Beamsley 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 authorit ...

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 just within the boundary of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the 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 rising from the Vale of York w ...

National Park, and about six miles east 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 Ai ...

and two miles north of Addingham. The village lies immediately south of the A59 road and on the eastern 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. ...

. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 149, reducing to 139 at the 2011 Census. The parish is bordered by

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

to the south. The former Beamsley Methodist Church has been carefully modified, by the Beamsley Project Charitable Trust, to become a self-catering holiday centre for people with disabilities. The quiet roads around Beamsley make it a popular destination with cyclists with the Tour de France Grand Depart 2014 passing through the local area close to Beamsley. On the other side of the A59 to Beamsley village is the site of Beamsley Hospital. This building was noted for its odd design of seven rooms radiating out from a central area. This meant that to go to a room you had to pass through a chapel which was an encouragement to prayer. The Hospital is now managed by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

as self-catering accommodation. Beamsley Beacon (also known as Howber Hill) is east of the village and rises to above sea level. The Beacon is notable for its stone cairns, one of which is supposedly there to mark the burial site of a chieftain from the

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 prin ...

. Stones on the beacon were also used to construct a guard hut during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. JMW Turner painted a shooting party on Beamsley Beacon in 1816. In 2015, a memorial was unveiled to the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

aircrew who died when their

Lancaster Bomber The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling ...

crashed into the beacon. Four of the crew died and four survived. The bomber was flying out of

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

when it crashed in fog around midday on 5 November 1945. Although small, Base 3 Systems, an analytics consultancy and N.Peal, a luxury cashmere designer, have head offices in the village.

Notable residents

Christopher Clapham Christopher Clapham (1608–1686) of Beamsley near Skipton in Yorkshire, England, was a politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons in 1659 and 1660. Origins Clapham was the eldest son of George Clapham (d.1629) o ...

(1608–1686), MP

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Wharfedale Craven District