The TATtlerTopcliffe and Asenby Times

September 202027th Year

The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

Milk Churn farm shop opens for businessThere can't have been a worse time to plan, design, equipand open a new business. The pandemic was just takinghold as Debbie Roberts, her daughter Hannah andbusiness partner Kerry Parker, were putting forward theiridea to convert a house in Long Street, Topcliffe into afarm shop.But perseverance and hard work has seen the intrepid triothrough the lockdown and as Covid-19 restrictions beginto ease, they have overcome the many problems put intheir way and now their dream project has come to fruition.

The Milk Churn farm shop opened for business a weekago and already it's proving to be a runaway success withlocals."Running a farm shop has always been a dream of oursand now it's reality - a dream come true", said Debbie.Initially only the grocery and fresh food shop is open butin the near future there'll also be a gift shop on the firstfloor and a café in the conservatory.Food provenance is extremely important to Debbie,Hannah and Kerry. They pride themselves on havingsourced the majority of their stock within Yorkshire andoften from just a few miles away from Topcliffe.They are selling fresh meat, fish, fruit and vegetables,along with a large range of specialty cheeses, breads,cakes and chocolates, plus frozen meals and a selectionof alcoholic beverages. There'll also be homemade soupsand quiches, ready-to-go lunch boxes and drinks freshevery day.Customers will be able to order vegetable and meatboxes that can be collected or that can be delivered tolocal homes. They will also provide weekend boxes for a

full English and/or Sunday lunch box with a nice bottle ofwine.Debbie added: "Ours is a community shop and we aim toprovide quality, affordable products that we believe localswant to be able to buy on their doorstep. The businesswill be run with an eye to good environmental practice -avoiding one use plastics where we can, using paperbags where necessary and encouraging customers tobring their own containers and bags for life! And we'll behappy to listen to our customers to try and supply theproducts they want."

continued on page 2…Oliver edits Asenby's Happy News

There's a budding journalist in Asenby who might bevying for Doug Allan's job. Oliver Robertson, age 7, whoattends Topcliffe Academy school, has published twovillage newsletters during lockdown. The second editionof 'Asenby's Happy News' was recently hand delivered tovillagers by Oliver and his younger sister Evelyn and wasalso shared on social media.

Oliver was enthused by the positive response from hisfirst newsletter which was born out of a wish to reach outto fellow neighbours in isolation and nurture the growingcommunity spirit in the village. Lockdown has seen himspending much of his time at home which somewhathampered his inspiration for the second edition but he gotto work nonetheless, to bring a smile to his neighboursand friends.Oliver said: "It's fun. I like thinking of all the bits to writeabout and adding my own pictures. I delivered around 60newsletters and was very pleased to receive severalthank you notes. I am planning another newsletter for theOctober half-term and I'm already on the lookout forinspiring stories to publish."

Oliver and his sisters Connie and Evelyn

Debbie Roberts, Kerry Parker and Hannah Alderson

2The TATtler www.asenby.net

Topcliffe Parish Council UpdateThis Parish Council report for the Autumn Tattler is a bit ofa mixed bag. It's a reminder of the few things that we havebeen able to do during the Covid-19 pandemic, but alsolists the things that we've been unable to do or progress.

As most of you will have noticed, the mobile vehicleactivated speed sign has now been erected just after the30mph sign on the A167 entry to the village. The sign isportable, and we will periodically switch it to a site on LongStreet near the A168 slip road. We hope this will helpreduce the age-old problem of speeding traffic through thevillage and we will be monitoring the effect the sign hasover the coming months.

The problem of unauthorised HGV traffic passing throughour village continues. We have encouraged parishresidents to write letters of complaint to the HighwaysDepartment and Police. A template letter, which can beused, plus with contact details, is posted on the VillageHall notice board, or a copy can be obtained from theParish Council. In the meantime, we continue to exploreother ways of tackling the problem, through the TradingStandards Lorry Watch Scheme.

The Parish Council has worked with Hambleton Council'sWaste and Street Scene Department who have nowreplaced five of the 17 village waste bins which were in astate of disrepair. They intend replacing a further five binsin the near future.

