Janet Smith, 25^th January 1937 – 8^th January 2026

Janet Smith, longtime resident of Embsay, died on 8^th January at the age of 88, having been resident in the village for 65 years.  She came to live in Embsay in 1960 with husband Bill and young family, two boys, Simon and Andrew.  Janet and Bill had married in 1956 and spent their first four years living on Cavendish Street in Skipton.  Bill, who ran a newsagents shop on Swadford Street in Skipton, had been born in Embsay in 1932.  His family had lived in the village for many generations.  For Bill, it was a return to his roots and for Janet, it was the beginning of her long association with the village.

The family settled at Hawbank, at the bottom of Kirk Lane and a baby girl arrived, Louise, completing the family.  At that time, the village had several shops and businesses.  At the bottom of Pasture Road, a butcher, in Elm Tree Square, a post office, top Batchelor’s general store and a Co-op, in the area which is now the village car park, Garner’s greengrocer, at the very top of East Lane, a fish and chip shop and the Paper Shop on East Lane, which is the only survivor.  Other businesses included, Catton’s shop in Eastby, bottom Batchelor’s sweet shop, at the end of Cavendish View, Megson’s garage and petrol station, where the eponymous Megson’s Court is located today and three pubs, the Mason’s Arms in Eastby, the Cavendish Arms and the Elm Tree in Embsay, the latter of which survive today. Janet placed a weekly grocery order with Mrs and Mrs Silk, who ran the post office and general store in Elm Tree Square, which was delivered to Hawbank each Friday.  The Shires Lane estate (Moorland Rise, Fell View) and the large estate at the bottom of the village had yet to be built.

Janet and Bill soon became involved in village life, Bill as churchwarden at St Mary’s and Janet, a founder member of the re-formed Embsay Players amateur dramatics group.  The group performed plays each Spring and Autumn in the original Embsay Institute, a wooden structure and predecessor of the current village hall, which also accommodated the library and playgroup, much as the hall does today.  A lover of the spoken word, Janet appeared in many plays, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, the National Anthem was played at the beginning of every performance and cups of tea were served during the interval.  In this period, she also appeared in Skipton Players productions at The Little Theatre. She continued to support the Embsay Pantomime in later years, appearing in two productions and producing the 1992 ‘Robin Hood’. She also supported behind the scenes, with props and with front of house.  This was the era where Peter Horner, longtime family friend, reigned supreme as pantomime dame.

Janet was also involved in a variety of community organisations.  In the early days with the ‘Young Wives’ group through St Mary’s and fundraising with the local branch of children’s charity NSPCC. Later, volunteering with the ‘Meals on Wheels’ service, the ‘Embsay Over 60s, which became the 50s Forum and continuing to be involved with St Mary’s.  In the early days, with a growing family, she could no longer continue her work as a telephonist for the General Post Office in Skipton and for a few years during the1960s, she worked as secretary at the village school, where she met lifelong friend, Jean Whalley, a teacher at the school.

Through these organisations and activities, Janet built lasting friendships and a strong social network within the village, which she maintained up until the last few years of her life, when increasing frailty made this more difficult.

Hawbank was a focal point for many generations of family, neighbours and friends and was full of the warmth and vitality of family life. By 1990s, Janet and Bill had four grandchildren who now remember fondly their visits to Hawbank.  Sadly, Bill died in 1998 very soon after retiring and Janet had to adjust to a very different life.  After staying at Hawbank for a further five years, she moved to The Nook on East Lane in 2003, which became a new family hub, as Janet made it her own.  She enjoyed many years of retirement there and family life with new generations, including four great grandchildren.

Janet made a considerable contribution to the community of Embsay with Eastby throughout her years here and at the same time, she derived much pleasure and comfort from being part of village life. She will be greatly missed.

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