Recent articles

  • Blind Peter Barker

    Remembering Hampsthwaite’s Blind Joiner - an article by Shaun WilsonLike the market town of Knaresborough, who had ‘Blind Jack’ – John Metcalf, the road builder of Yorkshire in the eighteenth century, the small rural village of Hampsthwaite had it’s blind hero also, almost a century later – Peter Barker who became known as ‘The Blind Joiner of Hampsthwaite.’ Though there are some similarities between John Metcalf and Peter Barker’s lives, these are purely co-incidental and each fulfilled a life, character and career in their own right.
  • Jane Ridsdale

    JANE RIDSDALEAged 33 years, born at Hampsthwaite, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, her height is 31 ½ inches.She is remarkably chearfull & enjoys very good health.Published July 1st 1807 by Jane Ridstale, at Harrogate where purchasers of this Print will have the opportunity of seeing and conversing with her
  • Joshua Tetley

    Joshua Tetley was the founder of Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds, and he retired with his wife Hannah to Hollins Hall on the outskirts of Hampsthwaite (Hollins Hall Retirement Village).
  • The Execution of Hannah Whitley

    Arsenic Poisoning in Hampsthwaite - The Execution of Hannah Whitley In 1789, Hannah Whitley of Hampsthwaite used a pie as the delivery medium for a fatal dose of arsenic, with the poison concentrated in the crust. She claimed She had been coerced into the act of poisoning by her employer, a local linen weaver named Horseman, who was involved in an on-going feud with the intended victim.
  • Scrubbers and Stones

    SCRUBBERS & STONES - Sat 29th June 10.30am - 2.30pm - Entry FREE! Explore the Memorials at St Thomas a'Becket Memorials Treasure Trail - for children if all ages Self-Service / Self-Checkout BBQ from 12 noon (inc. veg option) Food £2, Drink £1, Donations? - yes please! Hot & Cold Drinks Laptop & Screen to show Mapping Hampsthwaite’s Past Use a Bucket & Brush to help reveal Inscriptions on the older memorials . . . or just Sit & Enjoy CORPUS CHRISTI BRASS BAND . . . from 11.30am . . . followed by Afternoon Tea & Cakes at the Memorial Hall!
  • Hampsthwaite Open Gardens

     Hampsthwaite Open Gardens - Sat 29th June 12.30am - 5.00pm - Entry £5.00 (accompanied under 15's FREE) Tickets on the day from Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall Plant sales - many named varieties of plants Delicious homemade refreshments Afternoon tea and cakes served from 12.30pm at the Memorial Hall
  • Genealogy Websites

    Free genealogy websites will help you start your family history research at no cost as listed by the 'Who Do You Think You Are' magazine.
  • Kitchen Refurbishment

    Memorial Hall kitchen is now completely, and expertly, refurbished by Neil,Batty Builders Ltd as a result of a grant awarded by the National Lottery's 'Reaching Communities' fund.See also the equivalent
  • Amy Woodforde-Finden

    A highly successful composer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, Amy Woodforde-Finden, together with her husband and step-son, is laid to rest in the churchyard of St Thomas à Becket Parish Church. Inside the church there is an impressive marble monument of her, created by the renowned sculptor George Edward  Wade. It was unveiled in 1923 and a few years later, Finden Gardens in Hampsthwaite was named in her honour.[Click on title or image to link to articles]
  • Amy Woodforde-Finden Centenary Events (2)

    Amy Woodforde-Finden : 'An Evening with Amy'A centenary concert to celebrate the life and works of Amy was held in Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall on April 21st 2023 Click on images to open full-size in new window and use the Browser back arrow to return to here.  
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Staying Safe Online

The first priority is to ensure your computer is kept up to date and is well protected with regularly updated anti-virus software. Also don’t store your banking passwords on your computer and change passwords regularly - just in case

Beyond that, staying safe online is largely a matter of being careful what you click on and what you plug into your computer or connect it to. Malware (a general term for all kinds of ‘malicious software’) can only enter a computer via:

  • an email attachment,
  • by being downloaded from a website
  • via connection with an infected device or system - e.g. a USB stick or a compromised network such as in a public cyber cafe.

Passwords

We are all, apparently, getting better at creating passwords but around 25% of us still use passwords such as: 'password', 'letmein', '123456', 'trustno1' or 'querty' for example (see The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2014).

It is as important as ever, however, to create safe passwords (but ones which you can remember!). Consider one for general use and another for secure personal use. Check strength of passwords at https://howsecureismypassword.net/ (but experiment with similar passwords rather than your actual passwords - just in case!). Try substituting letters for similar looking numbers or symbols.

For example try typing the following into https://howsecureismypassword.net/:

  • Password
  • Pa22w0rd
  • P@22w0rd
  • MyP@22w0rd

Similar variations could be created using a memorable word such as your pet's name or street where you live then applying a 'rule' (e.g. substituting certain letters for numbers or symbols, alternating caps and lower case, writing in reverse, etc.)

Alternatively, you could instead think of a memorable phrase then take the first (or the last!) letters/numbers to create a password - applying the 'rules' above also if neccessary.

e.g. "Password is one of the most easily hacked passwords today" would become:

P100tmehpt (and would take about 6 years to crack - not very easy after all!)

Using techniques such as this may not create passwords which can never by hacked, but for most purposes they will be strong enough - especially if you change them regularly and don't store any important ones on the computer.

For detailed information visit 'Email and web scams: How to help protect yourself' in the  MS Safety & Security Centre.

Email Problems

  • check if a suspect email is SPAM or a SCAM by pasting its subject line into Google
  • NEVER follow an email link to a banking site or PayPal for example - always type in the address yourself and go to the site directly to check.
  • If something seems too good to be true - it probably is!
Staying Safe Online

The first priority is to ensure your computer is kept up to date and is well protected with regularly updated anti-virus software. Also don’t store your banking passwords on your computer and change passwords regularly - just in case

Beyond that, staying safe online is largely a matter of being careful what you click on and what you plug into your computer or connect it to. Malware (a general term for all kinds of ‘malicious software’) can only enter a computer via:

  • an email attachment,
  • by being downloaded from a website
  • via connection with an infected device or system - e.g. a USB stick or a compromised network such as in a public cyber cafe.