100 years ago

Nottingham Tabernacle, one of the largest Baptist churches in that city, and situated in the principal thoroughfare, had been let to a cinematograph company, who would use it as a picture theatre on weekdays.

On Sundays, services would be conducted as usual. There was a debt of £4,000 on the church premises, which it was hoped materially to reduce by means of the rent which the cinema company would pay. The amount of the rent had not been announced. In some quarters locally exception was taken to this use of the church, but the decision of the deacons had been confirmed at a full church meeting, specially summoned.

The deacons and minister pointed to the secular use of large mission halls elsewhere as precedents.

50 years ago

Boys should be taught dress sense at school. If lessons were given in their last year it would cut down “Teddyism” said the Clothing Manufacturers’ Association. It would also save many boys from acute embarrassment by helping them to avoid the more obvious mistakes.

The federation applauded the action of Durham and Berkshire County Councils in setting up special courses for school leavers to give advice on personal hygiene and dress sense. The federation said: “Any outfitter will tell you of the obvious embarrassment of a lad of 15 or 16 being told by his fond mum what type of suit he is having, what colour and what style.

This is a job for dad. If the boy was receiving guidance at his school, then he would be less likely to go off the rails and copy extreme styles which he sees on some misguided youths, and which in his innocence he mistakes for fashion.”

25 years ago

A mystery surrounding a 150-year-old grandfather clock in a Dutch family’s home might have been solved by an Easingwold historian.

The clock had been bought 90 years before by the grandparents of Mrs Stephanie Bardet, who lived in Amsterdam. She wanted to restore the timepiece which was thought to date from between 1820 to 1850, but needed to find out its exact origin. So she wrote to town clerk, Mr Strickland Carter, asking for help. “It is missing some lettering on its face, however, the word ‘Easingwold’ is clearly visible but only part of the maker’s name is decipherable. That begins with the letters Ba,” Mrs Bardet explained.

Historian Mr Rodney Drake was able to locate references to a family of clockmakers in a definitive history of Easingwold by Geoffrey Cowling. Joseph Barker had been based in the Market Place between 1807 and 1823 and his speciality had been grandfather clocks.