Recent articles

  • Blind Peter Barker

    Remembering Hampsthwaite’s Blind Joiner - an article by Shaun WilsonLike the market town of Knaresborough, who had ‘Blind Jack’ – John Metcalf, the road builder of Yorkshire in the eighteenth century, the small rural village of Hampsthwaite had it’s blind hero also, almost a century later – Peter Barker who became known as ‘The Blind Joiner of Hampsthwaite.’ Though there are some similarities between John Metcalf and Peter Barker’s lives, these are purely co-incidental and each fulfilled a life, character and career in their own right.

  • Jane Ridsdale

    JANE RIDSDALEAged 33 years, born at Hampsthwaite, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, her height is 31 ½ inches.She is remarkably chearfull & enjoys very good health.Published July 1st 1807 by Jane Ridstale, at Harrogate where purchasers of this Print will have the opportunity of seeing and conversing with her

  • Joshua Tetley

    Joshua Tetley was the founder of Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds, and he retired with his wife Hannah to Hollins Hall on the outskirts of Hampsthwaite (Hollins Hall Retirement Village).

  • The Execution of Hannah Whitley

    Arsenic Poisoning in Hampsthwaite - The Execution of Hannah Whitley In 1789, Hannah Whitley of Hampsthwaite used a pie as the delivery medium for a fatal dose of arsenic, with the poison concentrated in the crust. She claimed She had been coerced into the act of poisoning by her employer, a local linen weaver named Horseman, who was involved in an on-going feud with the intended victim.

  • Scrubbers and Stones

    SCRUBBERS & STONES - Sat 29th June 10.30am - 2.30pm - Entry FREE! Explore the Memorials at St Thomas a'Becket Memorials Treasure Trail - for children if all ages Self-Service / Self-Checkout BBQ from 12 noon (inc. veg option) Food £2, Drink £1, Donations? - yes please! Hot & Cold Drinks Laptop & Screen to show Mapping Hampsthwaite’s Past Use a Bucket & Brush to help reveal Inscriptions on the older memorials . . . or just Sit & Enjoy CORPUS CHRISTI BRASS BAND . . . from 11.30am . . . followed by Afternoon Tea & Cakes at the Memorial Hall!

  • Hampsthwaite Open Gardens

     Hampsthwaite Open Gardens - Sat 29th June 12.30am - 5.00pm - Entry £5.00 (accompanied under 15's FREE) Tickets on the day from Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall Plant sales - many named varieties of plants Delicious homemade refreshments Afternoon tea and cakes served from 12.30pm at the Memorial Hall

  • Genealogy Websites

    Free genealogy websites will help you start your family history research at no cost as listed by the 'Who Do You Think You Are' magazine.

  • Kitchen Refurbishment

    Memorial Hall kitchen is now completely, and expertly, refurbished by Neil,Batty Builders Ltd as a result of a grant awarded by the National Lottery's 'Reaching Communities' fund.See also the equivalent

  • Amy Woodforde-Finden

    A highly successful composer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, Amy Woodforde-Finden, together with her husband and step-son, is laid to rest in the churchyard of St Thomas à Becket Parish Church. Inside the church there is an impressive marble monument of her, created by the renowned sculptor George Edward  Wade. It was unveiled in 1923 and a few years later, Finden Gardens in Hampsthwaite was named in her honour.[Click on title or image to link to articles]

  • Amy Woodforde-Finden Centenary Events (2)

    Amy Woodforde-Finden : 'An Evening with Amy'A centenary concert to celebrate the life and works of Amy was held in Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall on April 21st 2023 Click on images to open full-size in new window and use the Browser back arrow to return to here.  
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Battle of Monte Scalari

The 4th British Infantry Division . . . fighting its way through Tuscany towards Florence, had reached the foothills of the Chianti Mountains where German Panzer Grenadiers were entrenched by late July 1944.

From Monte Scalari the Germans rained down heavy artillery fire on the British troops. The mountain peak had to be taken. The task was given to 12th Brigade, consisting of the Royal Fusiliers, the Royal West Kents and the Black Watch. The way to the mountain top was through thick vegetation strewn with rocks and mines. An attempt was made to bring up two tanks to help the infantry while the Bofors guns of the 91st Light/Anti-Tank Regiment knocked out the key German observation points.

The Royal West Kents made several attempts on the Monte Scalari summit but were driven back with heavy casualties. The Royal Fusiliers attacked a German position on Bosco di Fuoco Ridge but the Germans set fire to the forest and the Fusiliers withdrew. Divisional Commander General Dudley Ward ordered the Black Watch to take Monte Scalari at any cost. The 6th Black Watch were a former territorial battalion, a family unit, who had just lost their commanding officer, Col. Peter Madden, and the officer in charge of the attack was the Lord Douglas Gordon. Support came from Churchill tanks of the 142nd RAC.

The weary Scots who had had no food or water for 24 hours, drove the Germans off the summit. The German Grenadiers came charging up the mountain in one last charge, but the Black Watch held them and on August the 1st the way to Florence was opened up. Two days later Florence was liberated. The people of Tuscany have always appreciated the part the 4th British Division played in their liberation, and there are monuments to the men of the Black Watch and 4th Division at Sant Andrea, in Monte San Sevino and in Greve in Chianti.

Losses suffered by the Division were more than 60 per cent.

(John Clarke, Monte Cassino Veterans’ Association, writing in the Daily Mail on 9th October, 2002)

Battle of Monte Scalari

The 4th British Infantry Division . . . fighting its way through Tuscany towards Florence, had reached the foothills of the Chianti Mountains where German Panzer Grenadiers were entrenched by late July 1944.