Yorkshire’s Richest People

Five years ago we commented on the then wealth generated by various people of Yorkshire

  • 1st Eddie and Malcolm Healey. Combined weatlh of £1.5 billion (UK – 42nd) Eddie Healey was the developers of the Meadowhall shopping centre, in Sheffield. He made £420 million by selling his stake in the development in 1999. His brother, Malcolm, 67, built up and later sold the Hygena Kitchens business and has invested in ebuyer, an internet retailer with annual sales of about £250m.
  • 2nd Sir Ken Morrison (UK – 66th) – £1.11 billion. Owner of Morrisons supermarket, developed from market stall founded by father in late Victorian Britain. Sir Ken is now also owner of farms in North Yorkshire and president of Great Yorkshire Show. Retired supermarket supremo remains the second richest man in Yorkshire, according to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List to be published on Sunday.

 

Other Yorkshire Rich People.

  • Lawrence Tomlinson – motor racing fan. Made wealth from sale of Orchard Care Homes business
  • Hamish Ogston who founded the York-based CPP and is worth £530 million (2008)
  • Jack Tordoff (11th) – £290 million owners of the Bradford-based JCT600 motors group, which operates 48 dealerships across Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, and the North-East. Their fortune is measured at , placing them at equal 279th in the UK.
  • David Hood (15th) – £370 millionfounder of Saltaire electronics firm Pace and the Multiflight air charter operation based at Leeds Bradford International Airport.
  • Sir Robert Ogden (20th) £150 million, Former Otley-based construction chief and now a computer entrepreneur, is Yorkshire’s 20th richest man, worth which ranks him at equal 501st in the overall list.
  • Me (4,000,345th) – £279 I own a Reynolds 531 Racing bicycle worth £279.

Overall, the wealth of the top ten in Yorkshire at £7,22 billion.

The annual Sunday Times Rich List is based on identifiable wealth (land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies), and excludes bank accounts (to which the publisher has no access).

 

Related

Yorkshire Rich at T&A

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Air Ambulances of Yorkshire

Overhead Chopper at Leeds-Bradford Airport

Overhead Chopper at Leeds-Bradford Airport

‘The Leeds-Bradford airspace seemed to be full of budding pilots on the afternoon when I passed by. This helicopter was on a training session run by private aviation company Multiflight, a business which is based on the south side of the airport. They also give lessons in flying the Robin 200, Cessna 152 and Piper PA28’. Commercial businesses like this have helped develop Leeds as one of two key sites for Air Ambulances.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance Photo Shoot

Get on board to help Yorkshire Air Ambulance by supporting this motley crews fund-raising event on the 6th of May 2012. They are cycling the Leeds/Liverpool canal all 127 miles in a day to raise money . Here they are getting their photos taken with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Yorkshire Air Ambulance Landing
The North West Air Ambulance in the foreground with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance landing in the background.

As a charity Yorkshire Air Ambulance only receive help through secondment of paramedics from the NHS. To keep both of Yorkshire’s ambulances in the air they need to raise £7200 per day. This is equivalent to £2.65 million per year.
As a rapid response air emergency service the charity serves a population of approximately 5 million people across 4 million acres. The two air ambulances operate from Leeds Bradford International Airport and Bagby Airfield near Thirsk, and together both air ambulances cover the whole of the region.Donate here.

Barnsley - Good Friday
‘Good Friday, 22nd April 2011. The Blackpool helicopter and crew were called to assist a female patient who had fallen while out walking in Barnsley country park. The patient was taken to Wakefield General in 10 mins for treatment to an ankle injury. Colleagues from Yorkshire Air Ambulance and a land ambulance crew were also on scene.’

Credits
Overhead Chopper at Leeds-Bradford Airport by tj.blackwell CC BY-NC 2.0
Yorkshire Air Ambulance Photo Shoot by Simon Grubb CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Yorkshire Air Ambulance Landing by North West Air Ambulance,CC BY 2.0
Barnsley – Good Friday by North West Air Ambulance, CC BY 2.0
Excitement 3 – Yorkshire Air Ambulance by aldisley CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Excitement 3 - Yorkshire Air Ambulance

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Best Yorkshire Falconry Sites

Falcon

The best Yorkshire falconry locations for demonstration, education and sport include the following:

Falconry UK

    • This birds of prey and conservation centre is in Thirsk North Yorkshire near the Busby Stoop pub.
    • 70 birds from 30 species including eagles, falcons, hawks, kites, vultures and owls are on display in an English garden setting.
    • Mothers day specials and personal event days can be organised.
    • Falconry UK works with the ambulance service.

