May is Local and Community History Month,

An enriching time to delve into Local and Community History, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness about the rich history that surrounds us in our towns, cities, and villages, It provides an opportunity for people to learn about their local history, visit historical sites, and participate in activities that celebrate their community’s heritage.

The village where I have lived for the past 14 years, Cowling, in North Yorkshire, has a rich history – and the best and most precise information is to be found in “the book” namely Cowling a Moorland Parish written by Cowling Local History Society in 1980.

We have about 38 listed buildings, Carr Head Mansion House and Long Croft are both Grade 2* .? The last listed buildings to be renovated were the old cottages at the bottom of Shop Lane.

Carr Head Mansion was a very important part of the village and owned a large amount of land and farms far and wide, not only in Cowling. In 1923 most of their farms were sold off at a public auction. Wood House was their office premises.

Ickornshaw Moor, about 720 acres of common land is a prominent feature.

World War I saw the tragic loss of 60 Cowling men, and sadly, World War II took a further 11. Research was very complicated and may never be finalized, but a new list was made for the Centenary of WW1 in 2014 and is regarded as more accurate details.

During the mid 1930’s three Japanese chicken sexers came to the village to show people how to detect the sex of chickens, and from this several village hatcheries grew up and flourished.

The first means of education in the village was introduced by The Hugh Smith Charity in 1600’s and the income from the 3 Bawsedge Farms at that time. Cowling Board School was built in 1874, but previously there had been a few other small schools.

Approaching the village we see familiar landmarks – Wainman’s?Monument or Cowling “new pinnacle”, also known as the Salt Pot, which is in fact a listed building in Sutton Parish.?About one mile further on we see the Pepper Pot – Sutton Pinnacle or Lund’s Tower.

Cowling Parish Council was founded in 1894 and Cowling’s most famous son, Philip Snowden, born at 54 Middleton, was its first clerk who later on became Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Cowling is rich in assets which are overseen by the parish council.?Some of these were donated by the influential and wealthy mill owners who wanted to give something back to their village in order to preserve its future.

There have been many changes over the years –?Middleton, Cowling Hill and Ickornshaw were the first settlements but the village as we know it now sprung up with the new road and our 6 mills – Freegate, Ickornshaw, Hartleys, Carr Mill, Croft Mill and Royd Mill.??There were 6 churches, Ickornshaw Weslyan, Holy Trinity, Cowling Hill Baptists, Middleton Baptists, Bar Chapel or UMFC and the Mission Room (now St. Andrews) and from them sprang numerous additional societies and groups.?The annual Gala was very popular and always well attended.

During the 1930’s Cowling had around 50 shops including small businesses.?This reduced to around 30 shops and small businesses during the 1950’s.?The first small Co-op, TheBeehive, at 183 Keighley Road was replaced c.1900 by a new one which is now the Harlequin Restaurant, but the Middleton branch was in use much earlier.

The first bus in Yorkshire was driven up from London in May 1905 by Ezra Laycock and Willie Stephenson (Lang Willie) Large crowds cheered and welcomed them back to the village and at various other points on their journey.

The old Village Institute and formerly the Liberal Club, now flats, was also a busy place and boasted a kitchen, snooker room, sweet shop, which was run by the caretaker, meeting rooms, a reading room and library, as well as a large hall used for concerts, dances etc. Now we have a new village hall on the old Hartleys Mill site.

Cowling’s various sports clubs were also well patronized – cricket, football, tennis, gun club, pigeon club etc. and allotments were always an important part of village life.?There are two recreation grounds, Middleton and Main Street – both these are classed as memorial playing fields and not “parks”

There were numerous small farms but nowadays only a handful remain, the rest having been converted into private dwellings and holiday cottages. Ling Crag was built for soldiers returning from WW1 and Collinge Road was completed in the 1950’s, but many of these houses have now been sold off to tenants who wished to purchase them.?Since the completion of Collinge Road in the 50’s, 15 estates have been built and a good number of other new builds too.

The Bay Horse pub was established around 1818 when its licence was transferred from an ale house,?The Golden Fleece which was situated on the old coaching road at Cowling Hill adjacent to Stott Fold. The Black Bull has not been used as a pub for many years, but originally its licence was also transferred from The Grinning Rat just down the field in Nan Scar, now a small amenity site owned by the parish council.

Joan M. Tindale, November 2021

Images provided by my daughter Bryony Greenwood on an evening walk a few weeks ago.