Yorkshire in 2021: Twenty of the most heartwarming stories we've published this year

Here's a round-up of some of the most positive news stories we've covered in the past 12 months - and no mention of Covid!

A 'once in a lifetime' discovery of Tudor paintings was made at Calverley Old Hall near Leeds

One of the most-read stories of the year was this incredible find which changes the way we think about the Tudor period.

Historians spoke of their amazement after discovering an entire 'lost chamber' of 15th-century wall paintings during the restoration of medieval manor house Calverley Old Hall.

The hall, between Leeds and Bradford, is currently subject to a major repair and renovation programme funded by the Landmark Trust, who have owned the building and run part of it as a holiday let since 1981.

Ahead of the restoration work, conservation specialists were able to examine the fabric of the building and made the discovery behind a 1930s fireplace.

Read the full article here.

Filey RNLI welcomed a new lifeboat paid for entirely out of the will of a jeweller's widow from York

Marjorie Shepherd could be Yorkshire's most generous woman. The late Mrs Shepherd, of Stamford Bridge near York, left enough money in her legacy to entirely fund a new Atlantic 85 lifeboat for Filey's RNLI station.

The new vessel, which arrived in July, was named in honour of her. The RNLI have not disclosed the full amount donated by Mrs Shepherd, who had a holiday home in Filey. She and her husband, a jeweller who ran a shop on The Shambles in York, are both commemorated by benches in Glen Gardens in Filey.

The new craft replaces the slower Mersey class boat which left Filey in April, having served the town since 1991. Atlantic 85s are known for their speed and are ideally suited to Filey, where most call-outs are within 30 miles of the shore.

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The Whitby Goth Weekend returned

After a two-year absence, the Whitby Goth Weekend finally returned in October - and over 120,000 people viewed this photo gallery of the goths on parade.

See the full gallery here

A Sheffield cafe won widespread praise for sticking up for a Muslim member of staff who was insulted by a customer

The man left a one-star review online for Danish-themed HYGGE in which he criticised the worker for wearing a hijab - a traditional Islamic headscarf.

The cafe owner's response made it clear he was no longer welcome at the city centre venue.

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Dales farmer Hannah Hauxwell's legacy lived on with a new exhibition

Unlikely TV star Hannah Hauxwell, a farmer who lived in the remote North Riding, died in 2018, but she is not forgotten, and this year a quilt made by her grandmother and kept at her isolated farmhouse for decades was the centrepiece of The Bowes Museum's textile exhibition.

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An incredible Roman villa and bath-house was discovered near Scarborough

In April Historic England went public with a once-in-a-generation discovery in the village of Eastfield. Archaeologists made one of the most stunning Roman finds ever unearthed in Britain on the site of a new housing development near Scarborough.

An excavation was carried out at the Keepmoat Homes site in Eastfield after Historic England suggested there was the potential for Roman or Iron Age remains to be found there - but the extent and significance of the discovery astonished those working on the dig.

A large complex of buildings was revealed, including a circular central room with a number of other rooms and a bath-house leading from it. Experts believe they are the foundations of a 'high-status' Roman villa, some sort of religious community or perhaps a combination of both.

This type of villa layout has never previously been found in Britain and it could even be the first example to be uncovered in the whole of the old Roman Empire.

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An independent film-maker's forgotten movie set in the Dales became an Amazon Prime lockdown hit

Dan Hartley made Lad, the heartwarming tale of a young Dales boy's friendship with a National Park ranger, back in 2011, but he failed to find a distributor and the project never found commercial success.

This year he uploaded it to Amazon Prime - where audiences fell in love with the authentic low-budget movie, which was shot around the Settle, Malham and Austwick areas and features untrained local actors.

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A Wakefield businessman put Britain's largest model railway on display

Simon George admitted keeping the amazing lay-out a secret from his girlfriend for fear of being mocked during its eight-year construction. This year it went on display at the Market Hall in Wakefield and attracted huge interest.

