Latest news from Ossett Civic Trust

Wet, wet, wet – no not the pop group, Whitby on Saturday 16th July – could it be that it was the day after St. Swithun?

Good job there was a shop handy on the harbour front with a sale of weatherproof jackets. Some of us had only lightweight weatherproofs so the store did a roaring trade. We were in luck early on in the day when the bridge opened to allow the boats in and out of the harbour.

The weather did not deter the intrepid travellers from Ossett, on the contrary we had a fantastic day and the picture of our Chairperson at the end of it proves it, sorry Ruth!

What a stroke of luck it was when we were waiting for the coach home the steam train was in the station and judging by the amount of shopping bags one was beginning to think we may be in need of a train rather than a coach.When we boarded the coach, Janet and Chris Jones were rather surprised, gobsmacked in fact, when we presented them with cupcakes complete with candles on the day of their wedding anniversary.

All in all another great day out courtesy of Ossett Civic Trust.

Ossett Civic Trust was recently called in to help a TV film crew around Ossett. A crew arrived in the town to record footage for an episode of property programme Escape to the Country.

The crew, from production company Talkback Thames, recorded footage of the busy market from a balcony at the front of Ossett Town Hall, also they filmed churches in the town.

Peter Savage, of Ossett Civic Trust was approached by the company for help in finding the best spots to set up their cameras after they found alot of information on the Ossett Civic Trust website.

Peter said he had been told the episode would feature a couple who were drawn to Ossett by the quality of its market and heritage. He said: “It is nice to know some of the best things about Ossett will be broadcast on national television. “Even if it’s just a few minutes of footage it will still make for great publicity for the town.”

The episode, which will be presented by Alistair Appleton, is not due to be broadcast until next year.

How did you enter into 2011? No it is not a trick question. Did the year start on a happy note such as a birthday, an anniversary, a birth. Or like myself did it start with a dreadful flu bug?

Did you enter the year positive or are you a little down in the dumps? How do you feel 2011 is going to unfold for you? Are you excited about new opportunities or do you see the year as just another year?

Despite the plans we make life has a way of altering and changing things eg accidents, world events which touch our lives, and lots more. It is up to each and everyone of us to take responsibility for how we use the time we have. As times are becoming harder, lack of jobs, cut backs in services to our town. We at Ossett Civic Trust have never been more important to our town and its people.

Can you find a couple of hours a month, the last Thursday in the month, to come along and support us? I can promise you a very lively evening and we are known for our refreshments etc. We are not a miserable bunch. On the contrary we believe in being upbeat because we are all like-minded people whose only aim is to support our town in any way we can. We meet in the Coach House, Ossett Community Centre, Prospect Road, Ossett.

We have a very Happy New Year ahead of us with lots to keep us busy. Will you come along and join us? If you want to hear more, then please read our website or if you need more information please call me on 01924 260218. If you like what you see then we would love to see you at our next meeting.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to our newly designed website!

It's been just over two years since Ossett Civic Trust launched ossettcivictrust.co.uk and we've seen thousands of visitors from around the world enjoy our website. We decided to freshen up the website to give it a modern feel, but it's still packed with news, views, history, photos and much more to do with Ossett and the work of Ossett Civic Trust.

We hope you enjoy the new website - don't forget to contact us with any thoughts, ideas or comments.

Help us to try and save Owl Lane recycling centre from closure. We are gathering a petition to present to Wakefield Council the feelings of Ossett and Gawthorpe residents about the planned closure of the tip. Please note the petition is now closed

Ossett Civic Trust has one important question to ask, why do we need the very large recycling skips in Ossett Town Centre? They are an eyesore and paint a bad image in the centre of town. The recycling skips outside the Maypole pub need to moved to a more suitable place, out of the town centre - we would like to stress that they do not belong in the middle of Ossett!

Ossett has an excellent recycling timetable for the collection of paper, cardboard, garden waste, bottles and cans and finally all other household waste. So why do we need the these large, ugly skips in the centre of town for paper, cardboard and bottles when these are all regularly collected from our homes?

Therefore, we have decided to start campaigning to have these skips removed from the town centre for good. To help us start the ball rolling, we need the canvas opinion on what you, the Ossett residents feel about these skips in the town centre. If you feel as strongly about this issue and others to do with our town centre, then please support our campaign to tidy up Ossett. You can either send use a letter or an email, or just sign our online petition so we can show Wakefield MDC how the people of Ossett value their town.