We have replaced the dilapidated and rotting woodenbarrier at the entrance to the Sheep Wash with a newmetal five bar gate.

Many planned activities have had to be delayed becauseof the lockdown and other restrictions caused by the

Covid-19 pandemic. These will be completed as soon aspossible after we get back to some sort of normality.● Wildflower seeds, kindly funded by North Yorkshire

County Council, will be sown at the Sheep Wash inautumn for flowering in spring 2021.

● Crushed stone, again kindly funded by the countycouncil, for resurfacing the public footpath betweenDeans Court and Back Lane has now been acquiredand is ready to be laid.

● The county council's public rights of way office hasagreed to replace three fallen or missing publicfootpath signs in the village and agreed to monitor thecondition of the other six signs in the parish. However,this is not scheduled until the first quarter of 2021.

● The village tidy day scheduled for 29 March had to bepostponed but will be rescheduled for a later date.

Parish Council meetings were another casualty of thepandemic and our last meeting was in April. At the time ofwriting, we have been unable to find a suitable meetingvenue which can provide safe social distancing. Once wecan reconvene, a new date and agenda will be availableon the Topcliffe Parish Council website(www.topcliffe.org.uk) and on the Village Hall noticeboard. Members of the public will be able to attend asusual, with appropriate safe social distancing as requiredat the time. In the meantime, you can contact the Councilvia the website with any questions, complaints, orcomments, or approach any of your Parish Councillors.

Roy Beckwith - Vice Chair, Topcliffe Parish Council

We are now running our art classes from Helmsley Town Hallevery Tuesday starting 13 October 2020. Classes are 10am to

1pm, 1pm to 4pm or all day, 10am to 4pm.

We would like to thank all of you who joined our art classesin Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall. It was a pleasure to get toknow you all. If you fancy joining a class in Helmsley please

feel free to visit us when a class is on, or alternatively contactme for more information.

Barry and Vivien Wilton-Middlemass

Ring: 07909 690543Email: jbm.lockwoodbeck@btopenworld.com

The speed checker

Milk Churn farm shop opens for businesscontinued from page 1…The farm shop is operating under strict Covid rules and allcustomers will be asked to sanitise their hands as theyenter, wear a mask and follow the social distancingguidance in place. All products are clearly marked withthe price so customers do not need to handle the itemunless purchasing.Opening times - Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm,Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

The Swan At TopcliffeTelephone: 01845 595185

Bed & Breakfast

Traditional home cooked foodserved every day of the weekThe Swan is pleased that it’s just

about business as usual.

George & Jane say: "It's great to be back and to beagain serving our fantastic customers. They've all been

supportive and understanding of the strict socialdistancing rules that we have had to introduce. Whether

coming in for a drink, visiting our restaurant or justcalling to collect a takeaway meal, everyone has been

wonderful".

We serve food at socially distanced tables andreservations are necessary. Takeaway meals toorder. Times are: 5 to 8:30pm Monday to Saturday

and 12 noon to 4pm on Sunday.

