Volunteers at Skipton library uncover the town’s hidden history

Local history volunteers at Skipton library have been busy during lockdown, transcribing and digitising documents that reveal the town’s rich history.

Jane Lunnon and Steve Wilton have been transcribing the hand-written notebooks of the late Skipton historian Dr Geoffrey Rowley.

The handbooks contain the history of nearly every building in Skipton’s High Street, Swadford Street and Newmarket Street.

They’ve completed the first volume, which has been digitised and is on the Rowley Collection website at www.rowleycollection.co.uk

As well as containing the notebooks, it includes the Rowley Ellwood collection of over 700 historic photos of Skipton that Rowley and historian Ken Ellwood collected together.

Jane said: “Dr Rowley’s handwriting is not easy to decipher, and the notes are very idiosyncratic, but they contain all kinds of facts and insights into the buildings and the people who lived in them too. I’ve really enjoyed reading them and finding out more about the history of the town.”

Steve added: “I’m pleased to be part of this project that means Dr Rowley’s notes and the history of Skipton can be accessed by people all over the world, and not just in Skipton library. We’ve already started transcribing the other three volumes, and those will on the website soon.”

Jane and Steve have also been selecting passages from the notebooks and preparing a series of social media posts for Skipton library’s Facebook page every Thursday.  Followers will be able to find out about old Skiptonians like ‘Ranting Nanny’, landlord of the Brick Inn Benjamin Smith, and Dr Fisher’s house on Swadford Street. Follow the Skipton library Facebook page to see them.

County Councillor Greg White, Executive Member for Libraries, said: “It’s great to see our dedicated library volunteers keeping busy during lockdown to highlight local history and I would like to thank them for doing such a wonderful job. I think that transcripts of Dr Rowley's notebooks are fascinating and bring another dimension to the Rowley Ellwood collection website.  While I hope many people will engage in the Facebook posts and the notebooks, both Skipton library and the County Record Office offer a wealth of historical material that is available online at any time. Library members can still access both Ancestry and Find My Past from home using their library card and PIN to assist family history investigations, as well as other reference and research material. The Record Office’s online catalogue and shop also provide excellent resources.”

All details and updates of the services during Covid-19 can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/library-and-record-office-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19