed for much lower fees than they would usually receive to help us get started.

As I start to invite new musicians to perform, I realise we are going to have to increase our income to cover the costs. Larger audiences would help with more ticket sales for this but we have also decided to apply for charitable status and start looking from local sponsorship for the series.

Secondly. we would really like some community and educational involvement in the concert series. With Corinne’s first concert we arranged for her to run a cello workshop in Carperby which was very successful. We have plans for other workshop or even possibly residential events in the future that will hopefully cater for the needs for local musicians and visiting musicians. We would also like to develop occasional larger scale community participation events.

We now have concerts booked for the rest of 2016 and the whole of 2017 (and I am already starting to plan 2018). The forthcoming concerts will include piano recitals and duets, chamber music, a guitar recital, piano concerti and and a baroque group playing early instrument (see below).  You can also view full concert details on our website www.wensleydaleconcertseries.co.uk where you can also sign up for a monthly email newsletter to keep up to date.”

Above: Celebrating after the first concert in May 2015, l-r Corinne Morris, Alicja Fiderkiewicz, Carol Haynes (behind) and Nico de Villiers.

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The audience at Aysgarth church was spellbound by the stunning world-class performance by Corinne Morris and pianist Nico de Villiers on May 13, 2015. It was hard to believe one was sitting in a church in Wensleydale listening to such an awe-inspiring recital.

The concert lived up to its title: The Romance of the Cello. It began with Beethoven’s Sonata in D Major, with its dramatic opening movement, followed by the haunting Adagio and a dancing fugue to finish. Morris displayed her supreme virtuosity and versatility when playing Debussy’s Sonata in D Minor and the audience was kept on the edge of their seats with the sudden changes of tempo and dramatic effects.

The climax of the concert was the memorable Sonata in D minor by the 19th century French composer, Benjamin Godard. This emphasised the enthralling partnership between Corinne and Nico. And if that wasn’t enough, for the encore Morris played the slow movement from Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata, reducing at least one member of the audience to tears.

It was Alicja Fiderkiewicz’s turn four months later.  Carol commented that Alicja has been a good friend of the concert series since it started, often travelling from her home in Carlisle to attend concerts.

She filled the church with the emotions of two great composers when she presented a mesmerising  piano concert at Aysgarth church on September 25.

As she played Schubert’s final sonata Alicja shared with her audience his ability to immortalise the anguish of soul experienced by those in the throes of terminal illness – and also their special joy at still being able to experience the beauty of this world. Schubert died, aged 35, just months after composing his Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat Major.

In the second half she took her audience into the inspirational world of Chopin, beginning with her deeply textured rendition of his Three Nocturnes. This was followed by a truly romantic Romanza (Concerto in E Minor) heightened by some delicate and moving playing. And finally there was the Polonaise-fantasie with its brooding, deeply contemplative evocation of a man considering the end of his life. Chopin did not, however, descend into melancholy but produced an enthralling and uplifting masterpiece, so well interpreted by Alicja.

In November the Melicus Duo carried on what has become the tradition of the Wensleydale Concert Series in bringing world-class musicians to Wensleydale. Marie Vassiliou (soprano) and Nico complimented each other beautifully in a programme which included Pauline Viardot’s Madrid with its flirtatious flamenco-inspired rhythms and harmonies, an aria by Enrique Granados, and Alberto Ginastera’s music based on the folk songs and dances of Argentina.

In the second half they turned to the heritage of the English language with works by Peter Klatzow, Richard Hageman and Erich Korngold.

The solo cello concert by Jonathan Bloxham (above) was held in the Friends Meeting House in Bainbridge in January 2016. This was reminiscent of the musical soirees of the 19th century.

The concert was entitled Bach – Up Close and Personal and Jonathan obviously enjoyed the intimate atmosphere. His compelling and utterly engrossing performance of three of Bach’s Suites for solo cellow was of the highest order and quality and many closed their eyes and allowed the warm, luxurious experience to envelop them.

All savoured the moods and emotions he conveyed so well during his virtuoso performance with its consistently full, rich tone. Jonathan also introduced his audience to Howard Skempton’s Six Figures for solo cello and shared his fascination in how these short pieces explored creating music in new ways.

Violinist Fenella Humphreys and pianist Daniel Grimwood presented an excellent concert in March 2016. Jonathan Sparey wrote: “The atmosphere created by Humphreys and Grimwood was very special and certainly will not be forgotten for a long time.

“The programme was demanding for players and audience, including three major works of great complexity technically and musically, magnificently achieved by the two musicians.

“Schubert’s Rondo has a reputation among violinists as a piece to steer well clear of because of its formidable demands, but here they were met and we heard a performance that was totally compelling.

“Humphreys’ lovely violin (by Peter Guarneri of Venice in about 1720) was never overwhelmed by Grimwood’s sensitive playing of the piano.

“We are lucky to have this wonderful new concert series in Wensleydale and must support it wholeheartedly.”

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New World Trio

“We are so lucky – we would have had to go to the Royal Festival Hall to hear anything like that,” commented one woman as she left Bainbridge Meeting House following the concert by the New World Trio on Friday, September 16, 2016, organised by the Wensleydale Concert Series.

It was a stunning performance which just got better and better as Andrew Long (violin) Katie Stables (viola) and Zoe Long (cello) shared the delicious harmonies of three string trios: Schubert’s B Flat Major D471; Beethoven’s G Major Opus 9, no 1; and Mozart’s Divertimento in E Flat Major K463.The whole building resonated as if in total harmony with the trio which was so incredibly synchronised.

They began with Schubert’s Allegro which was like a soothing and joyful evocation of the Dales landscape. The harmonic richness of their playing, with each member of the trio giving virtuoso performances, brought out the expressiveness and warmth of the first two movements of Beethoven’s String Trio. And what a Presto! That definitely had the Wow factor as they truly threw caution to the winds and gave an amazing performance to complete the first half.

The three musicians so enjoyed the intimacy of the Meeting House – and that intimacy added to the appreciation of Mozart’s String Trio.

Alfred Einstein wrote that this was one of Mozart’s noblest works and said it had grown to such large proportions because it offered something special in the way of art, invention, and good spirits. The New World Trio captured all that and enthralled its audience with a breath taking performance – so complete an experience that it could never have been followed by an encore.

They so obviously enjoyed making beautiful music together – from the sublime Adagio to the extraordinarily moving Andante. At the end we could only be astonished at being able to share in Mozart’s intensely passionate tour de force so exquisitely reproduced for us by the New World Trio.

Below: Andrew Long and Katie Stables

I learnt a lot during the past 10 days of visits to the Dales Countryside Museum. It began with a demonstration of dry stone walling by David Wright and Pam Norris. A few days later I watched Kate Trusson knitting with a knitting stick. On my next visit I put my camera down and worked alongside other committee members of the  Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum as they weeded and tidied up the garden. And I spent yesterday helping others research their family histories – only to learn something about the history of St Andrew’s church, Aysgarth and the ancestry of Mick Jagger.

Above: Some visitors to the museum were fascinated by the demonstration of dry stone walling given by David and Pam.

David Wright and Pam Norris have been working as dry stone walling volunteers with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for several years. Pam commented about the walls: “I think they are great – fantastic and iconic. If people don’t maintain this skill it is going to disappear. There are professionals and we don’t want to take work away from them. But farmers can’t afford to pay wallers.”

This has led to small teams of volunteers working on walls in the Dales. David explained how they had to plan carefully for a day of walling to make sure they didn’t over-stretch themselves. “We can do about four to five metres a day depending on the number in the team,” he said. He described how dry stone walls differed according to the stone available. (Below: David and Pam)

Another traditional skill is that of using knitting sticks. Kate Trusson pointed out that the DCM has one of the best collections in the country.

“The best two days in my life were in this museum looking at the knitting sticks and describing them for the catalogue. It was wonderful,” she said.

During her demonstration she showed visitors how, centuries ago, local knitters used a knitting stick so that they could keep one  hand free. This meant they could carry on knitting while doing other jobs. Their knitting supplemented the meagre family income in areas like the Yorkshire Dales and the Scottish Isles.

“You just have a piece of wood with a hole in it, stick it in your belt, and off you go,” she explained (left). Many of the sticks were carved into attractive shapes and so old knitting sticks have now become collectors’ items.

The museum also has a good selection of leg boards. Kate explained that the knitters would knit stockings too large as this meant they only needed to remember  one pattern and could work very fast. The stockings would then be put on the correct-size leg board and felted down. Sweaters were also felted down.

Kate will return to the museum in September to give another demonstration of traditional knitting.

(Below – Kate explained that she usually held the knitting stick under her armpit when she wasn’t demonstrating the more traditional method.)

The Friends of the DCM have the knitting stick as their logo, inspired and drawn by the artist Janet Rawlins over 20 years ago. Friends committee members, Sue Foster (chairman), Marilyn Cruikshanks, Martin Garside and Brian Alderman needed rather different implements on June 9 – and I put my camera aside for a while to join them.

They had set themselves the task of weeding and tidying the cottage garden at the east end of the museum. This was created by Sally Reckert and some DCM Friends in 2007 with the objective of showing what sort  of plants were grown in a small upper-dales cottage garden between 1900 and 1960. Marilyn commented: “We have not strayed too far from the original planting,” and added that the peonies and honesty were looking good alongside the catmint and forget-me-nots. The potato patch is also doing well. Below: the team at work. In the bottom photograph are, from the left, Marilyn, Brian, Sue and Martin.

I returned to the museum on Monday (June 13) for duty in the research room. I often sit there on my own and so took my laptop and some work with me. But this time there were family researchers waiting to get started at 10am. Jeremy and Kathy Kettlewell had already done a lot of research on their family history and had come prepared for a full day at the museum. Thanks to the hard work of Friends in the past (like the late Marian Kirby) there were plenty of transcripts of Anglican and Methodist church registers for them to study plus more nuggets of information tucked away in the Macfie-Calvert collection.

As I searched for additional information for them and for another researcher I found some nuggets myself. One of these was in a 1910 Almanack and described the post-Christmas festivities in Swaledale in the 19th century. That is likely to be reproduced in this year’s Now Then, the annual magazine of the Friends of the DCM. And the Kettlewell’s had an interesting story to share with me.

One of their ancestors was Thomas Kettlewell who lived near Aysgarth with his family in the late 19th century. In the 1881 census he was listed as having a lodger: Charles E Jagger, 21, professor of music and a composer who was, at that time, the organist of Aysgarth Church. The Kettlewells then showed me an article written by Matthew Beard which was published in the Independent in March 2006. This stated that Charles Jagger became a renowned classical composer and was commissioned to write the wedding score for the Duke and Duchess of Kent. He also had four children and one of his descendants, Mick Jagger, is renowned for a very different style of music.

The strategic and controversial changes at West Burton CofE School should not be implemented without proper consultation and detailed planning, Aysgarth and District parish council agreed at its meeting on June 30.

Fran Cartwright, whose daughter attends the school, told the councillors that a two-day trial had begun that week which involved bussing children aged between seven and 11 to Askrigg VC school for lessons. The parents had been told that this new system might begin in September now that West Burton school has become part of the BAWB Federation of schools which already included Bainbridge CofE and Askrigg.

Councillor David Pointon stated: “I am not happy with this situation because the children of this area deserve the best education that can be provided. And this is not the way to do it and that’s been well proved.”

He explained that there had been plenty of research to show that shipping children backwards and forwards had a negative impact upon them. Jason and Fran Cartwright said that the proposal would put all three schools at risk as parents would prefer to send their children to school at Leyburn instead.

It was pointed out that bussing children from West Burton to Askrigg would add an extra half-an-hour to the school day. “For little children that is a lot,” commented District Councillor Carolyn Thornton-Berry.

She attended the open forum meeting at the school on June 22 and reported: “What has really upset everybody was that this was produced almost as a fait accompli.”

Both she and Mr and Mrs Cartwright said that the parents could have been consulted much earlier. A key issue was that both Bainbridge and Askrigg schools now have financial deficits and it was expected that West Burton school would be in the red by April 2019.

Mrs Cartwright commented: “I can’t see how you can’t see a deficit coming.” Her husband said the parents would have organised fund raising events if they had known.

“We don’t have a problem with sharing resources,” Mrs Cartwright added. “What we [want] is our children being in a school which is sustainable and going forward.” She said the proposal would mean that a maximum of ten children would be taught at West Burton making it the smallest in the federation and, therefore, the most vulnerable.

“My daughter is having a fabulous education at West Burton and we have never before had cause to complain. And then this bombshell has been dropped,” Mrs Cartwright said.

Councillor Alison Sayer stated that West Burton school had always provided an excellent education. She had been a governor for 12 years and chair of the governors for eight of those. She spoke of her frustration that at the open forum meeting the executive head teacher, Charlotte Harper, did not appear to listen to the views of the parents.

Mrs Cartwright stated: “It doesn’t feel as if there has been a fair process. The process has been appalling.” Her husband said: “I believe that a strategic head who doesn’t teach should put forward more than one proposal.

“When we asked the head what the cost of transport would be she didn’t know,” he added. Parents have checked and found it could cost between £60 and £100 a day to bus children to and from Askrigg school.

At the open forum meeting 190 parents signed a petition which stated that they were in complete opposition to the proposal made by Miss Harper and the BAWB Federation governors to move class 2 (Key Stage 2 – ages 7-11) from West Burton to Askrigg as of September 2016.

Instead they supported an alternative solution which would address the difficulties faced by the federation whilst keeping a full range of KS2 education at both West Burton and Askrigg schools. (See their explanatory letter below)

Their alternative solution would mean continuing to have mixed-aged classes at West Burton. Cllr Sayer said that this was the norm in the Dales even though Miss Harper seemed to be against these.

The parish council agreed to write to the BAWB federation and to North Yorkshire County Council concerning the proposed changes.

NB – at the extraordinary meeting of the Federation Governors on June 22 it was decided to leave things as they are until Christmas and to make a decision in October which will be effective from January 2017.

THE PARENTS’ ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION:

Create a single KS2 class in Askrigg and retain the KS2 class in West Burton

Why?

