Galphay (traditionally pronounced �gɔ:fə) is a village in

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 in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is a lower dales village, some west of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

and close to the larger village of Kirkby Malzeard. A large central green is used for village events and has a flagstaff, village seat and a number of trees. The pub, ''The Galphay Inn'' is open Tuesdays to Sundays. The village has no church, shops or other public buildings and the Red Phone Box is also under threat of closure. The name is derived from the

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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''galga'' 'gallows' and ''haga'' 'enclosure', and thus means 'gallows enclosure'. The earliest documentation about Galphay records that it was owned by Fountains Abbey in 1189. Galphay now has around 60 houses, with a population of about 200. In the last 100 years, a village school was opened; and subsequently closed. The same fate awaited the Methodist Chapel, which is now a private house. A 'Village Institute', which was established after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, is still in existence; housed in wooden structure originally used to house troops in training camp. Galphay was historically a hamlet in the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Azerley Azerley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate (borough), Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about north-west of Ripon. The civil parish includes the larger village of Galphay, and also the village of Mickley. The ...

in the large

ancient 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. ...

of Kirkby Malzeard in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

.The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, 1868, cited at It became part of the civil parish of Azerley in 1866, and has now grown larger than the village of Azerley. In 1974 it was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire.

References

External links

Galphay Village WebsiteAzerley Parish Council website

- text of a talk given to Galphay

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

in 1959
Robert Welles of Galphay c.1516-1584/5 and others, with associated Vyner Deeds
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire