SKELTON - IN - CLEVELAND
IN HISTORY
1898.

Carnival at New Skelton. Dairy Farm in background.
4th January - INDECENT ASSAULT.
Jabez Gott, a young miner, was charged with having indecently assaulted Mary Jane Roberts at Skelton on the 26th.
The complainant and her niece were walking up the High Street from Yeoman Street at night and when near the Jubilee tree, they saw 3 young men standing.
As they drew near Gott held up his arms to stop them and the niece eluded him, but the prisoner caught the complainant and tried to kiss her. She resisted and he then put his arm round her neck and assaulted her.
An alibi was presented to the effect that Gott had gone straight home that night. Fined £2 including costs.

12th April. NEGLECTING TO SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL.
Mr John Dixon, the Skelton School Board Attendance Officer charged the following parents with neglecting to send their children to school.
John Jackson, Annie Drury, William Jackson, William Sadd and John Walker did not appear and were fined 5 shillings and costs.
Samuel Bentley's daughter Annie, aged 12 has only attended 60 times out 101. The father said she was unfit owing to periodic illness in her head and ears, but as he had no medical evidence he was fined 5s.

John Rooks' son James had attended 54 out of 101 and had passed no standard. Frequently summoned in the past. Fined 5s.
George Milner was similarly fined. His son, George, has only 21 out of a possible 84 attendances.
Joseph Allison fined 5s because his daughter, Elizabeth, aged 12, had only 68 out of 102. The mother's excuse being that she was kept at home to nurse the baby.
Richard Pennock fined 5s because his step son, William Alfred Bougan, aged 11, had only attended 35 out of 120.

15th April. 17 YEAR OLD MINER KILLED.
Skelton Park Pit. Charles Scupham, a horse leader aged 17 was killed. "When coming out-bye with a set of full tubs, down a gradient of 1 in 36, he either slipped or caught his foot against a sleeper and fell in front of the tubs, and three of them passed over him crushing him so severely that he was killed instantly."

24th May - SCHOOL ABSENCE - SENT TO INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
Richard Pennock, a miner of North Skelton was summoned by Mr John Dixon, the warden to Skelton School Board for neglecting to send Alf William Boucher, of whom he is guardian, to school.
The boy is 12 years old and has been present only 103 times out of a possible 271. The Board applied that the boy should be sent to an Industrial School, as this was the sixth time he had been brought before the court. Case adjourned to enable the magistrate's Clerk to ascertain which Industrial School was available.

7th July - MINERS' DEMONSTRATION.
Members of the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Miners Association held their 27th demonstration in a field under the Eston hills. Over 3,000 joined in a procession which was accompanied by bands and banners from the Brotton, Guisborough, Skelton, Loftus, Marske, Skinningrove, Eston, North Skelton, Boosbeck, Stanhope and Frosterley lodges.

17th August - BELL'S BIG WEDDING BELLS.
Today the quiet village of Skelton was aroused into a flutter of excitement by a more than usually stylish wedding which took place in its Parish Church.
The contracting parties were Miss Lilian Bell, daughter of the late Mr John Bell, who resides at Rushpool Hall and Mustapha Rais, Algiers and Mr Clive M Dixon, 16th Lancers, son of Sir Raylton Dixon of Gunnergate Hall, Marton.

CHURCH ROOMS BUILT at the bottom of Green Road.
Parish Magazine -
Through the kind thoughfulness and generosity of the Squire, this most useful building has been erected and placed at the disposal of the Church for Sunday School, Band of Hope and other meetings.
Until now the Church had no place of its own, with the exception of the Drill Hall, which was allowed free for the Boys' Sunday School.
The building measures 50 ft by 22 ft inside and is divided into two rooms by a moveable partition.

Tippet's Chapel, New Skelton.
[Picture of Miss M Tippet donated by Owen Rooks, native of New Skelton.]
The partition is constructed of leaves 3ft broad, which can be unshipped in a few moments and used for table tops.
The place is lighted with incandescent gas lights and comfortably warmed by means of two tortoise stoves.
The Green and Skelton Mother's Meetings have an amalgamated mothers' meeting on Wednesday afternoons - entrance by the North door out of the Infant's School.
The Boys' Sunday School meets here at 9.45 and 1.45.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL was built in New Skelton.
Prior to this the local Primitive Methodists met at 8 Thomas Street,New Skelton.
The corrugated iron building later became known as "Tippet's Chapel",after a Miss Maud Tippet, one of its chief organisers.
See page 14 of Emails.
1st October - WRONG DIAGNOSIS.
Yesterday as Dr Thornton, assistant to Dr Merryweather at Skelton, was driving down the road near New Skelton the horse bolted and made swiftly towards North Skelton.
The groom jumped off safely, but Dr Thornton in following his example came in contact with a lamp post which broke off with the force of the collision. He fell with the post above him and his legs being cut and bruised.
The horse ran towards North Skelton, where the conveyance was smashed to pieces by collision
with another lamp post. The affrighted animal rushed with the broken shafts towards Brotton, where it was stopped bleeding and exhausted.

16th December. WHO CAN VOTE ?
Mr Charles F Palmer, Revising Barrister, sat at the Town Hall, Guisborough for the purpose of revising the Parliamentary, County Council and Urban Council electoral lists for the local townships.
The Liberals were represented by Mr O'Connell-Jones and the Conservatives by Mr W A Bulmer.
In the Skelton North Ward list, among others, Mr Bulmer objected to William Dawson and George Fletcher on the ground that they had not been occupiers for a sufficient length of time and to William Headlam as he had left the house before the qualifying period had expired.
Votes struck off. Henry Humphrey who had moved to Rosedale was allowed a County Council vote, but struck off other lists.
Results:- Skelton North Ward, 12 Conservative objections and 8 sustained. No Liberal objections. 3 Liberal ownership claims made and sustained.
South Ward. 8 Conservative objections and 4 sustained. 2 Liberal ownership and 3 occupation claims made and sustained.

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