CURLING may have been thrown into the spotlight at the recent Winter Olympics as a popular Scottish sport, but more than 100 years ago there was a thriving club in Malton.

The fascinating insight into an unusual part of the area’s sporting history is now on display at the Windows to the Past exhibition in Yorkersgate.

Curling was first introduced to Malton when racehorse trainer William I’Anson moved to the area from Scotland in 1849.

William was a member of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club and he brought the love of the sport with him, playing first near Welham Road, in Norton, before moving to the cricket club in Old Malton.

Regular match reports appeared in the local paper, and in 1907, William, along with John Potter, from the Royal Oak, in Malton, and William Wilkinson, also from Malton, travelled to Switzerland where they won an international curling tournament.

William Wilkinson’s great-grandson Derek Searle has contributed two of the original curling stones and a Tam O’Shanter worn at the tournament to the exhibition which has been organised by Malton Museum and the Woodhams Stone collection.

Derek, who lives in Malton, said: My great-grandfather was a mineral water manufacture in Malton and his business continued in Wheelgate until the 1960s when it merged with Tate-Smiths.

“The curling club was held on a flat piece of land near the river in Old Malton with water put on it so it froze to allow playing.”

Derek said there had been a regular fixture list with teams from Hull, Leeds and Middlesbrough taking part.

“The curling stones were very similar to those of today but the brushes have changed and the fashion to wear a Tam O’Shanter,” he added.

Derek said his grandfather along with William I’Anson and John Potter had been joined by a third player on their way to Switzerland to make up a team of four.

On their return they were greeted by crowds and Malton White Star Band at the town’s railway station before making their way into the market place for a celebratory lunch.

“The last mention of the club was in 1925, but we think it ended around the time of the First World War,” Derek said.

“I was delighted when I found out the exhibition was going to highlight the curling club as it’s such a part of Malton’s history.”

The exhibition is open at the Milton Rooms on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10am to 4pm, until May 31.