The Dog & GunAt Carlton Miniott

Traditional home cooked foodand real ales served daily

Now serving drinks andmeals – all welcome

Telephone: 01845 523384

3The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

Hambleton keeps going through pandemicThis last six months has been the strangest of times to bethe leader of a council.Like all local councils,Hambleton District Councilhad to act quickly to put inplace processes tomaintain frontline services,such as refuse collection,environmental health,planning and licensingservices, and providingmuch needed support tovulnerable members of thecommunity and to themany organisationshelping them.We did this at a time when hundreds of our workforce wereworking from home and only a few staff were allowed intothe Civic Centre. Throughout the pandemic I was the onlyelected member allowed in the building and mostmeetings and discussions had to take place online.But I am happy to say the workforce have been fantasticand the council has maintained 100% of its frontlineservices.One really good example of how we adapted to keepthings going is that leisure centre staff eagerly retrained tohelp deal with the increased demand for refuse collection,partly created when North Yorkshire County Councilclosed its civic amenity sites.The pandemic crisis created significant and urgentproblems for businesses and the council acted swiftly tomanage government grants, awarding well over £30million to 2,800 companies of all sorts and sizes. On thecommunity side we administered grants for communitybuildings, including a grant of £10,000 to Topcliffe &Asenby Village Hall. This was the sort of support requiredso that the committee could pay the bills at a time whenthere was no income being generated.Several important local development issues haveprogressed through the system during the lockdownperiod. I am pleased to say that the proposed crematoriumon land near Busby Stoop received full planningpermission and construction is expected to start early inNovember.Further works are scheduled to start about now on astretch of road near Dalton Bridge to alleviate the drainageissues that were experienced during the heavy rains lastFebruary. They should be complete by end of October.Also at Dalton Bridge, the new I'Anson Brother's feed mill- costing £12 million and the most technically advancedmill of its type in Europe - will get underway later this month.I'm happy to report that all leisure facilities have nowreopened with Covid-safe procedures in place. A £3.8million upgrade to Thirsk and Sowerby leisure centre hasbeen approved. The work includes some essentialrefurbishment, including replacing the roof and plant room,plus a new 24/7 state of the art gym facility will be added.

Cllr Mark Robson, Leader of Hambleton Council

4The TATtler www.asenby.net

Feoffees are part of our history…but stillrelevant today

The word feoffee is a historical term relating to the law oftrusts and equity. The modern-day equivalent is trustee.Feoffees were first appointed locally to govern theConsolidated Charities of Topcliffe, a body established in1674 by the 'Commissioners of Charitable Uses' for themanagement of the affairs of Topcliffe Grammar Schooland for the administration of Topcliffe Parochial Charities.The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Topcliffe coveringAsenby, Baldersby, Crakehill, Dalton, Dishforth, Eldmire,Marton-le-Moor, Rainton, Skipton-on-Swale, as well asTopcliffe itself, remains the geographical area of thecharity.Each of the villages has its own nominated feoffees,approved by their own parish councils. Anne-MarieBarningham and Amanda Jameson-Allen representTopcliffe and Carole Ford represents Asenby.Collectively the feoffees meet to decide the distribution ofcharitable monies.There are now two main funds which come under thedirection of the Charities of Topcliffe:● The Topcliffe Poor Fund which gives grants to each

village in relation to their population. This fund derivesits income from the rent on two pieces of land ownedby the charity, one in Topcliffe and the other in Firby,near Bedale. Each village is allocated a proportion offunds according to population.

● The Topcliffe Educational Fund offers grants to furthereducation students to purchase study books or other

educational aids agreed by the feoffees. This fundderives its income from the interest on capitalinvestments, but as interest rates at present are verylow, the amount that is available is quite limited. Thevalue of any single grant depends not only on thefunds available to distribute but also on the number ofsuccessful applications. This fund is not allocatedaccording to the applicant's financial position.

Applications can be submitted at any time but the feoffeesonly meet annually, this year in late November, to approvegrants. Anyone seeking further information or wishing toapply should contact the Secretary Mrs Rosemary Hart athartjre@hotmail.com

Carole's walking challengeYou may be seeing Asenby resident, Carole Ford, walkingaround our two villages more than usual. Carole hasjoined the 'Walk 30 miles in September Challenge' to raisemoney for Dementia UK.Carole said "Having beenshielding for five months duringlockdown my fitness level iszero. In order to get myselfmoving again whilst waiting for aknee operation, I decided to takeon this challenge because of itsvery personal meaning for me. Iwould like to thank all those whohave sponsored me via myFacebook page. You haveinspired me to take on the task".

5The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

Return to school

As we return to school (we started on 8 September), weprepare for a start to the academic year like no other. Allthe staff are working hard to ensure we get off to a flyingstart, conscious of any 'lost time' in terms of education.However, we are also aware that some children have notset foot inside a school for six months and that could be avery daunting prospect for some. With this is mind, ourcurriculums have been adapted to cater for all the varyingneeds and experiences of pupils. Nationally, this is knownas 'The Recovery Curriculum'.

