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Cowthorpe is a village in the
Cowthorpe was the home of an enormous tree, the Cowthorpe Oak. Its circumference was ; its principal limb (which was propped) extended from the bole. The tree was decaying by the 19th century; tradition speaks of its being in decay for many generations. "Compared with this," says Dr. Hunter, in Evelyn's Silva, "all other trees are children of the Forest." According to an early history of Knaresborough, "The leading branch fell, by a storm, in the year 1718; which, being measured with accuracy, was found to contain five tons and two feet of wood. Before this accidental mutilation, its branches are said to have extended their shade over half an acre of ground; thus constituting, in a single tree, almost a wood itself".
Langdale's ''Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire'' (1822) records that "This venerable oak is decaying fast, the trunk and several of the branches appearing to be completely rotten, except the bark; tradition speaks of its being in decay for many generations. The intermixture of foliage amongst the dead branches, show how sternly this giant struggles for life, and how reluctantly it surrenders to all conquering time". However, the tree was still flourishing in part as late as 1906: it was photographed in that year, and 'the tree asstill in good shape, with a lot of strong branches and foliage, although many of the branches are now propped up...the oak still puts forth leaves and periodically sports a few acorns.'
The tree, which was painted by J. M. W. Turner, finally died in 1950 and there is now little or no trace of it.
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
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. It is situated north of Wetherby
Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...
, east of Harrogate, from 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 from 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 ...
.
History
The name of Cowthorpe comes fromOld Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
and is a combination of a personal name ''Koli'' and ''þorp'' (which means settlement or outlying hamlet).
The village lies on a minor road that connects it with North Deighton (and the A168) to the west and Tockwith
Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when ''Tocvi'' was mentioned in the ''Domesda ...
in the east. It is bordered by the River Nidd
The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...
to the north with bridges crossing the Nidd at either Walshford
Walshford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Great Ribston with Walshford, in the Harrogate district, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. The hamlet is north of Wetherby, north-east of Knaresborough, and south of Boroughbridge.
Hist ...
in the west, or Cattal Bridge in the east.
St Michael's Church
St Michael's Church in the village is a Grade Ilisted building
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 ...
, built by a Brian Roucliffe, and consecrated in 1458. In the choir, on a large flat stone, are the effigies, in brass, of a man and his wife, bearing betwixt them the model of a church, and supposed, from the inscription, likewise in brass, now scarce legible, to be in memory of the Founder and his wife.
The Cowthorpe Oak
Cowthorpe was the home of an enormous tree, the Cowthorpe Oak. Its circumference was ; its principal limb (which was propped) extended from the bole. The tree was decaying by the 19th century; tradition speaks of its being in decay for many generations. "Compared with this," says Dr. Hunter, in Evelyn's Silva, "all other trees are children of the Forest." According to an early history of Knaresborough, "The leading branch fell, by a storm, in the year 1718; which, being measured with accuracy, was found to contain five tons and two feet of wood. Before this accidental mutilation, its branches are said to have extended their shade over half an acre of ground; thus constituting, in a single tree, almost a wood itself".
Langdale's ''Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire'' (1822) records that "This venerable oak is decaying fast, the trunk and several of the branches appearing to be completely rotten, except the bark; tradition speaks of its being in decay for many generations. The intermixture of foliage amongst the dead branches, show how sternly this giant struggles for life, and how reluctantly it surrenders to all conquering time". However, the tree was still flourishing in part as late as 1906: it was photographed in that year, and 'the tree asstill in good shape, with a lot of strong branches and foliage, although many of the branches are now propped up...the oak still puts forth leaves and periodically sports a few acorns.'
The tree, which was painted by J. M. W. Turner, finally died in 1950 and there is now little or no trace of it.
References
External links
* {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire