SKIPTON

'Skipton' is a town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England that lies along the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It has a total resident population of 14,313.^[1]
Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and known as the "Gateway to the Dales", Skipton is a local centre for tourism, commerce and education. Visitor attractions include the historic castle; the high street market (held Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday); and the area round the Leeds Liverpool Canal.
The town's major local employer is the Skipton Building Society and its subsidiary companies.

Contents

History

Governance

Economy

Transport

Twin Town

Education

Primary education

Secondary education

Further education

Sports

References

See also

External links

History

Main articles: History of Skipton

The town of Skipton has been around as far back as 1085, listed in the Domesday Book, and has roles in history during the English Civil War, as a prisoner-of-war camp in World War I and other elements.

Governance

Skipton lies within the Parliamentary Constituency of Skipton and Ripon, which was created in 1983. The constituency has returned a Conservative MP since its inception.
Skipton forms part of Craven district, a Non-metropolitan district, and is home of the offices of Craven District Council. In March 2007 there were proposals to make North Yorkshire County Council a Unitary Authority, removing the layer of government represented by Craven District.^[2] However, these plans were rejected by the Government in July 2007 on the grounds that it would cover too large an area.^[3]
Skipton also has its own town council.

Economy

Skipton is home to the Skipton Building Society. Skipton is served by Airedale NHS Trust.
The local paper is the Craven Herald.
The train station is next door to a Tesco and a Morrisons.
There is a bus station, with taxi ranks, in the town centre.
There are two theatres serving the town and wider community. The first, Skipton Little Theatre theatre is located not too far from both the railway station and the town centre. The second, The Mart Theatre [1], is an unusual and unique venue. The Mart Theatre opened in October 2005 with funding from European Regional Development Fund, Yorkshire Forward, Craven District Council and from Arts Council England, Yorkshire and is aimed to provide a unique rural theatre, events and other facilities within a functioning Auction Mart. The theatre delivers a developing artistic programme designed to address local cultural and economic needs. A new non-traditional theatre space it is the only theatre placed in a working auction mart in the UK. The Mart Theatre is on the outskirts of Skipton town centre. It is located at Skipton Auction Mart just off the A59/A65 roundabout (the one with the Little Chef). Follow the signs for the Auction Mart found on all the major roads leading to Skipton.
There is a Little Chef, Burger King and Travelodge at the roundabout where the A59, A65 and A629 meet, and a McDonalds to the south of the centre.
Skipton has many pubs, the largest being the Black Horse (a former coaching inn) and the Duke of Devonshire, now owned by Wetherspoon. There are two nightclubs, Bliss, in the town centre (opposite the bus station) and Rooder, at the Rendezvous Hotel [2] to the south of town. Restaurants range from traditional fish and chips to high quality French cuisine, taking in modern British, Mexican, Thai, Indian, Chinese and Italian.
Fresh Radio, the local radio station for the Yorkshire Dales, broadcasts programmes from studios based in Skipton.

Transport

Skipton railway station gives access southbound to regular services for Leeds and Bradford on the electrified Airedale Line; northbound services connect to Morecambe and Carlisle; the latter route is along the Settle-Carlisle Railway, and crosses the Ribblehead Viaduct. Nearby towns and villages include Bolton Abbey, Bradley, Kildwick, Stirton, Carleton, Gargrave, Embsay, Cononley, Lothersdale and Farnhill. The north section (A65 & A59) of the £16.4m Skipton Bypass opened in December 1981. The rest of the six-mile bypass (A629) opened in October 1982, greatly reducing journey times to the Dales.

Twin Town

Skipton is twinned with the Bavarian town of Simbach, and every year schools from the two towns (Ermysted's Grammar School and Skipton Girls' High School from Skipton, Tassilo Gymnasium from Simbach) embark on a student exchange programme, as do local elected officials.

Education

Primary education

There is a wide variety of choice for pupils at ages 5-11:

★ Roman Catholic:

★
★ St Stephen's Catholic Primary School

★ Church of England:

★
★ Christ Church

★
★ Parish Church (informally known as Brougham Street) Primary School

★ Non-denominational:

★
★ Ings Community Primary School

★
★ Greatwood Community Primary School

★
★ Water Street Community Primary School

Secondary education

As well as Aireville School (ages 11-16), there are two single-sex grammar schools - Ermysted's Grammar School for boys, and Skipton Girls' High School[3]. Both schools are selective (by entrance exam) and obtain comparable A-Level scores.

Further education

★ Craven College

Sports

Skipton is the home to Skipton Town A.F.C., Skipton Bulldogs, and Skipton LMS, all football teams; Skipton CC and Skipton CI, both cricket teams; and Skipton R.F.C., a Rugby Union club. The Coulthurst Craven Sports Centre, adjacent to the rugby club, has many facilities including all-weather football pitches and squash courts. There are several other gyms in the town as well as a public swimming pool.

References

1. Census, 2001
2. New Council for North Yorkshire
3. Unitary council plan scrapped Speak, Jenny

See also

★ Skipton Castle

★ History of Skipton

★ Craven

External links

★ Skipton Mini Guide

★ Skipton Community Website

★ SkiptonWeb

★ Skipton Castle

★ Skipton Castle

★ Skipton Building Society

★ Fresh Radio

★ Golf Club

★ Local news

★ Skipton History

★ Skipton History

★ Skipton Little Theatre

★ Skipton Night Out Reviews

★ Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Skipton

★ dotSkipton - a local information website

★ Skipton - Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales