The Malhamdale Local History Group exists to promote and further knowledge
about the history of the Parish of Kirkby Malhamdale, situated in upper
Airedale. Based around the historic ecclesiastical parish, the group's
area of interest covers the ten townships of :
Projects
Past & Present
The Malhamdale Local History Group has carried out several
projects since its inauguration in 1986 and this website presents the
opportunity to showcase some of these.
The Millennium Project
Every home in the Dale was photographed and documented.
An exhibition was staged to show the results in 2000 and portfolios
for each of the townships, complete with B&W photographs for each
dwelling, are now lodged at the Craven Museum in Skipton. There are
no plans to put this project on the web at present.
Malhamdale
Show
During 2001 the Group researched the history of Malhamdale's
own agricultural show from its first beginnings at Airton in the early
20th century up until the year 2002. The results were first exhibited
at the Malhamdale Show which now has it's own permanent site at Malham.
The project was published in the form of a photocopied book in time
for the 2003 show and you can view the edited web version this project by clicking the link
on the left.
The
History of Education
Education in the Dale has a long history and although
we now have just one active and very successful school, many others
have existed in the past. This Project was researched during 2002 and
was first presented as an illustrated lecture at Kirkby Malhamdale School
and then a display of material was produced for the 2003 Malhamdale
Show and was on view during the summer of 2004 at The Museum of North
Craven Life housed in The
Folly at Settle.
Malhamdale
at War
A fascinating exhibition of life in the Dale between
1939 and 1945 put together to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE
Day. It includes photographs, personal recollections and memorabilia. First
exhibited at Malham Village Hall, the material was then used in a joint
exhibition with other local groups, held at Settle town hall. A Lottery
funded book based on this North Craven exhibition was also
published in 2005.
Walter Morrison - A man of many parts
Not much has been written about our local millionaire MP, who was great benefactor to Education, the Arts and Archaeology. We are trying to address this, and if anyone can add any recollections, photographs, documenatry sources or other help to the project, please get in touch.
Current
Projects
Two long term projects are being undertaken by various members
of the Group:
A Field Name Survey of the Malhamdale Townships.
Preliminary work on Malham has yielded some interesting results showing
that although some names are quite recent, some are very ancient indeed. Progress is slow, though a large body of reference material and maps have been collected.
Business in Malhamdale.
Today the range of goods and services available to those living in Malhamdale are quite limited and regular trips to town and the supermarket are a necessary part of life. This project is looking at the range of businesses that were available in the past.