Alongside this, we need to ensure that our school is a safeplace in which to learn and work and that brings a lot ofrules and procedures to ensure safety for all. There'll belots of hand washing and observation of social distancingmeasures, despite the fact that we are a small school, withsmall facilities.

Supporting everyone's wellbeing is another importantfactor that we are considering, whether for pupils, staff orparents. Everyone is returning having been throughdifferent experiences - some being aware of what hashappened via the news and some with personalexperiences of tragedy and loss.

We also know that our nineteen new reception children'sfirst experiences of school will not be quite how it has beenin years gone by, with these young children being veryaware of phrases like 'don't get too close', 'we mustsocially distance', 'lockdown', 'masks' and many more thathave become part of our everyday vocabulary.

Finally, we still have many questions that are yet to beanswered by the government and we look forward to atime when we can welcome our wider community backinto school. There are so many activities that we love todo: having local volunteers in school, our bible groups,visits to the church, walks out in the village, putting onperformances at the church or school, going on trips andresidential visits (even going abroad sometimes). Wereally look forward to soon being able to do all of thesethings, once again.

Until this time though, we are extremely excited to be backopen for all of our children.

Mrs Abigail ClayHeadteacher of Topcliffe CofE Academy

Paws for TeaOur local Blue Cross animal welfare centre is promoting anew way of raising funds for sick, injured and homelesspets…and it's a great way for humans to have some funat the same time.

'Paws for Tea' is all about getting together with friends fora cup of tea but also making it a special event for your petsby giving them a party treat - maybe cut cake for cats ordunk digestives for dogs! There's no limit to what youmight try, just let your imagination run riot.Charlotte Waite, who lives in Topcliffe and works at theBlue Cross centre, says; "Pets are at the heart ofeverything Blue Cross does and we rely on the public'ssupport to help us handle over 30,000 pets every year."That's why we're hoping Topcliffe and Asenby residentswill Paws for Tea and help us raise much needed cash togive more pets the chance of a healthy life in a happy home."It's a simple idea that sees a pet owner, their family andfriends, getting together over a cuppa and raising a fewpounds at the same time. You can Paws for Teawhenever and wherever you like. If the weather's lookinggood organise a Paws for Tea BBQ or how about aspooky Halloween event? In the run up to Christmasmaybe consider a mince pie party."Whatever you choose to do, our fundraising pack includesall you need to get organised. To order your pack go towww.bluecross.org.uk/paws-tea

Topcliffe Post OfficeFor all your postal requirements, cartax, banking, newspapers, bread and

dairy, meat orders, cards, lotterytickets…and much more.

Long Street, Topcliffe, YO7 3RL01845 577517

Open 7am to 5pm weekdays.7am to 12 noon Saturdays.

Closed Sundays.

Tel: 01845 577483 Mob: 07921 0749346The TATtler www.asenby.net

Village Hall Remains ClosedAlthough the current guidelines allow village halls toreopen, the risks and requirement to mitigate against theCovid-19 threat continues to be extremely complex,demanding, difficult to administer and places significantadditional responsibilities on the Village Hall trustees andcommittee members.Having examined the government and local council Covid-19 Risk Assessments, which detail the requirements forboth committee and hall hirers to follow prior to any activityin the village hall, it was very clear that there would beconsiderable risk in allowing activities to take place whilstthe incidence of the virus is still relatively high.After consulting regular hall hirers, it was clear that themajority had no plans to make use of the hall until at leastearly in the New Year, it would seem a reasonabledecision to remain closed until these priority hirers wereready to resume operations. As the majority of priorityhirers have little appetite for commencing the reopeningprocess it would be perverse for the committee to facilitatecasual use at this time.

The Village Hall Committee agreed to keep the village hallclosed to all users for the remainder of 2020, though thisposition will be reviewed in mid-October, or at any time thegovernment guidelines are changed significantly to allowa re-opening with less complex and arduousrequirements.Re-scheduled eventsThe Challenge Quiz & Curry Night and The Topcliffe BigRace Night, both of which were postponed due to thepandemic, will be rescheduled as soon as possible oncethe pandemic is over or the committee believes it is safeto stage them.

