Hugh Dennis visits Masham for Channel 4 programme

The comedian Hugh Dennis is filming in Masham this week for a Channel 4 programme that aims to uncover more about the town’s ‘lost cemetery’.

Mr Dennis is expected to be in the North Yorkshire town for another couple of days filming for The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden.

It follows numerous discoveries of Anglo-Scandinavian skeletons dating back to between 679 and 1011 AD around the centre of the market town.

Building works in 1988 and 1999 uncovered the remains of 58 skeletons.

Many locals believe there is much more to discover.

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Neil McIntosh, who works in tourist information for Visit Masham, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is fertile ground for excavations. So far we have only found just over 50 skeletons but if the cemetery was in use for more than 300 years there will be plenty more to find.”

Mr McIntosh says the crew for the programme is digging up the garden of a former butcher.

He added that the show could find some animal bones as well as human remains from hundreds of years ago.

Artisan market set to return to Masham

Masham’s artisan market is set to make a comeback.

The town’s parish council this week approved plans to bring it back after locals called for a return. The last farmer’s market was August 2019.

The market is expected to take place on the second Sunday of each month from April to September next year.

Councillors will now listen to the proposals of local traders before giving the official go ahead.

It will have stalls selling farmers’ produce as well as other items. Masham already has Wednesday and Saturday markets.

Masham Wednesday market

Masham’s Wednesday markets are often busy with visitors looking to buy local produce.

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Councillor Ian Johnson said:

“Yes, we have passed it for next year in the summer season. It’ll mainly be the traders who will organise it, they think they can find a few traders in farm produce and artisan items so it sounds good.

“Our Saturday market is always popular. This weekend we have about 20 stalls so hopefully the new one will be a success too.”

Masham Cricket Club plans tribute to president

Masham Cricket Club is raising £5,000 for an electronic scoreboard as a tribute to popular club president Tony Proud, who died this year.

Club chairman Mark Ellis told the Stray Ferret the scoreboard would be a fitting tribute to someone who had cricket in his blood.

The club is raising the money through a crowdfunding campaign.

Mr Ellis said:

“He was president of the cricket club when he died. He was there every Saturday watching the game. He was there to give advice, had a great sense of humour and was loved by everybody. He was a real character.”

Mr Proud was a former woodwork teacher at Bedale secondary school and cricket was his passion. He played for Masham CC for over 30 years with and represented other local clubs.

He also was instrumental in setting up Masham Sports Association, a charitable organisation that supports cricket, bowls, tennis and football in the market town.

Mr Proud died during the height of the Covid pandemic in April and Mr Ellis said the club wanted to do something special for his family.

He added:

“The church at Masham would have been packed out with people who played sport either with or against Tony over the years.”

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Currently, the club has an old-fashioned pull-chord scoreboard and Mr Ellis said an electronic version would “bring the club into the 21st century”.

He is confident the community will come together to raise the target of £5,000. He added:

“I’m sure the community will support what we’re trying to do because he was such a big character. Everybody knew Tony.”

If the club raises £5,000, it will have an official opening of the electronic scoreboard next year, which will double up as a celebration of Mr Proud’s cricketing life.

You can donate to the crowdfunder here.

Masham dress shop closes after 40 years

After 40 years in Masham’s market place, a women’s clothing store has closed its doors for good after failing to find a buyer.

Through The Looking Glass, which was known for its womenswear and window displays, closed last week.

Owner Linda Burrows, said Through The Looking Glass had been a Masham institution for decades.

But she added potential buyers had lost interest since the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Burrows took over the business in May 2007 and had hoped to sell prior to retirement.

But after closing the shop for three months during lockdown, the remaining stock was sold at discounted rates.

She said:

“Just before Christmas I decided to retire, I was quite confident I could sell it as a business. People did show interest but as Covid kicked in no-one was interested.

“I was really living the dream. As a child I always wanted to own a dress shop. It was also a calling place for people to bob in for a chat.”

Through The Looking Glass

Many customers have told Ms Burrows they will miss visiting the shop.

Ms Burrows plans to enjoy retirement with her husband and family.

She added:

“It is very sad it has closed because Masham and Through The Looking Glass went together.”

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She suspects more shops will go online or be forced to close following the pandemic. She added:

“It’s the not knowing. Anyone thinking of starting something up new doesn’t know how things are going to be going forward.”

More than 100 Eat Out to Help Out businesses in Harrogate district

From next week people will be able to ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ by taking advantage of a 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the Harrogate district.