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Plans were revealed for the restored Hull Lido

It's been a good year for outdoor swimming pools in Yorkshire - in March, Hull City Council announced it was restoring Hull Lido, which has been closed for 25 years and is now a canoeing lake. Later this year local campaigners managed to crowdfund enough money to re-open another 1990s casualty, Otley Lido.

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Residents of a Dales village took over the only petrol station for miles after it closed as a business

Residents of remote Swaledale and Arkengarthdale ended up 'using fuel to buy fuel' after the area's only petrol station, in Reeth, closed when the owner failed to find a buyer. They faced to 20-mile round trip to the nearest pumps before a group of them got together to mount a community takeover of the old forecourt.

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An elderly couple were reunited with three of their stolen dogs after a massive social media hunt to find them

Keith and Liz Fetches feared the worst when their three springer spaniel gundogs were stolen from secure kennels at their bungalow in a village between Driffield and Bridlington in February.

Yet thanks to a huge social media appeal, all three returned unharmed, with two found dumped in Lancashire within days and the third handed into a vet in Kent in May who scanned its microchip.

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A House Through Time came to Leeds

Yorkshire had a great year on our TV screens, with programmes filmed and set in the region proving popular with viewers. The Hairy Bikers visited the coast, Dales and moors for their latest series, and All Creatures Great and Small's second run was a hit this autumn. Yet another success was the BBC's social history series A House Through Time, which this year was shot at a Victorian villa in the Leeds suburb of Headingley.

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Restoration of Scarborough's iconic South Cliff Gardens began

The gardens will be returned to their Edwardian splendour and become a focal point of the resort once again. Work even led to the discovery of a Victorian tunnel beneath the cliff lift which had been sealed off and forgotten about for decades.

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Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise visited the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Two of Hollywood's biggest stars were in the area this summer when the North Yorkshire Moors Railway won filming contracts for the latest instalments of both the Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones franchises.

Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise were both spotted filming alongside co-stars such as Hayley Atwell.

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Cruise ships returned to Whitby Harbour after a decade's absence

The staycation boom has been a big success story for Yorkshire's tourism industry, as reflected by the decision of domestic cruise operators to berth in Whitby once again. The port has long been equipped to accommodate larger vessels, but demand had waned until recently.

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Salmon leaping spectacle returned to Dales rivers after conservation efforts

Weirs and poor water quality had for generations prevented salmon from the North Sea and Irish Sea returning to their upland spawning grounds in the Dales during their annual migration - but now numbers are increasing thanks to clean-up efforts and new fish passes.

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The Tan Hill 'lock inn'

Yorkshire's highest pub is always a risky prospect in winter - as a large group found when they got snowed in in November after watching an Oasis tribute band. Yet the experience bonded them and brought out the best of human nature as they hunkered down for several days before the snow ploughs could reach them.

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Theakston's Brewery resumed its ancient 'barrel rolling' ceremony after 20 years

The Masham brewery resurrected the traditional barrel rolling ceremony for apprentice Euan Findlay - the first time it has taken place in a generation.

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Restoration of the Spurn Lightship and Arctic Corsair began in Hull

Two of the most iconic vessels in Hull's history were towed from their long-term berths to the shipyard where they will be restored, ahead of them becoming the focal points of the Hull Maritime City project. The Arctic Corsair is the last surviving distant-water trawler and the Spurn Lightship guarded the Humber Estuary to protect shipping.

Kevin Sinfield's incredible fundraising efforts for motor neurone disease research

The former Leeds Rhinos star was inspired to raise funds after his close friend Rob Burrow was diagnosed with the disease.

He ran 101 miles in 24 hours to raise over £1.5m for the MND Association to fund research into the currently incurable condition and the Leeds Hospitals Charity.

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Yorkshire athletes win medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo

Yorkshire once again won more medals than several countries at the delayed Olympics. Jonny Brownlee finally got gold - this time in the new mixed relay triathlon - while diver Matty Lee and track athlete Keely Hodgkinson were breakout stars.

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