In the 1950s Frank Knowles was Wensleydale’s archetypal news photographer – and from Friday January 18 until Sunday February 17 60 of his magnificent black and white photographs are on show at Tennants Garden Rooms in Leyburn. These include his favourite news picture – the one he took of the Queen Mother when her train stopped at Harrogate Station (left)

He was working for the Ackrill Group of newspapers based in Harrogate and had gone there to process the glass slides which were then used as negatives. He was asked to go to the station and try and get a photo of the Queen Mother.

“Everything was cordoned off. There wasn’t a soul on the platform but I got on alright. It was a long train and I had to go right down the platform. Eventually I found the Queen Mother. She was sat at the window, had her glasses on, her ledger open and was writing in it.

“I bowed my head to be respectful and I pointed down at the camera. She [signalled to me] to wait a minute and I thought ‘Oh, all the security people are going to come and catch me.’ She just took off her glasses, put them to one side, closed the ledger and she posed. And I took that picture. I was absolutely amazed. I thought how nice it was of her. She could so easily have waved me out of it. I was quite prepared that if she did tell me to be off I would have done so without taking a picture. I think it’s a good picture.”

Frank was 15 when he left Harrogate Grammar School and joined the Ministry of Aircraft Photographic Laboratory in Harrogate in 1943. His job entailed making 8×6 inch contact prints from whole plate glass negatives. He explained: “Many of these were photographs of new and secret aeroplanes and were subject to Official Secrets Regulations.

“When the Ministry of Aircraft moved back to London I started as a printer with the Ackrill Group.” He did his two years National Service in the Army during when he continued his interest in photography. He even took the official photos of his Company Commander, Officers and NCOs for recording purposes.

THE LIFE OF RILEY

“When I returned [to the Ackrill Group] from National Service, I started using a press camera in earnest in both Harrogate and Thirsk. Soon after this I was asked to cover the Wensleydale area. It was the life of Riley. I cannot think of any better job in the world – to be given a camera and told to go up into the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and record the people and events. I had a completely free rein as long as I sent in a supply of pictures each week.”

Those provide a remarkable glimpse into the life and times of the dale which became his home. They include house fires, train crashes, local gymkhanas and dramatic winter weather.

“Perhaps the most memorable and scary event was being with a bomb disposal team on the moors and actually touching a live 100lb German bomb prior to it being detonated,” he commented.

The bomb disposal unit from Portsmouth had been sent to Wether Fell near Hawes in 1957 to deal with the bomb. The unit took five weeks to reach it but Frank had only a fraction of a second to photograph the 200ft-high plume of debris when it exploded.

It was even harder for him to estimate the right moment to take a photograph when one of the largest prepared explosions in England took place in Redmire Quarry in 1952. His photograph showed the rock face bulging outwards due to the impact of the 3,750lbs of explosives when they were detonated inside a tunnel.

“I had to follow a lot of ambulances to get one good story,” he told me. One ambulance took him to the Blea Moor tunnel near Ribblehead station where, in April 1952, the morning express from Glasgow to London had crashed. He was the first pressman at the scene and took some moving photographs of not only the crash, complete with discarded pram, but also of a mother and her baby waiting with other slightly injured passengers for transport.

Frank didn’t chase fire engines. Instead he often beat Leyburn’s retained firemen to a fire.

“The firemen then had only basic equipment and no radio pagers,” he said. “They had to rely on the siren and if they were working out of town they couldn’t hear it. The fire engines were not much better than Green Goddesses. When I heard the siren I went to the fire station to find out what sort of fire it was. The fire engine was quite ponderous and could not go as fast as my van.”

THE FIREMAN’S ASSISTANT

One day only two turned up at the fire station, a fireman and himself! They loaded a couple of extinguishers into his press van and went to a house in Leyburn where a settee was smouldering. “The fireman and I carried it out into the garden and he put the fire out.” Not surprisingly Frank has no photographs of that fire scene.

But he did get others such as in Bedale when a car burst into flames behind Mr Brears’ ironmongery shop. The man who had been working on the car was in flames as he ran for help. Frank arrived in time to photograph people using new buckets from the ironmongery as they helped quench the flames.

“I was also involved in life and death situations,” he said. “On one occasion I helped a farmer to deliver a calf with a difficult birth. I pulled on a rope around the calf’s legs. Another time I took some photos of a fire where an old gentleman died. The photos were used by the police at the inquest – obviously they were not published.

“I was fortunate that I had a good relationship with the police. On one occasion I provided transport to take an officer on to the moor to try and rescue a swan [which had fallen] down a mineshaft. Unfortunately it had to be shot as no one could get near enough to rescue it.“

The police once asked me to keep an eye out for two young boys who were missing from home in Sunderland. When returning to Leyburn from Hawes Sports, I saw two youngsters near Bainbridge. I returned to Hawes, picked up a police officer and we caught up with the boys who turned out to be the missing pair. They had been camping near the river. I looked after one while the officer took to the other boy to their camp to collect clothes etc. I received a letter of thanks from the grateful parents.”

JUST ONE CHANCE

Photographing action shots was not easy in the days when photographers had to use heavy quarter-plate glass slides as negatives. “With a modern camera you can keep your finger on the trigger! I had only one chance – I either got it or I didn’t. You didn’t have a second chance because you had to change slides. It was quite a performance between one shot and another. I could change a glass slide in 10 seconds. You had to keep careful track of which ones were unused and which ones were used. Otherwise you could spoil the ones you had already taken.”

“With that camera I had to focus manually. It had what you call a focal-plane shutter. You had to wind a nob on the side and a shutter came down and a blind with a slot in it. You adjusted that slot as to how little or how much exposure you wanted to give it. You didn’t quite know what you were doing but you just knew by experience to put it at an eighth of an inch wide or an inch wide if it was bad light. It was quite a skill really.”

Photographing gymkhanas was a particularly difficult job. He had to decide, before a horse jumped a fence, if the rider was likely to come a cropper or not. If he aimed at photographing the final part of the jump it was possible he wouldn’t get an interesting photo at all. He did capture the moment at Bellerby one year when a competitor’s horse “carried all before him” and destroyed a jump.

In addition to carrying the large camera and a box of glass slides he also had to take a heavy pack to recharge his flash unit.“It was terrible when you were going off to take snow pictures. You had this great weight on your shoulder,” he said.

He was always expected to cover bad weather stories, however dangerous. In December 1952 he heard about a multiple pile-up outside Leyburn. As he reached the scene his own van skidded on the black ice and was damaged.

“It was happening so fast no one could run up the hill to warn people. You had to keep leaping out of the way. It was like one of those funny films,” he said. In all 11 vehicles were involved including two large Army trucks and the seven-ton army recovery lorry sent to rescue them. Above: Frank and his camera in the 1950s.

In February 1956 he joined a post woman, Marion Bowes, from Ulshaw Bridge, to photograph her trying to deliver letters during a four-day snow storm. Together they battled their way up to Sowden Beck farm where they found Mr and Mrs Banks feeding their sheep. Marion had just one letter to deliver and when Mrs Banks opened it she commented: “You needn’t have brought that.” It was a notice of a rent increase!

Frank then had to take his slides to Harrogate for developing. “I would fight my way out of the dales and when I got to Harrogate there wasn’t a flick of snow. If I didn’t have the photographs with me they would not have believed me.”

In 1953 he married Betty Wray whose father and uncle ran the ironmongery business in the centre of Leyburn. He joined the family business in 1960 and continued to manage it, even after it was taken over by new owners, until he retired in 2004.

He will be 90-years-old on January 31 but is as determined as ever to continue taking good photographs. He uses what he describes as a glorified digital camera which has a zoom lens but no interchangeable lenses. “It’s a lot lighter,” he said with a chuckle.

Above: Frank pointing out the difference between the glass slides he used in the 1950s and, on the right, a modern SD card on which over a thousand photos can be stored. Photo by Gilly Knowles.

He also showed me his excellent action photo of cyclists racing towards Leyburn during the Tour de France in 2014.

“Even today it depends on what the photographer wants and how he is going to get it,” he commented. Both he and his daughter, Gilly, took pairs of steps with them so that they could be above the crowd to take photos of the Tour de France.

A FAMILY TRADITION

Photography has become a family tradition for the Knowles. Frank explained: “One hundred years ago my mother was employed as a photographic finisher at Davey’s, a well-known Harrogate photographer in James Street.

“My son, Andrew, was the official photographer and line artist for North Yorkshire County Council. His son, Ben, is a professional photographer and his daughter, Abi, is also an accomplished photographer. Gilly continues the theme by embarking on a degree course in photography. Four generations working with photography. I think we may have photography in the blood!”

Gilly added that, as a family, they produce a calendar every year. The photographs for these are contributed not just by Frank, Gilly and Andrew but also by Ben and Abi.

It was Gilly who introduced Frank to Leyburn Band when it was re-started in 2003. She plays 2nd horn – while Frank takes the photographs. “I must have two to three hundred pictures of the band,” Frank said.

One of the regular venues has been Tennants Garden Rooms. He described how Rodney Tennant (chairman of Tennants Auctioneers) had allowed him to photograph the band from anywhere he wanted. And it was Rodney who encouraged Frank to hold an exhibition there of his 1950’s press photos.

The curator at the Garden Rooms, Harriet Hunter Smart, worked with Frank to organise it. Together they chose 60 out of the 200 that he and Gilly have made digital copies of. One of those photos is of a crowd at Middleham and in the front is Rodney in school uniform.

Harriet was keen to have photos for which there were stories. “It was quite a job writing full captions,” commented Frank.

The caption on one is quite simple for it states: “The One he couldn’t take”. For it is his own wedding picture.

“I must have taken over 1,000 wedding photos over that ten years,” said Frank. Some people still remind him that he took their wedding photo.

Gilly is looking forward to hearing peoples’ comments at the exhibition.

Frank will be at the exhibition between 10.30am and 12.30pm on Saturday January 19 to talk to visitors.

Statement by David Pointon, independent educational consultant: As a member of the West Burton School Representative Group I am very aware that the debate about the request to defederate the school has fuelled a lot of misinformation about education, schools and the optimum size of classes.

The principle purpose of a school is to equip children with the knowledge and skills to be successful in their lives and be useful members of their community and the wider universe.

It should be providing opportunities to enable the children to access knowledge as well as providing a stable, safe, inclusive and comfortable environment in which the children can learn. It should be concentrating on learning before teaching.

Learning is an individual process.

All schools should be concentrating on the above ‘shoulds’ with the children as the central main priority.

Teaching should be adapted to the needs of the children. There is much supporting evidence that most children thrive and learn better in small groups. In fact some children would be submerged in large groups and may then need special provision. Teaching is imposed on learning and requires very special people to ensure that all childrens’ individual needs for learning are met.

These are the basic premises that govern a successful school. Does your child’s school meet these standards?

A school should not be training children to pass tests and to help to get a good Ofsted or other reports, so it can meet financial targets.  It should not be stealing and misusing the children’s time in useless exercises (such as in-school-day bussing).

For time is our only non-renewable resource.

Every adult with any contact with the school has a responsibility to enable and support the learning and teaching to be achieved, to the highest standards.

D.G.Pointon, BA, Cert Ed.,DipCTB, CETHIC, Fellow of VIEW

Independent Educational Consultant.

(VIEW is the professional association  of the Visual Impairment Education and Welfare)

See also my post about the first time that the BAWB federation refused the request to defederate West Burton School. The majority of the parents of children at West Burton school wrote to the BAWB Board of Governors in November 2018 repeating the request for defederation. That was refused in January 2019.

West Burton CofE School – defederation refused

The parents of children at West Burton CofE School and many in the community served by that school have lost confidence in the BAWB Board of Governors, Stuart Carlton, North Yorkshire County Council’s Corporate Director of Children and Young People’s Service, has stated.

He wrote to Derek Walpole, chair of the BAWB Board of Governors, in November 2018, to explain why the county council as the local education authority (LA) had reversed its decision and decided to support the request to defederate West Burton school.

He recognised that the BAWB governors had hoped that during the autumn term of 2018 the new transporting arrangements (bussing) would be successfully implemented and that the parents of children at West Burton school would, therefore, no longer have any objections.

But he added: “The transportation of pupils away from West Burton will never be accepted by the West Burton parents and community. There is obvious parental and community discord which means the three BAWB federation would lose West Burton support and this has negative implications for the education of all children.

“I believe, based on what I have seen and heard that the relationship between the parties is broken beyond repair as the West Burton parents and community have (despite your best efforts and unfairly in my view) lost confidence in the BAWB governance as evidenced by the formal complaint.”

Since mid 2018 there have been several meetings of parents and community members connected with West Burton school to which BAWB governors were invited  but none attended.  According to the minutes of the meeting of the BAWB Board of Governors in November 2018 it was pointed out that there was a vacancy for a co-opted member but the parents of children at West Burton School were not invited to nominate anyone.  Those parents have constantly pointed out that not one of the BAWB governors has listened to their arguments against bussing the youngest cohort of children from West Burton to Bainbridge during school days.

Mr Carlton did emphasise that decisions about the federation rested with the BAWB governors – and on January 21 the latter again decided against defederation. Following that decision several of the parents of pupils at West Burton school met to consider their options which included moving their children to other schools not connected to BAWB.

Referring to the minutes of the BAWB governance meetings in November and December 2018 they pointed out, yet again, how out of touch all the federation governors were with the majority of the parents of children attending West Burton school and the communities within its catchment area.  The parents were angry and  upset about some of the statements in those minutes which, they said, misrepresented them.

They very strongly disagreed with the following statements in those minutes: that parents could have been under duress to sign the letter requesting defederation; that the request for defederation had come from just five families and that Option 3a (bussing) could be seen to be working well with the children happy and settled.

Their anger and frustration increased when they read the eight-page letter of January 31 2019 from the Executive Head of the BAWB Federation, Charlotte L Harper, in which she explained the reasons why their request for defederation had been refused.

She wrote: “In his letter Mr Carlton reiterated on many occasions that the West Burton Community and parents have lost confidence in the BAWB Board and that there was unresolvable discord between BAWB Board and the ‘community’. The BAWB Board challenged the assertions about the community. The Director and LA officers have ONLY spoken with the defederation group, many of whom do not live in West Burton.”

Miss Harper continued: “It is not clear what ‘community’ refers to, but the BAWB Board are aware of support from many long standing residents of West Burton, at least two of whom have now written to him. The BAWB Board are concerned that the LA have demonstrated a clear lack of impartiality by relying solely on evidence given to them by the group seeking defederation, and then repeating this in writing without any checks or clarity of definition.”

The catchment area for West Burton school includes Walden, Bishopdale, Thoralby, Aysgarth, Swinithwaite, West Witton and even part of Redmire so it is not surprising that the parents requesting defederation (representing 85 per cent of the children in that school) do not all live in West Burton.

Mr Carlton has stated that the LA came to an impartial view based on the issues placed before it.

Miss Harper’s letter can be read here.

The reasons given by the county council for supporting defederation can be read here.

Aysgarth and District Parish Council will support an application for the refurbishment of Yore Mill at Aysgarth Falls even though at its meeting on Thursday February 21 councillors were concerned about parking and that the mill race leaks.

The application, by David Peacock of Richmond, is for the conversion of the mill into two apartments, four holiday let apartments and one apartment in conjunction with a bar and restaurant, bunk house, community room and retail outlet; bicycle store and wash down area, and the re-instatement of the hydro-electric turbine. It was reported at the meeting that the proposal includes three parking spaces [on the east side of the building] but with none for those staying in the holiday lets or  visiting the restaurant and bar. Parking for them will be at the YDNPA car park across the River Ure.

An Aysgarth councillor reported that the Himalayan Balsam growing in the mill race would have to be cleaned out. He added that the mill race leaked and the turbine in the mill had been turned off so that the cottages on the west side adjacent to the river could dry out prior to being sold. “If the turbine is brought back into use they will flood again,” he said.

The councillors agreed, however, to support the application as it would improve and make safe a building they had reported as being in a dangerous condition. This, they said, would be a planning gain.

Above: Yore Mill as it is at present

Thoralby is blighted with telegraph poles and overhead cables a resident, Simon Lawrence, told Aysgarth and District Parish Council on Tuesday February 21.

“Someone could die,”  he said, because not only were these unsightly but some of the electricity cables were dangerous as they were too close to where people might be working on roofs.

He told the council that when a cable fell down at his house he contacted Northern Power Grid. Workmen put tape round it but also told him that it was a BT cable. After two years of trying to get BT to do something he went onto social media and within two days BT did send some men to fix the cable – with more tape.

Recently he reported to Northern Power Grid that workmen had left a cable hanging. It was evening before men arrived to ask what the problem was he said. “Eventually, after a lot of grumbling, they did tack it back onto a pole.

“It’s not exactly Third World but it’s pretty old-fashioned to have all these horrible electric cables strung across the road. There’s a lot of traffic up Westfield Lane – tractors and lots of bigger farm vehicles. So you can see the potential problems there.

