125 Years Ago - 1893

A deplorable runaway horse accident occurred at Addingham on Thursday, by which a farmer named Thomas Wall lost his life. Mr. Wall was leading corn from an allotment on Low Moor, and had just left the field with the last load, when from some inexplicable cause the horse suddenly bolted, and Mr. Wall, who was riding on top of the corn, was thrown off into the road with such violence as to fracture his skull. He was 38 years of age and leaves a widow and three children.

On Thursday morning Colonel Dawson’s pack of otter hounds visited the neighbourhood of Bolton Abbey. A start was made a little above the Abbey, but it was not until the dogs got to Dribley Wood, above Barden Tower, that any sport was seen, and the hunt was unsuccessful

100 Years Ago - 1918

Since the early days of the war there has been a hospital for wounded and sick soldiers in Ilkley, which has a splendid record of beneficial service behind it, and now an institution has been opened in Crossbeck Road for soldiers blind and otherwise maimed. There is accommodation for 22 patients, and everything possible is being done to make the lives of the men as happy and comfortable as possible.

We are told an exciting and very amusing pig hunt was to be witnessed in the vicinity of Brook Street on Tuesday afternoon. While a number of pigs belonging to a well-known Ilkley resident were undergoing the operation of “ringing” one escaped, and a chase followed up Brook Street and down Hawksworth Street, where the pig was captured and carried back to its quarters.

75 Years Ago - 1943

At the meeting last night of Aireborough Education Committee the Chairman ( Mr A. D. Blackburn) commented on the need for telephones at the Guiseley Modern School and Yeadon South View School, and it was agreed to recommend the West Riding authority to have the telephone installed.

The events of the past four years have not only changed the course of history for the nations, but also vitally affected our local and personal life. On this Day of Remembrance our thoughts turn back over these years, and we realise the change that is reflected in every part of our daily life - no one has escaped; change has come for all classes and all ages. As we enter the fifth year of war, the lamp of hope burns brightly. During the past four years there have been moments when the flame has flicked, but it has never gone out, and to-day its beams radiate a glow of expectancy. But while this is true we do not and must not underestimate the task still before us.

50 Years Ago - 1968

The main road half a mile on the Skipton side of Addingham was completely blocked for three-quarters of an hour on Sunday afternoon when three and a half tons of hay on a six ton Dodge wagon caught fire. The driver saw smoke and flames coming from the wagon as he was climbing the hill and used his tipper to prevent any further damage to the vehicle. He left a 30 yard stretch of blazing hay in the roadside.

A 200 year old willow tree which overshadowed the ground of Menston Cricket Club was felled on Tuesday after complaints that it was in a dangerous condition, and was endangering the lives of children who play near to it.

25 Years Ago - 1993

The childhood home of novelist Jilly Cooper is the new headquarters of a commercial property firm. Ilkley Hall, a £500,000 Grade II listed mansion off Wells Road, is now owned by Hallborough Properties. The author of raunchy bestsellers Polo, Rivals and Riders lived with her family at the building when she was a young girl. Last year she revealed how real wife-swapping capers she witnessed in Ilkley had inspired steamy scenes in her novels.

A struggling village could revive dwindling trade by turning a back street of cottages into a mini-shopping precinct. Terraced homes in George Street, Addingham, would ultimately make way for shops under the latest suggestions from the village civic society.