Thorpe Perrow Falconry and Birds of Prey

      • Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Woodland Garden, Bird of Prey & Mammal Centre covers a large area near Bedale
      • Regular flying demonstrations demonstrate the breathtaking ability of eagles, falcons, hawks, vultures and owls from around the world,
      • There is a new mammal area and a tea room that I enjoyed after a long walk around the gardens.
      • Thorpe Perrow

Falcon

Yorkshire Dales Falconry Centre and Hawk Experience

      • Set amongst the limestone around Settle on the road to Austwick. The birds get to fly over Feizor.
      • The Falconry Centre housed around 35 birds of prey including various species of Eagles,
        Vultures, Hawks, Falcons
      • For over 20 years they have given visitors a glimpse into the sport of falconry and helped repopulate birds of prey in various countries.
      • A compact site that offers good value

Falcon

SMJ Falconry

      • Provide personal tuition and great days out in the Yorkshire Dales hunting with their birds.
      • They also provide training for the Lantra Beginning Falconry Award.
      • A small family venture based in Oxenhope link

Coniston Falconry

      • At Coniston Cold you can become the falconer with an exclusive experiences. They are not cheap but don’t open to the public and are by appointment only.
      • The experienced and professional falconers offer insights in to species and individual characters of each of the 20 or so birds and the ancient hunting sport of falconry.
      • The Coniston Estate is also home to The Coniston Hotel and the Coniston shooting ground. For the sake of the birds I hope they don’t mix the two.

Hooded Falcon

Flying High Falconry

      • Flying High Falconry was established in in Kettlewell in 2003 Link
      • They provide an opportunity to engage personally in the ancient art of hunting with trained birds of prey.
      • Start your days hunting with a hearty cooked breakfast at the Tennant Arms Hotel, Kilnsey

Falcon

Yorkshire Hawking Club the Newton Arms Sprotbrough.
Lightwater Valley has a birds of prey area.
If we have missed your business or a falconry site please let us know via the comments and we will be happy to provide a link.
The British Falconers Club Yorkshire region.

Credits
Falcon by Ian Blacker CC BY-ND 2.0
Falcon by Thundershead CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Falcon by sonyaseattle CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Perigine Falcon
Hooded Falcon by hans s CC BY-ND 2.0
Falcon by Stephen & Claire Farnsworth CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Yorkshires top Twelve Birdwatching Sites

 

Book Cover

Falconry books available from Amazon

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Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in Yorkshire

DSCF1374

RHS Britain In Bloom

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) organise and judge the annual Britain in Bloom competition. Over 2000 communities and 13,000 schools take part in various levels of the competition from small villages to large towns and cities. RHS is a mega charity and Britain in Bloom spawns many smaller local charitable efforts.
Local council parks and gardens teams support the efforts of numerous volunteers and major improvements to the environment often arise. Even if your area has not been a ‘Gold Medal’ winner in the past you can get involved for 2012.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr

Harlow Carr Library

The former home of the Northern Horticultural Society prior to merging with the RHS, the Harlow Carr Gardens are in Harrogate, long famous for it’s interest in horticulture.
The garden has been in a state of flux but the new developments have now taken shape and the RHS investment in the gardens is clearly visible. The RHS says ‘Harlow Carr is a garden dominated by water, stone and woodland and is very much part of the surrounding Yorkshire landscape’.

RHS Membership and Publications

The RHS is the UK’s top publisher of Books on gardening and related matters. There is scarcely a Yorkshire book shop without several of their titles for sale.
In addition the RHS publishes a monthly members magazine thoughtfully called ‘The Garden’ and a quarterly horticultural gem called Plantsman. Yorkshire folk can save money by reading these publications and most of the books at the RHS library in Harrogate. Members can take out up to 8 books on loan or use the library for rest and shelter from the showers whilst visiting the gardens..