“In this day and age, when we can build tunnels across the Channel, I can’t see why they couldn’t have a plan to put the majority of these cables underground over a period of time.”

Mr Lawrence said he had been in contact with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority about its scheme with power suppliers to underground cables.  He learnt that the present scheme continues until 2023 and does not include any villages in Wensleydale or Bishopdale. The parish council agreed to support him in asking for Thoralby to be included in the next scheme.

It also agreed to ask if, in the meantime,  Northern Power Grid could remove any redundant poles and cables and make safe those that remain.

The Aysgarth councillors explained that contractors had broken some stone storm drains when undergrounding was carried out along the south side of the village. They advised, therefore, that a plan of the drains in Thoralby should be drawn up before any undergrounding took place, and that advice should be sought from any other villages where such work had been carried out.

They also suggested that there should be a site meeting in Thoralby with the YDNPA’s planning policy officer. And Richmondshire District councillor Yvonne Peacock said Mr Lawrence should also write to Sunak Rishi MP as he was now the Parliamentary Under Secretary for State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

“I think the authorities ought to be obliged to come back with a plan about how they are going to do it because it can’t stay like this for ever,” Mr Lawrence commented.

Aysgarth and District Parish Council has again agreed that the bussing of the youngest children from West Burton CofE School to Bainbridge by the Bainbridge, Askrigg and West Burton Federation of Schools (BAWB) for lessons must stop.

At its meeting on Thursday February 21 the council welcomed the invitation from BAWB to the West Burton Representative Group to engage with it in a small working party on Tuesday March 19.

Cllr David Pointon, an educational consultant who is a member of the Representative Group, reminded the council that the first request for defederation from BAWB by parents of pupils at West Burton school was made in January 2018.

He added that BAWB had refused defederation and was continuing with bussing the youngest children which was one of the main things that parents were objecting to. “The community is still not satisfied,” he said.

Richmondshire District councillor Yvonne Peacock described as dreadful had been the lack of communication by the BAWB governors. “We’ve had emails but we haven’t had a conversation. To me the governors should have dealings with people, with the parents.”

Another Richmondshire District councillor, Caroline Thornton-Berry agreed that the governors didn’t seem to know that the West Burton parents were so unhappy.   She told the council that she had invited one of the BAWB governors to have coffee with her – only for that governor to say that the chair of governors had said she shouldn’t accept.

One of the parish councillors spoke of a teaching head at a church school of 120 pupils who was at the top of the pay scale who earned about £20,000 less per year than the non-teaching head of BAWB which has 80 pupils. BAWB also has a part time business manager.

“The financial situation at BAWB is unsustainable,” commented Cllr Thornton-Berry. She also pointed out that, unlike councillors, the governing body of a school was unanswerable to anyone and was free to make all decisions  apart from that to close a school.

Cllr Pointon emphasised that the most important issue was the needs of the children  – and the councillors agreed that bussing the youngest children was contrary to that.

See: Cllr Pointon’s statement about educating primary school children.

A painting of R.A. Scott Macfie, whose collection of books is at the Dales Countryside Museum (DCM) in Hawes, has been presented to the museum.

Photographed at the presentation are: on the left Bob Ellis, on the right side of the photograph, Mora Main, and on the far right Eleanor Scarr.

Macfie collected many books and documents while he was living at Lunds in the 1920s and early 1930s and these now form part of the Macfie Calvert Collection.This is housed at the DCM in trust to the people of Wensleydale and cared for by the Trustees of the Macfie Calvert Collection.

The stormy weather and floods on Saturday March 16 did not stop 27 family members and the godson of Macfie gathering at the museum.

The special guest at the gathering was 92-year-old Arthur Ashton, Scott Macfie’s godson, who lived on High Hall farm at Lunds a mile away from Macfie’s home. Arthur remembers Macfie well even though he was only eight when he attended his godfather’s funeral and burial at Lunds chapel in 1935.

There were 12 great nephews and nieces of “Uncle Scott” at the gathering, plus great great nephews and nieces and one very young great great great niece.

The gathering came about due to a chance encounter between some family members, John and Diane Elphinstone, and Bob Ellis who is a Friend of the DCM. When the Elphinstones were searching for a home in Clapham in 2009 they attended one of Bob’s lectures about watermills. Afterwards they discovered the connection between John, who is a great nephew of Macfie and Bob’s custodial role with the Macfie Calvert Trust.

Simultaneously a great niece, Mora Main, was cleaning out stored family items from her brother’s Perthshire garage and uncovered the portrait of Uncle Scott by renowned artist Francis Dodd. Dodd had worked in Manchester and London and was later an official WWI British war artist. Mora then began searching for a safe new home where the portrait could be hung and be accessible for future researchers.

The portrait had belonged to her father, the late Ramsay Main. Ramsay and his twin sister, Barbara (John Elphinstone’s mother) had held their Uncle Scott in high regard. It was John’s sister Janet who successfully contacted so many Macfie descendants to attend the gathering.

At the gathering Bob and fellow trustees of the Macfie Calvert Collection, Eleanor Scarr and Mary Scarr, officially received the painting on behalf of the museum.

“We are so pleased that the portrait is joining the Macfie Calvert Collection,” said Janet. And her brother, John, commented: “We are delighted to find the portrait a permanent home in Yorkshire, close to where Uncle Scott lived. He loved the countryside and the people in it.”

To that Mora added: “He was admired by his nephews and nieces and now researchers can continue to uncover his story under his watchful eye at the museum.”

The Macfie/Elphinstone family also made a donation of £305 to the Macfie Calvert Trust.  Bob said this will be used to restore the portrait . When it has been restored it will be displayed on a wall in the Research Room in the museum,” he added.

Macfie was the son of a sugar magnate from Liverpool. Bob recounted in his article for the 2014 edition of Now Then (the annual magazine of the FDCM ) that after serving on the Western Front with the Liverpool Scottish Regiment during WW1 Macfie moved to the Lunds in the 1920s with the hope that the clean bracing air would prove beneficial to his precarious health. He bought Shaws, an isolated house on the fellside behind Lunds Chapel, and lived there until his death in 1935.

“During his years at Shaws, he became very involved with the local community and developed a passionate interest in the culture and history of upper Wensleydale, Mallerstang and the surrounding dales. As a result he amassed a large collection of books of local interest,” wrote Bob.

For a while Macfie’s books and those of Kit Calvert were in the care of the Wensleydale School and later were moved to the DCM.

At present the Research Room at the museum is being damp proofed and re-decorated. When that work is complete the Macfie Calvert collection of books will be moved back into the glass-fronted cabinets and store room there.

Bob plans to exhibit the tea service presented by the Macfie/Elphinstone family in one of those cabinets. The tea service has the family crest on it and the legend “R.A. Scott Macfie, Shaws, Lunds”. The family also presented other artefacts, books and documents to the museum.

There are Friends of the DCM in the Research Room on Mondays and Wednesdays to assist anyone who is researching family or history connected to upper or mid Wensleydale.

Above: the family gathering. Arthur Ashton is wearing a flat cap.

Below:  The portrait of Scott Macfie.

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.”

Above after the service on April 7 : Front Row l-r – Richard and Ann Wilkinson, Jean Cockburn and Rona Trowell. Back row – Anne Moore, Martin and Pauline Beckett and Frank Trowell.

Aysgarth Methodist chapel was full on Sunday April 7 for its final service before its official closure on April 22. 

The few remaining Methodist chapels in mid and upper Wensleydale were represented as well as St Andrew’s Church, Aysgarth, and the local community.

The service was led by Dr Richard Wilkinson who for many years was a local Methodist lay preacher as well as being the organist at St Andrew’s Church.

He spoke of his own sadness about the closure of the chapel which, he said, had been a wonderful centre for the village. He reflected on the history of the chapel and the local man to whom it has been a memorial – the Rev Sylvester Whitehead who served for ten years as a missionary in China and who, in 1904 became the President of the Wesleyan Conference.

The present chapel was built by local craftsmen in 1900. It replaced a cottage on the site which had been used for services since 1766.

Dr Wilkinson remembered those who had ministered there and recalled the annual nativity plays in which the village children participated. “These were a wonderful experience for all of us, led by Jean Cockburn and Rona Trowell,” he said.

Mrs Cockburn started the nativity plays in 1966 four years after taking over the chapel’s Sunday School. For 20 years or more she has assisted Rona Trowell with the nativity plays and all age worship services.

“I ‘m very grateful that I’ve had over 90 years of being a chapel member,” said 92-years-old Mrs Cockburn as she shared some of her memories (see below). She is one of the five remaining members of Aysgarth chapel who made the decision to close it.

