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Hebden ( ) 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
Craven District Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England centred on the market town of Skipton. In 1974, Craven District was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton Rural District, al ...
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, and one of four villages in the
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of Linton. It lies near
Grimwith Reservoir Grimwith Reservoir is located in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It was originally built by the Bradford Corporation as one of eleven reservoirs in the Yorkshire Dales to supply fresh water to Bradford. It is the largest reserv ...
and
Grassington Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is situated in Wharfedal ...
, in
Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It i ...
in the
Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the 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 rising from the Vale of York w ...
National Park. In 2011 it had a population of 246. Hebden has a church, a hotel and public house, a tea room, a community hall, and is served by buses. Until 1983 it had a
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
. Hebden straddles a cross roads. The east–west
B6265 road New B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in ...
connects it with Grassington to the west, and from there south to the
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
of
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Ai ...
, from Hebden. To the east, the road crosses a bridge over Hebden Gill, built in 1827, and thence over the watershed to
Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales an ...
in
Nidderdale Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then ...
, distant. Main Street, the village high street, continues south as Mill Lane, towards the bank of the
River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...
and the villages of Hartlington and Burnsall, the latter being just over away. The road to the north runs to the small hamlet of Hole Bottom, from there continuing as a track onto Grassington Moor. The layout of the village largely originates from
manorial Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...
times, but during the 19th century the village grew to become a substantial industrial community with
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
and a
textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
as the main sources of employment. Since then it has reverted to a rural community, and is a focal point for walkers and cyclists wishing to enjoy the local countryside.


History

The name ''Hebden'' may be derived from either ''heope'',
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 ...
for a rose-hip or ''heopa'', Old English for a bramble, and ''dene'', Old English for a valley, or from the Scandinavian ''Hebban'', a topographical description of a ridge forming an elevated site above a small valley. Two
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 prin ...
stone circles A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The b ...
and remnants of huts on the moors above the village show that the area has been settled since earliest times, Joy (2002), pp. 14–15. and a hoard of 33 silver dinari dating from 30 to 170 AD found in a local field indicates that the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
had a presence. The hoard is now on display at the
Craven Museum & Gallery Craven Museum & Gallery is a museum located in the town of Skipton, North Yorkshire, England in Skipton Town Hall. The museum holds a collection of local artefacts that depict life in Craven from the prehistoric times to the modern day. In J ...
. 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 mostl ...
or
Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
settlement has been tentatively identified on the banks of Gate Up Gill on the moors to the north-west of the village. Place names such as ''Scale Haw'' indicate the Norse left their influence.Joy (2002), p. 16. There is no documentary record of the area until a mention 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, in which the settlement was referred to as ''Hebedene'' held by Osbern d'Arques, of Thorpe Arch. At the time of the Conquest the land was held by ''Dreng'', which is a Nordic name. During
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
times, an important east–west
droving Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding. Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs—has a very long history in the Old World. An owner might entrust an agent to de ...
route used to move sheep between winter pastures around
Fountains Abbey Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 40 ...
and summer pastures around
Malham Malham is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Before 20th century boundary changes, the village was part of the Settle Rural District, in the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. In the ''Domesday Book' ...
, crossed the Hebden Beck at Hebden.Raistrick (1976), p. 5. It broadly followed the line of the North
Craven Fault The Craven Fault System is the name applied by geologists to the group of crustal faults in the Pennines that form the southern edge of the Askrigg Block and which partly bounds the Craven Basin. Sections of the system's component faults whic ...
avoiding the moorland
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
bogs, and became a busy packhorse route for traders.Joy (2002), pp. 7,20–21. Although no property in the village is older than the early 17th century, its layout reflects its development in medieval times as a planned village. Eight toft compartments are discernible to the west of Main Street, and the outline of the four surrounding common fields, now divided, may be identified from the pattern of dry stone walls. The fields were largely arable, providing the village with most of its food requirements, but are now farmed exclusively for pasture and hay. The village manor house was on land now occupied by Hebden Hall at the south end of Main Street.Joy (2002), pp. 18–26. The moors to the north-west of the village were enclosed in 1857. The last stretch of Hebden Beck before it reaches the River Wharfe was used to power a
corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separate ...
in the Middle Ages,Joy (2002), p. 19. and corn milling survived into the middle of the 19th century.Joy (2002), p. 46. In the 14th century Fountains Abbey had a
fulling Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...
mill in the village.Raistrick (1976), p. 15 In 1791 a three-storey textile mill was built a little way above the corn mill. It housed 54 spinning frames and was productive until 1870 when it was driven out of business by the more efficient stream-driven machinery of the
industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. At its peak, the mill employed more than 70 men, women, and children. The building was used for other purposes including a
roller skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...
rink until it was demolished in 1967.Joy (2002), pp. 46–50. Lead mining on Grassington Moor became important in the 18th century, and as a result of the mines' success, a number of the mine owners promoted the provision of the Grassington to Pateley Bridge turnpike road, which was begun in 1760 and provided an all-weather route across the moors for wagons.Raistrick (1973), p. 102.Joy (2002), pp. 38–39. From the early 19th century Hebden was a dormitory village for some miners, contributing to the population rising to more than 500 in the 1830s.Joy (2002), p. 50. In the early 1850s profitable mines were established in the parish to the north of the village on veins associated with Grassington Moor, which helped sustain the population. Although activity continued sporadically into the last decade of the century, the accessible ore was largely exhausted by 1865, and the population declined to a low of 199 in 1901. As the Hebden Trust Lords shared the mineral royalties, the mines brought prosperity which gave rise to the remodelling and redevelopment of much of the village. Green Terrace, which includes the old post office, was built in the 1870s, and Main Street was transformed from a back lane into the high street.Joy (2002), pp. 69–70. The village school, with working
clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...
and bell tower, was built in 1874, and the Methodist Chapel was rebuilt in 1876 to front onto Main Street.Joy (2002), p.70. The stone-built Ibbotson Institute, now the community hall, was completed in 1903.Joy (2002), p. 80. The coming of the
Yorkshire Dales Railway The Yorkshire Dales Railway was a branch line linking the town of Skipton with the villages of Rylstone, Threshfield and Grassington in North Yorkshire, England. There were two stations on the line - Grassington & Threshfield and Rylstone - ...
to
Threshfield Threshfield is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England with a population of 980 residents, reducing to 968 at the 2011 census. It borders Grassington, Linton Falls, and Skirethorns. Nearby villag ...
in 1902 opened up Hebden as a destination for day visitors and holiday makers. p. 112. A purpose-built timber
guest house A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...
was opened in 1909 at the south end of the village by the Co-operative Holiday Association, founded by Thomas Arthur Leonard. It passed into private hands in 1960, and continued as a holiday centre until 1990, mainly catering for school parties.Joy (2002), p. 83. It was demolished in 2016 and replaced with a private residence. The village stores and post office shut at the end of 2013 after 100 years of trading. The gold painted George V Type E wall post box was removed from the outside wall of the post office (now an exhibit in the
Postal Museum A postal museum is a museum dedicated to the display of objects relating to the postal service. A subcategory of postal museums are philatelic museums, which focus on philately and postage stamps. List of postal and philatelic museums Afric ...
), and replaced with a modern gold painted lamp box a few metres away; and the K6 Tudor Crown phone box was decommissioned, and set up at the cross-roads as a street ornament. Although it now has a number of second homes, holiday cottages and commuters, with eight working farms, a fish farm, coach and haulage companies, Hebden remains a working and thriving community.


