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Sue Wrathmell has been co-ordinating the Skipton Community Research Project with the aid of volunteers, including members of the Skipton Civic Society, Skipton History Society and UWHG. This project, to record the historical development and architectural heritage of Skipton’s town centre, has been the subject of a couple of talks Sue has already given to UWHG, and now she gave us a guided walk down the High Street to highlight some of the project’s main findings.
We had an excellent turn-out and despite the noise of passing traffic, Sue kept our attention with a fascinating insight into buildings that most of us pass by every week with barely a second glance. Behind the garish and bland modern shop frontages hide many historic buildings, some of mediaeval or early modern origin.
With 34 listed buildings on the High Street alone, in addition to the Church and Castle, Skipton has an incredibly rich standing heritage, sadly neglected in many cases.
Starting at the impressive house built for the Castle’s steward, Sue took us round to Mill Bridge, the mediaeval core of the town, where we discussed changing street levels, the impact of the Civil War and the building of the Canal. A short diversion along the canal towpath brought us to the back of the High Corn Mill where the beautifully restored water wheel is a superb reminder of the importance of early industry in the town’s development. From here we could also speculate on the original access to the Castle before it was destroyed during the Civil War and replaced by the grand entrance built by Lady Anne Clifford on the Bailey.
Back up to High Street, we wandered down past David Goldie’s, once a doctor’s surgery and the birthplace of the man who would become Winston Churchill’s physician. Sue pointed out a wealth of small architectural features which provide clues to the town’s 17th and 18th Century history, such as the carved stone in the walls of the Black Horse indicating the old inn’s connections with the Goodgion family and the town’s dependence upon the meat and wool trades.
The shop frontages along this side of the street hide the earlier character of the street – before the 1890s most shops were also domestic dwellings for the merchants, shopkeepers and artisans and their families. Hence the tall windows above Thornton’s shop were once the impressive windows for the reception rooms of a wealthy merchant who lived here.
There was some discussion of the vagaries and anomalies of the system for listing buildings – which leads to many important historic buildings being omitted, while others of less interest make it onto the list.
As we wandered down into Sheep Street, the importance of the ginnels and back yards was discussed. Sue led us down into Canal Yard, where archaeological excavations have indicated a mediaeval barn once stood. A terrace of workers’ houses which was later crammed into the yard has also since disappeared, but a row of similar houses still stands here, and happily is listed.
At this point, what had started as a balmy summer evening had turned grey and gloomy. A sudden cloudburst threatened to soak us all to the skin, so we had to abandon the walk and make a dash for our cars, having made Sue promise to complete this fascinating tour in a follow-up session at a later date.
Jane Lunnon
UWHG Archivist.
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