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I live on this street - now St Stephen's Close. Does anyone know why these houses were demolished (and yet the pub survived!)?
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Steven Watson 21 Sep 04
My Great Aunt used to live on this street, I visited her regularly when I was little. There was a shop at the top on the right hand side.
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Sheila Cook 8 Mar 05
I used to go up commercial street to water street school I remember having to go down a ginnel near the top to get to the school.
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john wilson 14 Sep 05
This looks like the street I lived in with mother, two sisters and brother in 1931 I was 4 years old I used to go through a passage way to a school Is ginnel a passage way ???
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Leonard Gathercole 12 Jul 06
Ginnel is Yorkshire dialect for a passage, often partly or wholly covered, between buildings or from one street to another. Skipton High Street has many ginnels leading to areas/streets, called yards, at the rear.
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Peter Sheeran 17 Jul 06
My mum lived on this street until the 60's. Her uncle James Hogan used to be the Landlord of the pub and the Hogan family lived on Commercial Street from the 1880s onwards. She has told me a lot about the colourful characters and the close knit community that lived here.
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Michael Horsman 15 Sep 06
In the early 1960's we always came down to Skipton from Bell Busk to watch Skipton Gala at the bottom of commercial street. My Uncle, Allen Sharp and my dad were regulars at the Commercial pub. Their friend Edgar Mason was the landlord. It gave the adults time for a couple of pints whilst us kids watched the procession go by.
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Nick Metcalfe 12 Feb 07
I used to live at No 30 from being born in 1943 till moving up to the greatwood est 1954/55. Water street school was through the ginnel next to the shop near the top of the street. Local identity George Gornall lived next to the ginnel, he had a wheel chair and would sit at the bottom of the street taking car numbers for hours. Edgar Mason had the pub, and i remember my mother working for him. We had lot's of fun there with street parties, then dancing around the maypole, also sitting out on summer evenings with the old folk telling stories of the old days.
I believe my family (Stoney's) had been living in the street since the 19th century. Thank you for the photo and the memories!
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elaine horsman (nee silcock) 21 Apr 07
My familys also lived in Commercial Street. Grandma Faith Mallinson my Mum & Uncles lived in No40 which is where I was born in 1948 and my GGrandfather Henry Bates lived in lower Commercial Street.
I too went to Water Street School and walked through the ginnel to meet with my Grandma when she was visiting her friends Annie Gornal and Jessie Clark. I think the street through the ginnel was named Elliot Street.
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Lynda Marley (Nee Crayden) 24 Jul 08
To Lynda Marley, I hope that you will please get in touch with me. I am also a descendant of Faith Mallinson. My address is lbrown41@hotmail.co.uk
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Laura Brown 12 Jul 09
My Grandparents (Metcalfe) lived at 1 Commercial St in 1885 and my Mother was born there. In 1881 my Grandparents (Collins) lived in No 30 where my father was born.1905
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Rita Collins 1 Aug 09
I lived at number 55 Upper Commercial Street, my maiden name was Brazier. It was the top house on the left with a little wall attached.
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Lynn Greenwood 27 Feb 12
In the 1940s, two of my childhood friends lived on the east side of Upper Commercial St., one on Commercial St. and one on Back Commercial St. Each house seen here was joined back to back with another house that opened onto a back lane (Back Commercial St.) that at that time ran parallel with Commercial St. to a point north of Elliot St. Each house (front or back) had only two rooms, one up and one down - a loft space could be entered through an opening in the ceiling of the upper room. There were no hallways or separate kitchens. The downstairs room on Commercial St. opened straight onto the street. The downstairs room of the houses opening onto the back lane had a back yard and my friends house may have had a lavatory. I do not remember where the lavatories for the houses opening onto Commercial St. were located, but doubt they had an interior lavatory. My guess is a that a communal system existed with a small number of lavatories located at the back reserved exclusively for use by people living on (Front) Commercial St. Thus the passageways running from front to back. I stand to be corrected on the sanitary situation, but am conversant with similar systems in Bradford etc. The reason for the street being demolished I suggest was mainly due to the sanitary situation.
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Malcolm Mounteer (Canada) 21 Jan 13
I am a relative of Lynda's above, and my family lived at No. 40. (Faith Mallinson) I am living in Canada, So I have no real visual reference as to where that would be on the street...any help?
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Katie 10 Aug 14
I can't tell you how happy I was to find this page. The recent death of my aunt Jane Clark
prompted me. She lived here with her mother Helen, sister Nellie, brother Arthur. My mother May also lived with them until her marriage. We visited every xmas and summer holiday.The house was no 25. It overlooked the school. I remember visiting the shop higher up the street. I believe there was an abbatoir at the bottom on the Gargrave road.
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Sue 9 Oct 15
The houses that backed on to Upper Commercial St left looking up was called West Gate and the other side was East Gate. I had an aunt lived in Westgate, Mrs Clough.
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Sam Bottomley 23 Feb 17
My mum and dad lived in the first house after the pub in the late 1940s. I think my eldest brother was born while they lived in this house. They were back to back houses but mum and dad had both the first houses knocked through, so we're fortunate to have a front and back door (actually two front doors).
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Matthew Baxter 9 Jan 18
My parents..Donald and Margaret Fletcher moved to the commercial on April 9th 1958 so when I am reading about Edgar Mason being the landlordvof the Commercial this is I true as I lived there with my parents until 1967 when they toook over the Bay Horse at Snaygill.
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Margaret Hassall (Fletcher) 24 Dec 20
Hi Lynda Marley, my great great grandfather Henry Bates lived on Commercial Street. I’ve just started my family tree and saw your comments about Henry. Please get in touch. Regards, Joanne
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Joanne 24 Nov 24