Bags 2 School recycling eventThe next Bags 2 School recycling event will be heldbetween 8.30am and noon on Monday 21 September. Itwill be held in the grounds of Topcliffe & Asenby VillageHall and the proceeds will be shared between the VillageHall and Topcliffe Scout groups.The last collection day in June was a great success withover 100 bags of textiles being collected, which weighedin at a tonne and raised £400 to be shared between thetwo organisations.As a reminder, any of the following items are welcomed:men's, lady's and children's clothing - paired shoes (tiedtogether or elastic band around) - handbags - hats - bags- scarves and ties - jewellery - lingerie - socks - belts - softtoys - household linen - household curtains - householdtowels - household bedding (bed sheets, pillow cases andduvet covers). Please note that we are unable to acceptduvets and blankets, pillows and cushions, carpets, rugsand mats (including bath, shower and toilet mats), soiled,painted, ripped or wet clothing, school uniforms with andwithout logo, corporate clothing and workwear or textile offcuts, yarns or threaded material.

Big thank youThe Village Hall Committee received a £10k 'survival' grantfrom the government via Hambleton Council to help it rideout the Coronavirus pandemic. The grant was very muchwelcomed and has helped to pay regular bills at a timewhen there has been little income.

Report from Asenby Parish CouncilAsenby Parish Council has not met officially since theJanuary meeting although its members have kept in touchregularly by phone and email.When the lockdown was introduced in March the ParishCouncil, in conjunction with Asenby Institute CommunitySpace, prepared a list of residents willing to help otherswith tasks such as shopping and collecting prescriptions.We then advertised the list of over twenty helpers, withtwo central contact numbers, throughout the village andvery quickly the scheme was running smoothly.At the end of March, in line with government policy, thedecision was taken to close the playground and then inmid-August when restrictions began to relax, the facilitywas reopened, with users being responsible for ensuringthat they abide by all the hygiene and social distancingrequirements. The annual ROSPA inspection of theplayground equipment is scheduled for mid-September.At the village bus shelter, the Parish Council continues tomonitor and maintain the defibrillator and during lockdownHeather Allon organised an excellent "lockdown library"scheme (there's more about this elsewhere in The Tattler).The village continues to be indebted to John Slater for hisregular litter patrols, to John Blair for mowing the grassverges at the southern end of the village and to DavidStringer for maintaining the website.On the planning front, there has been the usual trickle ofsmall development schemes for consideration and inrelation to highways, the Parish Council has liaised withNorth Yorkshire County Council to minimise disruptionduring various road projects.

7The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

Dr Charles Parker to retireAs many of you will know, Dr Charles Parker will beretiring as a GP Partner from Topcliffe Surgery at the endof September after 28 years in the post.

Charles has lived and worked in Hambleton for 30 years.Having trained in London, he moved up to work inNorthallerton for a year or two and stayed. He trained tobe a GP in Northallerton working at the Friarage Hospital,where his two sons were born.

Charles joined Topcliffe Surgery as a partner in 1992. Thepriority for the practice has been accessible, evidence-based care. For 16 years he also worked as a civilianmedical practitioner for the local army barracks atTopcliffe.

He joined NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and WhitbyCCG as a Lead GP and when it was fully established, wasappointed as a GP member of the Governing Body. Hewas appointed as Clinical Chair in December 2015, a rolehe now has with NHS North Yorkshire CCG.

We will be sad to see Charles leave and wish him everyhappiness in his retirement from the surgery.

Topcliffe Surgery is delighted to announce that it hasappointed a new GP to start in October. Dr Alison Latin iscurrently based at Mowbray Surgery in Northallerton and

Share your experiencesof health and social care

Healthwatch North Yorkshire, the independent publicvoice for people using local health and social careservices across the county, is urging people to share theirexperiences of health and social care to help servicesrecover from the Covid-19.While NHS and social care services are doing everythingthat they can to support us all, they need our help to knowhow they can improve. Healthwatch North Yorkshirelistens to what people like about services and what couldbe improved. It shares the public's views with those withthe power to make change happen. It can also signpostpeople to local services and support.The charity's new campaign aims to help services identifyand, more importantly, address issues people areexperiencing with their care. To take a survey and readmore, visit www.healthwatchnorthyorkshire.co.uk or call01904 552687.

