100 things to see on a walk through Grassington

ONE HUNDRED THINGS TO SEE ON A WALK THROUGH

GRASSINGTON

IAN GOLDTHORPE

A SOUVENIR OF YOUR VISIT SOLD IN AID OF LOCAL CHARITIES

NINTH EDITION

INTRODUCTION

GRASSINGTON is one of the best loved of the many delightful little towns and villages in the Yorkshire Dales. Often described by the locals as a ‘village’ it is really a small town as indicated by its name and the fact that it was granted a Charter for a market and fair in 1282, which continued to be held until about 1860.

The annual Patronal Feast was still being held in the late 1970s on the cobbled square.

The original settlement was at High Close, near Grass Wood, and the present town started to grow when the estate was transferred from the Percys to the Plumptons in the 12th century.

Grassington started as a collection of farmhouses with their associated buildings. The earliest stone buildings we see today date from the early 17th century and were mostly built by the first freeholders, although some may be on the sites of, or incorporate parts of, the earlier ‘cruck’ buildings (having large curved timber beams supporting the roof) which would later be encased in stone. Before the land was enclosed, largely at the end of the 18th century, to form the fields we know today, there were gates at the entrances to the town to keep out the animals.

The town developed further as a result of the lead mining and textile industries and tourism gradually took over after their demise. The railway gave a further boost to development early last century, and in more recent times many retired people have come to live here.

This walk around the town has been designed for the benefit of the many visitors who spend only an hour or two here; in the hope that they will see something of its charm, its great wealth of fascinating buildings and other features and learn a little of its history.

A CIRCULAR ROUTE HAS BEEN DESCRIBED STARTING AT THE NATIONAL PARK CAR PARK, BUT IT CAN BE FOLLOWED FROM ANY POINT, THE WHOLE WALK TAKING ABOUT TWO HOURS TO COMPLETE.

Many of the buildings mentioned on this walk are the homes of local people. Please respect their privacy.

1. THE NATIONAL PARK CAR PARK was laid out in 1976 with the provision of new toilets. Note the new circular bus shelter which was erected in 2001 and gained a White Rose Architecture Award.

2. THE INFORMATION CENTRE was opened in 1988 and is a good example of present day craftsmanship. The stonework is so excellent that it almost appears to have been a conversion from an old barn, but is in fact an entirely new building.

3. COLVEND was built by Stephen Eddy, who was the Mining Agent for the Duke of Devonshire. In the 1920s it was the home of Sir Arthur and Lady Godwin, who became the first Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bradford. The Yorkshire Dales National Park was designated in 1954 and in 1970 Colvend was purchased by the National Park and developed as a sub office.

The Information Centre was formerly located in a single storey building attached to Colvend, demolished in 1989 to make way for a carefully designed extension to match the original building which was completed in 1990.

4. THE BUS STATION was opened in 1957 to ease congestion in The Square and house buses formerly garaged in Hardy Grange. The station building was taken over by the Post Office as a sorting office in 1992.

5. FAR SCAR will be seen on the hilltop behind the bus station.

It was built in 1920 to the designs of Sir Edward Maufe, architect of Guildford Cathedral, for Carl and Joyce Maufe. It is said to be a copy of a Sussex farmhouse and was only half completed. A complete version was built for Carl’s brother near Ilkley. Carl died about 1942 and Mrs. Maufe moved to No. 47 Main Street soon afterwards.

6. THE OLD RECTORY dates from the 18th century and was much altered in the late 1920s. It was used as the Rectory from 1911 until it was damaged by fire in 1986. THE NEW RECTORY was constructed on adjoining land in 1989/90, and the Rector moved here from a temporary residence in Station Road early in 1991.

7. BARCLAYS BANK was formerly the Jobbers’ Arms and later the Commercial Inn. 8. THE STREAM which flows along Main Street, originally known as ‘Well Lane’, and under The Square, originally supplying the wells at Well Head and the pump in The Square could be glimpsed until the late 1990s passing under the paving between Barclays Bank and the next building, which was for many years a branch of the Midland Bank until it closed late in 1997.

9. KELVIN HOUSE, probably dating from the late 17th century, originally belonged to the Peart family, who sold it in 1840. It was named ‘Kelvin House’ by Christina Macleod, who lived here after she married a member of the Harker family. She was born on the Isle of Lewis and spent some time in Glasgow, possibly in Kelvinside, before coming south to marry. In 1930 a door was inserted at the left of the front elevation to form a wine and spirits business and later a sub branch of the Craven Bank. In 1937 Barclays Bank were operating from this building and a bakery business started in 1956. The bakery business finished in 2004 and in 2006 the building was extensively restored and altered to form two shops on the ground floor and two flats above.

