Austwick is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Craven district of
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England, about north-west of
Settle
Settle or SETTLE may refer to:
Places
* Settle, Kentucky, United States
* Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England
** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district
Music
* Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania
* ''S ...
. The village is on the edge of the
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.
The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...
National Park.
Before local government reorganisation in 1974, Austwick parish was within
Settle Rural District
Settle Rural District was an administrative district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The rural district was named after the town of Settle and included the civil parishes of Bentham, Clapham cum Newby, Malham, Settle, Stainforth, Aus ...
which was in the County of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
According to the Austwick & Lawkland Tithe Map of 21 October 1851 the parish has an area of of which around a quarter is uncut moorland. The highest point within the parish is at Lord's Seat on Simon Fell at .
History
The area around Austwick has been inhabited by humans for over 4,000 years. Archaeological finds in and around the village include prehistoric burial places, a large
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
settlement, and even an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
settlement. The area surrounding Austwick has many ancient remains including extensive walls and structures constructed of slate, limestone, and sandstone.
At one time, Austwick, Clapham, Lawkland, and Newby were independent manors with their own lord that together formed the larger parish of Clapham. In the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'', which was a survey of England conducted in 1086, Austwick was the head of 12 manors spread along a northern route. Austwick still has a
lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
; the most recent holder of the position was Dr. John Farrer, who died in 2014. The Farrer family has had the position of lord of the manor since 1782. Austwick Hall, a
grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building, is said to have originally been part of a
pele tower
Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...
. The building was renovated in the 17th and 19th centuries, though evidence of its purchase by the Ingilby family exists pointing to the year 1573.
A local folktale tells of an Austwick man who fell into a deep pool. As bubbles broke on the water's surface, his companions thought they could hear the words "T' b-best's at t' b-bottom", so they jumped into the pool as well, and were not seen again.
The Anglican Church in the village was originally a lecture hall, but was later converted into the Church of the Epiphany. The grade II listed structure was consecrated in 1841.
The village was originally in the
Wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...
of
Ewecross
The historical area of Ewecross or Ewcross is a district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It included the parishes of Bentham, Clapham, Horton in Ribblesdale and Sedbergh and parts of Thornton in Lonsdale. Ewcross was split from the S ...
, later being part of the Settle Rural District within the county of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was moved into North Yorkshire in 1974. Austwick was originally in the Parish of Settle, but was established as its own parish in May 1879.
Austwick was on the original turnpike road between
Keighley and Kendal, which north west of Settle became the A65. The village was bypassed progressively in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 476 with an average age of 45.4 years (neighbouring parishes: Clapham parish 39.9 years, Lawkland parish 39.4 years, England: 38.6 years). There are 231 dwellings and 212 households. 36% are pensioner households, 33% of households have an occupant with a long-term illness and only 25% of households have children.
The parish includes the village of Austwick and the hamlet of
Wharfe.
In 2014 the boundaries of Austwick parish were changed. That part of the parish south of the A65 road were passed to Lawkland parish and that part of Lawkland parish north of the A65 (including the hamlet of Feizor) was passed to Austwick parish. Now Austwick Common and Austwick Moss are no longer in the parish of Austwick. The boundaries of Austwick and Lawkland parishes had been in existence since at least 1851 at the time of the drawing up of the Tithe map.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
Community WebsiteAustwick CE VA Primary School's website*
{{authority control
Villages in North Yorkshire
Civil parishes in North Yorkshire
Craven District