Yockenthwaite is a hamlet 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 lies in the

Langstrothdale Langstrothdale is a scenic valley in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. The uppermost course of the River Wharfe runs through it, but Wharfedale does not begin until the Wharfe meets Cray Gill, downstream of Hubberholme. The name ...

valley in the

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 ...

National Park.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part 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 ...

, Yockenthwaite 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

Hawes Hawes is a market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a touri ...

. The name of the hamlet is said to derive from ''Eoghan's clearing in a wood''. Yockenthwaite lies on the north 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. ...

. It is better known than may be expected because a children's television character from '' The Rottentrolls'' takes its name from the hamlet. The hamlet is connected to the road that winds up and down Langstrothdale by 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 ...

bridge from the early 18th century. This is the only route into and out of the hamlet via road transport.

Yockenthwaite stone circle

Just to the west of the village by Yockenthwaite Cave, are some ancient stones arranged in a circle. The stones, which are now a scheduled monument, are in diameter and believed to be

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 pri ...

in origin. The overall size and layout of the stones gave rise to the nickname of the ''Giant's Grave''. Some of the stones have been taken and re-used for drystone walls and buildings. Speight refers to the site as a "druid's circle" and whilst it has been described as a stone circle, it is believed to be a

ring cairn A ring cairn (also correctly termed a ring bank enclosure, but sometimes wrongly described as a ring barrow) is a circular or slightly oval, ring-shaped, low (maximum 0.5 metres high) embankment, several metres wide and from 8 to 20 metres in ...

. Whilst 23 stones remain extant, there are spaces for three to four more stones in the circle, which have been removed.

References

External links

Hamlets in North Yorkshire Wharfedale {{craven-geo-stub