My Schooldays 1952 54 Near Skipton

A Memory of Skipton.

My Grandparents lived at 26 Otley Street in Skipton from the 1940 ( or earlier ) and I had first visited them in 1945 after VE day, They were Thomas Henry Jackson, my Grandmother Charlotte Jackson and their batchelor son, my Uncle Gordon.

My Father Norman Jackson and Mother Sadie Jackson were living in Belfast Northern Ireland since 1934 where I was born in 1938, and because my Paternal Grandparents were living in Skipton, my Dad wanted me to attend boarding school in Yorkshire to give me a sense of Yorkshire identity.

So following holiday trips in 1945 and also 1949 I believe, by which time I had become attached to my Grandparents and Uncles ( the older Arnold Jackson lived in Haworth, and my Aunt Millie Jackson lived  in Bingley ), he enrolled me in 1951/52 at Hartlington Hall between Burnsall and Appletreewick on the hills overlooking the River Wharfe.

Hartlington Hall ( now divided up in 3 or 4 flats ) was the Boarding Section of Leeds Grammar School, established there during the War Years to bring the boarders out of Leeds to the tranquility of the Dales.

My Grandfather worked as a weaver at Mark Nutters mill near the railway station and the canal at the back. My weekend outing on Saturdays required me to ride my teachers bicycle from Hartlington, through Burnsall and on to Linton, where I left it beside the public telehone box to retrieve after dark on the way back to school, take the bus coming from Grassington to Skipton, and spend the most enjoyable of times with my Grandad, walking his dogs throughout the town, up to Embsay and back through the Skipton Woods, below the castle and resurface near the Craven Heifer at the top of High Street.

In winter, of course the waterfalls and ponds were a tapestry of black and white, snow and ice which probably inspired me in later years to take up still photography, and subsequently cinematography which became my professional career for 5-10 years later on.

Talking of the cinema reminds me that in 1949 ( I think ) the High Street was the scene of a film production unit shooting "A Boy, a Girl and a Bike" with Alan Bates with Honor Blackman in the lead, who were there by the Craven Heifer. Later scene had them carry the bike across Malham Cove on the limestone pavement, which was a poster scene in the cinemas later. Diana Dors also had a leading role.

The treat of the day was to buy a few ( six penni-worth ) of Humbugs at Whittakers and make our way back to 26 Otley Street through the cattle market. Before getting on the Grassington bus to return to school Uncle Gordon would walk me through Newmarket Street for a packet of fish and chips to eat on the bus.

Dropped in Linton I found my teacher's bike illuminated by the slight glow from the single bulb in the public phone box. I learned this habit the hard way, trying to find a bike in the velvet blackness of night otherwise was a hazard I did not need.

The long trek back from Linton to Burnsall, over the bridge and up, up and up again to the main drive at Hartlington Hall, and report in to my Headmaster having returned the bike to my science teacher, usually by 8pm or once in a while 9pm made sleep the easiest of destinations.

Skipton, my Grandparents, sarsaparilla, Ginger Beer, dandelion & burdock,
the cattle market and the Castle made an indelible impression on me. Now 68, living in Florida, I continue to get the Dalesman, have the Calendar Girls on the wall, and try to visit when possible.

I did venture to 26 Otley Street a few years ago, had a wonderful welcome from the insurance business owner, spent hours from cellar to attic reliving the sights and sounds of a youthful time of family gatherings, Yorkshire pudding, mint sauce and watching my Grandad's thumbs revolve slowly in his clasped hands as he stared at the glowing coals, and puffed a slow burning pipe.

" By Gum....it was reet grand "

Trevor Jackson
jackson510133@bellsouth.net

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