Stainforth 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 authority ...

in the Craven 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

Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...

. Nearby there is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

Stainforth Force
where the river falls over

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 ...

ledges into a deep, broad pool which can be accessed by walking a short way from the village. There was a

Youth Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

at Taitlands between 1942 and 2007.

History

(Stainforth Falls, Yorkshire, England) (LOC) (16776938096)

Its name derives from the 'stony ford' which linked two settlements half a mile apart on opposite banks of the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

north of

. Stainforth, on the eastern side, was formerly owned by

Sawley Abbey Sawley Abbey was an abbey of Cistercian monks in the village of Sawley, Lancashire, in England (and historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire). Created as a daughter-house of Newminster Abbey, it existed from 1149 until its dissolution in 1 ...

, whose

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

developed the estate which prospered, while Little Stainforth, under private ownership, declined. In 1595 Edward Darcy received from four trustees acting for the previous owner the manor of Stainforth Underbargh and 20 dwelling houses with lands there. He was

Groom of the Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and was knighted eight years later. In the 1670s, Samuel Watson replaced the

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

by a

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridge ...

whose arch spans a wooded stretch of the river, and a grassy patch leads downstream to Stainforth Force. In Little Stainforth the three-storey Stainforth Hall was built at the same time and is now occupied as a farmhouse.

References

External links

Stainforth Website
Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Ribblesdale {{craven-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links