Governance

Hebden was a
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, C ...
in the parish of Linton, part of the east division of 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, ...
of Staincliffe and Ewcross in the historic county of 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 ...
. It became a separate civil parish in
Skipton Rural District Skipton was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after Skipton, which constituted an urban district on its southern border. The district was expanded in 1937 by taking in the parishes of Steeton wit ...
in 1866 as a result of the enactment of the
Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little . In 1974 it was transferred to
Craven District Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England centred on the market town of Skipton. In 1974, Craven District was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton Rural District, al ...
in North Yorkshire as the result of the enactment of the Local Government Act 1972. Hebden lies in the Skipton and Ripon Parliamentary Constituency, a seat held by Julian Smith MP for the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
; and in the Wharfedale division of
North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire; an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England. The council currently consists of 90 councillors. The council is current ...
, represented by Conservative party member, Richard Foster. Hebden is in the Grassington
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of Craven District, a
non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...
, which is represented by Richard Foster for the Conservative party. As it is located within the
Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designa ...
, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is the
local planning authority A local planning authority (LPA) is the local government body that is empowered by law to exercise urban planning functions for a particular area. They exist in the United Kingdom and India. United Kingdom Mineral planning authorities The role ...
for the area. Hebden has a parish council with five independent members supported by a parish clerk. Elections are held every four years, the most recent in 2022. Council meetings are held every six weeks. The parish council's activities are largely funded by income from parish lands in the form of rent, grants, and easements.


