Kilnsey is a small village 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 is ...
,
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 lies on the
B6160 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 ...
, between the villages of
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 Wharfedale ...
and
Kettlewell
Kettlewell is a village in Upper Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies north of Grassington, at the point where Wharfedale is joined by a minor road (Cam Gill Road) which leads north ...
, near
Arncliffe and just across 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.
...
from
Conistone
Conistone is a small village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of Grassington, south of Kettlewell and north of Skipton beside the River Wharfe, in Upper Wharfedale.
History
Conistone is mentioned in the D ...
. The village is north 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 Air ...
and south of Kettlewell.
History
The village is 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 manusc ...
as ''Chilsie'' when it was described as waste. Soon after the Domesday Book had been completed, the lands in and around Kilnsey were given to Edulf de Culnese. The derivation of the name is believed to come from ''Kyle'' and ''Ea'', which means ''the chilly stream''.
The most notable feature of Kilnsey is a large
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 ...
cliff called ''Kilnsey Crag'', overlooking the road and 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.
...
from the west. The crag is around 170 feet high, with an overhang of 40 feet. It was painted by
J. M. W. Turner in 1816. The crag contains several of Britain's most extreme
sport climbing
Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...
routes, such as ''Northern Lights'' , and ''North Star'' , by
Steve McClure
Steve McClure (born 25 July 1970) is a British rock climber and climbing author, who is widely regarded as Britain's leading and most important sport climber for a period that extends for over two decades, starting from the late 1990s. In 2017, h ...
.
West from Kilnsey towards
Malham Tarn
Malham Tarn is a glacial lake near the village of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, England. The lake is one of only eight upland alkaline lakes in Europe. At an altitude of above sea level it is the highest marl lake in the United Kingdom. Its ...
runs the historic
Mastiles Lane
Mastiles Lane, near Malham and Kilnsey in North Yorkshire, was a Roman marching road and later an important route for the Cistercian monks leading sheep from Fountains Abbey to summer pasture on higher ground. Also known as the Old Monks' Road, ...
, a Roman marching road, later an important route for monks leading sheep from
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 ...
to summer pasture on higher ground. This is now a Dales walking track.
The village of Kilnsey is a small collection of stone-built
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 ...
cottages, many dating back to the 1600s. The Old Hall in the village is believed to have been a medieval administrative site for the monks of Fountains Abbey who farmed flocks of sheep in the area. Most of the present building dates from 1648.
Kilnsey Park is a visitor attraction and fishing lake that was established in 1978 by the
Roberts family. The park offers attractions including
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, a nature trail and farm animals. There is also a working fish farm, smokehouse, and cafe.
Kilnsey has one pub, the Tennant Arms, named after the Tennant family of Chapel House (on the site of an ancient chapel belonging to Kilnsey Grange, a possession of
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 ...
) which owned the Kilnsey Estate from 1572 to 1911.
Each autumn the village hosts Kilnsey Show, one of the largest one-day agricultural shows in the country. The show was officially established in 1897 and regularly attracts over 12,000 visitors, though records dating back to the mid-1800s tell of harness racing and the fell race having been run for most of that century. The timing of the show has been linked as possibly tying in with the saint's day for
St Mary's Church in nearby
Conistone
Conistone is a small village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of Grassington, south of Kettlewell and north of Skipton beside the River Wharfe, in Upper Wharfedale.
History
Conistone is mentioned in the D ...
. One of the highlights is the Kilnsey Crag Race, a distance of and a climb of which dashes up and down the side of the crag.
On 5 July 2014, the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.
Old Nan
Old Nan was allegedly a witch living under Kilnsey Crag and well known locally.
[Pontefract, E. & Hartley, M. ''Wharfedale'' (Reprint 1943) Dent & Sons] She was known as far as
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 Air ...
, where she had a stand in the market.
[
]
Gallery
Image:Kilnsey Crag.jpg, Kilnsey Crag
Image:Old_Hall,_1658,_Kilnsey.jpg, Old Hall
Image:Distant_view_of_Kilnsey_from_Dalesway,_NE.jpg, Kilnsey Crag above River Wharfe, across Wharfedale
Image:Kilnsey, looking towards the crag and the Tennant Arms pub.jpg, Kilnsey
References
Sources
*
External links
Mastiles Lane and Malham Tarn Walk
Kilnsey Old Hall
Tennant Arms
Kilnsey Park trout farm
Kilnsey show
Kilnsey show images
*
{{authority control
Villages in North Yorkshire
Wharfedale
Climbing areas of England