Aire View's historic line from chapel to beauty salon

The Elegance Beauty Salon in Aire View is one of Silsden's longest-established businesses. It was founded 26 years ago by Debra Camsey (left) and Sarah Callon (right) with financial help from the then government's Enterprise Allowance Scheme. Debra and Sarah are pictured with Sharon Pickles, who joined Elegance 14 years ago. The new salon caught a rising tide of demand for nail and beauty treatments, and was virtually Silsden's first specialist provider. Shellac and nail treatments in general are among the most popular of the Elegance offerings.   

The shop at 6-8 Aire View had many different occupiers up to the arrival of Elegance in May 1993. Previous outlets included pine and pottery, greengrocery (Mick and Dick's), Army and Navy type clothing store, sports supplements, wholefoods and bike shop. 

For a few years in the 1920s, the premises were home to the Bethany Pentecostal Church, which was visited by Lam Jeeveratnam, pictured above. Born in 1892, he had been raised as a Lutheran in India but was converted to evangelism at a Pentecostal rally in Leeds. He married an Englishwoman and preached around the country, later returning to India without his family.

Lam Jeeveratnam is pictured in the Bethany Church doorway with Herbert Mitchell, a Skipton Road grocer, and Mr. Mitchell's daughter Doris (later Doris Rogers, a well-known Methodist local preacher), who would have been six at the time. Before the advent of the church, the building had been the meeting room for the first Silsden branch of the Independent Labour Party, formed around 1906.