Grassington

Grassington
Main Street, Grassington
Grassington  Grassington shown within North Yorkshire
Population	1,126 (2011)
OS grid reference	SE001639
– London	190 mi (310 km)  SSE
District	Craven
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SKIPTON
Postcode district	BD23
Dialling code	01756
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Skipton and Ripon
List of places UK England Yorkshire

Coordinates: 54°04′16″N 1°59′53″W / 54.071°N 1.998°W

Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 1,126.^[1] Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is situated in Wharfedale, about 8 miles (10 km) north-east from Bolton Abbey, and is surrounded by limestone scenery. Nearby villages include Linton, Threshfield, Hebden, Conistone and Kilnsey.

The entrance to an inclined shaft at Yarnbury Lead Mine to the north of Grassington.

History

The Domesday Book lists Grassington as part of the estate of Gamal Barn including 7 carucates of ploughland (840 acres/350ha) including Grassington, Linton and Threshfield.^[2] The Norman conquest of England made it part of the lands of Gilbert Tison. But by 1118 Tison had suffered a demotion and his lands returned to the king then given to Lord Percy^[3]

Grassington was historically a township in the parish of Linton in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It became a separate civil parish in 1866,^[4] and was transferred to North Yorkshire in 1974.

Although often described by local people as a village, Grassington was granted a Royal Charter for a market and fair in 1282 giving it market town status. The market was held regularly until about 1860. A change in land use from the early 17th century, when lead mining began to assume more importance, brought some prosperity, but Grassington's heyday arrived during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The opening of the Yorkshire Dales Railway to Threshfield in 1901 brought new visitors, many of whom settled, some finding work in Skipton or in the developing limestone quarries. The Old Hall at Grassington is reputedly the oldest house in Yorkshire, dating from the late 13th or early 14th century.^[5]

Grassington & Threshfield Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1908. The club continued until the Second World War.^[6]

Culture and community

Grassington is the main residential and tourist centre in Upper Wharfedale. Centred on its small cobbled square are shops, public houses, the village museum, small cafes, restaurants and hotels. Grassington Folk Museum houses a collection which tells the story of Wharfedale.^[7] It is an independent museum run and managed by volunteers. Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association, based in Grassington, is a voluntary mountain rescue organisation which rescues people in trouble on the surrounding fells and in caves.^[8]

Grassington Festival is a two-week-long annual event, with music, performance and visual arts, held in a number of venues around the village.^[9] In 2008 it included acts by Jo Brand, Dara Ó Briain, Clare Teal and Toyah Willcox.

Every September since 2011, Grassington has held a 1940s themed weekend. Events include war re-enactments, dances and a variety of military and civilian vehicles on display from the period.^[10]

In the winter Grassington holds the Dickensian Festival, with period costumes, Christmas activities and commercial selling.^[11]

A Yorkshire Dales National Park information centre is on Hebden Road.

Three miles north of Grassington, at Kilnsey, is the glacially carved overhang of Kilnsey Crag.

Grass Wood, an area of ancient woodland including the Iron-Age fort, Fort Gregory (also known as Gregory's Fort), is situated just over 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Grassington.^[12][13]

Electricity generation

In 1909 Grassington received its first electricity from a hydroelectric plant at Linton Falls, which continued to operate until 1948 when the National Grid arrived in the area. In March 2012 a new hydroelectric power plant was opened using the same but restored turbine house, which provides 500,000 kWh of electricity a year, using two Archimedean screws.^[14][15]

References

1. "Town population 2011". Neighbourhood Satistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
2. Dr. Anne Williams and Prof. G H Martin, ed. (1992). Domesday Book a Complete Translation. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-143994-5.
3. Paul Dalton. Conquest, Anarchy and Lordship: Yorkshire, 1066–1154
4. Vision of Britain website
5. "Grassington Hall, Grassington". BritishListedBuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
6. “Grassington & Threshfield Golf Club”, “Golf’s Missing Links”.
8. Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association
11. Archived 24 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
12. Grass Wood
13. Wharfedale and Littondale
14. "Linton Falls hydroelectric plant supplies electricity again". BBC. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
15. Rhianna Rose. "Linton Falls and Low Wood Hydropower Schemes utilising Scheduled Monuments to harbour modern power generation" (PDF). UK Water Projects Ltd. Retrieved 12 April 2012.

External links

• Map of the Grass Wood
• Grassington Lead Mining Trail by Craven & Pendle Geological Society
• Lead mines – Meerstones of Grassington Moor