• It’s cheaper – no transport costs, saving an estimated £11,000 per year compared to the original proposal of moving WB children to Askrigg¹.
• No disruption – no children move schools, siblings at West Burton stay together throughout primary school
• No further recruitment required (see below)
• Maintains full KS2 range at both schools
• All children remain with current classmates
• No changes to length of school day for anyone
• No risk caused by transporting children across the dale
• Social and academic benefits of mixed age range for all in federation, endorsed by WB’s latest Ofsted report and valued by both children and parents (see below)
• No effect on uniform policy
• Mitigates against further disruption at Askrigg with falling numbers making the current smaller age range classes untenable
• Safeguards the future of a school in West Burton

Staffing

West Burton KS2 – one teacher and TA

Askrigg KS2 – one teacher and two TAs

Identical to current staffing proposal – two classes, two teachers, three TAs.

Support for mixed age classes

We understand that teaching classes with a range of years is seen as challenging for the teachers within the federation. However, West Burton has an excellent record of succeeding in catering for a mixed age class. From West Burton’s latest Ofsted report (which was produced  in 2013 when the school had significantly larger class sizes than it does today):

“Teaching is good because of the way staff carefully plan lessons which cater exceedingly well for the wide age range within each class.”

This is even highlighted in the report as one of two key strengths in teaching at the school:

“There are many strengths in the teaching. In particular, the very positive relationships between staff and pupils, and the planning of activities which cater extremely well for different age groups and abilities in each class.”

Current pupils and their parents highly value the opportunity to be taught in a mixed age class, as heard at the public meeting, they feel this provides greater opportunity for personal and social development and is enjoyable. For example, an only child has the opportunity to make friends with and learn how to communicate effectively with children of different ages – something he or she does not have the opportunity to do at home.

This is backed up by the Ofsted report showing that pupils and parents are confident in the teaching being of an appropriate level:

“Pupils say that they enjoy their lessons because they are interesting and their work is usually set at about the right level, not too hard and not too difficult. Parents are very appreciative of the good quality teaching that they receive.”

Research shows that when a school is good at this (as West Burton clearly is), there is no adverse effect on academic achievement. In fact, it can improve academic achievement:

“The research supporting mixed-age classrooms indicates that academic achievement is the same as, or better than, the academic achievement of children in same-grade classrooms. Mixed-age classrooms do not negatively affect student achievement, and students in these classrooms have significantly more positive attitudes toward school, themselves, and others (Stone, 1998; Veenman, 1996). “²

Mixed age groupings usually mean the children keep the same teacher each year, allowing a much closer relationship to develop. Amongst a list of many other benefits, this research paper states that:

“Children have almost an extra month of teaching time, because the teacher does not have to spend the early weeks in the school year getting to know each child.”

Mixed age groups are common in small schools in the UK and can work very successfully, as they do currently in West Burton. Here are some of the benefits experienced by a school in rural Gloucestershire:

“Children benefit in many ways from the opportunity to become an ‘expert’ for the younger children and a positive role model which the younger children often aspire to. This ‘vertical’ grouping often nurtures thinking & problem solving skills, vocabulary & social competences. There is often a greater sense of cooperation and opportunities to work with a wider circle of peers. The children usually have several years  with the same teacher  and this provides a perfect opportunity for the teacher to develop a deeper understanding of a child’s needs and strengths and is therefore in a stronger position to better support the child’s learning.

In turn the child knows their teacher well, understands the expectations they have, and can build upon a level of trust that encourages them to ‘have a go’ or try something new.”³

For further support for small rural schools, we can look to the National Association for Small Schools, which says that:

“Small schools represent a wholesome and effective model of excellence in both academic achievement and personal development.”⁴

To summarise, a mixed age KS2 class is something that is endorsed by parents and children of West Burton School and that both experience and academic research have shown to have social, developmental and academic benefits.

Maintenance of a school in West Burton

West Burton School is at the heart of West Burton as a village. It contributes to the reasons new families come to the area and to why existing ones remain. Without it, we compound the problem of a changing, aging demographic in the area, giving families little reason to move in and play a role in our community. Inevitably, no village school will result in increasing the rate of declining numbers within the federation as a whole and thus increasing the deficit.

The latest Ofsted report says:

“The very strong links with parents, the church and the local community ensure that the school is an important part of the village.”

Even with the better-case scenario of half the school remaining open to pupils and half taught at Askrigg, the number of pupils will fall with parents preferring to send children elsewhere rather than attend West Burton for KS1 only. This is a real threat to the school if the original proposal goes ahead. Parents are already exploring other options for their children for September 2016.

Further support for numbers at West Burton

We also strongly favour, and would support in any way possible, an awareness campaign to attract children from Leyburn and surrounding areas. As suggested at the public meeting, many parents in this area do not realise that sending children to West Burton is an option. With Leyburn Primary at capacity, now is an ideal time to promote West Burton to those parents.

We also support the idea of exploring whether the official catchment area can be extended. West Burton School could explore the idea of contributing to transport costs for children outside of the current catchment if it is not funded centrally.

Summary

Note: Without official numbers provided by the Federation, these are numbers to the best of our knowledge.

^{1  Based on an informal quote from Fosters of £60 per day. At 39 weeks of school per year, this equates to around £11,000 per school year.}

^{2 Mixed-Age Grouping: What Does the Research Say, and How Can Parents Use This Information?  http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content4/mixed.age.group.pn.html}

^{3  http://www.randwickschool.org/information-for-parents/mixed-age-split-year-group-classes-in-schools/}

^{4 http://smallschools.org.uk/images/pdf/we-need-more-small-schools-jan-2015.pdf}

It is not much use having excellent specialist consultants available at a hospital if patients die before they get there, or a woman has to endure a complicated birth in the back of an ambulance.

This message was repeated again and again at the meeting at The Fountain Hotel in Hawes on Monday evening (August 1) at which Edmund  Lovell  outlined the objectives of the Better Health Programme envisaged by the NHS in Darlington, County Durham and Tees.  Mr Lovell is the associate director of marketing and communications at County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust.

He emphasised that they had not yet reached the consultation stage but did want feedback on the various issues raised by doctors working in the hospitals in that region.  These issues, he said, included the provision of high quality 24/7 services at a time when fewer junior doctors and consultants were available and the financial restraints within the NHS.

There had also been a considerable move towards specialisation in the past few years and consultants wanted assurance that there would be sufficient work for them to maintain their specialist skills, he said.

To meet national guidelines by having consultants available 24/7 the Trust had already been centralising some specialisations. An example of this is that most heart, stroke and trauma patients with life-threatening symptoms are now taken to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

He accepted that this caused problems for those who lived furthest away from Middlesbrough. Local residents reported that in Wensleydale this had led to long waits for ambulances to arrive.

There was considerable concern about the possibility of losing not just the 24/7 A&E unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital but also the consultant-led maternity and paediatric services there. Residents in North Yorkshire had been assured that those services would be available following the downgrading of facilities at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.

One woman told Mr Lovell: “You don’t know what it feels like to be in labour in an ambulance.”  She added that in some parts of the Dales there was no mobile signal so it was quite possible that an ambulance crew would not be able to contact anyone who could advise them if there were complications.

There was also concern that the JCUH was already under pressure with ambulances having to wait in queues until patients were admitted into the hospital. This increased the time that the ambulances were unavailable.

It was reported that in Wensleydale this had led to patients waiting between 20 to 40 minutes for an ambulance. In one case there was a 90 minute wait during which the patient died.

