Claro was a

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 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was split into two divisions. The Upper Division included the

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 o ...

es of Farnham, Fewston,

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 o ...

Kirkby Malzeard Kirkby Malzeard () is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. There has been a creamery in the village making Wensleydale cheese for almost 100 years, first owned by Mrs Mason, then Kit Calvert, of Hawes ...

and

Pannal Pannal is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated to the immediate south of Harrogate. Since 2016 it has formed part of the new civil parish of Panna ...

and parts of Aldborough,

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...

, Little Ouseburn, Ripley,

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 ...

Wetherby Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...

and

Whixley Whixley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near the A1(M) motorway and west of York. The ancient village of Whixley lies on Rudgate, the old Roman road along which the Roman “Hispania” ...

, many of which formed exclaves. The Lower Division included the parishes of Allerton Mauleverer, Goldsborough, Hunsingore,

Kirk Deighton Kirk Deighton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated north-west of Wetherby, to which it is contiguous, and near the A1(M). The village was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Wethe ...

Kirkby Overblow Kirkby Overblow is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Wetherby and Harrogate and lies to the west of Sicklinghall and the east of Leeds Bradford International Airport. It ...

, Leathley, Spofforth with Stockeld,

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

and parts of Addingham, Aldborough, Harewood,

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 ...

Kirk Hammerton Kirk Hammerton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Nidd and the A59 road, west of York. The village suffix refers to the ''Hamerton'' family who owned the land until the ...

, Otley, Ripley and Whixley. At the time of 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 ...

the wapentake was known as Burghshire, named from its meeting place at Aldborough. In the 12th century the name was changed to Claro, from Claro Hill near Coneythorpe, presumably its meeting place. Claro wapentake is exceptional because it is one of the few hundreds or wapentakes to have divisions with exclaves. The historic reasons for the situation are obscure but are likely based on patterns of settlement and transportation. The area of the wapentake now falls almost entirely within the district of Harrogate in

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 ...

References

Wapentakes of the West Riding of Yorkshire Borough of Harrogate History of North Yorkshire {{NorthYorkshire-geo-stub