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Before WWII the house closest to the culvert - on the Kildwick side - was a pub, called the "Ship Inn". In the nineteenth century the Ship Inn was a thriving pub. A man came from Silsden every Saturday night on his pony and cart. He always got very drunk, but at closing time he was helped on to the cart and the pony knew its way home. One Saturday, for a prank, some local lads waited until he was safely drinking in the Ship. They took the pony out of the shafts, turned it round and then harnessed it up again - back-to-front. When the man came out, drunk as usual, he got on to the cart and gee'd the pony up. Nothing happened; the poor animal was facing the wrong way. I am told that it was the following morning before the man sobered up enough to realise what had happened.
Date and source unknown |