I am not sure that many people in Ossett will know that we are the proud owners of a pinfold.

Pinfolds were originally built to hold animals which were found straying from their owners' land or that were found grazing on the common without common rights. The animals would not be released until a fine had been paid to the 'pinder' who was an officer of the Lord of the Manor and who looked after the pinfold. Breaking into the pinfold to release the animals was an offence punishable by a fine and possible imprisonment. Pinfolds were also used by drovers taking their stock to market. For a small fee they were allowed to pen their animals overnight.

These stone structures are known to date from the medieval period. By the 16th century most villages and townships would have had a pinfold. Most pinfolds that remain today will probably date from the 16th and 17th centuries. However, the pinfold here in Ossett dates only from 1871. I am led to believe that the original medieval pinfold was somewhere in the area of Dale Street, opposite the Co-operative supermarket. On April 17th 1871, the local Board of Health (forerunner of Ossett Borough Council) resolved to exchange the original pinfold of 144 square yards with a Mr Gartside, for a plot adjacent to the West Well (120 square yards). Gartside was to pay £50 built a new pinfold with pitch faced walls 3 yards high.

Our 'new' 140 year old pinfold, here in Ossett, is on West Wells Road, opposite the bottom of Headlands Road. However not many people know that over 12 months ago one of the walls was demolished, courtesy of a joyrider! Wakefield Council originally refused to take responsibility for the pinfold, saying they have no records of ownership. Several searches have been done and this appears to be true - so far we can find no record of registration of ownership. However, as the pinfold is in Ossett, at the side of the road and has a three feet drop, the Highways Department said that they would rebuild the wall for us.

I contacted English Heritage who kindly came out to look at the damage. They offered to have the pinfold 'listed' and sent us the specifications to restore the wall back to its former glory. The Highways Department promised to follow the specifications carefully. In the middle of May work began well - the men rebuilding the wall appeared to know exactly what they were doing (the specifications were very complex). I was disappointed to visit the wall, after they had finished, to find a mish-mash of colours of mortar, the hearting stones had been taken away and replaced by cement and the finish was inappropriate. However, we would like to thank Wakefield Council for taking on the repair, even though they say they are not responsible.

We are determined to see this project through to a satisfactory and proper finish - we want the pinfold back to its original state - the flagstones are to be removed, the ground grassed and a new gate is to be put in place. It may take some time, but we will get there in the end. Our heritage is important to us in Ossett and we will fight to preserve it. When it is all finished we then hope to have an interpretive panel in place to educate our visitors.

The Civic Trust has developed a new tradition of supporting local businesses by dining out in Ossett. After a lively discussion at the last Civic Trust meeting the firm favourite for our next sortie turned out to be Gandhi Spice on Bank Street.On April 15th, twenty seven members, family and friends - all enthusiastic and hungry people - arrived at the restaurant.

Some were regulars at eating spicy Asian cuisine, others were a little apprehensive about what to expect, but they needn't have worried. The atmosphere was welcoming, the staff were incredibly friendly and with their help, many diners proved to be extremely adventurous in their choices.The owner of the restaurant Sheikh Yousuf Ali, very generously donated a voucher (a meal for two people) for our raffle and, along with other donated raffle prizes, we managed to raise £66 - a very big thank you to all concerned.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the appetising and tasty food that was prepared for us and, along with the convivial company, had a lively and spirited evening.We are all awaiting, with eager anticipation, the decision on the venue of our next meal out - why not come and join us?

On Thursday 14 January members of Ossett Civic Trust and their wives, partners and friends had a really great evening despite the weather being very cold and snowy underfoot! It didn't deter twenty one of us from having a great time.Ossett Civic Trust January Meal.

One of the aims of the Ossett Civic Trust is to support our local businesses in any way we can and the idea was to enjoy one of our lovely restaurants and bars we have in Ossett. So we had a vote and it was decided to visit Da Livio's on the corner of Dale Street and Church Street. We were made very welcome and the menu was very extensive so that there was something for everyone. Did you know that this restaurant sells frogs legs? Well, I can tell you we cleared the restaurant of every portion and I am reliably told they were delicious and tasted like chicken. I think that speaks for itself. The food was piping hot and of a very high quality. They also do a really lovely ice cream which is well worth trying. Ossett Civic Trust January Meal.

As you can see from the photographs we really do enjoy ourselves at Ossett Civic Trust and it is hoped that in the Spring we will be visiting another restaurant in our town.