8The TATtler www.asenby.net

The good old days of Sunday SchoolsRecently several local residents started a conversation onFacebook about this very old photograph of a SundaySchool play staged in Topcliffe sometime in the 1950s.Vona Parker, who lives in Asenby and Wendy Jeffries, ofTopcliffe, tried to put names to everyone who performedin the unnamed play at The Methodist Chapel…but thereare a few names they don't know. Can you add nameswhere the question marks are?

Front row kneeling from left to right - Ann Collison, ?, MayBrewer, ?, Mrs Fraser, Joyce Rayner. Next row seatedfrom l to r - Ralph Lawley, Gladys Barningham, WendyBumby, ?, Margery Earle (seated on the floor 2nd row,who wrote and directed the play), Jack Robinson, ?, DorisBumby, Mildred Jackson, Mrs Robinson, Thelma Lawley.Back row l to r - Wilf Barningham, Rita Yeadon,?, ?, Frances Brockhill, Derick Weighell, Mary Jacques.If you can fill in any of the gaps get in touch with the editor- see contact details on back page.

The Flu Vaccine

In England about 30 million people are to be offered a freeflu vaccine this year. It is to prepare for a winter that couldsee the annual flu season coincide with a surge inCoronavirus.

Flu, which can be deadly or need hospital treatment,poses additional threats during the pandemic. There issome evidence that a double infection with Coronavirusand flu could be more deadly than either alone and a bigflu season combined with Coronavirus could overwhelmhospitals. If lots of NHS or care-home staff are sick withflu, then it may not be possible to respond to Covid-19 inthe same way as during the peak in spring. But it isimpossible to predict how big a flu season we will have.Social-distancing and hygiene measures in place to stopCoronavirus should, in theory, also have an impact on theamount of flu going around.

Those who will be offered a vaccine include people whowere required to shield from Coronavirus and anyone theylive with; people with some medical conditions includingdiabetes, heart failure and asthma; pregnant women;pre-school children over the age of two; all primary schoolchildren, as last year, and, for the first time, Year 7 pupilsand initially all people over 65, before the programme isextended to the over-50s.

The NHS will get in contact with those who are eligible. Itwants to ensure the highest risk patients are at the front ofthe queue when the immunisation programme starts thismonth. Last year around 15 million people in Englandwere vaccinated as part of the NHS campaign, though 25million doses were available. This year more than 30million doses have been ordered. The vaccine will also beavailable privately in pharmacies and some supermarketsto adults who are not eligible for an NHS jab. It usuallycosts around £20.

Make a Will Month andsupport hospice charity

Herriot Hospice Homecare is again organising a specialMake a Will event in October.

The initiative sees participating solicitors acrossHambleton and Richmondshire kindly waive their usualfees for writing or updating a will, which can normally costbetween £190-£350.

Instead of the usual fee, those using the service areinvited to make a donation to Herriot Hospice Homecare,a charity supporting local people across the communitywho are living with terminal illness and bereavement.

To register your interest, visit www.bit.ly/hhhmawm andcomplete the form or call 01609 777413, and HerriotHospice Homecare will send you your free email pack toget you started.

Herriot Hospice Homecare provides free personalisedcare to enable people to live comfortably and with dignityin their own home during the last weeks of their life. Eachyear, the charity supports almost 600 people in theHambleton and Richmondshire areas.

9The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

Swale Navigation

Gordon Hatton reports on "the canal that never was".

Many readers will be familiar with the ruined canal lock atTopcliffe Mill. This structure baffled me when I first movedto the village more than 25 years ago.

During the 'canal mania' period of the late 18th century theOuse/Ure system from York to Boroughbridge and Riponwas developed, but the Swale was initially ignored.