10. THE SPAR SUPERMARKET, originally a branch of the local Co-operative Society, and the adjoining shop which was for many years a branch of Hepper Watson and then Halifax Property Services were converted from the former stables to Church House, which were used by the Chapman family for their horses for many years. The small shop was used as a bank about 1930.

11. CHURCH HOUSE is a good example of a ‘yeoman farmhouse’ built by Stephen and Alice Peart in 1694. After passing to the Airey family it later became Chapman’s Temperance Hotel, before being purchased by Linton Church in 1925. The large chimney over the door became unsafe and was

removed in the early 1980s. The building contains many interesting features including a fine fireplace and a beehive oven. The Birdsall family are thought to have presented the original clock.

12. THE WINE SHOP was for many years the Post Office until about 1948.

13. THE CIRCULAR SEAT in The Square was erected in 1987 by villagers and friends in memory of Shirley Spencer who helped to start the Dickensian weekends. It was made by Allan Thompson, a local craftsman. In 2002 it was restored in memory of Olive Fell.

14. GRASSINGTON POST OFFICE moved here from its former location much higher up Main Street in 1999. This building was originally built as a private house in the early part of the last century. About 1920 Theodore Taylor’s daughter lived here for a short time.

15. ROBERT BUNNEY’S SHOP was originally cottages owned by the Wrathalls, but the small projecting portion was a barbers shop prior to the Second World War. After the war it was an antique shop for a short time.

16. GRASSINGTON OLD HALL is one of the oldest inhabited

houses in the Yorkshire Dales. Originally a timber framed structure stood on this site, being replaced by a simple stone building forming part of the present building, which at that time would be only single storey dating from the 13th century. This was built by the de Plumptons as an occasional residence; they were the Lords of the Manor from the early 12th century until the end of the 16th century. The building has since been altered and

extended many times, the last major restoration taking place at the end of the 19th century. The monks of Fountains, who were friendly with the de Plumptons, were granted a charter by this family to drive their beasts, carts, horses and men through the open common, which now forms part of High Lane.

17. JAKEY, a public right of way, was originally approached through the Devonshire Hotel yard. It probably takes its name from Jacob’s Fold from which it is now approached, or, alternatively because it passed a number of jakes – privies or toilets – which were located in this vicinity before the advent of mains drainage.

18. THE SQUARE, which in the early days was grassed in effect like a village green, was re-cobbled in 1973 with funds raised by the Grassington Chamber of Trade. It was originally known as the ‘Marketplace’. The centre paved area with seats accommodated underground toilets from about 1925 until 1976.

THE PUMP, which originally had three troughs, has been removed from its original position. Formerly known as ‘THE FOUNTAIN’ it served the town as a whole until the 1890s, when the Grassington Waterworks Company was formed. The pump, however, continued to operate until the 1930s. Late in the year 2000 the pump was restored as part of Grassington’s Millennium Project and once again operates, the same water being pumped around from one of the troughs.

19. WOODWARE, THE RUSTIC RABBIT and WALKERS were all originally cottages. ‘The Old Sweet Shop’ was located here.

In 1940 part of this block caught fire and was rebuilt as a house and later converted into a shop.

20. THE BULL-BAITING STONE & RING is located in the cobbled area, between the upper tree and the pump, some fifteen feet from the road.

21. THE DEVONSHIRE HOTEL is an old inn dating largely from the 18th century. The northern section originally comprised a large stone arch giving access to the rear yard. This section of the building was converted to form additional residential accommodation shortly before the Second World War. 22. THE LIVERPOOL WAREHOUSE dates from the 18th century and possibly earlier, and stands on the site of a former tannery. The shop portion of the building was extended in the mid 19th century to serve the local workpeople, and by 1861

it had become a kind of ‘Selfridges of the Dales’. Many of the goods came by canal from Liverpool, hence its name. About

1920 the business ceased and it became the Café Royal, which continued until more recent times. This building possesses a fine cellar with a vaulted roof underneath the right-hand section occupied by Country Concept; this may have been part of the old tannery.

23. HELEN MIDGLEY’S AND THE DALES BOOK CENTRE building dates from 1899 and replaces former farm buildings. In the early 1920s the former was a butcher’s shop and then a sweet shop. Both were later used as a greengrocer’s shop until the 1970s. Across the road is the former butcher’s shop which remained until the 1970s, when it became an upholsterer’s assuming its present identity as a restaurant in 1989, being renamed THE RETREAT by its present owners.

