Darley is a linear village 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 ...

in the

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. The population as at the 2011 Census is 1,332 and is included in the civil parish of Darley and Menwith. The village extends for 1 mile east from a junction with the B6451 road. The western end of the village is known as Darley Head and the eastern end as The Holme. Darley has won many local and national '

Britain in Bloom Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

' awards.

Amenities

Darley has two churches, Christ Church (Anglican) and Darley Methodist Church. There are three community halls (Darley Memorial Hall, Christ Church Community Centre and Hookstone Memorial Hall), a playing field, and a combined village store and post office that became a locally run concern in 2016. At the western end of the village is the Darley Mill Centre, a mill shop and restaurant in a

grade II listed 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 ...

17th-century

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 separated ...

. It formerly housed a restaurant and retail units, but these closed in 2016 after the business were not deemed viable. Nearby is Darley's only pub, the Wellington Inn. Darley used to have a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Nidd Valley Railway The Nidd Valley Railway was a long single-track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Ripley Junction, on the Harrogate to Ripon Line, to ...

, but this was closed in 1951. The village is served by hourly buses of

Harrogate Bus Company The Harrogate Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire ...

(route 24) between

and

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 and ...

Civil parish

Darley is the only village in the

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 authority ...

of Darley and Menwith, until 2013 known as Menwith with Darley. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1,332. Apart from the village, the parish consists of scattered farms and houses to the south west of the village, and includes the northern part of

RAF Menwith Hill Royal Air Force Menwith Hill is a Royal Air Force station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and the United States. The site contains an extensive sate ...

. There is no settlement of Menwith, although the name was first recorded in 1230. Menwith 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 ...

''mǣne'' "common" and the

Old 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 ...

''viðr'' "wood", and refers to the "common wood" of Darley. The parish of Menwith with Darley was historically a township in the parish of

Hampsthwaite Hampsthwaite is a large village and civil parish in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Nidd north west of Harrogate. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1, ...

, 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 ...

. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. It was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire in 1974.

References

External links

Village websiteDarley Christ ChurchDarley Mill - a restored watermill in the villageDays out North Yorkshire
* {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Nidderdale