Sharow Church of England Primary School is playing its part in marking the Queen’s platinum jubilee by planting a tree.
The Queen, who is already the UK’s longest-serving monarch, will celebrate 70 years on the throne in June.
The Queen’s Green Canopy tree planting initiative is inviting everyone across the UK, from individuals and organisations to schools and businesses, to get involved
With October seeing the start of the tree planting season, the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt. Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, invited children at St John’s Sharow, to plant a hazel sapling in the school’s grounds.
Sharow CE Primary School
Executive head teacher Jacqui Palmer and the Revd. Ruth Newton, parish priest at St John’s Sharow, joined Dr Hartley at the planting ceremony, which was also attended by pupils who are members of the school council.
Before the planting, the children impressed the bishop with their knowledge of the importance of trees to the environment and prayers were said after the sapling had been put in place.
Dr Hartley told the Stray Ferret:
“The school grounds provide such a fitting setting for this special tree and I hope that the children, their parents and staff enjoy seeing it grow and flourish.
“It will be a reminder to them and future generations, of the service that the Queen has given to this country.”
The Woodland Trust, one of the organisations involved in the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, said:
“The Queen’s Green Canopy will create a network of individual trees, avenues, copses and whole woodlands in honour of the Queen’s service and the legacy she has built.
“This will create a green legacy of its own, with every tree planted bringing benefits for people, wildlife and climate, now and for the future.”
The photo shows members of the Sharow CE School Council at the planting with, from left: The Revd Ruth Newton, headteacher Jacqui Palmer and Bishop Dr Helen-Ann Hartley
Where, in the Ripon area, can you find an internationally-famous astronomer buried in a grave marked with a small pyramid-shaped monument and why?
The answers can be found in the churchyard of St John’s Sharow, where Charles Piazzi Smyth was laid to rest following his death on 21 February 1900.
Smyth was born in Naples on 3 January 1819. At the age of 26 he became the youngest-ever Astronomer Royal for Scotland — a title given to the director of the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh.
Smyth, who held the position for more than 40 years, was also professor of astronomy at Edinburgh University.
He has the distinction of being the man behind the introduction of Edinburgh Castle’s one o’clock gun, which is fired six days a week as a guide to shipping.
In an era of unprecedented industrial growth, which saw polluted skies obscure the stars, Smyth literally took his career to new heights when he and his wife climbed the mountains of Tenerife and used a 7.5 inch refracting telescope to view the night sky at altitude.
His pioneering work demonstrated the need for observatories to be located on high ground to achieve best results and he set the standard for astronomers across the globe, which saw him named as the ‘father of mountain astronomy’.
St John’s Sharow, the last resting place of Charles Piazzi Smyth and his wife Jessie
Move to Ripon
Claims made in his 1864 book The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed, including a conclusion that its construction was ‘guided by the hand of God’ were criticised and rejected by many of the scientific community and 10 years later, he resigned from The Royal Society.
Following his retirement in 1888, Smyth and his wife left Scotland and moved to a house called Clova, in Clotherholme Road, Ripon, where they lived in relative obscurity, away from members of Edinburgh’s scientific elite, who had turned their backs on him.
Smyth, who was also an accomplished photographer, artist and meteorologist, shares his grave in Sharow with his wife, Jessie, who died four years earlier.
A snapshot of their remarkable time together is captured in the words of a weather-beaten epitaph on the pyramid.
It says that Jessie was:
“His faithful and sympathetic friend and companion, through 40 years of varied scientific experiences, by land and sea abroad as well as at home, at 12,000 feet up in the atmosphere, on the wind swept peak of Tenerife, as well as underneath and upon the Great Pyramid of Egypt.
The reference to the Great Pyramid at Giza provides the reason for their unusual memorial.
In his epitaph, where key words are emphasised by capital letters, a posthumous message conveying the hurt feelings he took to his grave can be seen.