24. ASHFIELD FOLD, originally known as ‘Summers Fold’ contains some cottages dating from lead mining times and an hotel dating from the 17th century. Note the new name plaque, erected high up on Helen Midgley’s building early in 1997.

25. BROWN’S FOLD contains further lead miners’ cottages and FARRAH’S was a house until after the Second World War. 26. THE FORESTERS ARMS is another inn largely dating from the 18th century. The road at the side is known as ‘LUCY’.

27. SHENSTONE GALLERY was the former smithy said to be owned by the notorious Tom Lee in the 1760s, although there is no evidence that he was ever a blacksmith. In 1766 he murdered the local doctor in Grass Wood and was later executed in York Castle. His body was hung on a gibbet on the site of the murder, which is still today known as ‘Gibbet Hill’. At one time he was a lead miner and was also the landlord of the Blue Anchor Inn.

28. THE MINERS ARMS was located in the rear part of the building which is now THE HARDWARE SHOP which was established here after the doctors’ surgery moved from this building in 1999. These frontage buildings were formerly shippons and farmhouses.

29. THE BUILDINGS OPPOSITE were formerly cottages dating from the lead mining era apart from the butcher’s shop, which was the Blue Anchor Inn. 30. SALT PIE HILL, or SAM PIE HILL, is the name given to the area opposite the former Blue Anchor Inn. Some say that the town’s salt supply was unloaded here and others say that a local villager named ‘Sam’ sold pies from this point.

31. NUMBER 47 dates from the 17th century, but was much altered by Mrs. Maufe who lived here for many years after she left Far Scar in the early 1940s. Whilst she lived here this property was known as ‘Scar Left’. The adjoining cottage has an identical fireplace to that in No. 47, but the property is still largely in its original state.

32. THE WOGGAN, an ancient footpath, much older than the buildings fronting on to it, disappears via a small archway at the side of the café. Towards the end of the last century this footpath was often known as ‘Crowther’s Alley’.

33. ELLIOTT’S was for many years, in the late 19th century, the chemist’s shop run by John Crowther. The adjoining shop was where he bottled ‘pop’. Previously this small building was a miner’s cottage, a butcher’s shop and initially stables.

34. ARMSTRONG TERRACE set back behind the cobbles known locally as ‘NEDDY HILL’, takes its name from the 18th century builder of some of these cottages. They date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the oldest being Clevedon House which has a fine inglenook fireplace. Old Bowes had his shop in the cottage known as ‘Stonymount’, where he mended clogs and cut a man’s hair for 2d. One cottage had a barrel shute and may have been an inn at one time.

35. NUMBER 53 MAIN STREET, behind the former library, now THE ROCKIN’ ZEBRA, was originally known as ‘Sunnyside’ and at one time the rents from this property were used to support the parish’s poor fund. At another time it was divided into three cottages known as ‘Town Fold’, and was also an inn known as the ‘Robin Hood’ for a few years. It has a fine fireplace with a beehive oven and dates from the 17th century or earlier and its present owners have given it back its original name of ‘Sunnyside’.

36. WELL HEAD at the top of the Main Street, previously known as ‘Well Lane’, is the name given to the area opposite the ancient drinking troughs, which can still be seen outside the Craven Cottage. The water was said to contain certain medicinal qualities.

37. THE LOWER WALLS OF A SMITHY can still be seen forming part of a garden wall behind the seats at the end of Garrs End Lane.

38. THE COTTAGE ADJOINING the OAK & PINE FURNITURE shop dates from 1631 and contains a fine fireplace and beehive oven.

39. CHAMBER END FOLD was formerly known as ‘King Street’ and contains properties dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Its present name is probably due to the tall house, on the right hand side, which may formerly have been used as a council chamber. It is dated 1675 and the barred window at ground level in the gable is said to have been a former village ‘lock-up’. The remaining cobbles were repaired and additional new ones laid in 1988. No. 20 Chamber End Fold contains a stone built into the

sitting room wall referring to Thomas Coates, a lead miner who went to live at Bare House in 1720.

40. THE TOWN HALL AND DEVONSHIRE INSTITUTE was built in 1855 as a Mechanics Institute on the site of a pinfold and further extended in 1895 by the Duke of Devonshire. In 1896 the Duke handed over the building to the newly formed parish council for a nominal sum. The chiming clock was given by the Duke towards the end of the 19th. century. In 1923 the original Mechanics Institute building was greatly extended by the addition of a large hall, entrance foyer, stage and dressing rooms. In 1997 a third major restoration and extension plan was undertaken costing over £600,000, the finance for this coming partly from the Millennium Commission.

