January to April Events - 2020 - all at Masham Town Hall at 7:30pm unless marked
14 January: Travelling through time in the Yorkshire Dales
Susan Briggs will take us on a journey through time looking at some
well-known and lesser known aspects of the Yorkshire Dales. What
‘doorstep delights’ do we miss by not exploring the treasures a few
miles away? We’ll look at a variety of threads and themes that visitors
love, and that residents sometimes take for granted.
Susan Briggs, Dales Discoveries
28 January: (In St Mary’s Masham) Sixteenth century Churchwardens’ Accounts
John Theakston, expatriate local, historian and former Black Sheep
Director, has transcribed the Masham Churchwardens’ Accounts
between 1542 and 1603 and will talk about the format and contents of
these sixteenth century accounts, some of the puzzles of transcription
and then will try and relate, through the prism of the accounts, what
was happening in Masham in response to the wider changes in the
church during the Tudor and Elizabethan period.
11 February: The Skell Valley Project: A Landscape Partnership
The National Trust is working with Nidderdale AONB and local
communities to secure funding for a £2.4m project which aims to slow
the flow of water along the River Skell and increase opportunities for
people to enjoy the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Skell Valley.
This project will help to protect the World Heritage Site of Fountains
Abbey & Studley Royal, reveal some of the hidden histories of the area
and engage wider audiences in learning about preserving heritage.
David Hargreaves and Jack Palmer, National Trust
25 February: The Lost Village of Lodge
The ruined settlement of Lodge lies at the remote head of Nidderdale
on the eastern fringes of the Yorkshire Dales. Before the creation of
the great Nidderdale reservoirs, however, Lodge was a thriving hamlet
on the early packhorse route to Coverdale and Wensleydale. Lodge
represents over 700 years of upland history fossilised in crumbling
stonework and turf-covered walls. The story of a community excavation
project undertaken in 2016 as part of the HLF-funded Upper
Nidderdale Landscape Partnership.
Jim Brightman Solstice Heritage
10 March: Reviving the Gardens at Ripon Workhouse
The latest from Ripon Museum Trust on their project to recreate the
three gardens (Front, Kitchen & Master’s) using historical evidence as
a basis.
Richard Taylor, Chair of RMT
24 March: The History of Valley Gardens and recent developments.
Through old postcards and photographs Sue Wood explains how the
Valley Gardens in Harrogate was developed and describes the recent
projects and restorations within the gardens including the Old
Magnesia Well, Japanese Garden and King Edward Gate project.
Sue Wood, Horticultural Officer
Parks and Environmental Services
28 April: Mashamshire Swift Conservation Community Project
John Darby explains Swifts are unique and fascinating birds that have
become iconic to Masham. One of the first people to scientifically
observe their behaviour was Masham resident, ornithologist and
pioneer bird photographer Ralph Chislett (1883-1964). Born in
Rotherham, he retired from his accountancy career in 1945 and moved
with his wife, Lillian, to Brookside on Rodney Terrace in Masham. Here
in 1946 he wrote the paper 'Swifts at Masham'.
Masham’s tall stone buildings have made it a popular town for the
swift, a bird which nests in the eaves. The Community Project was set
up 2 years ago to help stem the decline in swift numbers by providing
nest boxes to replace those crevices and holes in old buildings which
get lost due to renovation and insulation.
John Darby,
Mashamshire Swift Conservation Community Projectr
Susan Briggs will take us on a journey through time looking at some
well-known and lesser known aspects of the Yorkshire Dales. What
‘doorstep delights’ do we miss by not exploring the treasures a few
miles away? We’ll look at a variety of threads and themes that visitors
love, and that residents sometimes take for granted.
Susan Briggs, Dales Discoveries
28 January: (In St Mary’s Masham) Sixteenth century Churchwardens’ Accounts
John Theakston, expatriate local, historian and former Black Sheep
Director, has transcribed the Masham Churchwardens’ Accounts
between 1542 and 1603 and will talk about the format and contents of
these sixteenth century accounts, some of the puzzles of transcription
and then will try and relate, through the prism of the accounts, what
was happening in Masham in response to the wider changes in the
church during the Tudor and Elizabethan period.
11 February: The Skell Valley Project: A Landscape Partnership
The National Trust is working with Nidderdale AONB and local
communities to secure funding for a £2.4m project which aims to slow
the flow of water along the River Skell and increase opportunities for
people to enjoy the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Skell Valley.
This project will help to protect the World Heritage Site of Fountains
Abbey & Studley Royal, reveal some of the hidden histories of the area
and engage wider audiences in learning about preserving heritage.
David Hargreaves and Jack Palmer, National Trust
25 February: The Lost Village of Lodge
The ruined settlement of Lodge lies at the remote head of Nidderdale
on the eastern fringes of the Yorkshire Dales. Before the creation of
the great Nidderdale reservoirs, however, Lodge was a thriving hamlet
on the early packhorse route to Coverdale and Wensleydale. Lodge
represents over 700 years of upland history fossilised in crumbling
stonework and turf-covered walls. The story of a community excavation
project undertaken in 2016 as part of the HLF-funded Upper
Nidderdale Landscape Partnership.
Jim Brightman Solstice Heritage
10 March: Reviving the Gardens at Ripon Workhouse
The latest from Ripon Museum Trust on their project to recreate the
three gardens (Front, Kitchen & Master’s) using historical evidence as
a basis.
Richard Taylor, Chair of RMT
24 March: The History of Valley Gardens and recent developments.
Through old postcards and photographs Sue Wood explains how the
Valley Gardens in Harrogate was developed and describes the recent
projects and restorations within the gardens including the Old
Magnesia Well, Japanese Garden and King Edward Gate project.
Sue Wood, Horticultural Officer
Parks and Environmental Services
28 April: Mashamshire Swift Conservation Community Project
John Darby explains Swifts are unique and fascinating birds that have
become iconic to Masham. One of the first people to scientifically
observe their behaviour was Masham resident, ornithologist and
pioneer bird photographer Ralph Chislett (1883-1964). Born in
Rotherham, he retired from his accountancy career in 1945 and moved
with his wife, Lillian, to Brookside on Rodney Terrace in Masham. Here
in 1946 he wrote the paper 'Swifts at Masham'.
Masham’s tall stone buildings have made it a popular town for the
swift, a bird which nests in the eaves. The Community Project was set
up 2 years ago to help stem the decline in swift numbers by providing
nest boxes to replace those crevices and holes in old buildings which
get lost due to renovation and insulation.
John Darby,
Mashamshire Swift Conservation Community Projectr