It says:
“As Bold in enterprise as he was Resolute in demanding a proper measure of public sympathy and support for Astronomy in Scotland, he was not less a living emblem of pious patience under Troubles and Afflictions and he has sunk to rest, laden with well-earned Scientific Honours, a Bright Star in the Firmament of Ardent Explorers of the Works of their Creator.”
Read more:
Harrogate beauty queen sets sights on UK crown
A 23-year-old supermarket worker has been crowned Miss Harrogate Galaxy and is now ready to take on other beauty queens in the final of Miss Galaxy UK.
Victoria Hind, from Sharow, near Ripon, was crowned Miss Harrogate in her first pageant last month and will now compete in November’s final.
Ms Hind said she always wanted to compete in pageants but prior to lockdown didn’t think she had the confidence.
After suffering with anxiety for some years, she is hoping this competition will boost her confidence and teach her to “grab every opportunity that comes my way”.
Pageant life is a little different to Ms Hind’s day job at Sainsbury’s in Ripon.
The Miss Galaxy UK final at the Park Hall Hotel in Lancashire consists of four rounds; an interview round, an evening wear round, a fashion wear round and a swimwear round.
If she wins she will have the chance to travel to America to compete in the Miss Galaxy International final next summer.
Ms Hind said:
“I’m really excited, its something I’ve wanted to do for a while but I was too nervous.
“It’s not just a beauty pageant; it’s about girls supporting girls. This gives me a reason to step out my comfort zone.”
Read more:
- Harrogate mum who founded Mumbler celebrates website’s 10th birthday
- Harrogate-born musician to kick off London festival
Ms Hind has already made an appearance as Miss Harrogate Galaxy at Ripon Races and is looking forward to attending more events during her reign.
She also plans to use her platform to raise money for the charity Dogsforgood, which trains dogs to live as assistance dogs in people’s homes.
The charity helped find her step-dad, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, an assistance dog so she is determined to raise as much as she can.
‘Customer service is key’ to improving disability access on Harrogate trainsThis week Northern pledged to spend £250,000 on improving disabled access on its railways. The Stray Ferret asked one wheelchair user from the district what he thought of the service.
The train operator is asking charities, local authorities and community groups to bid for accessibility improvements to stations in their area.
Andrew Newton from Sharow uses a powered wheelchair after being diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis 12 years ago.
Before the pandemic he took trains from Harrogate station once or twice a week.
Mr Newton said customer service was key to improving his journey as he relies on the staff to help him on and off the train.
He said the staff at Harrogate station were “fabulous” and helped him as much as they could but more training could be done with newer staff.
Mr Newton’s experience, he said, could be vastly different depending on customer service:
“Customer service can help cover building inadequacies if there is someone dedicated to helping me it helps my overall experience.”
Read more:
- Harrogate disability charity thanks those helping to improve accessibility around the Yorkshire countryside.
- Plans for a Killinghall bypass have been condemned by a Harrogate environmental group.
He also said the disabled toilets at Harrogate train station needed improving. Currently the size of the cubicle does not allow him to fully turn round meaning the interior door of the cubicle has to be left open.
Mr Newton was keen to say that customer service is “key” and encouraged the train operator to consult with people with disabilities to fix any issues.
Northern’s Accessibility Fund is a first for the UK rail industry. It will be led by the independent Northern Accessibility User Group (NAUG) and supported by Northern.
For bids to be considered, the proposed project or scheme must be scheduled for completion between April 5 2021 and September 30 2022.
Second investigation into clear-up of Sharow oil spillThe Environment Agency is now carrying out two separate investigations following an oil spill in Sharow, near Ripon.
Last week, the agency announced that it would investigate the way in which soil and debris contaminated with heating oil was dumped on Back Lane.
Now, the clean-up operation is also being investigated, a week after 100 cubic metres of material was removed from the ancient thoroughfare.
