Living on the brink of change (From Gazette & Herald)

Living on the brink of change

THE times they are a-changing in Rillington.

After over 30 years of hopes and disappointments, promises and U-turns, the prospect of the village finally getting its bypass is visible on the horizon.

And make no mistake. A bypass will have an enormous impact on Rillington and in more ways than may meet the eye - not all of them positive.

The news came last year that the village would finally get its bypass, with work scheduled to begin in 2006.

Although villagers are sceptical about this date, the relative proximity of work beginning has made them start to consider the precise implications of a bypass for their community.

Sitting in the front room of Colin Wicks's home in Scarborough Road, which is just set back from the A64, it is easy to appreciate why residents are so keen to rid Rillington of the unending stream of traffic that literally splits their village in two.

The noise is constant and intrusive. Occasionally, there is a shudder as a particularly heavy lorry rattles through the village.

Colin and his wife Rosalind have had to move from their original bedroom to another at the back of the house simply to get to sleep at night. Leaving windows open when going to bed is impossible if they want to get any shuteye.

Stepping outside the house and onto the pavement that fronts the road, the sheer traffic noise makes conversation almost impossible.

Colin and Rosalind Wicks have lived in Rillington for nearly 40 years, having moved to the village when Colin became head of art at Norton School, now Norton College.

Colin has been campaigning for a Rillington bypass since the early 1970s and has correspondence on the subject stretching back to 1973 when he received a letter from the then local MP, Paul Bryan, who was of the opinion that pressure should be brought to bear on the appropriate authorities regarding a bypass.

He still has a Department of Transport document from 1989 after it had promised to build the bypass. But, in its infinite wisdom, it decided to shelve the plans in favour of dualling the road from Malton to Scarborough. Of course, that didn't happen either.

Though the bypass is now back on the agenda, over 30 years of campaigning have left Colin feeling rather deflated by the whole experience.

"I don't know whether one voice makes a difference or not," he says, in a somewhat resigned manner. However, he adds quietly: "I think it does."

Rosalind says that when the Wicks first moved to Rillington in 1963, things were very different. In the winter, the road was positively quiet.

"Our eldest child was coming up to six (years old). I said that, in the winter, I will let you cross the road on your own, because it was quiet. But now there is no way I would let a child cross the road on their own."

The Wicks recount an almost endless list of accidents that have occurred in the village since they moved there.

Typical of these are the numerous incidents that have affected the neighbouring property, where a wall has been destroyed on three separate occasions by vehicles ploughing into it.

However, there have been very few accidents in which people have been seriously harmed.

The Wicks have considered moving from the village, but have never done so. Rosalind says that without the A64, Rillington would be "a lovely village".

One aspect very much in Rillington's favour is its amenities. For example, it has two pubs, a cafe, a village shop and post office, a fish and chip shop, a butcher's, a primary school, a playgroup, a church, a village hall, a garage and a doctor's surgery.

This seems appropriate for what is a very large village - Rillington is home to over 1,000 people and that figure is growing. If you incorporate the immediate area around the village, that number swells to well over 2,000.

However, there seems to be little doubt about the reason behind what is almost an embarrassment of amenities - it is the villagers' old foe, the A64, which brings that all-important passing trade.

And those who run these businesses are well aware of the consequences of the road bypassing Rillington.

It is the classic catch-22 situation - losing the traffic is also likely to mean losing at least some of the village amenities.

Andrew Molloy, who has run the village stores and post office for nearly three years, questions whether the local community alone could sustain these amenities.

He points out that for these businesses to survive without passing trade, they must adapt to ensure that Rillington becomes a destination for people.

Andrew makes clear that the combined village stores and post office would not be under threat when the bypass is finally built, seeking to quash rumours that had been circulating regarding the future of the post office side of the business.

However, he has begun to make changes to his premises in an effort to attract outsiders. Already up and running during the festive season is a Christmas showroom, located above the shop, from where all sorts of Yuletide goodies are sold.

Andrew also reveals that he has plans to use the same space for the rest of the year as an art and craft gallery, showcasing work from local artists. It could open as soon as Easter.

He is also heavily involved in the community. Andrew, along with Dave Bennison, the landlord of the Coach and Horses pub, regularly organises events, primarily for the children of Rillington. The most recent was a boat regatta in February in which 32 youngsters took part, each sailing a model boat on the beck which flows through the village.

"There are a lot of kids in Rillington," Andrew says, "but there is not a lot for them to do. We are just putting something back in to the community."

His cohort in organising these events, Dave Bennison, is similarly concerned about the impact of the bypass on the village amenities.

From the point of view of a resident of the village, Dave, who has run the Coach and Horses for nearly seven years, is in favour of the bypass. However, he says that things would unquestionably change at the pub, which, to a large extent, relies on passing trade.

"There would still be a pub here," he points out, "but it would be a very different pub. We're open 12 hours a day, seven days a week. We employ ten to 16 people depending on whether it is winter or summer. (With a bypass) that would not happen."

Dave agrees with Andrew Molloy that if the community wants to militate against the impact of a bypass on the village economy, it must look at other ways of bringing people into Rillington.

His suggestion is an innovative one - building a sports centre in the village. This would be a bold step into the future for a village whose roots stretch way back to the Domesday Book and beyond.

In William the Conqueror's great tome of judgement, Rillington is referred to in two different ways - Redlington and Renliton. It was not until the late 14th century that the name Rillington was being used.

One theory regarding the derivation of the name of the village is that it is a combination of 'Hredle' and 'tun', meaning the settlement of Hredle.

A villager who must know as much as anyone about Rillington's past is Harry Calam. Aged 92, Harry was born in the village and has lived there ever since.

Despite being a man with an almost infinite catalogue of fascinating stories about the old times, Harry modestly prefaces each precious tit-bit with: "This won't be of interest, but..."

He remembers when the area occupied by housing estates immediately to the south of the A64 in Rillington was agricultural land. Harry adds, somewhat ruefully, that it was he who was responsible for the emergence of these estates, having been a builder for many years.

Harry recalls that, when he was a boy, Rillington boasted three tailors, two builders, two joiners, four pubs and four farms in the village itself.

"The only way to get to Malton was to walk or bike, and not many had bicycles," he remembers.

Every Saturday, a man driving a horse and cart would travel through the village taking people's shopping orders on his way to Malton. The first bus service to and from the village did not begin until the end of the 1920s.

Harry, who was a member of the Royal Engineers during the Second World War, also remembers from his younger days the impressive village railway station, which has long-since closed, with its "glass roof and waiting rooms".

Clearly, much has changed since those days. Indicative of this, Harry points out, is that just eight of the people who lived in the village 80 years ago remain.

Change seems to be a recurring theme in Rillington. And flux is bound to continue, particularly when the bypass is built and the village changes forever.

Updated: 15:19 Wednesday, April 02, 2003