41. GROVE HOUSE IN MOOR LANE has been partly refronted in the 1850s or 60s. It dates from the 17th century and contains an inglenook fireplace. A datestone in the entrance hall inscribed ‘CBT1707’ may refer to a member of the Tennant family who probably altered the house at this time.

42. The building, until 1997 known as ‘GRASSINGTON HARDWARE’, later CHAPEL ANTIQUES and now a private house was built as the Police Station in 1851. GROVE HOUSE GALLERY opposite served as the slaughterhouse for most of Upper Wharfedale in the late 19th century and still possesses evidence of this with a large hook attached to a roof beam and a sloping floor with drainage channel.

43. CHAPEL FOLD has had many names in the past. At one time it was known as St. John’s Fold which may have been on account of John Broughton, the Grassington poet. It has also been called Smith Fold and Ranters Fold. ‘Ranters’ was a nickname given to the early Primitive Methodists. The original Primitive Methodist Chapel, erected in 1837 and closed for worship in 1908, still remains.

44. THE COTTAGES opposite the flats are known by the locals as ‘The Monkey Houses’, since a former occupant had once worked at a zoo.

45. RATHMELL FOLD contains two cottages dating from about 1674, which were originally one house containing two fine fireplaces. The barn, which may be older, was converted to dwellings in 1986. The upper end gable window was formerly a door, which was left open to enable tramps to go in and sleep at night . The Fold is named after Jacob Rathmell, a previous owner, who died in 1849.

46. THE METHODIST CHURCH was formerly a Wesleyan Chapel. The site, together with an old building, was acquired in 1809 and came into use as a chapel in 1811. In 1825 the present frontage, gallery and pews were added. In 1996 the roof was extensively repaired and the facilities in the schoolroom have been greatly improved with the provision of a superb, and spacious, new kitchen.

47. GRASMERE, at the junction with INTAKE LANE, or ‘SAM HILL’, was built in 1896.

48. HILL TOP FOLD originally comprised a farm house in the centre with farm buildings at each end. Nearby CALVERT’S WATER crosses Chapel Street, an early water supply to the Old Hall named after the man who owned the Hall at the time it was laid.

49. HIGH WISPHILL, and the cottage before, were converted from farm buildings about 1980.

50. ENDICOT dates from the 17th century, or earlier, and contains a fine inglenook fireplace with a beehive oven. The adjoining house dates from the 17th century, being refronted in the late 18th century and the three houses erected in the garden were completed in 1988.

51. THE COTTAGES before Bank Lane date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and many were formerly occupied by the lead miners, some of which they converted from barns.

52. The block of property generally known as ‘THE NOOK’ probably started as a small ‘yeoman farmhouse’ dating from about 1600, since the original portion contains two small fireplaces, timber panelling and plaster friezes, all having distinct Jacobean characteristics. A datestone inscribed ‘1628 WS’ was doubtless added later. Further additions to the building

have taken place in the mid 17th century, the 18th century and later. This building was formerly known as ‘Leyland’s Farm’, being named after the original freeholder. There is a fine barn to the rear which was converted into a dwelling about 1990.

53. TOWN HEAD FARMHOUSE may date from the 15th century, since evidence from a number of reused old timbers and other features suggest that this building may have started its life as a medieval timber framed structure. The building we see today largely dates from very early in the 17th century, possessing fine decorative features near the eaves. It was formerly known as ‘Rathmell’s Farm’ and contains a somewhat unique inglenook fireplace, with adjacent timberwork from the Jacobean period. The left-hand section of the building was originally a barn. This building, together with a large acreage of land extending up to and including Bastow Wood, belongs to the Trustees of the Fountaine Hospital in Linton.

54. SCAW GHYLL may be on the site of an early manorial corn mill, probably being the most northerly building in the old Saxon town. The present building, dating from about 1729, probably originally comprised a separate cotton worsted spinning mill and three cottages, long since joined together to form one building.

In 1857, the building was used for a time as a butter factory and in more recent times as a guest house.

55. The house on the left, known as ‘STONEYGARTH’, was built in 1908 and may well be a ‘commuter house of the railway age’. The house below built in part of its former garden was erected in the year 2000.

56. GARRS END LATHE is said to have marked the northern entrance to the old Saxon town.

57. MOUNT PLEASANT is a late 18th century cottage. Just before this cottage on the right, backing on to a large field, are PIGEON COTE and SUNNY SIDE, two cottages converted from

a barn in 1987/8.