More than 100 restaurants, cafes, bars, and pubs in the district have signed up to the new government scheme to boost hospitality.

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It is valid all day Monday to Wednesday from August 3 to 31, as long the town or city is not in lockdown.

Customers can get a maximum of £10 off food and drink when they eat or drink in. There’s no minimum spend and it can be used in conjunction with other offers.

The government has released a list of establishments registered for the scheme, which we have compiled by area. If your business is not on the list then get in touch.

Harrogate – 66

Knaresborough – 14

Ripon – 9

Boroughbridge – 6

Nidderdale – 6

Masham – 4

Harrogate Council handed £141,000 to reopen High Streets

Harrogate Borough Council has been given £141,177 from the government to help reopen high streets in town centres in the district safely.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that non-essential shops, such as clothes stores and electronic outlets, will reopen from June 15 and urged people to spend money to help the economy “bounce back”.

Now, councils across the country have been handed money from a £50 million pot to help with measures to make shopping areas safe and will be able to spend the funding from June 1.

The money is designed to fund measures such as new signs, temporary barriers, street markings and marketing campaigns to reassure people that High Streets are safe.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to spend money to help the economy when non-essential stores reopen from June 15.

It comes as North Yorkshire County Council has already put out temporary bollards in town centres across the district to widen pavements to help social distancing. The authority’s highways chief was forced to defend the measures after criticism from some traders and on social media.

The funding is expected be among the last from the European Union Regional Development Fund which is allocated to the UK Government and handed to councils. The EU fund will finish at the end of this year.

High Streets Minister Simon Clarke MP said:

“As we begin to slowly return to normality, the re-opening our high streets will be key to kick-starting our economic recovery.

“Levelling up the regions and supporting our high streets has always been central to the mission of this government.

“Many businesses have already introduced creative ways of trading such as contactless collection or taking orders by instant messaging and shows that they are ready for the challenges ahead.

“That’s why we are providing an extra £50 million for councils to support a range of safety measures that will help get these businesses back on track and ensure that people can enjoy their time visiting their local high street safely again.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment on what it intends to spend the funding on.

VE Day in pictures – Ripon and the rural areas turn red, white and blue

The coronavirus crisis meant that streets in the city of Ripon and towns and villages in the surrounding rural areas remained largely empty, as people respected the government’s call to maintain social distancing.

However, celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe was still in evidence in red, white and blue window displays and bunting.

Ripon City Council which had planned three days’ of events involving celebration and commemoration, followed its own advice, when Town Clerk Paula Benson put a red, white and blue display in the Ripon Town Hall Windows.

In Masham, the window of insurance brokers R.F. Broadley, featured a rare collector’s item copy of the Northen Echo, dated Tuesday 8th May 2020 declaring ‘Today is VE Day’.

Just down the street, off Market Place, a private house (pictured above) had its V for Victory salute made out of Union Jacks. while two large Union Jacks and garden bunting decorated another private house in Main Street, Kirkby Malzeard.

 

Masham distiller makes further urgent call for bottle suppliers to help meet demand for hand sanitiser

The owners of a Masham-based distillery are desperately appealing for additional bottle producers and suppliers to contact them, as demand for the hand sanitiser they are making increases on an almost hourly basis.

Spirit of Masham, which turned to hand sanitiser production to help meet the shortfall in supply of the product for people working in the front-line services, has orders from North Yorkshire County Council, the NHS, local GP practices, hauliers and others who need to sanitise their hands on a regular basis.

However, Derek Harle, who is producing the hand sanitiser along with his wife Carol, told the Stray Ferret: “We have the product produced to the 80%  abv alcohol formulation recommended by the World Health Organisation, but just can’t get enough of the trigger-action and pump-action refillable bottles to meet the demand. It is so frustrating.”

He is conscious of the fact that some people have been attempting to profiteer, by buying bulk amounts of hand sanitiser and selling it on at a marked-up price. He added: “To counter this, we have put a recommended retail price of £4.95 per 100 ml bottle, each of which is bar coded and has a batch number on it.”

He and his wife, who have been working flat out on production, are determined to ensure that the bottles end up in and on the hands of those who need them most.

In addition to the 100 ml bottles, Spirit of Masham is supplying the sanitiser in five litre containers, which means that organisations such as hospital wards or GP practices are able to refill the smaller bottles that they give out to their employees.

Mr Harle can be contacted on 01765 688500.