Book Cover
RHS Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers available from amazon

RHS Plant and Garden Societies and Groups

Of interest to serious gardeners and specialists is the range of auxiliary special interest groups:-

Alpine and Rock Garden Group
This Group meets on three Saturdays a year at the Study Centre. Illustrated talks are given on alpines in their native habitat or in cultivation. Speakers vary from alpine experts to nurserymen or keen amateurs. Plants and information are exchanged.
Bonsai Group
The Group meets monthly in the Study Centre where talks, demonstrations and workshops are aimed towards learning both bonsai and horticultural techniques used in creating nature in miniature. At each meeting members exhibit their trees on a set theme.
Bulb, Lily and Hardy Plants Group
Meetings are held three times a year and take the form of lectures (both specialised and general), garden visits and the distribution of seeds, bulbs and plants.
Fern Group
The Group is part of the British Pteridological Society and has the object of promoting the study and conservation of ferns. Most meetings are field studies at various locations in Yorkshire and Lancashire (occasionally further afield).
Harrogate and Ripon Beekeeping Group
The Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers Association provides beekeeping demonstrations to visitors on Saturday afternoons in the summer months. These have been extremely popular, particularly with children. The group also runs practical beekeeping courses. If you would like to know more about these and other courses then e-mail us.
Heather Group
The Heather Group helps maintain the National Collection of Calluna – looking after planting and regular maintenance. The Group holds regular talks, walks around Harlow Carr and its collection, and visits to other gardens.
Library and Museum Groups
A rota of volunteers enables the Library to be open five days a week (six days in summer) during the most popular visitor hours. The Museum Group meet weekly to deal with the many tasks involved in the running of the Museum.
Northern Fruit Group
The Group has two main aims – to encourage the growing of fruit in our northern climate and to help individual members to grow their fruit as well as possible.
Opportunities are provided for members to share their experiences and expertise with each other at informal meetings.
Rhododendron Group
There are three meetings with speakers each year at the Study Centre and an outside visit to a garden noted for its rhododendrons. In addition, in early May each year a weekend of visits is arranged in various parts of the country to private gardens not usually open to the public.
Rose Group
The Rose Group has occasional meetings throughout the year on Saturday afternoons in the Study Centre. All RHS Members and their friends are welcome to attend any of the Group’s meetings.

feb harlow carr 100

Other RHS Yorkshire Activities

Welcome to Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Crumble & Custard Garden
The RHS is a charity working intensely with schools. A recent project was designed to link Ripley Village School in North Yorkshire with Iringa International School in Tanzania.
Many Yorkshire gardens open during the summer are supported by or supporting the RHS.
The Harrogate flower shows are not RHS events.

Credits
DSCF1374 by m111er CC BY 2.0

 

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Yorkshire’s Best Beers

If you are an unrepentant beer drinker you will already know a lot about Yorkshire’s best beers. It is a well known fact that to a Yorkshireman a good brew comes from God’s Own County.

Best Beers in Yorkshire

  • The rapid and welcome increase in micro breweries means some of Yorkshire’s best beers no longer come from Tetleys but from clever niche brewmasters or in pub brewery.
  • You may never discover all Yorkshire’s best beers but you will have great fun trying!
  • Sorry to all the larger drinkers but I am afraid you do not have any products that qualify as one of Yorkshire’s best beers! That is because larger is fizzy pop not beer.

Names for Yorkshire’s Best Beers.

  • Websters Best, Ramsdens, Heys or Bentleys Yorkshire breweries are sadly now names of the past, Even Tetleys is no longer a Yorkshire brewed beer!
  • Enter the new breweries such as Saltaire, Copper Dragon, Ilkley, Wharfedale even Leeds.
  • Micro breweries are ‘the new black’ providing an ever growing choice for the discerning drinker
  • Can you match Yorkshire’s best beers with their breweries. Try Ale Mary, Hellfire and Yorkshire Gold, Mary Jane and Mary Christmas, Golden Pippin, Fire Dancer, Amarillo Ale and Triple Chocoholic 4.8%
  • Brewery trips around Black Sheep and Theakstons have long been popular but now Copper Dragon in Skipton and Saltaire brewery in Shipley have cafes and visitor centres to try out the magic ales.

Let us know the best beers of Yorkshire that we have missed out on. Then I can try sup some of them and say cheers on this web site.

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Parcevall Hall and Gardens

Parecvall Hall garden lies on a steep hillside near Appletreewick in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Built in 1582 as a farm house it is now a retreat leased to the Diocese of Bradford by the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Extensively refurbished by Sir William Milner who bought the Parcevall Hall estate in 1927 he bequeathed the estate to the College of Guardians of the Shrine in 1960. Sir William was an architect and founder member and honorary director of the Northern Horticultural Society where he pioneered the establishment of Harlow Carr gardens, at Harrogate.