“This is why the air ambulance is so important,” said Gill Collinson, the chief nurse with the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (HRWCCG).   She told the meeting that the two new air ambulances would be able to fly at night.

“And that’s why landing lights are needed at the James Cook hospital,” said Burton-cum-Walden parish councillor Jane Ritchie, who is a member of the HRWCCG.

Both Ms Collinson and Mr Lovell said that one of the solutions to the problem of overcrowding at the JCUH was to move planned treatments such as hip and knee surgery to non-A&E hospitals. This would also ensure that such operations were not postponed due to emergency patients requiring surgery.

Friarage Hospital

Ms Collinson discussed some issues in more depth with those of us at her table. She explained that the HRWCCG had initially declined being involved in the discussions about the Better Health Programme because it had just completed a lengthy consultation concerning services at the Friarage Hospital. At that time the HRWCCG was assured that the consultant-led maternity and paediatric  services at the DMH would continue.

“If there were now proposals about any changes to the midwifery [and paediatric] services at Darlington we would object,” she said.

“We are trying to bring things back to the Friarage,” she added. Thoracic surgery was now being carried out there, more outpatients were being seen, and more cancer patients were receiving chemotherapy.  She said there were experienced physicians at the Friarage who were taking care of patients very well and enabling them to return home quickly. (This is  one of the key objectives of the Better Health Programme.)

Local residents emphasised that there was still a problem with ambulance transport even to the  Urgent Care Centre (for non-life threatening emergencies) at the Friarage. “We need more ambulances,” said Miss Ritchie.

Everyone agreed with Ms Collinson when she stated that one of the key issues was equity of access no matter how deeply rural a community might be.

Footnote: Mr Lovell said 700 clinical care standards had been collated for the Better Health Programme by doctors in Darlington, County Durham and Tees in accordance with national guidelines.   It is interesting to note that not one of those mentions equity of access.

The first two are:

A trained and experienced doctor (ST4 and above or doctor of equivalent competencies) in emergency medicine to be present in the emergency department 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A consultant in emergency medicine to be scheduled to deliver clinical care in the emergency department for a minimum of 16 hours a day (matched to peak activity), seven days a week. Outside of these 16 hours, a consultant will be on-call and available to attend the hospital for the purposes of senior clinical decision making and patient safety within 30 minutes.

For  more information see A&E services in the Upper Dales – a danger alert

The Young Archaeologists’ Club based at the Dales Countryside Museum celebrates its 10th birthday on December 3. As could be seen at the club meeting in November the young people have a lot of fun experiencing the past for themselves.

At the November meeting they worked with potters clay to try and reproduce Bronze Age beakers (above: like that created by Kathryn Lindsey) and reconstructing broken pottery. A Friend of the museum had the job, the day before, of smoothing down the edges on the shards of pottery.

In the latest edition of the Friends’ annual magazine, Now Then, Helen Schofield has an article about her ten years as a club member. She explained that their theme this year was prehistory.  “Over the years we have done many activities including  making butter, gas masks, and stonehenges. We’ve also had guest speakers who did talks on topics such as medieval archery, and Roman military techniques. Due to our outstanding leaders past and present, and their connections in the archaeological world, we have had the opportunity to participate in multiple digs. We have also been to a few festivals such as the Burnsall Viking Festival and the York Viking Festival, which were great fun.

“Overall my time with the Young Archaeologists’ Club has been a great experience and I have learnt a lot of new things from it. I would highly recommend it to anyone  interested in history…”

Below: Jane Filby showing Roland Hodgson how, during the Bronze Age, string was used to decorate pots.

My visits to the museum also gave me the opportunity to see how the new mining exhibit is developing under the road arch. As the museum  manager, Fiona Rosher, reported in Now Then, there was quite a varied team of volunteers who helped at the recent working day.

“The team, which was made  up of those who rescued the material originally, those who were involved in the [Yorkshire Dales] Mining Museum and our own  Dales Volunteers, was hugely enthusiastic and achieved everything within the day. It was wonderful to see knowledge and skills being shared in this way. We will be holding more working days as and when we are able to progress the re-assembly of the Providence Mine water wheel.”

The Yorkshire Dales Mining Museum based at Earby closed in the summer of 2015. It was agreed that the extensive collection relating to Dales mining industries between 1750 and 1910 could be moved to the Dales Countryside Museum. At present most of it is stored away in boxes. Each item will have to be checked and catalogued and new display cases will be required. The museum is seeking funding and grants so that changes can be made to the Goods Shed gallery so as to accommodate the mining display.

Below: David Carlisle, of the Earby Mines Research Group, cheerfully sharing his expertise and knowledge with Dales volunteers during the working day. From left: Mason Scarr, Stuart Armstrong, David Carlisle and Gill Robinson.

Once the track was laid the wagons, also brought from Earby, were put in place.

For more information about the Young Archaeologists’s Club and the museum why not buy a copy of this year’s Now Then. It costs only £2 and is available from the Dales Countryside Museum.

Yore Mill towers over the famous Aysgarth Falls, and the craft shop and teashop beside it. The original cotton mill was built there in 1784 but was heavily damaged by fire in 1852. It was rebuilt in its present form a year later. The mill was used by knitters during the late 19th century with corn grinding on the ground floor. The latter continued until after the 2nd World War, running alongside the flour-rolling plant which was installed 1912. Flour production ceased in 1958 and the mill was used as a cattle food depot for ten years. It became the home of George Shaw’s Carriage Museum from 1969 until 2003.

The poor state of the roof of Yore Mill has led to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) even considering compulsory purchase as a means of conserving this important, Grade II listed building.

At the full Authority meeting on Tuesday December 20 at Yoredale in Bainbridge the members will be asked to attend a site meeting with the owners at Yore Mill.

The two options they will consider are: to work with the current owners to secure roof repairs by negotiation and with direct financial backing; or for the Authority to take a more forcible approach using its legal powers.

The latter would require a Repairs Notice to be served on the owners which will give them at least two months to take reasonable steps to carry out a prescribed set of repairs. If that is not done the Authority would then consider compulsory purchase even though that would represent a major commitment.

In a report to the Authority Thomas Harland, its planning policy officer, stated that Yore Mill was at risk.

He reported: “The extent of the water damage is such that some of the structural roof timbers are beginning to be compromised, meaning that at least partial roof collapse is becoming increasingly likely. The fact that so many slates are no longer secured in position means the building also presents a risk to public safety.

“The owners have ambitions to use the mill as a paid-entry visitor attraction, with retail facilities for handcrafted goods, some of which would be produced in workshops on the premises, alongside displays relating to the heritage of the Dales.

“They submitted a planning application for a similar use in 2003 but this was refused due to a lack of detail of the exact nature of the use and a lack of consideration of traffic and visitor management implications of such an attraction. The lack of any on-site parking facilities remains a significant constraint.

“The Authority has been in discussion with the owners since 2010 and has offered advice on potential funding streams and suitable uses. The owners have stated that they do not have the resources to finance any repair scheme.

“They still believe that fundraising from various charitable trusts, attracting a development partner to invest in the Mill, together with a proposed ‘crowd funding’ appeal, are capable of yielding enough money to realise their proposed end use.”

It is always encouraging when Pipspatch provides a way for people to re-connect, as happened for Graham and Mary Watts in 2016 and, in a way, for Catherine Conrad in February 2017. 