58. ELLESMERE probably dates from the 17th century. In the 19th century it comprised two cottages and the three storey section was added early in the 20th. century. ‘The Woggan’ went past their fronts, where the garden is now located.

59. SUMMERS BARN, converted into a house in 1987, may have its origins in the 16th century. The adjacent section of Garrs End Lane was once gated and known as ‘Leyland’s Fold’.

60. ROKEBY, the adjoining farmhouse, dates from the 17th century and, although it was extensively altered in the 19th century, still retains an old fireplace.

61. TOWN HEAD GUEST HOUSE stands on the site of the new Primitive Methodist Chapel, which was erected in 1908 and removed, stone by stone, to Skipton in 1948. The re-erected building was demolished in the late 1970s and not replaced.

62. MR. JOHN CROWTHERS HOUSE & MUSEUM originally stood on the grassed area to the left. The cobbled lane is known as ‘Water Street‘. Nearby is SCAR STREET, the start of a Roman road that originally went to Greenhow.

63. PLETTS BARN, now better known as ‘THE MOUNTAINEER’, was formerly in the ownership of a Mr. Pletts and is known locally as ‘Wesley’s Barn’, since Wesley preached here on his first visit to Grassington in 1780. The barn probably dates from the 16th century, and was extensively restored after the entire roof collapsed in the early1980s.

64. THEATRE COTTAGE has been formed out of part of the barn in which Tom Airey’s theatre operated in the early part of the 19th century. The theatre continued until about 1835 and Edmund Keen and Harriet Mellon are reputed to have acted here in 1807.

65. THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH dates from 1811 with later extensions, being the earliest nonconformist building in Grassington. The dwelling house at the junction of Garrs Lane and Scar Street was built and used as THE MANSE until the mid 1970s. GILLS TOP, a sheltered housing scheme located behind

the churchyard and approached from Scar Street, was built by the Anchor Housing Association, on land previously owned by the Congregational Church, and opened in 1989.

66. THE BLACK HORSE HOTEL is the third inn in Grassington and has its origins in the 17th century. It was known as the ‘King William the Fourth’ until the end of the 18th century and later as ‘The Prince Albert’. A room at the rear of the hotel housed the Upper Wharfedale Museum until it moved to new premises in The Square in 1979. A plaque at the rear records that the hotel was extended by the Davey family in 1990. NATURE’S WAY was formerly a butcher’s shop and from 1972 until 1992 the Ambulance Station and from 1992 until 1999 the Fire Station.

FLOWERS & PLANTS was originally a stable with residential accommodation over. The stream which supplied the pump in The Square flows underneath and the hinges which carried the gates at the entrance to this fold still remain on the rear corner of Country Concept.

67. HARLEQUIN originally comprised two cottages, still retaining an original fireplace. It was extensively altered, and a second storey added in the early years of last century and for many years it housed the telephone exchange. It was altered to its present form in the 1960s and was for many years The Grassington Pharmacy until the year 2000 when the pharmacy moved to the new medical centre.

68. THE MANOR HOUSE, now flats, has doubtless received its name through being the property of the Duke of Devonshire, and occupied as offices as well as a residence by his agents. It dates from the 17th century and possibly earlier.

69. GRASSINGTON’S FIRST YOUTH HOSTEL was accommodated in the building behind the Manor House with the flight of steps, now known as ‘Manor House Mews’, from about 1935 until 1940 when it was replaced by Linton Youth Hostel.

This building was then used by the Local Defence Volunteers followed by the Home Guard during the war.

70. HARDY COTTAGE, which dates from the 18th century, was renovated and extended into an adjoining barn in 1948 by Dr. Cameron to form his new surgery and a garage, when he moved here from the Old Hall. When he retired he moved to SCAR LODGE in Hardy Grange, which probably dates from the 18th century with some alterations in Victorian times and again in the early 1990s.

71. THE GRANGE, in Hardy Grange may even date back to the time when the monks of Fountains drove their animals through the land of Grassington Manor. The present structure was largely built by the Leyland family. Careful restoration work in 1988 revealed a fine beehive oven and the remains of a second beehive oven, indicating that the property once possessed two 17th century stone fireplaces, possibly dating from a time when it comprised two cottages. These were doubtless destroyed at the time of an extensive restoration in the 1860s. A 1653 datestone, formerly at the rear of the building, has been incorporated in a new porch at the front of the house. Nearby, BEECHCROFT, taking its name from the fine beech tree in its garden, together with a block of three cleverly designed cottages in the local vernacular, set in a walled enclosure, were both built in 1997.