Another was Pauline Becket who told the congregration: : “We have reached the end of a long road and we have to look for a new direction.”

She sang a solo at the beginning of the service, and there were two duets by Emma Cloughton and Colin Bailey. The organist was Diane Hartley.

After the service Mrs Cockburn was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Mary Hugill as a thank you for all she had done at the chapel for so many years.

Most of the congregation remained in the chapel afterwards for the buffet tea.

Jean’s reflections:

When Richard asked me if I would say a few words about our chapel my first thought was “No Way” – but I thought of the years I’d asked him to play [the organ] and he never refused so I had second thoughts and decided I just couldn’t refuse.

I seem to have been involved with chapel all my life, sitting with Mam firstly and then in the choir, with Dad [Cecil Riggs] playing the organ.  Occasionally Mam allowed me to take my panama hat off and put it on the window ledge, but in the 1930s not wearing a hat would have been frowned on. Everyone wore their Sunday best for Chapel, and trousers for women wouldn’t have been acceptable at all.

The heating for the Chapel was a coal boiler which Dad had to go every Sunday morning whatever the weather down the steps into the cellar to light the boiler.

Each year members and friends went round Christmas singing, always walking – Hestholme where the Vicars lived then the houses up to Aysgarth, cups of tea and biscuits at a few of them. Then the next night finish Aysgarth and Thornton Rust where Hannah at Low Gill had a lovely spread for us.

For me Christmas singing was the highlight of Christmas. It stopped a lot of years ago, maybe because everyone got older, and maybe because we’d not got Dad with his tuning fork.

Some verses from the poem Jean wrote several years ago about her memories of Aysgarth Chapel:

I learnt pretty early that Sundays were Chapel,

No playing games for me,

It was Sunday School, Chapel then Chapel again

And in the middle up to my Aunty’s for tea.

The Aldersons, Sayers, Thompsons, Pedleys

All were sat in the centre

With Grandma Riggs on the very front seat

To hear the preacher the better

Ben, Jim & Alice took Sunday School each week,

For the boys and girls of Aysgarth who were not always meek.

The boys carved names on Chapel pews and led old Jim a dance.

But faithful soul that old Jim was, he didn’t stand a chance.

The Sunday School trip was a must each year

To Redcar, the sands and the sea,

Paddling and building sand castles,

Then into a cafe for tea.

The old ones now have passed away

But still our Chapel remained

With a host of happy memories

Of many happy days.

and she has now added this final verse –

But now our Chapel’s closing,

And we all feel very sad

But we’ll trust God for the future

And thank Him for all the years that we’ve  had.

Press release from the BAWB Federation:

Parents of children at West Burton Church of England School have received the welcome news that from September 2019 the full range of primary education will be taught at the school.

The governors of the BAWB federation of Bainbridge, Askrigg and West Burton schools have made the decision to restore a second class at West Burton following consultation with the Local Authority of North Yorkshire County Council.

The decision came as a result of the efforts of the working party set up recently to attract more children to the federation. The group, which combines the energies and enthusiasm of teachers, governors, parents and members of the community, has embarked on a wide-ranging marketing strategy which has created a renewed interest in this small rural school.

Set in the context of rising numbers of children across the whole of Wensleydale, West Burton School is well placed to take advantage of the increase in affordable housing, better broadband connection and the desire for a healthier lifestyle that is bringing more young families to the area.

In a letter to parents, signed by all the members of the working party, the Chairman of the board of governors said that he was ‘extremely optimistic’ that numbers at West Burton School would increase, and looked forward to the ongoing support of the parents and the community.

He also welcomed ‘the approval and support’ of the Local Authority.A member of the working party said ‘We are all very pleased that the younger children will be returning full-time, and we are sure that the school is now set to thrive.’West Burton School will be holding an ‘open day’ as part of the annual May Fair held in the village on bank-holiday Monday, 27 May.

A stall with games will be set up outside the school, and activities and escorted tours will take place inside. Further information about West Burton School and the BAWB Federation can be found at www.b-a-wb.co.uk

Forty years after Brian McGregor was elected as an Aysgarth and District Parish councillor for Thoralby his daughter, Sandra Wilman (55), has been elected to join him.

Thoralby was one of the five parish councils which had to have an election this month as there were more candidates than required.

This was the first election at Thoralby in 40 years – and the village did it in style with a 70 per cent turnout. The highest turnout anywhere else in Richmondshire was the parish council election at Bellerby (58%).

At the meeting of Aysgarth and District Parish Council on Thursday (May 16) Richmondshire District councillor Yvonne Peacock congratulated Thoralby for what she described as an “absolutely fantastic” turnout.

Cllr Wilman received the highest number of votes (64) beating her father by seven. The other councillor elected was Linda Cooper who has served on the parish council for several years.

Asked why she decided to stand for election Cllr Wilman said: “I want to give something back.” When she was growing up in the village she remembers so many children from there attending school but now there are far fewer.

She worked with her husband in his family’s joinery business in Bradford for many years and now they have retired to Thoralby. So her two sons went to school in Bradford, and her two grandchildren also attend school in Bradford.

Villagers at Thornton Rust raised their glasses to my husband, David Pointon, on Saturday June 1. He had died just two weeks before the 20th anniversary celebration of the founding of the village’s Kennel Field Trust.  Above: David on his quad bike overlooking Wensleydale from near the Kennel Field.

At that celebration the villagers also raised their glasses to the continued prosperity of what is often known as the Millennium Field. The Kennel Field Trust was set up to bring that field, once used by the Wensleydale Harriers for kennelling its hounds, into public ownership and to restore it.

The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT)  had supported the Kennel Field Trust  then – and, as part of its own 20th anniversary celebrations awarded a further grant of  £4,000.

At the party in Thornton Rust village hall on Saturday the chairman of the Kennel Field Trust, John Dinsdale, explained that this grant was used to install new fencing, reinstate the cooking area of the mash house, order an interpretation board and install a new bench.

Deborah Millward, the Trust’s secretary, told those who had gathered in the village hall: “Dave [Pointon] had been associated with the Kennel Field for at least 15 years and for much of that time he was a trustee.

“I think what appealed to him and the rest of us was the ethos of the Kennel Field: that it was owned by the community; that the villagers could freely wander wherever they wanted there – enjoy the flowers, enjoy the birds, and enjoy the view.”

She added that he was a very good artist and had designed the artwork for the new bench. “Sadly he hasn’t been to see it but he did have photographs. I think he would be wanting us to celebrate and so I would like you to raise your glasses in joyful memory to Dave.”

His wife, Pip, said later: “As his mobility was becoming more and more restricted he had bought a quad bike so that he could still visit the Kennel Field and go up onto the moors. He loved the Yorkshire Dales and still wanted to enjoy them.”

Below: the new bench with David’s artwork engraved on it.

David was an Aysgarth and District parish councillor for Thornton Rust and a member of its village hall committee.

He was chairman of Northallerton branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorist and a Qualified Observer (trainer).

He was on the Representative Group for West Burton CofE School and then a member of the Bainbridge, Askrigg and West Burton Federation of Schools Working Party.

Before he retired to Wensleydale in 2001 he was head of service in Norfolk for children and young people with sensory impairment. He set up that service in 1983 and through it children were brought from boarding schools for the blind and visually impaired into main stream education. This led to him being a representative for teachers of the blind and visually impaired on the Special Educational Needs National Advisory Council and being a trustee of a charity aimed at helping such children in The Gambia.

After retirement he made several overland journeys to The Gambia to deliver equipment to the only school for the blind and visually impaired in that country and to run training classes for teachers working with them. David and I also introduced Heather Ritchie of Rug Aid to that school and it is wonderful to see how her work in The Gambia has developed since then.

He also served as a governor at Risedale School until it was converted into an academy and at Leeming Bar CofE Primary. He was involved for a time with Reeth School through the Quaker Trust as well as being a governor for six years at Breckenbrough School at Sandhutton run by North Yorkshire Quakers.

His funeral will be at Gorleston Crematorium as he died on his boat on the Norfolk Broads and as his daughter and some of his closest friends live in Norfolk.

Later there will be a Memorial Meeting at Bainbridge Quaker Meeting House. As one of those who worked with him in the Sensory Support service commented: “His discovery of the Quaker faith gave him an anchor later in life and I know he loved the life ‘up North’ surrounded by such magnificent countryside.”

Pip’s message on Facebook on May 21:

Sadly my wonderful husband, David, died suddenly on Sunday – [sitting] in his favourite place on his boat on the Norfolk Broads. I am so grateful to the strangers who helped me with CPR, to the paramedics and ambulance staff who worked so hard to bring him back, to Eddie my son for driving from London to be with me that evening and for being a tower of strength, and to the Bondi family, especially Jim and Sue for caring for me so well at their home.