Geography

The south-east boundary of Hebden parish is the
River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...
, above sea level, and the north-east boundary runs along the Wharfedale-Nidderdale watershed, reaching a height of . The upper section of the eastern boundary is Gate Up Gill, one of the main inflows of
Grimwith Reservoir Grimwith Reservoir is located in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It was originally built by the Bradford Corporation as one of eleven reservoirs in the Yorkshire Dales to supply fresh water to Bradford. It is the largest reserv ...
. The parish approximates a parallelogram in shape, averaging under in width and some in length. To the north, the land rises away from Hebden to the summit of
Great Whernside Great Whernside is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England, not to be confused with Whernside, some to the west. Its summit is the highest point of the eastern flank of Wharfedale above Kettlewell. Great Whernside forms the watershed between ...
, some distant. The habitations and main farming areas are largely confined to the Wharfe valley, and the rest of the parish is mainly rough moorland pasture. The village is on one of several branches of the North Craven Fault where Hebden Beck emerges from the moors through a steep-sided valley into the Wharfe valley, on an ancient east–west route. Hebden Beck rises on Grassington Moor some from the village, but the main valley continues north as a
dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ...
, until it reaches
Mossdale Caverns Mossdale Caverns is a cave system in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is about north of Grassington, and east of Conistone, where Mossdale Beck sinks at the base of Mossdale Scar. It lies at an altitude of on the eastern flank of Wharfedale, ...
and the upper flanks of Great Whernside. The geology is dominated by rocks Carboniferous in age but, as the parish straddles a complex section of the North Craven Fault, it is varied. To the north-east of the village the rocks are predominantly Bowland
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
s and shales, and to the south-east are largely massive
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
s. The River Wharfe runs across the limestone, through an impressive gorge at Loup Scar. The
mineral vein In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation. The hydraulic flow involved ...
s of the Bowland series have been exploited for lead ore.


Population change

Note that the population figure for 1921 was distorted by 65 visitors staying at the CHA Guest House, and that for 1939 by over 40 people staying at the CHA Guest House and by evacuee children billeted in the village.


Landmarks

Hebden is a centre for walking and cycling in Upper Wharfedale. It has an
inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
, and a tea room catering for visitors, and within walking distance are the Dales villages of
Appletreewick Appletreewick is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Skipton, from Skipton railway station and from Leeds Bradford International Airport. Appletreewick is in Wharfedale in the Yorkshi ...
, Burnsall, Thorpe, Linton and
Grassington Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is situated in Wharfedal ...
. A gold post box near the old post office commemorates the 2012 Olympic Games rowing gold medal won by
Andrew Triggs Hodge Andrew Triggs Hodge (born 3 March 1979) is a British former rower - a three time Olympic champion and four time world champion. In the British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2021. Education Born in Hal ...
, who grew up in the village. Grimwith Reservoir, used for
wind surfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing g ...
,
dinghy sailing Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls: * the sails * the foils (i.e. the daggerboard or centreboard and rudder and sometimes lifting foils as found on the Moth) * the trim (forward/rear angle o ...
, and
bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
, is to the east along the B6265, and further is Stump Cross Caverns – a show cave. The Dales Cycle Way passes through Hebden on its way from Appletreewick to Grassington. Because of its proximity to the Craven Fault, the scenery is varied. The
Dales Way The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'lead ...
passes through the parish along the banks of the
River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...
between Burnsall and Grassington, mainly through limestone pastures but occasionally, as at Loup Scar and Linton Falls, through limestone gorges and past waterfalls. It crosses the Wharfe at Hebden on a wrapped steel-cable suspension bridge, a few yards upstream of the reconstructed course of medieval
stepping stones Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form an improvised causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse such as a river; or a water feature in a garden where water is allowed to flow between stone steps. U ...
. The bridge was built in 1885 by local
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
William Bell, and paid for by public subscription. Made of recycled materials, it originally had a central supporting pier (the base of which can be seen in low water conditions), that was removed when the span was raised in 1937 after being damaged in a heavy flood. The bridge has been conserved and is a landmark on the river-side path.Joy (2002), pp. 77–78. Hebden Beck flows down from Grassington Moor, which is dominated by the long-abandoned remains of the lead mining industry, through a rugged and wooded gill, past the hamlet of Hole Bottom, made famous by William Riley's novel ''Jerry and Ben'', and then over the Scala Falls. A popular walk is an circuit up to Grassington Moor, and thence to Grassington, returning along the River Wharfe. South of Hebden, the edge of the limestone is heralded by a number of text-book examples of
reef knoll A reef knoll is a land-based landform that comprises an immense pile of calcareous material that accumulated on a previously existing ancient sea floor. At the time of its accumulation it may have had enough structure from organisms such as sponges ...
s, including Elbolton Hill, Stebden Hill, and Kail Hill, which are the conical remnants of limestone reef structures. Behind the reef knolls is a large expanse of Grassington Grit
grouse moor Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...
, Thorpe Fell and Burnsall Fell, where walking may be enjoyed – especially around the edges.


Conservation area

In 2006 the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority designated Hebden a conservation area. In the proposal it was stated that: "The special character of Hebden is defined by a historic settlement pattern of great significance together with a collection of important
listed buildings 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 ...
and a group of unlisted buildings which, although essentially
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
and humble in architectural terms, combine well together to create a harmonious and generally high quality environment of buildings, open spaces and tree cover. In addition, the setting is very distinctive with natural topography of surrounding hills and adjacent steep sided valley combining with a man made agricultural landscape of some age and significance in its own right."