James Thornborough, an international expert on oil spillages on land and water who lives in Sharow, told the Stray Ferret:
“Just about anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”
He pointed out:
“People may look on this as an isolated incident in a small North Yorkshire village, but the ramifications are potentially enormous.”
Oil traces in standing water on Back Lane, Sharow (Photo: James Thornborough)
Mr Thornborough has advised some of the world’s largest oil companies on spills and incident management.
He, and environmental expert Simon Warwick who also lives in the village, witnessed and took photographs of contractors carrying out last Friday’s clean-up.
Mr Warwick, director of the Lower Ure Conservation Trust, who was awarded an MBE for his outstanding work in nature conservation, said a branch from an ancient oak was damaged in the process. He added:
“We will discover over time what longer-term damage may have been caused to natural habitats by the oil that seeped into the lane and the hedgerow.”
Read more:
- Dumping of contaminated soil in Sharow is under investigation
- Force ‘took its eye off the ball’ on Ripon policing
The contaminated soil and debris was originally dumped in Back Lane after being cleared from an adjacent property, where domestic heating oil had leaked from a large plastic tank.
Mr Thornborough said:
“It was not the fault of the property owners, who did all of the right things as soon as the leak was discovered.
“They were subsequently the victims of a botched clear-up.”
The Environment Agency previously told the Stray Ferret it was investigating the dumping of the contaminated soil to see whether any offences had been committed. It said it was seeking assurances from the company responsible that the situation would be put right as quickly as possible.
However, after further damage was done while the material was removed from Back Lane, Mr Thornborough said he had brought the situation to the attention of the Environment Agency’s chief executive, Sir James Bevan, adding:
“I believe that there are lessons to be learned all around – particularly the need for people with outside oil tanks for domestic heating to have them checked on a regular basis.
“If you consider the potential for a spillage like this to occur many times across the Harrogate district, the incident and the way it was handled takes on a different perspective.”
Oliver Harmar, EA area director for Yorkshire, responded to Mr Thornborough and said:
Plans to convert Half Moon pub in Sharow into a home“I have asked Martin Christmas (area environment manager) to lead on this investigation and you will hear from him shortly.
“Be assured that we are taking this seriously.”
Plans have been submitted to convert the Half Moon pub in Sharow, near Ripon, into a four-bedroom home.
The village pub and restaurant, on Sharow Lane, opened in 1822 and closed four years ago.
Owner Mark Fitton was, until recently, advertising for a tenant to take on the pub.
He has now submitted plans to Harrogate Borough Council to convert the premises.
A planning statement attached to the application claims three separate couples have run the pub in recent years but all suffered insolvency due to “a lack of custom”.
It reads:
“For at least 20 years everyone who has tried to run the Half Moon as a hospitality venue has found it to be extremely difficult.
“Since 2009 various people have tried to run it as a village pub or a high-quality restaurant, but all have failed due to a lack of custom.
“Three separate couples have, over the past 12 years, suffered insolvency as a result of trying to run the Half Moon as a commercial venture; none has managed to last beyond two years.”
Read more:
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Sharow Parish Council clerk Nick Reed said the planning application was unpopular with villagers, and the parish council would submit a formal objection letter in the coming days.
The parish council previously said it was hoping to register the building as an asset of community value in the hope that it could re-open as a pub.
However, Mr Reed said Harrogate Borough Council has asked for more evidence if its bid is to be successful.
He said:
“They told us it would be unlikely to be granted in its current state, so we have been going around the village asking people what the pub means to people, what it could be in the future and what we are missing by not having it.”
Villagers in Sharow were encouraged last year when residents in Kirkby Malzeard raised more than £200,000 in a bid to prevent residential redevelopment of a site occupied by The Henry Jenkins Inn.
However, the campaign was dealt a hammer blow last month when The Planning Inspectorate, a government agency that deals with planning appeals, overturned Harrogate Borough Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for conversion of the eastern part of the site into a single dwelling.