Permission to convert a barn close to the business park at Hawes into a home for a local young family has been recommended for refusal by a Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority planning officer because it is, she argues, in the open countryside.

Pictured: l-r the lairage agricultural building, the barn proposed for conversion, a building in the business park and the sewage works.

In her report to the YDNPA planning committee meeting on Tuesday June 11 she describes the barn north of The Shearlings off Hardraw Road as a high quality non-designated heritage asset which makes a positive contribution to the landscape in an area that is readily accessible by visitors walking the Pennine Way.

In this she follows the advice of the Authority’s senior listed building officer who states: “This barn is a key feature in this location, along this very popular public footpath. It is not a roadside barn, but a landmark building set in the middle of a field, with a very fine landscape backdrop.“The proposed domestic conversion of this building would therefore have a negative impact, in particular the creation of a residential curtilage with car parking, extension and new openings.”

Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council, however, completely disagrees.

It has informed the planning committee:“The applicants, a local couple, Ashley and Katie, who have two young children attending Hawes Primary School … are committed to remaining in Hawes for the rest of their lives and they have set their heart on converting the barn at The Shearlings and making it their family home.

“It is located on Ashley’s father’s farm holding, his father being Neil Iveson, one of the most renowned of sheep dealers in the North of England.” Ashley had told the parish council that he worked from home using the Superfast Broadband service in Hawes, in a highly specialist position within the horse racing industry.

The parish council explained: “This occupation allows him some time to help his father gather sheep for sale at the various Auction Marts in the Yorkshire Dales and beyond, especially Hawes Auction Mart, or to supply them to customers on the firm’s books. Accordingly the converted barn would be very convenient for this dual role. The extension proposed for the barn would be to provide a home office for his work.”

It continued: “Several [parish councillors] commented that this is exactly the type of young local family we need to retain in the Upper Dales, and [that] this is what the YDNPA in its policies and its public messages has been broadcasting in the media for 18 months now.”

The parish council pointed out that the barn was off the road to the Upper Wensleydale Business Park, was opposite the Community Fields and near the 120 unit Brown Moor Caravan site, as well as sitting neatly within the enclave of Brandymires. Hawes Fire Station is 50 yards away.

The parish council stated that the barn had not been used for some 15 years and the access to it would be hidden by the extensive lairage agricultural building used to hold sheep in transit. (Which cannot be said for the nearby sewage works.)

Photo: The present access to the barn immediately beside the footpath. The proposed new access will be alongside the lairage barn.

The parish council had supported the YDNPA planning committee when, in February this year, it accepted the recommendation of a planning officer to approve the conversion of a large roadside barn “in the wilderness” along Beggarmans Lane near Gayle to create a “horse assisted learning” business even though he said this was not in accordance with policy.

The application was for the conversion and extension of the barn to provide visitor accommodation and manager’s dwelling, a change of use of land for equestrian purposes, provision of all-weather riding surface, car parking and erection of a stable building.

And at its meeting last month the committee approved an application for a barn in Garsdale which a planning officer described as being a substantial early 19th century bank barn beside the A684 which was in an isolated and locally prominent position.

A young couple’s request to convert a barn at Hawes into their family home was turned down by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s planning committee on Tuesday June 11.

Ashley Iveson told the committee: “I ask you to give me and my family an opportunity to live and work on the farm holding that’s been part of my family for generations – and an opportunity to live in a town that we love for the rest of our lives. I would not like to raise my children anywhere else.”

Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council and North Yorkshire County Councillor John Blackie supported him in the assertion that the barn could not accurately be described as in the “open countryside” as it was close to Brandymires and the caravan park on Hardraw Road, and to the business park, Hawes Fire Station, the water works and the sewage works. It is even closer to Mr Iveson’s father’s lairage agricultural shed.

Mr Iveson said he was particularly disappointed at the way in which the planning officer had criticised this large shed. She had reported: “The shed is in an unfortunate position and is a visual detractor in the area. It is important that this does not set a precedent for further harmful development.”

Mr Iveson commented that the Authority had given planning permission for the shed: “It seems to me that the officer is using her obvious dislike of the shed against my completely separate development,” he said.

The Hawes and High Abbotside Parish representative, Jill McMullon, told the committee that she met many in the community through her work with the Upper Dales Community Partnership. She said she had previously served as a Richmondshire District councillor and had chaired that council twice and been a member of its planning committee for ten years.

She said: “At Richmondshire District Council we always tried to take the local community with us at planning. Now that’s not always possible but our track record was far, far better than yours.”

The Iveson family was, she said, a perfect example of the young family the National Park needed to retain if there was to be a bright future for the local community in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.“What is the point of the National Park making a priority of retaining and attracting young families to the Upper Dales, shouting this from the roof tops, and then coming forward with a report which seems to go out of its way to scotch the aspirations of a couple and their children to live in our community for the rest of their lives?”

She added that the report completely missed the point that the barn and the lairage shed belonged to the same farming business. “This application is a test of the real intention of the National Park Authority – are you going to walk the walk, or are you just talking the talk?”

Committee member Ian McPherson, however, said that once again there was a conflict on the committee between personal views and policy. He quoted the planning officer’s report which stated: “The barn in question is a field barn surrounded by agricultural land. It is not located within the settlement boundary of Hawes as defined in the Local Plan. It is not within a group of buildings. It is not a roadside location (it is approximately 90m from the Brunt Acre Industrial Estate road) and it is not served by an existing track. For these reasons the development does not comply with policy.

“The dwelling would not provide rural workers accommodation nor be an affordable property.” Mr Iveson had emphasised that, if converted, it would be a local occupancy dwelling, not a holiday let.

In her report the planning officer stated: “The barn in question being located immediately adjacent to the Pennine Way and within walking distance of the amenities and facilities of Hawes town centre would make an ideal camping barn. There is therefore an alternative economic use for the barn that would not require the level of intervention proposed by this development.”

Cllr Blackie commented: “I am bewildered about the suggestion [for] a camping barn. A camping barn, in my view, would create for more upheaval in the landscape than a domestic dwelling. It would also attract cars to be parked indiscriminately in the industrial area.”

He pointed out that in May the committee had approved a barn conversion where a 190m track was required to provide access to a road and reminded the members that there were different interpretations of the Authority’s policies to those of the planning officer. “Today I think she has got it wrong,” he said.

Cllr Blackie, Allen Kirkbride, a parish council member of the committee, and Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council emphasised that the barn was on a farm holding and that the proposed extension would provide an office for Mr Iveson who works from home as a specialist horse racing reporter as well as helping his father with the lairage business.

Committee member Jim Munday said he had read the parish council’s submission with great interest. “It’s full of character, it’s full of Dales’ interest, it’s got a hero and a heroine, and there’s a lot there which one empathises with.”

But he also felt it perpetuated the myth that the Authority refused many applications for barn conversions. “We’ve approved 110 barn conversions in the last three years and refused only nine. We like to say Yes and we usually do,” he added. He agreed with the planning officer that the committee should refuse Ashley and Katie Iveson’s application.

After seven members voted to refuse the application with four wishing to approve it, Cllr Blackie noted that, following the local elections, two Richmondshire District councillors had not yet been appointed to the Authority’s planning committee. He, therefore, asked for the decision to be deferred to July so that the two new members might have a chance to consider the issue.

The legal officer Clare Bevan said, however, that the committee had already decided not to approve the application.

After the meeting Julie Martin, who chaired the meeting, stated: “I feel very sorry for the applicants in this case. We have a flexible policy, which has already seen more than 150 traditional buildings converted to residential and business uses. “It was very clear that this proposal would not meet the criteria set out in the policy – not least because it has no access to a road. Whoever has been advising them has really let them down. I strongly urge people to please come and talk to our planning service at the earliest opportunity, so as to avoid this sort of disappointment and expense.

“Not all barns are suitable for conversion, particularly those away from the roadside in prominent positions. If there’s a doubt about whether or not a conversion is within policy, pre-application planning advice will clear it up before any expectations or hopes are raised and before any money is spent on professional services.”

Mrs Martin (a trustee of the Friends of the Dales) was deputy chair of the planning committee until Caroline Thornton-Berry stood down as a Richmondshire District councillor.

David Pointon’s funeral at Great Yarmouth Crematorium on Thursday June 13 was a special celebration of his life.