In March 2016 Richie Watts, who lives in Devon,  posted this comment on the article I wrote in 2013  about Graham and Mary : “Just shown my children Finley and Matilda a picture of their great great uncle!” He explained that Graham is the brother of his grandfather, Arthur Watts.

I obtained Graham and Mary’s permission to give their telephone number to Richie and soon afterwards he sent me a photo of their family reunion. He commented: “It was great to catch up with them after so many years.”  His great uncle was also very pleased. (Above: Graham and Mary with Richie and his family)

Then, in December 2016, Alan Katanka, sent this comment concerning the same post about the Watts: “What a lovely article. Mary Watts produced a Morning Worship programme n the Leeds Belgrave Street Synagogue for Yorkshire TV (aired 1st Feb 1981) featuring my late father, Rev David Katanka, and Rabbi Dr Solomon Brown. Ever since my father’s untimely death a few years ago I have desperately been trying to find a recording of this wonderful service (I was present as a six-year-old). I was wondering if Mary would have a copy or know who would have one.”

I put him in contact with Graham and Mary and he sent them more details about that TV programme which included the name of the man who directed it – Munro Forbes. When they Googled that name they found that Munro was now in Cyprus. He is the director of the Cyprus Media School and a Sigma TV executive. The courses at the school include: stage and TV production design; media and TV; TV journalism; and shooting and editing for TV.

“When we finally got in touch with him  he said ‘you and Mary were very encouraging to me’. He was delighted to hear from us. He mailed us back in no time at all to say  he had access to the recording. He couldn’t vouch for the quality of it because it was an old VHS. He also  had a copy of the script. He managed to doctor the VHS so that he could transmit it to us.” They sent that on to Alan.

After Christmas they were in contact with another former colleague who had just had triple bypass heart surgery. He, also, was very pleased to be put in touch with Munro Forbes again.

In March 2016 I was also able to put the Watts in contact with Sue Fox who had a 90-year-old friend, Evelyn Stevenson, who wanted to renew her connection with them. She had appeared on Farmhouse Kitchen, the Yorkshire Television programme that Graham and Mary directed and produced from 1971 to 1983.

Mothering Sunday flowers

Catherine Conrad, who lives on the southern Oregon coast in the United States, contacted me via Pipspatch in February 2017 because she wanted flowers delivered to the grave of Betty Hey (1928-1981) in Aysgarth churchyard. 

I have a copy of the list of gravestones and memorials at Aysgarth which was compiled by Evelyn Abraham and the late Marian Kirby. I was, therefore, able to send details of the location to her so that she could place an order for flowers with Lamberts of Leyburn in time for Mothering Sunday. 

Catherine explained: “Betty was a dear friend of my mother, who died recently. I think those days must have been the happiest of her life, from the way she went on about it during the last months. Literally, her heyday.”

No one was more surprised than Brigitte Duquesnoy of Hawes when her charity calendar raised £450 to be shared between the Great North Air Ambulance and Breast Cancer Research.

When Brigitte and I set out for Kirkby Stephen in July last year neither of us knew what to expect when we reached the Picture House Portraits studio.

‘I wanted some photographs for my family. It’s my grandmothers 85th birthday at Christmas and she loves having photos of her grandkids and great grandkids,’ she said later. ‘I have never found myself photogenic and I thought a professional photographer would see me in a different light.’

Brigitte and I have been friends since she came to me as an au pair over 20 years ago. The first thing she said to me and my young son, Eddie, was: ‘I don’t like children, I can’t cook and I can’t drive!’

Not the best start, but we all became good friends very quickly and the arrangement worked very well. She returned to Belgium about a year later and then decided she preferred Wensleydale so she came back as our lodger, learnt to drive and found work locally. She joined the Wensleydale Creamery 18 years ago, met Kevin Fothergill, and so moved to Hawes.

I was looking forward to the lovely drive to the studio in Kirkby Stephen but both of us were nervous. Brigitte had seen the studio after an appointment at a holistic centre there.

She told me: ‘I went to the bakery to buy some cakes and I noticed its Art Deco shop front. I really like retro and vintage. Instead of doing something modern I wanted something quirky, something different.

‘I asked you to come with me to help choose costumes. I’ve never been into dresses before. It was quite daunting. At my age (she was then 44) I never expected to do such things. I hate posing.’

She found it even more daunting when she found that the studio was holding an open day and she would have an audience. But that audience included two experienced models, Kerry Delia and Emma Higginson,  and one of them set to work on transforming Brigitte into a quite stunning 1920s lady. Getting her to relax in front of the camera took a bit longer.

It was fascinating to watch the transformation thanks to the encouragement of the photographer, Andrew Fowler, and the two models. The studio had an array of costumes and Brigitte moved on from the 1920s through to the 1950s.

‘When I saw the results it was such a morale booster. It was quite an eye-opener. It brought me a lot of confidence. I would advise it for anybody because he did a very good job,’ she said.

She was so encouraged that she decided to enter a competition for a free photo shoot with Andrew and, to her amazement, was the winner.This time Kevin accompanied her for what became a truly memorable occasion which provided most of the photos for her charity calendar.

‘The photographs were just for fun – for family and friends,’ she said. But then she discussed with Kevin the possibility of creating a charity calendar.

For many years she has been involved with fundraising for charities: helping with the garden parties organised by Pauline and Bill Hasted of Mallerstang to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance; and then baking cakes for events at the Creamery during the annual Breast Cancer Awareness month. (She is now an excellent cook.)

So they contacted Simon Iveson of Pennine Print. ‘Without Simon we would not have been able to raise as much – he charged us as little as possible,’ she commented.

Andrew designed the A5 size calendar free of charge and all the profits have gone to the charities.

Once they had a preview copy pre-orders were taken by Carol Waggett at the Creamery so that there would be no surplus stock. By Christmas they had 86 orders, and afterwards the number went up to 102.

‘I never thought I would get 100 but it’s quite funny to see me in that kind of attire. That’s probably why people have bought it – it was funny and it was like something nobody expected me to do.’

She took a set of photos to her family in Belgium at Christmas and even her grandmother liked the calendar. ‘She was delighted. She could not believe that I dared to do such things because she knew I never liked my photo taken.

‘I never thought we would raise as much. I want to thank everyone who supported us,’ Brigitte said.

Now people are asking if she will make another calendar for next year. She is not sure that even for charity she will be brave enough to do it again.

The playground at the only school for the blind in the Gambia has been repaired thanks to a cooperative effort between the Friends of Visually Impaired Children in the Gambia charity (FGVI) and Rug Aid.

When Heather Ritchie of Rug Aid visited the Gambia in February to run more workshops for the blind she saw how the playground had been damaged when building work was carried out in the compound of the Gambia Organisation for the Visually Impaired (GOVI) last year (top). She immediately posted an appeal for funds on her Facebook page and stated:

“Devastated to find the blind school playground in this state. [Usually] we could hear the screams of delight.” She said later: “The children normally play there after school. They don’t want to go home as they live in total isolation as they are blind.”

I spotted that post and contacted her as a trustee of FGVI. Back in 2007 my partner, David Pointon (a founder trustee of FGVI), and I had introduced Heather to the Gambia and to GOVI. Heather lives “just over the hill” from us in Reeth, Swaledale.