In the 1760s a scheme was put forward by an engineercalled John Grundy to make the Swale navigable from thejunction with the Ure below Myton to Bedale. Work beganon the construction in 1767 with plans for locks betweenMyton and Gatenby and two further locks on Bedale Beck.

The lock at Topcliffe was the only one ever completed (in1769) and the others were either abandoned duringconstruction or not built at all. The whole scheme failedthrough lack of money and by the end of 1769 work on theproject stopped.

Lots of the canal project can still be seen today, some 250years later. Just under a mile downstream from the A168road bridge over the Swale there are earthworks whichindicate the site of a lock that was never completed. Thesite is on private land below Sheephill Farm and almostopposite the narrow neck of land close to where Cod Beckjoins the Swale.

I visited this site in 2019 after spotting 'Old excavations forlocks' printed on a 1913 edition of an Ordnance Surveymap. There is a wide and shallow depression here with adeeper pit in the centre indicating where the proposedcanal would have cut a corner and used a lock. Cod Beckwas also to be canalised, so one has to guess that a new

cut right across the Cock Lodge/Motte and Bailey sitewould have been necessary to join that watercourse. Thismight seem like vandalism of a historic site these days,but at that time developers appear to have had free rein todo whatever they liked, so long as they did not upset majorlandowners.

Cod Beck is still a winding stream, but the section justbelow Thirsk does appear to have been straightened,whilst there is also the Lock Bridge just east of Sowerbymain street. In Thirsk there is still a wall with mooringrings at the beck side just off Finkle Street.

Upstream from Topcliffe Mill there is little evidence of anyimprovement works until one reaches the confluence withBedale Beck which is on the north-east side of LeemingAirfield.

The current Ordnance Survey map reveals that BedaleBeck has the usual twists and turns, but also somerelatively straight sections where the watercourse hadalready been adapted for use by barges.

A short way upstream from Leeming Bridge, which is onthe original route of the A1, there is an old beck-side millbuilding and just west of that there are the high walls of apart constructed lock.

Anyone entering Bedale from the Exelby direction mightbe surprised to see a residential road on the right called'Harbour View'. If you wander down to the end of this roadyou will come to Bedale 'harbour' where there is a wharfwith mooring rings and a weir where the canal would havefinished. This is perhaps the most obvious and interestingof the few remains of the failed Swale Navigation Scheme.

For a more detailed account of the scheme andparticularly developments locally, I can recommend JohnGraham's excellent Millennium Book of Topcliffe.

Bedale Harbour

Lock Bridge at Sowerby

Mooring rings on Cod Beck in Thirsk

The channel and pit at the proposed lock sitedownstream from Topcliffe

10The TATtler www.asenby.net

St Columba'sAt the much-delayed annual church meeting held on 17August a new Parochial Church Council (PCC) waselected comprising Joan Blair, Richard Byas, Liz Green(Treasurer), Kit Norris, Chris Hewlett and John Phillips(Vice-Chair). Roz Norris was co-opted as Secretary.

The election of Chris Hewlett as the new Churchwardenwas confirmed and warm and heartfelt thanks wereexpressed to retiring Churchwardens Linda Carver andLiz Marsh, and also to Dave Marsh who retired from thePCC. Linda Carver's connection with the church is longand distinguished. She first joined the PCC in 1986, hasserved as a Churchwarden a number of times, acted asSacristan in recent years and also done lots behind thescenes, including cleaning, gardening and providingrefreshments. Liz Marsh has been instrumental in pushingfor a 'level access' path to church and it is hoped that thisproject can still be brought to a successful conclusion.

More recently, the PCC met to consider if and how thechurch should be reopened for services and prayers.Bearing in mind the PCC has been reduced by more thana third and that only one member lives in Topcliffe, it wasdecided to concentrate limited resources available on justopening for Sunday services for the foreseeable future.The possibility of opening during the week for private visitswill be considered at a later date.

The PCC is hopeful that communion services will takeplace every other Sunday, coordinated so as not to clashwith those at Baldersby. Dates will be announced fairlysoon.