Not surprising with Sir Williams background and passion for plants that the grounds today are a wonderful Gardens for the public to visit. 24 acres of formal and woodland gardens command impressive views of Simon’s Seat and Wharfedale. These features and the many planted trees  create a microclimate that helps special plants to survive and thrive 800 feet above sea level. The view of the herbaceous border as you approach the house is flanked by two orchards of fruit trees containing some special Yorkshire apple varieties. All the hedges are neat and well maintained a tribute to the current head gardener and his helpers.
The Alpine garden at the rear of the house houses acid loving and limestone loving plants in close harmony due to the rocky out crops in this part of the Skyreholme valley. I also noted that the numerous Hostas had not suffered any slug damage and the gardener put it down to the birds having a good feed.

They were not the only ones having a good feed. In addition to the bees above, the cafe down by the car park was doing a roaring trade.

Despite the  ‘liquid sunshine’  during my visit these Helenium made up for any negative feelings and the whole trip was tranquil, educational and positive.  If you are invited on a retreat then it will undoubtedly be an experience. If you enjoy walking there are many places to visit close by including Trollers Gill, Stump Cross caves and Simons Seat. However for just an afternoon garden visit I can recommend the Parcevall Hall Gardens between May and August.

You can buy A Guide to Parcevall Hall by Heather M. Beaumont from Yorkshire at Amazon containing highlights from 1984.

‘As part of the retreat house and conference centre of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds it is available to private individuals as well as to religious and secular groups. Grade ll listed Parceval Hall can be booked for residential conferences and holidays or for day groups and evening functions.’

The gardens reopen after winter on 1st April

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John Prescott MP Kingston upon Hull East

Book Cover

Hull the City of Culture 2017

Baron Prescott, of Kingston upon Hull in the County of East Yorkshire formerly John ‘Prezza’ Prescott or ‘Two Jags’ as he was known during his time as Deputy Prime Minister has been his eloquent self again.  When asked about a potential second home in Blakeney he said  ‘Why would I want to go and live in bloody Norfolk for God’s sake? Nothing good ever came out of bloody Norfolk since Oliver Cromwell.’

Prescott Quotes

‘But I generally recognise, unless we lift the amount of houses in supply, we are not likely to reduce greatly that increase in prices in housing, which even now is two or three times people’s yearly earnings.’

‘I love coming to Tories seats and roughing them up… that is what elections are about.’

‘The objectives remain the same and indeed that has been made clear by the Prime Minister in a speech yesterday that the objectives are clear and the one about the removal of the Taliban is not something we have as a clear objective to implement but it is possible a consequence that will flow from the Taliban clearly giving protection to Bin Laden and the UN resolution made it absolutely clear that anyone that finds them in that position declares themselves an enemy and that clearly is a matter for these objectives.’

That famous punch worthy of Richard Dunn at his best ‘is the only memorable moment Prezza provided in a political career stretching over four decades’ have a look at the hook on You Tube. There is 15 minutes of John Prescott on You Tube if you want some elocution lessons.

The John Prescott Kama Sutra by Kelvin Mackenzie
Book Cover

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Ferns on Moors and Coast

Fern in sharp lighting

The lower slopes of the Yorkshire moors can be thickly covered with bracken (one of many ferns). Despite some belief to the contrary it has been shown that any increase is slow but it is still an invasive species. Gone are the days when it was valued and cut as bedding for horses and cattle, now it only seems fit for breeding insects.

Among several Yorkshire ferns are the attractive upland Lemon-scented Fern and the beech fern Phegopteris connectilis which is now very rare in West Yorkshire.

Ferns Growing in Yorkshire

  • Bracken fern
  • Broad Buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata
  • Hart’s-tongue fern grows on the limestone pavement in the Yorkshire Dales
  • Lady Fern Athyrium felix-femina is one of the larger ferns
  • Lemon-scented Fern
  • Male Fern Dryopteris filix-mas found in woods and under shade.
  • Adder’s-tongue Fern which grows in old grasslands, hillsides, woodland and on sand dunes

Bracken

Fossil Fern of Yorkshire

  • The North Yorkshire coast is one the most important sites for fossils from the Cretaceous and Jurassic period.
  • Many of the plant fossils from North Yorkshire belong to the group of the ferns.
  • ‘One of the most common ferns is Todites williamsonii, a representative of the Osmundaceae family, which includes also the living Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis)’ Read more and see photos
  • From whitby you can reach the Saltwick Formation and between Middlesborough and Bridlington other plant fossils can be seen at the Claughton ‘Gristhorpe Member’ and the ‘Scalby Formation’.