FGVI was set up in 1998 after an appeal from GOVI for assistance. At that time the school was housed in a small tin-roofed extension to another school. “We raised the money to build the school and other buildings, and to provide the children with the playground,” David said.

The playground was constructed under the supervision of FGVI’s representative in the Gambia, Lamin Saidy, who had designed it. Over the years he has done a lot to maintain the playground and the buildings, sometimes with the assistance of those who joined David on overland journeys to the Gambia to deliver equipment and vehicles to the school. (Below: Ken Nicholas and Lamin Saidy painting the seesaw in 2008.)

When the charity’s chairman, Phil Feller, visited the Gambia with his wife, Joan, in November last year they too were determined to see the playground repaired and authorised Lamin Saidy to find a welder. But then came the chaos that followed the elections and the welder was among those who fled.

He returned in February and it was agreed that Lamin Saidy and Rug Aid would cooperate with the playground repairs. So Heather and her daughter, Chrissie, were able to watch the transformation taking place.

Heather rents one of the buildings on the GOVI compound that FGVI had built. It is well cared for by Ernest Faal, one of her first blind rag rug makers. He manages the project when she is not there, does the marketing and has encouraged the school children to learn rug making.

There were about 30 men and women a day attending the workshops in February, some with their babies. “We are very proud of them,” Heather said. While she was helping them, drawing patterns, hemming, and sorting fabrics out, Chrissie was giving mobility training including how to use the white canes they had brought from England. She also trained teachers in how to help the blind and visually impaired.

Even though they were so busy they found time to assess some of the other needs of the school. Between 2009 and 2011 FGVI worked with the UK Parliamentary Football Club to provide the school with a goal ball court. Sadly that court is now badly in need of repair.So supporters of Rug Aid are now trying to raise funds for that. It is planned that this and other repairs at the school will be carried out as another joint Rug Aid and FGVI venture.

What does it take to get repair work carried out, rather than gaps being filled with barriers as at Bishopdale Bridge, Thornton Rust and now at Aysgarth Falls?

This is a question that has often been debated at the meetings of Aysgarth and District Parish Council. Take Bishopdale Bridge (shown above) for example. The parish council told North Yorkshire County  Council’s highways department about the hole on one side of the bridge in 2015 after a heavy vehicle damaged it. Since then the highways department has been informed when other vehicles have caused further damage.

In December 2014 the parish council reported that part of the road along the Scar between Thornton Rust and Cubeck was collapsing.  The councillors were particularly concerned because  traffic is diverted along that road when the A684 west of Aysgarth is closed due to flooding. The highways department placed barriers to barricade the breach in January 2015 but nothing has been done since.  (Below: heavy traffic passing the barricade in November 2015)

For months the parish council has also been asking when a large pothole at Thoralby will be repaired. The highways department did deliver some barriers! (Below: Cllr Brian McGregor, chairman of Aysgarth and District Parish Council, in that hole at Thoralby.)

At the end of May 2017 work began on rebuilding a wall along the north side of the bottom of Church Bank by Aysgarth Falls, and fresh tarmac will be laid on the sharp bend there. 

But at the May meeting of the parish council it was reported that the condition of Bishopdale Bridge had further deteriorated. 

There were two excellent exhibitions at The Old School House (TOSH) in Leyburn throughout April: one by photographer Clive Herdman, and the other of some of the brilliant wrought ironwork produced by Brian and Ivan Russell and Tom Savage at the Little Newsham Forge in Teesdale. (Above: a wrought iron rose forged by Tom Savage.)

Brian Russell will be giving a demonstration at TOSH from 11am to 4pm on Monday, May 1. He began using traditional forging methods 40 years ago and has trained his son, Ivan, and many journeymen like Tom.

It is obvious that Brian loves being creative and he is a true artist as well as a highly skilled artisan, using wrought iron like others use paint. His work is reminiscent of the organic creativity of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

In the Studio at TOSH there are some amazing examples of the work produced at the Little Newsham Forge including the gates with which Brian won the wrought ironwork competitions at the Yorkshire Show in 2015 and 2016.

There are also photographs of commissions they have undertaken, from the initial designs to the completed work. These show how brilliantly Brian can design wrought ironwork which is not only evokes the best of the Arts and Crafts Movement but also fits perfectly with a modern setting.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a fascinating garden sculpture which Brian designed.

This exhibition continues until Monday May 8, whereas the photographic exhibition in the Café will finish on Thursday, April 27.

Clive Herdman is a retired GP who now does voluntary work in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The inspiration for many of his photographs comes from the National Park such as his Winter in Wensleydale and his excellent study of Swaledale sheep.

For some of his other landscapes he has gone further afield. The most striking is that of an awesome sunrise at Kefalonia.

TOSH is open from 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday. Refreshments are available in the café when there are films being shown.

On Thursday July 20 two new exhibitions started at TOSH. That by John Hunter in the Café is a must to go and see especially during the Leyburn 1940s weekend (July 22-23) as he is a master at depicting the aeroplanes and vehicles of that period. It is not surprising that he is so well-known nationally for his aviation artwork. His exhibition at TOSH will end on Thursday August 10.

The exhibition in the Studio entitled “Air, Earth, Fire and Water” continues until Tuesday August 15. This features the work of textile artist Helen Winthorpe Kendrick and is a celebration of life encompassing the ancient Greek belief that everything was made up of air, earth, fire and water.

Memories of the Elite Cinema in Leyburn were on show in the café at The Old School House (TOSH) until mid July while upstairs in the Studio there was an exhibition of watercolours by Fay Chetwood.

The memorabilia from the cinema included colourful cartoons, posters of the various farces presented by the Leyburn Amateur Dramatic Society (LADS) including “No Sex Please We’re British”, and the days when a group of volunteers showed films at what was then called The Picture House.There were also written memories of the Elite from the 1930s until the 1970s.

The cartoon above was drawn to illustrate this one from the 1930s: “Ladies from Aysgarth used to cycle to Leyburn, to the cinema to watch a film. And then cycle all the way back! Not many people had cars and there were no buses in the evening.”  The cinema was popular then as few people had TVs.

The exhibition upstairs was very different with a wide range of scenes from North Yorkshire, from coastal landscapes to snow covered Dales barns. Chetwood was born and bred in the North Yorkshire moors and her pictures capture her love and deep appreciation of the area.

The Old School House art centre is open from 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and also for evening film showings.

Below: Fay Chetwood’s “Low Tide” on the River Esk at Whitby.

On August 12 Thornton Rust – one of the smallest villages in Yorkshire –  will stage its 35th country show. It might even be the smallest country show in Yorkshire, or even England.

There are always memorable floral arrangements (especially the miniatures); fascinating entries in the children’s and crafts sections; a mouth- watering display of baked cakes, flans, breads and preserves; and the produce from various gardens.

The show was started by Ron Jones and his wife, Chris. They got the idea from Rufforth where they lived before moving to Thornton Rust and Ron saw the show as a way of drawing the community together.

(Above) The late Chris Jones studying the arts and crafts exhibits in 2008

The potato competition, and the spud raising ceremony that preceded it, hasn’t been held for several years but they still have one for the longest stalk of rhubarb.