This tribute to him by his daughter, Alex, was read by the Rev Martin Upton:

I can remember when, as a teenaged student, I attended a philosophy seminar where the debate had strayed onto the ‘nature-nurture’ question, and the lecturer told us all that there was a time in every child’s life where they realised that their parents were not infallible. This was new to me. The father who promised to teach me to play the guitar but had only succeeded in singing the first line of There’ll Always Be An England before the dog joined in howling and barking, and who was devoted to a whole host of unfunny comedy: Monty Python, Kenny Everett, films with orang utans and Burt Reynolds in them; Terry Wogan’s spoonerisms abut the cast of the film Grease and the latest episode of Dallas; had always seemed to be fallible  in the extreme. In fact, as time progressed I came to have the opposite realisation; Dad was a remarkable man. He was the boy chosen to represent the Scouts in America, in spite of having claimed to have caused his father considerable embarrassment by covering the ‘P’ and ‘O’ on the side of a patrol vehicle; talented with his hands (albeit in a style influenced by Tom from The Good Life), who could paint, sing, draw, engrave and silver-smith. Our house was adored with pictures he had drawn or painted or odd things he had carved or decorated, and his parents’ home was similarly crammed with things that he had produced as a youngster. Throughout my childhood, our hometown was peppered with signs that he had painted for local businesses, and further afield there were house names and numbers on walls, gates and fences in his distinctive style.

His distinctive style wasn’t confined to his creative output, either. As well as journeys spent luxuriating in the comfort of the boot of his Peugeot estate with Russell and a trio of dogs including a standard poodle, we were often to be spotted cruising around the streets of Gorleston-on-Sea in a Triumph Spitfire; Dad and Russell in the two seats, while I perched on the boot with my legs behind them. These were the outings where we treated the neighbourhood to various country and western classics at a volume that I’m sure was forbidden by law, and Dad’s vocal performance did nothing to enhance Love is like a Butterfly, Della and the Dealer or When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman. Perhaps such noise pollution could be overlooked when you had already crammed a child into the luggage compartment of a two-seater vehicle.

Russell and Dad always had their shared love of caravans, boats and cars in common, but to focus on these things is diminutive. Dad was a teacher and a researcher; he was an academic and a thinker. Many of our conversations, including our last conversation, were about books. I loved books when I was a little girl and whenever I mentioned something I was interested in reading it was almost certain he would come home the following day with a copy for me from the bookshop. This included the things he disapproved of – mainly Enid Blyton – and the things he also loved, like A.A.Milne (especially when Willie Rushton  read Winnie the Pooh or Jackanory) and Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland books.

He told me that his favourite book from boyhood was Gadget City. Gadgets seemed an unlikely focus for a book from the early 1940s, but it turns out the  book is a science fiction story based in ancient Alexandria. This may be less surprising, as Dad’s love of gadgets was enduring. We were the first household that I knew of to have a microwave, and a dishwasher, not to mention the Betamax video and a giant box with a remote control attached by a wire which brought Ceefax to the ancient living room TV. He provided us – but really himself – with the early Atari games console and the ZX 80 and 81 – with voice console and tiny, baffling printer. It wasn’t all good, though – we were never allowed to miss Tomorrow’s World. There is little wonder that for a decade his phone and iPad have been out of his hands less than those of the average teenager, and he has been nothing short of evangelistic over his video doorbell.

He often claimed that he re-read A Christmas Carol every yule, too, and the idea of him taking inspiration from the flawed human character who learned, before it was too late, to change his ways and atone his past, certainly resonates with me and Dad’s last couple of decades. When he told me he was going to vote Liberal Democrat – or possibly even Green – in the early noughties, I knew he’d made some quite profound bid for redemption.

As a boy, I know he’d also loved the George Bramwell Evens Romany books, to such an extent that he named his last dog, Raq, after the canine companion of Romany. Raq had been with him through quite an evolutionary period of his life, so it wasn’t surprising that he was devastated at his loss. He had more loss to contend with than he should have since this century began: his Mum (to whom he had been a good son) died on the day of his best friend’s funeral, his big brother died far too early, and so, of course, did my own big brother. At all of those funerals, it would be Dad who was standing up at the front, making a tribute to the life of whoever it was. As I write this I still don’t know if it will be me who reads it.

What I do know that if he heard this today, he would be keen to debate that ‘nature-nurture’ question with me, and he would tell me he had won ever if his intelligence and wit hadn’t proved his point (which would undoubtedly be the opposite to whatever I claimed). This would be true even though I believe he did come to accept that you can’t always control, or understand, everything about life. Hence my choice of Cottleston Pie for the end of this service – something funny, silly, deceptively clever, and ultimately extremely profound.

…………..

One  of David’s former work colleagues,  Jean Matthews, commented: “[It was] so relevant that Martin led the service, having experienced the happy and sad times in David’s life”. The Rev Upton presided at Russell’s funeral at the same crematorium and also at the wedding blessing at St Benet’s on the Norfolk Broads for Pip and David in August 2018.

Here is Martin’s eulogy at David’s funeral:

We gather with many mixed emotions. A real roller-coaster, one moment remembering an amusing incident, then suddenly being struck by the loss. There is, naturally, sadness [and] grief. We may feel regret or anger, relief or disappointment, or even guilt. Our heads may be saying one thing, while our hearts say something very different. But there is still Hope. And, of course, thankfulness for all that there was in David’s life.

We must recognise and express these emotions. That’s what the tears … and laughter…. are for. Jesus wept at the death of a friend – so it must be OK for us as well. But the Bible also tells us to give thanks in all things. Not denying pain and sadness, but giving thanks for who David was, what he did and what he meant to you. The Bible reading (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) spoke of ‘Time’, a dominating factor of life, but one which can be used, as we will see.

David’s mother was from Nottingham, and his father originally from Lincolnshire, but his police career had taken him to Sheffield where big brother Mike and David were born. David went through primary and Grammar schools there but, setting a scene, was also involved with – amongst other things – the Scout movement, even representing the North of England at a Jamboree in North America in 1958.

For David’s Teacher Training, Alsager College specialised in Design, Technology, Art and Crafts and honed some of his many natural skills. [This] was followed by taking a job at the school for the blind in Sheffield, gaining the appropriate qualification to teach there. Pupils included one David Blunkett….

He and his young family moved to Norfolk, to the East Anglian School, in 1974. I remember them well after I joined the school in 1976. Alex is with us today, but no parent should have to lose a son: and Russell was only 45 when he died. I also remember Jason the dog, the Christmas parties, playing Crib at break, a raft race, trips to Thurne and all sorts of other events. But David’s career developed too. For professional reasons and in support of a colleague, David trained as a Teacher of the Deaf – and gained his Open University degree. He also fitted in time to serve as a Councillor on Yarmouth Borough Council.

From there he moved to Norfolk Sensory Support – as deputy head and then head of service, based in various offices around Norwich. I don’t think that early on he had envisaged spreading his influence into Africa, but the plight of blind children in The Gambia generated a massive effort to supply many things they needed – including driving minibuses across the Sahara and left a legacy of change for good among the many pupils there.

Retirement brought a return to Yorkshire – but not urban Sheffield [but] rural Wensleydale. Much quieter, you may think. There are schools there which need encouragement. There is a parish council, the Dales Countryside Museum, the Institute of Advanced Motorists, the Kennel Field Trust, the North East Mercedes Benz Club, the Yoredale Art Group, glass engraving to do. This didn’t however end his links with Norfolk – friends and, of course, the boat at Thurne, with regular visits supported by work in his Wensleydale workshop, where he also made Remembrance poppies. He was so happy to have married Pip last year, and have the blessing at St Benet’s.

Just a quick personal tribute, to show David as a loyal friend. He borrowed a car trailer and drove over to Gloucestershire to rescue my broken-down car – and my wife and four-month-old baby too, of course! (He was a big fan of his Peugeot 505 Estate.)

So there are many things to be thankful for. There are good memories. There is thankfulness and hope.

That reading from Ecclesiastes tells us that there is time for everything – but doesn’t say when it is – although David certainly filled his effectively! But it ends with ‘a time for peace’. After such an active life, with his closing years as a Quaker, and his final hours at Thurne, that is so appropriate. As their [Quaker] Advice says: “Try to live simply. A simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength.”

…………..

David became a  close friend of John Warren through attending the Quaker meetings at Bainbridge and Countersett. Pip chose the following poem by John for David’s funeral. It was read by Allan Sharland who had been friends with David and his brother Mike since they were all teenagers.

Over the hill the grey road climbs

And the wind blusters over the hill

Tumbling the trees

And the grey road winds

Where hedges curve in ragged lines

And cærulean blue the bright sky shines

Where the road climbs over the hill

And I will go where the grey road leads

With the wind in my face at the crest

Where the curling road goes down and on

To the far blue hills in the west

And birds in the wind

Wheel and cry

The great elms bend, and creak

And sign

And the road goes on

And so shall I

To those far blue hills in the west.

