The site was opened as a Women’s Land Army hostel in December 1946 by Lady Bingley and was the biggest hostel in the country accommodating up to 130 girls. By this time no black out curtains were required, and regular dances and cinema showings took place in the former theatre on site. On 18th January 1947 Wilfred Pickles, a radio star of the day, visited and broadcast from the theatre. Hired buses came from as far as Skipton Hostel to bring girls to the performance. Wilfred was dressed in a blue suit and striped tie and brought the girls up onto the stage to take part in his competitions. 8 girls went home with £1 18s and 6d each!
The kitchen prepared sandwiches for the land girls each day for their pack ups when they worked on local farms, mainly harvesting root crops. Girls used bicycles to get to farms within 4-5 miles, otherwise they were transported by army lorry. Four German prisoners of war worked on site doing repairs, with a room adjacent to the kitchens.
The Warden was kind to the girls, and often battled with the local famers on their behalf especially when some were seen to be a little too friendly; the girls were stopped from going immediately. In 1947 the hostel was used by girls from the nearby hostel at Brooklands, Selby when it was flooded. Little remains of the Land Girls at the site other than some graffiti on the toilet wall. One room has been recreated as an original bedroom using accounts from an orderly living on site at the time.
Open every Sunday between Easter and Remembrance Day
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