The prize money hasn’t changed since the show started in 1983: 20p for coming first in a class; 15p for being second; and the princely sum of 10p for coming third. But most people don’t collect their prize money. Instead it is left in the kitty.In 2008 the proceeds of the show, about £500, went  towards the cost of replacing the roof of the village institute. There are trophies, however, for those gaining the highest number of points in various categories.

The first trophies were presented in 1986, including that from Fred Thwaites for the resident obtaining the highest number of points overall. Below right: Fred at the 2015 show.

“It’s such a magical show” commented local artist, Roger Lofts when he and his wife visited the show in 2015

For historian and author, Juliet Barker, it was her first visit and she said: “I am absolutely amazed at the quality and quantity of what’s here. I just can’t believe that one tiny village like this has got so many talented bakers and so many talented gardeners.”

Parish councillor David Pointon, who presented the trophies this year, told everyone: “As usual it’s a magnificent display – I don’t know how it happens every year but it does.”

After the trophies have been presented the auction of produce begins, which is always a fun event. These days the auctioneer is Alwyn Spence. He took over from Tot Dinsdale in 2005. Tot died just four days after the show in 2012. Below: Tot presenting a trophy to Charlotte Mudd in 1997.

Aysgarth and District Parish Council report, September 2017: shortage of ambulances in dales; Bishopdale Bridge; future of Askrigg, Bainbridge and West Burton Schools; and proposed new slurry store at Town Head Farm, Thoralby.

The shortage of emergency ambulances serving the dales is causing considerable distress to patients, Aysgarth and District parish councillors were told at the September meeting.

North Yorkshire county councillor John Blackie stated: “The fact is that there simply are not sufficient emergency ambulances because so many services are being transferred to far distant hospitals like the James Cook [at Middlesbrough].

“The ambulances are completely and utterly overwhelmed. The front-line staff are brilliant but there’s not enough of them and they can’t be in two places at once.

“I am making a very determined attempt to get the CCG [Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group] to resource another emergency ambulance. As it stands now we can’t cope.”

The parish council heard reports that Community First Responders (who are all volunteers) are often waiting 35 to 40 minutes for an ambulance to reach a patient.

Repairs needed. – “There are several ambulances each day going up and down Bishopdale – and that’s why it’s important that the bridge is repaired,” said councillor Alison Sayer. She reported that nothing had been done yet to repair it and bits continued to fall off. (Below)

Nor have any repairs been carried on the road between Thornton Rust and Cubeck. It was reported that recently an articulated lorry and a 7 ½ ton lorry had great difficulty passing each other on the road to Thornton Rust. The councillors wondered if a weight limit could be imposed, and traffic directed via Askrigg when the A684 was flooded.

It was noted that, yet again, some motorists had driven past “road flooded” signs and then got stuck in floods along the A684.

Local schools. – The council supported maintaining all three schools (Askrigg, Bainbridge and West Burton). There was concern that if a programme of closure began that the only one left in mid Wensleydale would be that at Askrigg.

It was pointed out that when West Burton school joined in federation with the other two schools in May 2016 it had about £27,000 in hand. And yet the federation is now expected to have a deficit of around £90,000. “Where has the money gone?” asked the clerk. Cllr Blackie said that the federation will be asked to give a full account.

Councillor Robert Walker said that any closures would mean the loss of social amenity and the ability of the villages to attract young families.

Cllr Sayer commented: “I was chair of governors [at West Burton] for eight years and we ran a very healthy school financially and educationally. West Burton school has produced a lot of very highly successful people as a lot of these small dales school have. And it doesn’t want to be lost.”

“They are taught to be autonomous learners and not to be fed information,” explained Jane Huntington.

Thoralby. – Mrs Huntington reported to the parish council the concerns expressed by villagers at the extraordinary parish meeting held two days earlier about the proposal by Town Head Farm to construct a 40.5m diameter slurry store above the west end of Thoralby. Photo: the slurry store to be located in the third field from the houses, just beyond the cows.

The parish council agreed that it wished to support local farmers. It also, in general, supported the principle and the agricultural need for a new slurry store at Town Head Farm. It did, however, feel that it was essential that the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s planning committee should hold a site meeting as there were a number of amendments to the scheme that the parish council and residents would like to see made to mitigate the impact of such a large slurry store upon the residents and the landscape. It was agreed that those concerns could be better explained at a site meeting.

Thornton Rust. – It was reported that the project to tidy up the Outgang car parking area was going very well thanks to the work of a small group of volunteers. The next stage is to install a picnic table and a bench.

For more about Aysgarth and District Parish Council see: www.aysgarthanddistrict.co.uk

The Yorkshire Autumn Festival at St Andrew’s Church, Aysgarth, was an inspiring and very enjoyable way to learn more about some of the finest of our British music composers.

The weekend of six concerts was organised by the English Music Festival. Its founder director, Em Marshall-Luck explained: “The EMF was founded to celebrate the music of British composers of all times, with a strong focus on the Golden Renaissance of English Music – the early to mid-twentieth century – and to reintroduce to the repertoire those many wonderful works and composers who had been overlooked for many decades.”

It began on the Friday evening with a remarkable performance of Stanford’s Piano Trio no.2 in G Minor by Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin), Joseph Spooner (cello) and Duncan Honeybourne (piano).

The following morning Honeybourne (above) gave a virtuoso solo performance ranging from Alwyn’s Sonata alla Toccata to Ireland’s Sarnia: an Island Sequence. He moved effortlessly from delicately caressing the piano keys to dramatic flourishes as he shared his love of the music with his audience.

During that concert several in the audience heard some of Robin Milford’s music for the first time. “We have learnt new things during these concerts,” author Juliet Barker commented. Like others, she found it difficult to choose any highlights for all the concerts were so memorable.

The other musicians who took part and who were so exceptional were: pianists Rebeca Omordia and Kathryn Mosley; and soloist Christopher Foster.

At the end of the weekend Barker said: “It has been a rare and wonderful privilege. Hopefully they [the English Music Festival] will come back.”

Em Marshall-Luck responded that they would like to. “It’s a beautiful church, it’s a beautiful location, and we absolutely adore the Yorkshire Dales. I wanted to create a family atmosphere in a beautiful place and this building ticks all the boxes.”

The chairman of Aysgarth and District Parish Council, John Dinsdale, was delighted in October 2017 when Thornton Rust ’s  Kennel Field Trust was highly commended at the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust awards ceremony. The award included £4,000 which, he said, would cover the cost of more environmental work at the Kennel Field.  My article (below) about the Kennel Field which was published in The Dalesman in 2014.

The Kennel Field

Above Thornton Rust there is a very special place to sit and enjoy the beauty of Wensleydale – and thanks to the hard work of many of the villagers there are no ugly blemishes on that landscape. Instead the Kennel Field is bedecked with wild flowers in Spring. (Above: Looking down from the top of the Kennel Field with the restored barn on the right, the mash house below it, and Thornton Rust in the distance. Click on this picture to see more photos)

Deborah Millward was so excited in November 2014 that she had to tell everyone connected with that field: “Hurray! Today a black grouse was feeding on one of the old hawthorn trees.” Deborah, who had just retired as chair of the Yorkshire Dales Biodiversity Forum, had a very different view of the Kennel Field when she first saw it in 1983. She and her husband, Ian, had walked up to field next to the lime kiln on the south side of the village. Looking back towards Carperby Moor she thought: “Wow – this is a beautiful place”.