If anyone from Topcliffe would be prepared to volunteer toopen and close the church one day a week, that wouldhelp tremendously when consideration is given to aweekday opening. If you can help call John Phillips on577034.

Asenby Bus Stop LibraryThroughout lockdown residents of Asenby were able tomake use of an unusual library service, based in the oneand only bus shelter in the village.LocalresidentHeatherAllon cameup with theidea as away of givingvillagersaccess to awide rangeof readingmaterial and games. Heather said: I am a volunteer atTopcliffe Academy, where I help children with theirreading, so I know how important it is for the children tohave access to books."I had a surplus of books at home which I put in the busstop and it was instantly popular as public libraries wereclosed due to the pandemic. The stock was constantlyadded to and we even had to add extra bookcases, whichwere donated and refurbished by local volunteers."After the lockdown was eased, we had to return the busstop to its designated use, but we are continuing thelibrary on a smaller scale."Many thanks to Claire Phillips, Geoff Varley, SiobhanGifford and David Allon for their support of this valuablecommunity service.

Railings fixed at last

A long running saga in Topcliffe finally appears to haveended. Last December's edition of The Tattler reportedthat necessary repairs to the safety barrier along the topof Mill Bank and Station Road had been reported manytimes and over several years, but it was proving extremelydifficult to get things put right. Well, last month NorthYorkshire County Council contractors were on site and therepair job has now been completed. All's well that endswell.

11

Help a hedgehogWhen was the last time you saw a hedgehog in yourgarden? If it's recently you are lucky. There are fewer thanone million of these prickly creatures left in the UK - down30% since 2002, which is a rate of loss similar to that oftigers globally.

Life could be much easier though… hedgehogs just needaccess to lots of our green spaces to survive. Yet the morewe develop our gardens and community areas, the morewe potentially push out this sort of natural wildlife.

All the humble hedgehog needs is for us to make a fewreally simple changes which could make all the difference.

You have an opportunity to help a hedgehog get ready forwinter as well as improve its life when it emerges againnext spring.

Dubbed the gardener's best friend because it eatsunwelcome species, a healthy hedgehog can travel up to2km every night and cover 20 hectares looking for foodand shelter. However, it cannot get through fences andwalls without help. So perhaps the easiest way to do thisis to give it access in and out of your garden on all sidesof your boundary.

Hedgehogs need quiet and safe places to shelter - anundisturbed dry spot against a fence or wall is good andit's simple to create the right environment with what's lyingaround in your garden already. Rake together a pile of dryleaves against a wall or pile up some logs or branches toprovide a home.

At times when other food is scarce hedgehogs appreciateextra rations. Bread has little nutritional value for them andthey are lactose intolerant so avoid bread and milk.Instead put out shallow saucers of wet dog or cat food inthe evenings.

Just a little help is all that's needed…and if you're luckyyou'll have hedgehogs running through your garden on aregular basis.

The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

2020 GP Patient Survey

The results of the 2020 National GP Patient Survey, whichincluded Topcliffe Surgery, have now been released.Topcliffe Surgery was delighted to see that it scoredhigher than the local and national average in everyquestion. The surgery administrator said she and all hercolleagues at the surgery would like to say a big thank youto all of their patients who responded to the survey.

For full details of the results please see:www.gp-patient.co.uk

Snooker Club

Fees for annual membership of Topcliffe's popularsnooker club have again been held at £25 and are duenow. Past members and those not planning to rejoin thisyear (September onwards) are asked to return their doorkey to David Bowman (577843).

The club, which is located onthe upper floor of the TollBooth, is always welcoming tonew members. It has twotables - one full size and theother three-quarter size.Members hold their own key socan gain entry at any time tothe heated accommodation.Under 18s can play but mustbe accompanied by an adult.

Hedgehogs...in decline

Methodist Chapel Sold

The 'sold' sign has gone up at the Methodist Chapel inTopcliffe. It's understood a builder from Thirsk haspurchased this important village building and intends toconvert it into two apartments.

12The TATtler www.topcliffe.org.uk

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