Cattal 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 authorit ...
in the
Borough of Harrogate
The Borough of Harrogate is a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England. Its population at the census of 2011 was 157,869. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate, but it also includes surrounding towns and ...
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 east of
Knaresborough
Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate.
History
Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...
, and is located west of the city of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. Cattal is located on the
River Nidd. Despite being a small village it is served by
Cattal railway station on the
Harrogate line (operated by
Northern); the railway station generally provides an hourly service to the nearby cities of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
.
The village has one pub, The Victoria which is located close to the railway station and close to the village.
Cattal has good transport links to the nearby cities of York and Leeds as it is located just east of the
A1(M) motorway this road also connects Cattal with much of south-east England including London. It's also just off the
A59 which connects north-east England to the north-west, including Liverpool.
History
Cattal is first mentioned 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 manus ...
of 1086, as ''Catale'', ''Catala''. The name probably derives from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''catt'' 'wild cat' + ''halh'' 'nook of land', referring to land in a bend of the River Nidd associated with wild cats. The total tax assessed was described as quite large with a taxable value of 5 geld units. At this time the head of the manor was Aldborough. There were 2 ploughlands in the village at the time of the Domesday Book, and Osbern of Arques was both Tenant in Chief and Lord in 1086.
In the 1870s Cattal was described as:
:"Cattal, a township in Hunsingore parish, W. R. Yorkshire; on the river Nidd, and on the York and High Harrogate railway, 6½ miles ESE of Knaresborough. It has a station on the railway. Acres, 950. Real property, £1,891. Pop., 189. Houses, 40"
Cattal also has a
Roman road running through it. It provided a northward link between the road from
Castleford
Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...
to
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
via Tadcaster and the York to Aldborough road. The road approached the
River Nidd from the south through the 'd' of Bridge and on to the 'Ancient Ford', this line was abandoned when the bridge was built a little upstream of the ford. The present road north from Cattal follows the Roman line, a little west of north to Providence Green and then a little east of north through Whixley, after which it meets the York-Aldborough road. The road known as Rudgate now has a brewery named after it in the nearby town on Tockwith.
Population
The current population of Cattal according to the 2011 census data is 115;
this is a decrease in population from 1881 when the population was at its peak at 178 residents. The population decreased steadily from the early census records from 178 in 1881 to 144 residents at the turn of the century in 1901. The population increased during the next two censuses, it grew to 153 in 1911 and 155 in 1921. However population has decreased every census year since 1921 until 1961 with a large dip coming between 1951 and 1961 from 140 to 110 residents.
Age structure
Cattal has an ageing population, with the 73% of the residents of the village being aged 40 or over and having very few young dependants living in the village. With very few amenities in the village this age structure will remain as there are no pull factors for the young population to move to the village.
Centre of Yorkshire
In recent times an argument has arisen between villages in Yorkshire over who should rightfully hold the title of the geographical centre of Yorkshire. Although most recently in 2012 the prestigious title had been given to the village of
Hessay five miles from Cattal, controversy still remains as to where the centre is. The Ordnance Survey used its own detailed records of the county's boundary and the help of a computer program and a field in Hessay was pinpointed as the centre point of Yorkshire. However a similar computer program used four years previous selected Cattal as the geographical centre. To make things complicated further a third village
Barkston Ash
Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It was formerly known as Barkston in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
History
The village dates back to at least 1090, when it was spelled Barcestone. No ...
also claim the honour of being the middle point in Yorkshire as they claim the Ash tree in the village is the midpoint.
The mystery remains but The Victoria pub in Cattal use the idea that Cattal is the centre of Yorkshire to claim that they are the most central pub in Yorkshire.
Cattal Bridge
Cattal bridge is a grade two listed structure which carries Tadcaster road over the River Nidd; the bridge was listed 30 September 1985. It is one of the few crossings over the River Nidd on which Cattal is located. The bridge dates either from the 18th century or around 1800 and was built on the site of a Roman river crossing. The bridge underwent a £78,000 repair project in 2011, during which careful measures were taken to maintain the original character and shape of the bridge. The banks surrounding it are covered in Himalayan Balsam.
Flooding
Due to the village's proximity to the River Nidd it has a recent history of flooding during extreme weather. Flooding has occurred in the village most recently in 2012 with houses located near the banks of the river put on alert by the environmental agency. During the flooding in 2012 one man had to be rescued from his car near to the Cattal Bridge after the flood waters reached in depth. Also during the floods two donkeys were rescued from a field in Cattal after becoming stranded after the river burst its banks. A specialist team travelled across the North of England for the rescue.
New village
In early 2019, Oakgate Homes submitted an application to
Harrogate Borough Council to build a new village just north of Cattal clustered around railway station. The 4,000 home village would include two primary schools and a doctor's surgery and would be entitled ''Maltkiln'' village. Work would also be undertaken on the adjacent
A59 to remove crossroads in favour of roundabouts.
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in North Yorkshire
Civil parishes in North Yorkshire