But then she glanced downwards and saw the kennels which had been built as the summer retreat for the Wensleydale Hounds in the 19th century. “They were a real blot on the landscape,” she said. The other two buildings in the field – the mash house and a traditional barn – were also semi derelict.

When she studied the field more closely, however, as part of her moving from being a microbiologist in the food and water industries to a botanist, she realised that it was home to over 120 species of plants. “That is quite impressive. A lot of pastures are not as nearly as diverse,” she explained. “The field had never been improved and there is a wet bit with marsh marigold and meadow sweet. Probably the rarest thing in there is the flat sedge. That has declined nationally and the Kennel Field is a hot spot in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.”

She began dreaming of protecting the field and discussed her ideas with some of the villagers, including Aysgarth and District parish councillor and local farmer, John Dinsdale. As a child he had played there with his friends and so the idea of the field being special was a novel one.

What did concern him was that the old kennels were becoming so unsafe. “They were a danger to kids – because they used to play on the roof and that could have fallen through.” And they might then have been impaled on the old railings.

He added:“The barn and the mash house were going to fall down if they didn’t have something done to them. It’s a lovely spot now and it’s canny you can go up there and sit on the seat and enjoy it.”

That transformation came about because Deborah realised that funds might be available through the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) after it was set up in 1996. But first she needed the landowner’s permission to demolish the kennels. To her surprise the owner, Arthur Metcalfe, suggested they should buy the field. And so the Kennel Field Trust was born with John as its chairman. The many hours he, Deborah and other members of the management group spent working in that field counted as match funding.

Deborah put the project forward to the YDMT to be included in its application to the Millennium Commission. “The Kennel Field ticked all the boxes for the Millennium Commission,” explained David Sharrod, the YDMT director. “It came from the community, it was wild life and it was restoring historical sites. It was one of the first we managed to fund and certainly one of the first that we made work.”

The YDMT not only allocated some of the Lottery funds to the Kennel Field Trust but also obtained some European funding for the project. In addition to a small grant from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society the Kennel Field Trust also received a grant from the ESA Conservation Plan and that was used to purchase the field.

But back in Thornton Rust it wasn’t all plain sailing. There were some who were very suspicious and were worried that the Kennel Field would become a financial burden on the small community. One who expressed his doubts was Colin Day. “Afterwards I felt I had done wrong and I thought I would chip in and do a bit,” he said.

He certainly did chip in for he set himself the task of cleaning the lime mortar off of 100 bricks a day. “I chipped away at many, many thousands. It was snowing at times and it was jolly cold.” John would regularly drive a tractor to the field to knock down more of the roofing and Colin helped to demolish the walls. Others did help with cleaning the bricks and slowly they accumulated 8,800 which were sold to the builder who was restoring the barn.

That bit of extra money helped as Deborah hadn’t budgeted for buying good quality Northerly calcareous mix of seeds to restore the land where the kennels had been. The verges along the lane to the village were also reseeded as so much had been swept away by flooding before the new culvert was installed. The breeze blocks from the kennel runs were crushed and used to create the bridge over that culvert.

The rich mix of wild flowers in the Kennel Field had come about because Arthur Metcalfe had only grazed cattle there. Sheep would have damaged many of those plants explained John. Now a local farmer grazes her cattle there just twice a year the first period being for six weeks from June 1 – after that glorious display of wood anemones, marsh marigolds, cowslips and early purple orchids.

The cattle return after the summer flowering of plants like scabious and ox-eye daisies. “They graze it again in the autumn just to take all the growth off. It would just form a mass of dead material and the little seedlings wouldn’t be able to get through,” Deborah explained.

With so little grazing the field could easily become overgrown with hawthorn bushes if Deborah didn’t regularly weed out newcomers. Ragwort has no place there for the members of the management group pulled so many out in the first few years after the Kennel Field was officially opened in 2000. These were stored in the mash house until they were dry enough to burn.

The management group organises a maintenance day each Spring when woodwork is treated, injurious weeds like dock are pulled out and there is a general tidy up. Other jobs have included putting up a fence to stop calves going into the lime kiln and damaging it.

There wasn’t that much to do until someone realised a few years ago that a corner of the barn was sinking. John explained that the marshy area was increasing in size as it was being fed by a stream flowing down the field near the barn. So some of the villagers installed a drainage pipe.

“We do need a small steady income to maintain the two buildings, the gates and some fencing,” Deborah commented. That income has come from the ESA scheme since the field was bought but that ended in 2014. So now those on the management committee are looking for ways to cover this shortfall. For they are determined that many others in the future will be able to sit on that seat and share in that Wow factor.

Deborah reported in November 2017  that sadly the black grouse was no longer using the field’s hawthorn tree.

The Outgang at Thornton Rust is the perfect place to start a walk along the bridleway to Thornton Rust Moor and then, via a permissive footpath, to the site of an ancient settlement at the top of Addlebrough.  For those who don’t want to go so far it is but a gentle walk up to the old lime kiln and into the Kennel Field where there is a seat overlooking the village. (Above: preparing the site for a picnic bench, with the bridleway on the other side of the beck. )

This summer some of the villagers have worked very hard to create a new car parking area at the Outgang and in doing so revealed features of the village’s agricultural and social past. (Click on the picture to see more photos of the work at the Outgang. )

They were grateful for a grant from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s sustainability fund which will also cover the cost of preparing and installing an interpretation board. This will show how West Beck was dammed each year up until the beginning of the 20th century to form a pond where sheep could be washed to remove salve and lanolin before being clipped.

The salve, according to Eleanor Scarr, was a mixture of rancid butter and tar which helped to stop the sheep being struck by flies. In this year’s Now Then (the annual magazine of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum) there is an interview with her and her brother, Owen Metcalfe, about how farmers like their father, Sidney Metcalfe, used the beck – and how, on a hot summer’s day they would dam it so that the children could play in the water. Copies of the magazine are on sale (£2 each) at the museum in Hawes.

Ecologists congratulate the villagers

In November 2017 Deborah Millward wrote:

Last month I led a group of ten ecologists a short walk round the village. We discussed the West End Bank, which had just been cut and cleared, much to their approval.

I then showed them the new car park area up the Outgang describing the morass of docks and ground elder that had previously featured there. The consensus was that even if the “dreaded weeds” had not been defeated, the eventual increase in biodiversity was worth the effort. They greatly appreciated the improved facilities.

In East Lane I explained the problems we had experienced with water eroding the track. The new drain, funded by the Parish Wildlife Scheme, had gone in and the track could be restored. The Catchment Sensitive Farming Scheme was a possible source of funding for keeping silt out of the stream.

We discussed how best to manage the grazing to protect the flower-rich sections. Their advice was to graze in the autumn with cattle to remove the bulk of the year’s growth, then to follow this with sheep at some time in the winter months.

In the Kennel Field I showed them photos of the site before work started almost 20 years ago. The present day scene of trees and honeysuckle created a good impression, especially with the RSPB person. Sadly I had to report that black grouse no longer used the field’s hawthorn trees. The group were full of praise for the effort villagers were making to conserve and restore wildlife and wished us luck with East Lane.