An ARC News Service report on the meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority ‘s (YDNPA) planning committee on July 9 2019. The items discussed included: Natural England’s plans for  Swarth Moor, and a project at Aysgarth Station.

Aysgarth Station, Carperby

Approval was given for new track to be laid at the former railway station, across the road bridge and along 200m of the former track bed which overlooks the National Park’s car park.

The owner of Aysgarth station, David Smith of West Coast Railways, will lease the former track bed from the Authority now that planning permission has been given. The approval was also for him to make private use of the railway for storing and moving locomotives, carriages and goods vehicles.

His agent, Steve Davies, who is also a director of the Wensleydale Railway, told the committee that Mr Smith’s plans for the old station would provide the best opportunity to reconnect Aysgarth station with Redmire.

This was queried by Richmondshire District councillor John Amsden who said the latter would only be possible if someone was willing to invest £1 million pounds per mile.

Like other members he did not feel that there would be much noise from the site especially as the approval only allowed for 12 locomotive movements a day, 36 days of the year. A planning officer stated that steam operations would be limited to one to two days a year.

It was  pointed out that there was already a lot of noise and pollution due to the National Park car park and the number of people who visited Freeholders Wood, the SSSI which almost surrounds the station site.

The planning officer said  that 35 trees will be removed many from along the sides of the raised track bed by the car park. She explained that area had been colonised by trees as the track had not been used for so long.  One of the conditions will be a landscaping plan to show where replacement planting would take place, she told the committee.

Ian McPherson, the Authority’s member champion for the environment, said he would support the application but asked that the progress of the project should be carefully  monitored. He added that the landscaping plan was important to ensure that wildlife corridors were protected. He noted that in certain areas of Britain Network Rail was destroying vast tracts of trees against the wishes of the Department of Transport.

North Yorkshire County councillor Richard Welch pointed out that Mr Smith’s company owned the carriages at Hellifield which were now covered in graffiti. “Are you confident that this is not going to end up the same?” he asked.

Mr  Davies assured the committee that he was.

He said: “Two years ago we sold Aysgarth Station to what turned out to be the best possible buyer [Mr Smith].

“The Wensleydale Railway was in a significantly difficult financial situation. Aysgarth was a major millstone around our necks. We were servicing a £200,000 outstanding mortgage. The station building was falling down and there was actually no way the station could be realistically retained as part of the commercial portfolio of the railway.

“The sale of the station allowed the railway to pay off significant debts and it is an absolute fact that since that sale we have not looked back.

“We, as a board of directors, agreed that because Mr Smith had such ambitious plans for the site that we would support him in delivering this planning application. So I am effectively on secondment, if you like, from the board of the Wensleydale railway. And our vice chairman, Carl Les, has formally endorsed our support for this project.

“The second element of this project and with the mechanics of this application is that we believe that this provides the best possible opportunity to reconnect Aysgarth with Redmire. Mr Smith has the resources and personal ambition to start taking the track back towards Redmire.

“If you grant this application what you will not find is this is will become moribund and yet another undelivered major project. So your faith in the project will be met by a full investment to make this a reality.

“The sale of Aysgarth station …. caused a rift within our membership [and to]  those who were absolutely convinced that Aysgarth [station] represented the jewel on the way to Hawes and Garsdale the sale was unthinkable and there was significant resistance.  The successful delivery of this project will, I think, go a huge way towards healing some of the wounds. It will show that Mr Smith and the Wensleydale Railway did not make a bad decisions and that we are going to be in a position to optimise the chances of re-connecting Redmire with this station.

“I think we have gone a long way in satisfying the statutory requirements, particularly in terms of ecology, but the key issue is that although this is fundamentally a private venture it undoubtedly has major public benefits.”

Swarth Moor,

The farmers who have grazing rights on Swarth Moor near Helwith Bridge in Ribblesdale were not  consulted before Natural England applied to the Authority for permission for a restoration project which which will include the creation of water-filled ditches.

The planning committee heard that Natural England’s project would involve the  construction of peat bunds for rewetting raised mire and the excavation of three mitigation ponds for great crested newts, as well as a viewing platform and a boardwalk.

Stainforth and Horton-in-Ribblesdale  Parish Councils had objected to the application because: the grazier’s hadn’t been consulted; the ponds could be extremely hazardous to the livestock being grazed on the common land and  the impact of an increase in the number of visitors on the wildlife on the moor especially the roe deer. These concerns were also raised by Austwick Parish Council.

Colin Newland of Natural England told the planning meeting that since submitting the application the agency had met with Swarth Moor commons rights holders. He said he had been told that they were concerned about the long term management of the moor and the impact on graziers’ livelihoods.  “One of the outcomes of that is that we will take forward a Countryside Stewardship Scheme for the common,” he said.

Committee member Allen Kirkbride, who is chairman of Askrigg Parish Council, commented: “It seems that the farming community who graze this area have been just an after thought for Natural England who should know better.”

He agreed with North Yorkshire County councillor Robert Heseltine that a few decades ago landowners were given tens of thousands of pounds to grip and drain the peat moors. “Now they are being given tens and thousands to fill it in,” he said.

Another parish council appointee, Chris Clark, spoke from his own personal experience: “We’ve blocked 125 hectares and the results of that have been an increase in biodiversity, improved irrigation, and carbon sequestration. On top of that we have had absolutely no problems with the stock getting stuck or drowned.”

The committee was informed that, as common land was involved, Natural England would have to obtain the consent for its plans from the Secretary of State. It was, therefore, expected that the graziers would make representations to the Secretary of State.

A planning officer told the meeting that the project was aimed at halting and reversing the long-term decline of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)  by enhancing the lowland raised bog. “This is a national priority habitat which is very rare in the National Park and uncommon elsewhere,”  he said. The project also aimed at protecting the home of a population of great crested newts. He added that roe deer were not legally protected. He maintained that the project would have a positive impact on the condition of the SSSI.

The majority of the committee voted to approve the application.

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. )

During the summer of 2017 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.

Below: the benches installed in December 2017

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.

An ARC News Service report on the meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority ‘s (YDNPA) planning committee on September 10 2019. Items discussed were: conversion of former Methodist chapel at Bainbridge; 6 Finkle Street at Sedbergh; conversion of upper storeys of a shop at Grassington;  and extensions to a house at Cracoe.

Pip Pointon reports on the YDNPA meetings on a voluntary basis as part of the Association of Rural Communities commitment to local democracy in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Bainbridge

The conversion of the former chapel  at Bainbridge into two two-bedroom affordable rented dwellings for perpetuity was described by Julie Greenslade, the circuit administrator for the North Yorkshire Dales Methodist Circuit as being a pilot scheme for their churches throughout the country.

“We have learnt a lot from this application,” she said following the unanimous decision at the planning committee to approve it.

Richmondshire District councillor John Amsden commented: “I think it is a very good proposal because all round this area Methodist chapels are being sold off for holiday cottages or second homes. This is being kept for locals.”

The planning officer reported that residents and Bainbridge Parish Council were very concerned about the acute shortage of parking especially as the former chapel does not have any designated parking spaces.

“When the primary school is opening and closing it is chaotic down the back Syke – you can’t park anywhere. But what are you going to do with [the building]?”

Some residents had suggested that the railings and a stone staircase should be removed to provide a parking area. The planning officer, however, stated: “The external staircase is considered to be a key architectural feature of the building and historically provided the public route into the chapel. Its loss would have a detrimental effect on the character of this heritage asset and the resulting car parking space would be… deficient.”

She described the proposed conversion as being sympathetic and that it had been amended to ensure that neighbouring properties were not overlooked. She added that it went beyond the policy requirement for local occupancy dwelling. This is because the Methodist Circuit will continue to own the building and will allocate accommodation to those in affordable housing need in conjunction with Richmondshire District Council.

At the beginning of the debate the chairman, Julie Martin, stated: “I would like to declare an interest. There has been a comment in support of the application, I believe, by the Friends of the Dales, the charity of which I am a trustee. However, I don’t think that inhibits me from participating in this debate and the vote on it, the reason being that while I am a trustee… I take no part whatsoever in their consultation process on planning applications [and] I am not a member of their policy committee, deliberately so because I feel that is inconsistent with being on [this] planning committee.”

Sedbergh

The majority of the committee again voted in favour of allowing the two upper floors of 6 Finkle Street in Sedbergh to become a residential flat again without the imposition of a legal agreement that it must be for local occupancy. (Such agreements can include holiday lets.)