Sport

Hebden Sports Day is held annually on August Bank Holiday. Dating back to the nineteenth century, Hebden Sports provides a variety of running races, novelty races, and entertainments for all age groups. It has hosted the professional Hebden Fell Race since at least 1922, which is a regular feature on the British Open Fell Runners Association calendar. The village
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
team, the Hebden Hedgehogs plays in the Underdales League, a league with its own set of idiosyncratic rules.
Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
, football, and crown green bowling facilities are available at Grassington and Threshfield.


Religion

Hebden is part of the
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of Linton in the Skipton deanery of the
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 ...
episcopal area An episcopal area in the United Methodist Church (UMC) is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is similar to a diocese in other Christian denominations. Each annual conference in the UMC is wi ...
of the Diocese of Leeds. Its church was built as a chapel of ease to St Michael and All Angels Church in Linton in 1841 at a cost of £760, and dedicated to St Peter.Joy (2002) p. 64. Until then, parishioners attended church in Linton a distance of some using the church path across fields to stepping stones crossing the Wharfe. St Peter's Church was built on land donated by the Rev Henry Bailey, and was designed by the curate, the Rev. John Pearson Fearon, in the Gothic Revival style. It is a Grade II
listed 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 ...
. Its pipe organ was built by
Harrison & Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the ...
of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and was dedicated in 1894. It was refurbished in 2010 by A. Carter of
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
, and has been granted a Grade II Historic Organ Certificate. The churchyard contains one Commonwealth war grave, that of a Royal Auxiliary Air Force airman of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. Regular services were suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, and there are no current plans to resume them. The
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
church, originally built in 1812 and rebuilt in 1876, was part of the Skipton and Grassington
Methodist Circuit The organisation of the Methodist Church of Great Britain is based on the principle of connexionalism. This means that British Methodism, from its inception under John Wesley (1703–1791), has always laid strong emphasis on mutual support, in ...
but closed in October 2016 with its membership transferring to Grassington Methodist Church. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was built in Chapel Lane in 1838, but this was replaced by housing in about 1930.


Public services and transport

Local medical facilities are provided by the medical centre in Grassington, and hospital facilities are provided by the Airedale NHS Trust at Airedale General Hospital in Steeton, some away. Ambulance services are provided by the
Yorkshire Ambulance Service Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) is the NHS ambulance service covering most of Yorkshire in England. It is one of ten NHS Ambulance Trusts providing England with emergency medical services as part of the National Health Service it r ...
NHS Trust, who have an ambulance station in Grassington. Fire fighting services are provided by
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the seven districts of administrative county of North Yorkshire: Craven, Harrogate, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby; as well ...
s, who maintain a retained fire station in Grassington, and
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
and
mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...
services are provided by the
Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association The Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association is based in Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales of northern England, and provides help to people and animals in difficulty in the caves and on the fells around Wharfedale, Nidderdale, Littondale and Aire ...
, based in Grassington. Police Services are provided by the
North Yorkshire Police North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the unitary authority of York in northern England. As of September 2018 the force had a strength of 1,357 police officers, 127 ...
. The nearest manned police station is in Skipton, but there is a team of officers based in Grassington. Regional television services are provided by
BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshire a ...
and
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
.
Cable Internet access In telecommunications, cable Internet access, shortened to cable Internet, is a form of broadband Internet access which uses the same infrastructure as a cable television. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable In ...
is not available in the village, but FFTC broadband is available from Openreach. Electricity distribution is the responsibility of Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire), which is wholly owned by
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Berkshire Hathaway Energy (previously known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company until 2014) is a holding company that is 92% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire has owned a controlling stake since 1999. The company also controls power dist ...
. There is no domestic gas mains supply. Water is supplied by
Yorkshire Water Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its ...
from Embsay Reservoir. Yorkshire Water is responsible for
wastewater Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial ...
disposal, and a small-scale treatment plant is located adjacent to the River Wharfe south of Hebden Beck. Refuse collection is handled by Craven District Council, and North Yorkshire County Council provides a household waste and
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
centre at Skibeden, between
Bolton Abbey Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian monastery now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by King He ...
and Skipton. The village is served by a minibus service to
Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...
via Grassington three times a week. The nearest railway station is in
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Ai ...
, with services to
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 ...
, Bradford, Carlisle, and
Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...
, and the nearest international airport is Leeds Bradford Airport.


References


Notes


Sources

* * *


External links


Hebden village website

Hebden Parish Historical Data
including complete 1841–1911 census and 1939 Register transcripts, cemetery memorials, etc.
Website devoted to Hebden Horse Level
a lead mine adit located within the village. {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Craven District Wharfedale