72. THE UPPER WHARFEDALE MUSEUM was officially opened in 1979 by Robert L. Crowther of California, grandson of John Crowther (1858-1930) the Grassington Antiquary, Historian

and Botanist. It was converted from two former cottages.

73. GRASSINGTON HOUSE, which has its origins in the 17th century was largely rebuilt in 1760 by a Mr. Brown, who was one of the promoters of the Grassington to Pateley Bridge turnpike road. The Allcock family, bankers in Skipton, lived here for many years. It has been used as a guest house and hotel since the early 19th century.

74. BROUGHTON FOLD was built in 1754. The cottages have recently been carefully restored, the first being converted into two flats. Beyond is CARLTON HOUSE, built as a farmhouse early this century by the son of Stephen Eddy, who also worked for the Duke of Devonshire.

75. BLUEBELL GALLERY, COBBLESTONES CAFÉ & DALES COUNTRY TRADING have their origins in a 17th century corn mill powered by the stream now culverted under The Square. The property later served as farm buildings, before being extended and converted into cottages in the 18th century.

76. PART OF THE ORIGINAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM for The Square can be seen in the cobbles nearby.

77. PLETTS FOLD dates from the 17th and 18th centuries. One cottage has a datestone inscribed ‘HEA 1744’. On the right of the entrance to Pletts Fold is THE CRAFT SHOP. This building, which probably dates from the 18th. century, was extended forward in the 19th century originally comprising a cottage at ground floor level, with a flight of stone steps giving access to a first floor room which was used by the Grassington Brass Band, for practices, in the late 18th century. Early last century it was Benson’s butchers shop.

78. THE SMITHY is the only one of four to survive. This was once the favourite meeting place of many of the old retired men for a gossip.

79. A LARGE BARN stood mainly on what is now the car park for Kelvin House. It was demolished about the turn of the last century.

80. THE GALLERY & SIG BARN BEYOND were originally in the croft belonging to Church House. The Gallery, which was converted and restored by a local potter some years ago, still has the old hinges in its wall used to carry the gates at this entrance to the town to keep the animals out before the land was enclosed. SIG BARN became the Community Learning Centre in 2002.

81. THE FORMER GRASSINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL was built in 1845 and closed in the early 1980s. It was attractively converted into five cottages in 1986. Some church services were held here until 1925, when Church House was purchased. The new school on Hebden Road, which replaces it, was built in the late 1960s.

82. THE SHOPS, at the junction of Station Road and Wood Lane, stand on the site of a barn. THE FLATS, below in Station Road, stand on the site of some single storey shops, which formed the main shopping centre earlier this century.

83. W.V. PATRICK LTD. built many of these houses in the 1920s, which were initially largely occupied by Bradford commuters. THE AMBULANCE STATION moved here in 1992.

Opposite, the two storey building, the centre portion of which was originally a Co-operative store, was partly rebuilt to form the GRASSINGTON MEDICAL CENTRE which was opened in 1999. On this site The Rustic Rabbit and Country Gardener were formerly located.

84. RAINES LANE was developed from the mid 1920s onwards.

‘Raines’ is another name for a ‘lynchet’ and these properties are built upon a former medieval cultivated strip.

85. BRIDGE END also belongs to the ‘railway age’ and was known as ‘Boiled Egg Row’ since the wives put on the eggs to boil when they heard the train enter the station. Note the red tiles to the front elevation and the slated roof to the rear. At the time, although quite out of character with the area, red tiles were fashionable but more expensive, and fortunately the developer couldn’t afford red tiles for both sides of the roof. The railway opened in 1902 and was closed to passenger trains, except for excursions, in 1930. It was closed down finally for passengers in 1969, but occasional passenger trains now come as far as Swinden Quarry where a platform has now been built.

86. THE BRIDGE was originally known as Linton Bridge and replaced a derelict wooden structure. The Original downstream section of the bridge erected in 1603 was humpbacked , as can been seen from the stonework, and designed for packhorses. It was repaired in 1661, widened in 1780 and raised to its present level in 1825. Underneath the arches the two stages of building can be seen and the older section bears masons’ marks. A cantilevered pedestrian footpath was added on the upstream side in 1984. The River Wharfe takes its name from the Saxon word ‘guerf’ which means ‘swift’.

87. LADY WELL COTTAGE dates from the 16th century, and probably earlier, possibly starting its life as a ‘cruck’ building with a thatched roof. It may have been a hostel for travellers to Kilnsey in the times when the abbeys were powerful.

88. LADY WELL dates from early times and is located on common land.

89. BRIDGE END FARM dates from the 17th century.

90. GAMS BANK, although much altered in recent times, has a datestone ‘1631 SM’.

91. THE HYDRO-ELECTRIC STATION was opened in 1909 after a successful campaign by John Crowther to get electricity and sewerage to the town. The first generating house was a timber structure, which was enlarged and reconstructed in brick in 1920, after a special meeting of the shareholders at the Wilson Arms Hotel.

92. THRESHFIELD MILL, formerly a manorial corn mill, was the

left-hand of the three cottages and dates from the 17th century.

It was powered by a small leet taken from Captain Beck, and operated until the late 19th century. Early this century it was used as a creamery. There has been a mill on this site since the 14th century.

HERE A DETOUR MAY BE MADE TO SEE LINTON CHURCH AND VIEW LOW MILL ACROSS THE RIVER. 93. TIN BRIDGE was the name given to the first footbridge across the falls built by the Birbecks for their workers in 1814. It was covered with sheets of tin from old oil drums to stop feet wearing away the timber and this caused a clatter, and thus its name. The second bridge which was also constructed in timber was erected in 1860, with a central stone support pillar and four pairs of iron stay rods, and remained until replaced by the third bridge, a metal structure, in 1904. The bolts holding the stays can still be seen on the rocks below. The third bridge became dangerous and was closed in 1988. The fourth bridge, erected by the Royal Engineers when the river was in flood and paid for by the Yorkshire Dales National park, which is wider and constructed in timber with an expected life of 150 years was opened in 1989.

94. THE LINTON FALLS are a fine spectacle created by the North Craven Fault. A viewing area, adjacent to the new housing scheme, was opened in 1988.

95. LINTON MILL, built by J. & W. Birkbeck, was erected in 1790, although it is recorded that there was a mill on the site as early as 1258. The first building would have been a manorial soke mill for grinding corn and baking bread. Birkbeck college was named after a brother, who was a sleeping partner and a scientist. The mill, which was five storeys in height, was destroyed by fire in 1912 and later rebuilt and finally demolished, apart from Falls House and Falls Cottage, in 1983. The new housing was started in 1986 and completed in 1988. Nearby is LITTLE EMILY’S BRIDGE, a small packhorse bridge on the original church path from Threshfield, which dates from the 14th century. It is thought to have been named after Emily Norton, daughter of Christopher Norton who was a patron of Linton Church, and was executed after the Rising of the North. Little Emily was fostered with the miller at Threshfield Mill after her father’s death. Another theory is that it was invented by Halliwell Sutcliffe, who mentioned it in his writings.

96. KIRK YETT & KIRK YETT COTTAGE date from the 17th century and formerly belonged to the church. At one time the building was used as an inn. Legend has it that the inn was closed by the Archdeacon when he found that drinking in the inn was much more popular than going to church.

97. THE LARGE STONE is said to mark a pagan religious site.

98. THE CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS has chancel abuttments and two bays of the north aisle dating from about 1135. The church was enlarged in the 14th century and the east window is a memorial to Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887. The belfry is an unusual and attractive feature of the exterior. About 1770 the Reverend Benjamin Smith, a nephew of Sir Isaac Newton, was Rector.

99. LOW MILL, sometimes known as ‘Grassington Mill’ dates from the latter part of the 18th century and was also built upon the site of a former manorial corn mill. For many years it stood empty and derelict until it was restored for residential use in 1974/75. The covered sun lounge, designed by a local architect, was added to the balcony in 1989. To the left of the stream are the remains of the old smelting mill built early in the 17th century

by George Earl of Cumberland, when he became Lord of the Manor and started to develop the lead mining industry.

RETRACE YOUR STEPS BACK TO THE TIN BRIDGE AND UP SEDBER LANE KNOWN LOCALLY AS ‘THE SNAKE WALK’ OR ‘THE FLAGS’. This latter name was given to this path, which was formerly very muddy, soon after the York Stone paving was laid.

100. KIRKFIELD AND ELBOLTON come into view ahead.

These two houses were built in 1921/22 by Theodore Taylor, a textile manufacturer from Batley. He built Kirkfield, then known as ‘Moraine’, for himself and Elbolton for his daughter after she married a Dr. Harrop. Theodore Taylor lived to be over 100 years old and was for 17 years Member of Parliament for Radcliffe near Manchester. Both of these houses are typical of many houses built at the time by wealthy manufacturers, in beautiful countryside, well away from their factories.

TURN LEFT, OPPOSITE ‘LYNCHETS’, INTO THE NATIONAL PARK CAR PARK. The Committee of Grassington One Hundred would like to express their thanks to all the retailers, hoteliers and others, especially in Grassington and Upper Wharfedale, who have so readily offered to sell this publication without commission which has so far enabled over £11,000 to be given to local charities and good causes in about nineteen years.