The head of development management, Richard Graham, reminded members that at the August meeting a planning officer had recommended refusing the application because the owner had refused to sign a legal agreement.

The majority of the members, however, agreed that turning the upper floors back to residential use did not constitute “new build” and so did not require any legal agreement. They were also concerned that the imposition of such a legal agreement would have a negative impact upon businesses in the centre of Sedbergh.

As that was contrary to the officer’s recommendation the issue was referred back to the September meeting.  Mr Graham said that the housing policy was aimed at delivering more affordable housing for local people. He did not accept the possible “material considerations” put forward last month but rather suggested others which could be used to support a decision that was not in accordance with policy.

He said: “Changing the use of the upper floors to residential in the circumstances in this case would not have a material effect upon the delivery of affordable housing for local people. The proposal would create a two-bedroom flat which, in this location, would be a relatively affordable form of accommodation and is less likely to become a second home or a holiday let than a house would be. But, of course, that cannot be guaranteed.

“There is a wider consideration here that [such a legal restriction] would hamper flexibility of businesses to use their premises and that may frustrate some of the economic objectives of the Local Plan.”

Jim Munday argued that imposing a legal restriction was in accordance with the Authority’s Local Plan especially as it wanted to attract more young people to the National Park.

But seven of the 13 members disagreed and confirmed the decision to approve the change of use of the two storeys without a local occupancy legal restriction.

 Grassington

The first and second floors of a former butcher’s shop in Grassington can be converted into a two-bedroom dwelling the committee agreed. 

An internal passageway will be created to provide access to the apartment, the planning officer said. She added that the external alterations would be minimal being the insertion of three roof lights, the re-opening of a blocked-up window and the re-use of an existing door.

She commented: “The proposed development would see the loss of the upper floors from a potential business use, but there is still a large ground floor shop remaining together with two quite substantial store room areas.” The applicant had pointed out that the upper floors had not been used for 20 years.

Some residents had queried  the siting of wheelie bins behind the premises but the planning officer said that the land did belong to the applicant. “Whilst the storage of wheelie bins in this location is not ideal, they would not have such a harmful impact on the amenity of neighbours to warrant the refusal of planning permission,” she stated.

Grassington Parish Council objected to the  application because there was of the lack of parking in that area. The planning officer reported that the occupier of the dwelling could obtain a parking permit for the National Park Authority car park nearby.

Committee member Craven District councillor Richard Foster, commented that even though there was a lack of parking spaces in Grassington the conversion of the upper stories of the shop would be a great use of that space.

Approval was given on the basis that the applicant would sign a legal agreement restricting use of the flat  to the local occupancy criteria set out in the Authority’s Local Plan or to short term holiday let.

Cracoe

The majority of the committee agreed that two extensions can be added to No Name House in Cracoe despite the objections of the parish meeting.

North Yorkshire County councillors Robert Heseltine recognised that Cracoe Parish Meeting seemed to be very much against the application but added: “Every concern that the parish meeting has brought has been overcome by the applicant in negotiation with the planning officer.”

The parish meeting’s objections included: the proposed extensions would overcrowd an already narrow lane; the proposed number of two parking spaces would be disproportionate when the number of bedrooms was increased from four to five; there were no extra parking spaces nearby; and the positioning of a flue for a new wood-burning stove. It stated it would not object to the replacement of the rear conservatory with just one of the extensions if its  height, size and roof pitch were the same.

The planning officer reported that the garden room which will replace the conservatory was not significantly greater in size, would be largely screened by a tall fence, and would not overshadow the neighbouring property.  The applicant, Richard Johnson, had agreed to place the wood-burner flue higher up so that smoke from it could not affect the neighbours.

The two-storey cat-slide extension on the other side of the house followed local precedent and would not, the planning officer said. have a negative impact upon neighbouring properties. He added: “Overall, it is considered that the proposal will have a sympathetic appearance within the site and the setting of the neighbouring listed building.”

As some residents were concerned about the future use of the garage the conditions included that this could not be converted into living accommodation without the written approval of the Authority.

Left to right: Andy Singleton and Gillian and Adrian Harrison outside Hard Banks Barn

A beautifully restored barn in lovely countryside with an ice cream parlour hidden inside has proved to be a magnate for locals and visitors alike in Wensleydale since last Saturday (September 21).

On the approach along the A684 from Aysgarth Hardbanks Barn looks like a well-renovated traditional building that fits so well into the undulating countryside around it.

“You cannot tell from the outside what is within – which sort of makes it a nice surprise,” said Gillian Harrison who manages the ice cream parlour in a joint venture with her husband, Adrian. And it is a wonderful surprise to walk inside and find a light and airy ice cream parlour where the atmosphere is enhanced by the late 18th century beams.

The architect, Andy Singleton, commented that it was not where such a traditional barn was situated but rather the way It was restored. He had assured the National Park planning officers that the barn conversion wouldn’t have a detrimental impact upon the landscape and was delighted with the result.

Part of the airy atmosphere inside is due to his creative use of the original ventilation apertures. He had had the splayed reveals inside widened and small glass “windows” inserted without changing the outside appearance of the barn.

“I think those appealed to everybody. It’s a bit higgledy piggledy but that adds to the character,” Gillian commented.

Their Wensleydale Ice Cream comes from their own Jersey cows and is manufactured at their farm at Thornton Rust. There are now three generations of Harrisons at the farm: grandparents Maurice and Anne; Gillian and Adrian and their two children.

Gillian and Adrian explained that they hope the ice cream parlour will enable the family to support themselves without turning to intensive farming methods. “You’ve got to have additional revenue. There are so many variables in farming and it’s a big risk [business] with small margins,” Gillian said.

Hard Banks Barn, they believe, will show just how much everything in the Dales is intertwined in what is very much a man-made landscape. Even the colour of the grass depended, they pointed out, on the fertiliser used and the animals which graze on it.

They plan to have cows grazing near the barn and to display pictures to show how the milk is processed into ice cream. And their customers agreed that the ice cream is superb.

There are tables and chairs downstairs and more in the ‘Minstrels Gallery’ above. Alongside the ice cream there are also coffee, cakes and waffles. Adrian and Gillian are employing five local part-time staff to help Gillian with another making the ice cream. And they are very grateful for the support of Maurice and Anne Harrison.

The parlour is attracting a wide age range of people and Gillian was delighted to see children larking about outside and rolling down the grassy bank.

On Monday they hosted children from the BAWB federation of schools who were taken there by their parents as an after-school treat. “The parents said it was so nice because there aren’t many places they can take the children for a treat,” said Gillian.

She and Adrian were also very happy to see people going to the parlour for their sweet course after their Sunday dinner. “I always wanted it to be like a ‘pudding’ barn,’ she commented.

They believe the ice cream parlour fills a niche market in Wensleydale and helps to attract tourists. And they and their staff can – and do – tell tourists about other local attractions. They are looking forward to continuing to work with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to make the ice cream parlour a success, especially its tourist department and the Dairy Days project.

The Harrisons are very grateful to all those who helped to make their dream come true and for a grant from the LEADER fund. They plan to hold an official opening in a few months’ time in memory of John Blackie for all the work he put into the project.

by Juliet Barker

The harvest was well and truly celebrated at St Andrew’s! We gave thanks to God for the beauty of our natural world and for the social ties that bring us together as friends and neighbours in a fantastic Flower Festival.

Our flower arrangers are renowned for their creativity, skill and imagination but they excelled themselves in their displays celebrating some of the local organisations in our parish. Who knew there was so much going on in  our villages? (To see more pictures click on the photo)

A children’s session of fun and games attracted a low turnout but, led by a roller-skating scarecrow (Steve Hamilton), we all had huge fun rescuing the animals in Noah’s ark, passing round the potatoes and finding the harvest mice hidden in church.

In the evening we had a full house at the Falls Café for our hog-roast and ceilidh, with music provided by the inimitable Roosters Band. It was a great joy to see so many young people, including children, join in the dancing with great enthusiasm – and then come to church the next morning to round off our celebrations with a Harvest Thanksgiving Service, led by Rev Kathy Couchman. Her moving and memorable sermon struck a chord with many of us and was much discussed afterwards.

Thank you everyone who gave their time, energy, skills and money to make our Harvest Celebrations such a success. We raised over £800 and renewed our fellowship with members of the parish – and beyond!

We will continue to collect tinned and dried food for Caring For Life until the end of October: a list of suggested items and a box for offerings can be found at the back of the church.

Photo: one mouse escaped and almost came to a sticky end on part of the Jervaulx Screen! or was an adult just playing after all the children  had gone?