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The
Club's Origins and History
The
Club was inaugurated in 1893 and has seen huge changes since
those very early days.
The first three years of its life were spent in Gargrave,
alongside the banks of the River Aire and in those early
days, it was known as Craven Golf Club.
It was in 1896 that the Club moved from the "links", with
its closely mown fairways, to the present site on the outskirts
of Skipton. The existing site, when acquired, consisted
of rough meadows, stone walls and fences and was grazed
by horses, cattle and sheep.
The reason for the sudden move in 1896 is unknown but it
is well documented that the new 9 hole course was just 2,216
yards in length. It was altered in 1911 and then again in
1931 when it was extended to 2,777 yards.
Further changes came in 1964 with the addition of three
more holes and finally, in 1980, when it became an 18 hole
course.
The club has always applied an ongoing policy of change
and improvement to the course and this included a new 8th
green in 1988. The construction of this green allowed the
old "Devil's Cauldron" to be converted to today's 14th green,
creating one of the most beautiful and memorable holes,
not only on the course but also in Yorkshire golf.
The early part of this millennium has seen the continuation
of a policy started in 1998 to improve the course in many
ways. This has to date included the extending of teeing
areas, building of new paths, implementation of drainage
schemes and work on course presentation. Some tremendous
improvements have been made and consideration is currently
being given to a programme to renew/rebuild the 18 greens.
This is likely to commence in the next 2 years with the
building of a completely new second green.
Skipton is committed to continuing the improvements of the
last 113 years.
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A
History of Skipton
Skipton
is a country market town set at the southern end of
the Yorkshire Dales. It's a small and very friendly
town with a population of around 16,000. It has considerable
history and evidence of this can be seen in both the
Castle and Holy Trinity church.
The name Skipton comes from the Saxon word for sheep
and the town really began as a trading centre for
sheep and wool. Skipton was probably just a sheep
farm back before the Norman Conquest and the settlement
commanded the Craven Gap, the best passage through
the Pennines and so grew in importance to become the
main market town of Craven.
The town of Skipton was granted to Robert Romillie
after the Norman Conquest and he was responsible for
building the first castle.
Skipton
Castle
Skipton supported the Lancastrians in the Wars of
the Roses, and was on the Royalist side in the Civil
War. After the battle of Marston Moor in July 1644,
Skipton was the only Royalist stronghold left in the
north. The castle fell under siege for over a year
until December 1645, when a surrender was negotiated.
Oliver Cromwell had the roof of the castle removed,
but it was replaced just 10 years later on condition
that the new roof wasn't strong enough to hold cannons.
In 1659, Lady Anne Clifford planted a yew tree in
the conduit court of the castle to mark its restoration.
It's still there. She also had the Clifford family's
motto carved over the main gateway entrance to the
castle: 'Desormais' which apparently means 'henceforth'.
Skipton has now become a centre for tourism and attracts
visitors from all over the UK. |
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