Rotherham Titans Chairman, Nick Cragg, recently spoke with popular local journalist Guy Williams for a feature in the weekend edition of the Yorkshire Post magazine which was published on Saturday July 22nd.
Nick Cragg, 74, is a prominent Rotherham businessman and the chairman of Rotherham Titans Rugby Union Football Club which is celebrating its centenary this year. Nick has been associated with the club for more than 50 years and chairman since 2004.
What is your first Yorkshire memory?
I came to Rotherham in the early 1960’s from Nottingham. It was then a prosperous town of full employment with many people working in the nationalised industries of coal and steel. One of my earliest memories was the orange smoke billowing out over Templeborough from the Steel Peach and Tozer works.
Another memory is of the local dialect and the use of ‘thee and thou’ “Now then thee, does tha want a spice?” Which translated means: would you like a sweet? I also remember grown men calling each other love.
I went to Oakwood School where I converted from football to rugby and started playing for Rotherham RUFC as a 16-year-old. The club has been an important part of my life for almost 60 years and I am proud that it is one of the most successful clubs in the UK.
From playing local teams in 1990 to beating Perpignan in Perpignan in 2000 and being the first Yorkshire team to be promoted to the premiership has been an exciting part of our 100 year history.
The success of our club plus the work of its charitable arm ‘The Titans Community Foundation’ who use our players to work with children in schools in some of the more deprived areas makes it a Rotherham ‘jewel’.
What is your favourite part of Yorkshire?
It has to be South Yorkshire not least of all as I grew up here. We are fortunate to have a city like Sheffield where there’s art, the theatres and music. I feel very at home in Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley and their surrounding villages, where people are very direct, warm and extremely friendly.
What is your favourite walk or view in Yorkshire?
We are blessed to have some spectacular scenery in Yorkshire and I’ve enjoyed walking the Three Peaks and parts of the Pennine Way. The walk from Tan Hill, the highest pub in Great Britain (1732 feet), down to Hawes is almost 18 miles and it’s a most beautiful part of the county. I love the walk with its views, and finishing with a well-earned pint of real ale at The Farmers Arms in Muker makes it all the more special.
What is your idea of a perfect day/weekend out in Yorkshire?
Rugby Union is my favourite sport. Rugby embodies, the qualities of sportsmanship and camaraderie, so Saturdays watching the Titans playing Yorkshire clubs away is special whether that’s at Wharfedale, Otley, Hull Ionians, the Sheffield clubs or Huddersfield. Playing those teams on our home ground of Clifton Lane makes for a very special day.
Who is your favourite sportsman or woman, past or present, who you would like to take out for lunch?
Yorkshire is lucky to have and have had so many top sports men and women: Nicola Adams, (boxing) Jessica Ennis-Hill, the Brownlee Brothers (athletics) Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, (cricket), John Spencer (Rugby Union) Rob Burrows and the Burgess Brothers (Rugby League) then there are the Yorkshire players who were part of England’s World Cup winning side of 2003: Jason Robinson, Will Greenwood, Mike Tindall and Neil Back. Representing football we have John Stones and Harry Maguire, both from South Yorkshire.
One of my favourite Yorkshire sports people was Johnny Whiteley, the famous Hull FC, Hull KR and Great Britain rugby league player from the 50s and 60s. Johnny also coached rugby union and was so well respected by both codes. Sadly, he died in 2022, aged 91.
Which Yorkshire stage or screen star or entertainer would you like to take out dinner?
Here in Yorkshire we have been, and are blessed, with world class talent such as the mezzo-soprano Janet Baker from Doncaster and the soprano Lesley Garrett from Thorne. But the person I’ve chosen is the actor Brian Blessed from Mexborough. Brian is the patron of the charity PHASE Worldwide, which works in isolated Himalayan villages in Nepal, of which I’m a trustee. Brian’s special and he told me that he had elocution lessons in a house 300 yards away from Rotherham’s Clifton Lane - home of the Titans.
What do you think it is which gives Yorkshire its unique identity?
The people. One of my friends says you can always tell a Yorkshireman, but you can’t tell him much. Yorkshire people are direct and forthright. I love the variety of the county. Great countryside and then you have the coast. I love Whitby, Robin Hood’s Bay, Staithes and Scarborough, and I also love the cities. I have a soft spot for Hull people who had to cope with the demise of the fishing industry.
How do you think Yorkshire has changed since you’ve known it?
It’s changed a lot. Yorkshire is more cosmopolitan because of immigration from Asia and that has produced interesting perspectives in places like Bradford and Rotherham, great food being one. We’ve seen the decline of traditional industries but Yorkshire has met the challenge.
So, it’s different and we are now in the post-industrial era with the emphasis on service industries, leisure and tourism. Exciting developments have taken place at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham near the M1. Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, McLaren Automotive, Rolls Royce and the Institute of Welding and both Sheffield Universities are amongst many others that have established themselves.
Who is the Yorkshire person you admire the most?
There are three of them. The first is William Wilberforce, from Hull, who did so much to end slavery. The other two, Titus Salt and Joseph Rowntree, were enlightened industrialist who not only created great businesses they also looked after their work forces and local communities.
What is your favourite restaurant?
I have two. There’s a little restaurant at Wickersley in Rotherham called Bollywood where the food is superb. It’s run by lovely people. I’ve been going to Bollywood for many years, and you can walk there too. The other one I’m fond of is The Dunkirk, a restaurant/pub on Barnsley Road at Denby Dale where the food and beer are excellent.
Do you have a favourite pub?
I like going to East Yorkshire and Hull, so the Minerva at Hull Marina is a Victorian pub and is rather special as is Nellies (The White Horse Inn) on Hengate in Beverley. Another great pub is the Craven Arms in Appletreewick near Skipton. Built in the 16h century, a visit is like going back in time. Then there are the Kelham Island and Fat Cat on Kelham Island Sheffield.
What is your favourite food shop?
It’s just down the road from me and it’s called Lawns Farm Shop on York Lane at Morthen in Rotherham. They’ve won lots of awards and their meat is of the highest quality and provenance.
Do you have a hidden Yorkshire gem?
Yes, Elsecar Cricket Club, Barnsley. It is a lovely ground and I have fond memories of warm and sunny days spent there. It a very picturesque spot which was established in 1854.
If you could own something in Yorkshire or part of the county for the day what would that be?
I would like the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (another wonderful gem in our county) for a day and have the curators hang David Hockney’s paintings of the Yorkshire Wolds in their gallery space. It would be open to the public who would be invited to make a donation which in turn would be donated to Rotherham Gallery Town.
If a stranger came to Yorkshire and you had time to take that person to one place only, where would that be?
York is exceptionally special. Roman and Viking history, the Minster, the churches, the river and pubs - it’s just wonderful. There’s no better place in Yorkshire to take a stranger. The book, A Walk around the Stickleways of York by Mark Jones, guides you through the passageways between buildings in the city and it shows York in a completely different way. I use it when I take guests to the city.
As told to Guy Williams