NINTH EDITION 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is greatly indebted to the following local residents for the loan of books, photographs and other documents; for factual information and for their most helpful comments on the draft text, and general enthusiasm for this project:- Mr. G. Arnett, the late Mr. J. Dean, Mr. P. Fethney, the late Mr. B. Harker, the late Mr. R. Harker, the late Mrs. K. Harrison, the late Dr. J. Keighley, the late Mr. J.K. Lockyer, Mr. D.P. Mann, Mr. W.H. Maude, Mrs. H. Needham, Mr. S. Pattinson, Mrs. B. Bedford-Payne, Mr. D.P. Wilson, the late Lt. Col. J.E. Wright, M.B.E., and Mr. J. Wolfenden. Also the author is grateful to Miss M.E.G. Knight for the publicity she gave to this project during the period when she was running Waymarks.

LOCAL CHARITIES AND GOOD CAUSES SUPPORTED as a result of sales of the Eighth Edition:Grassington and District Helping Hands Scheme Grassington and District Old People’s Welfare Committee Threshfield Court Residents’ Fund Linton Church Exhibition and the Grassington, Hebden, Linton and Threshfield Directory

This publication has also been made possible as a result of the generous donations made by the following organisations, local residents and friends:Grassington & District Chamber of Trade, Grassington Branch W.E.A., Grassington Parish Council, Linton Parochial Church Council, Arnetts Bakery, Robert Bunney, Craven Cottage Restaurant, Dales Health, Dales Kitchen, Helen Midgley, R. Rymer and Sons, Town Head Farm, Town Head Guest House, Mrs. B. Bedford-Payne, Miles & Joy Biggs, Mrs. M.F. Bray, Mr. & Mrs. D.V. Briggs, Mr. M. Brooker, Mr. & Mrs. G.A. Butler, Mrs. H.D. Cawthra, Mrs. R.E. Chadwick, Mr. & Mrs. M.J. Cooper, Mr. & Mrs. A.B. Dodd, Mrs K.V. Draycott, Mr. & Mrs. P. Fethney, Mr. I.N. Goldthorpe, Miss M. Hambrecht of Doncaster, Richard & Elma Harland, Miss I.E.M. Manby of Harrogate, Mr. & Mrs. D.P. Mann, Dr. & Mrs. R. Markillie, Mr. & Mrs. B.J. Moxham, Mr. & Mrs. W.D. Nelson, Miss B. Oates, Mr. S. Pattinson, Mrs. D.B.M. Ralph, Miss M.E. Rooker of Elland, Mr. & Mrs. J.H. White, Mr. & Mrs. T. Woodhead, Mrs. M. Wright, together with donations from some who have since died and a number of anonymous contributions.

Published by GRASSINGTON ONE HUNDRED, a charity to promote a better understanding of the history and buildings of Grassington, and its immediate neighbourhood, and provide financial support for various local charities.

THE CRAFT SHOP BUILDING (77) as it appeared at the time it was used by the Grassington Brass Band.

THE METHODIST CHURCH (46)

johnmasonprinters ...your friendly professional printer Park Avenue, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1PN t: +44 (0) 1756 792019 f: +44 (0) 1756 791248 matt@johnmasonprinters.co.uk www.johnmasonprinters.co.uk

ISBN 0 9532515 0 0

Published by GRASSINGTON ONE HUNDRED, a charity to promote a better understanding of the history and buildings of Grassington, and its immediate neighbourhood, and provide financial support for various local charities.

THE CRAFT SHOP BUILDING (77) as it appeared at the time it was used by the Grassington Brass Band.

THE METHODIST CHURCH (46)

johnmasonprinters ...your friendly professional printer Park Avenue, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1PN t: +44 (0) 1756 792019 f: +44 (0) 1756 791248 matt@johnmasonprinters.co.uk www.johnmasonprinters.co.uk

ISBN 0 9532515 0 0

Published by GRASSINGTON ONE HUNDRED, a charity to promote a better understanding of the history and buildings of Grassington, and its immediate neighbourhood, and provide financial support for various local charities.

THE CRAFT SHOP BUILDING (77) as it appeared at the time it was used by the Grassington Brass Band.

THE METHODIST CHURCH (46)

johnmasonprinters ...your friendly professional printer Park Avenue, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1PN t: +44 (0) 1756 792019 f: +44 (0) 1756 791248 matt@johnmasonprinters.co.uk www.johnmasonprinters.co.uk

ISBN 0 9532515 0 0