Fossilised frond from a seed fern, Alethopteris, GL1339

Credits
Fern in sharp lighting by Mirror | imaging reality CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Bracken by Anita363 CC BY-NC 2.0 Bracken growing like swathes over the hills
Fossilised frond from a seed fern, Alethopteris, GL1339 by Black Country Museums CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Ferns by amandabhslater CC BY-SA 2.0

Ferns

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Virtual Yorkshire Museums

Absinthe Rosinette

What have Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Toulouse Lautrec, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allen Poe, Picasso, Hemingway and many others all got in common? The answer is not Yorkshire in this case! They all feature Absinthe in their works and now I can add myself to that list. (in your dreams ed.)

I was taken with the concept of a Virtual Absinthe Museum (VAM) to say nothing of Absinthe’s alleged psychoactive properties.  So what other virtual museums do we need (if any ed)?

Virtual Yorkshire Museum Ideas

Happy Emigrants from Yorkshire – this would be very short and full of angst ridden people dreaming of returning home. You can take them out of Yorkshire but you can’t take Yorkshire out of them.
Unhappy Immigrants to Yorkshire – similarly would be very short as the only reason to be unhappy about moving to Yorkshire is that you can’t live long enough to be a bone-fides Yorkshireman.
Knurr and how do you spell it virtual museum– I should knock this idea on the head.
Women’s rights in Yorkshire – I knew I should have knocked this on the head.
Virtual Flat Cap – the museum to cap it all.
Absinthe of Yorkshire Bitter – where all good beer goes to go flat

Absinthe Robette

If you have an idea for any other Virtual Virtual Museum let us know!

Credits “Absinthe Rosinette and Absinthe Robette by paukrus, on Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0”
The Flâneurs Society

 

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Art of Clothing Yorkshire

plate 3: The Collier

The Collier

The Costume of Yorkshire in 1814, by George Walker,

‘One of these workmen is here represented as returning from his labours in his usual costume. This dress, which is of white cloth bound with red, may probably be ridiculed as quite inconsistent with his sable occupation; but when the necessity of a frequent washing is considered, surely none could have been adopted more conducive to cleanliness and health. The West Riding of Yorkshire, it is well known, abounds in coal, the consumption of which is prodigiously increased by the general use of steam engines. In the back ground of the annexed Plate is a delineation of the steam engine lately invented by Mr. Blenkinsop, agent at the colliery of Charles Brandling, Esquire, near Leeds, which conveys about twenty waggons loaded with coals from the pits to Leeds

John Collier Fifty Shilling Taylor

If you are old enough to know what 50 shillings was in real money the you will also know the jingle John Collier, John Collier the window to watch. Established in Leeds when tailoring was a major manufacturing  industry the company was bought by United Drapery Stores (UDS) only to be asset stripped by Hanson plc. By 1985 it was owned by Burtons who closed the brand down and John Collier ceased to exist. Burtons was another Leeds based tailors from 1910 becoming the largest multiple tailors at a  huge complex in Leeds enterprisingly named  No. 1 factory and No. 2 factory.

 Joseph Hepworth & Sons  Now Known as Next

Joseph left home to work in a Leeds mill from the age of 10. By the age of 30 he was in partnership and by 1890 they employed 2,000 staff and sold  stock via over 100 shops. Joseph Hepworth was a pioneer of the retail clothing store. Skip forward nearly a century and the Hepworth company bought Kendall stores to grow to over 600 shops. They recruited Terrance Conran, Hardie Amies and  George Davies who changed the groups name to Next and moved the HQ to Leicester.

Other Yorkshire Clothing Companies

In 1954 UDS acquired Alexandre Ltd  a Leeds-based multiple tailor owned by the Lyons families. Prices Tailors Ltd and Montague Burton were both Leeds companies that also succumbed to UDS.

Greenwoods company was founded in Bradford by Sir Willie Greenwood in 1860   and run largely as a family firm until 2008. At its peak in the 1990s there were around 200 mens clothing shops.

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