Malham 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. Before 20th century boundary changes, the village was part of the

Settle Rural District Settle Rural District was an administrative district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The rural district was named after the town of Settle and included the civil parishes of Bentham, Clapham cum Newby, Malham, Settle, Stainforth, Au ...

, in the historic

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 ...

. In 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 name is given as Malgun, meaning "settlement by the gravelly places". In 2001 the parish had a population of approximately 150. Malham parish increased in size geographically (to include Malham Moor) and so at the 2011 Census had a population of 238. Malham lies at the upper end of the valley of the

River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is direct, but the river's meanderings extend that to . Between Malham Tarn and Ai ...

, known above

Airton Airton (also known as Airton-in-Craven) is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, situated north-west of Skipton. The village had a population of 175 according to the 2001 Census, increasing to ...

as Malhamdale, in 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 ...

. The surrounding countryside is well known for its

limestone pavement A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK and Ireland, where many of these landforms have developed dis ...

s and other examples of

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 ...

scenery. Tourist attractions include

Malham Tarn Malham Tarn is a glacial lake near the village of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, England. The lake is one of only eight upland alkaline lakes in Europe. At an altitude of above sea level it is the highest marl lake in the United Kingdom. Its ...

Malham Cove Malham Cove is a large curved limestone formation north of the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. It was formed by a waterfall carrying meltwater from glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age more than 12,000 years ago. Today it is a ...

Gordale Scar Gordale Scar is a limestone ravine northeast of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. It contains two waterfalls and has overhanging limestone cliffs over high. The gorge could have been formed by water from melting glaciers or a cavern collapse. T ...

Janet's Foss Janet's Foss is a small waterfall in the vicinity of the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. It carries Gordale Beck over a limestone outcrop topped by tufa into a deep pool below. The pool was traditionally used for sheep dipping, an ...

and the Dry Valley. In the 1950s the village gave its name to a

Ham class minesweeper The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers (IMS), known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. All of the ships in the class are named for British place nam ...

HMS Malham HMS ''Malham'' was one of 93 ships of the of inshore minesweepers. Their names were all chosen from villages ending in ''-ham''. The minesweeper was named after Malham in North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county ...

Governance

Malham has a joint parish council, Kirkby Malhamdale Parish Council, with the parishes of

Malham Moor Malham Moor is a civil parish in the Craven District, Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Its population was estimated at 70 in 2015. It has a joint Parish councils in England, parish council, Kirkby Malhamdale Parish Council, with ...

Kirkby Malham Kirkby Malham is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Situated in the Yorkshire Dales it lies east of Settle. The population of the civil parish as taken in the 2011 Census (including Hanlith a ...

and

Hanlith Hanlith is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Kirkby Malham and the tourist attraction of Malham Cove. It is about north west of Skipton, and consists of only 13 houses. It ...

Tourism

Malham is a popular walkers' destination. The rise in tourism over Malham's history has led to some deterioration of the area's surrounding paths as tourists wander off the paths and cause pockets of erosion, a process often called "footpath erosion". The footpaths in the area are maintained by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. In the village there is a National Park Information Centre and a large car park. The

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

long-distance path passes through the village. Nearby natural landmarks include

and

. The Malham Show Fell Race course runs over the nearby Cawden. In May 2006, it was reported that a

covert listening device A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, or wiretapping is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and ...

was discovered hidden in the local

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 ...

hall, leaving the villagers baffled. The electronic transmitter was found in a wall socket during a safety inspection at Malham village hall. Part of ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow ...

'' was filmed around the Malham Cove limestone pavement. '' All Creatures Great and Small'' TV series was largely filmed within the Dales, including some scenes shot in and around Malham Lings and at Janet's Foss waterfall on the ''Malham Landscape Trail''.

Climate

Malham has an Oceanic climate, but is generally colder and wetter than most settlements in

Britain 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 ...

. It has a relatively low altitude of around 200 metres, but is partly surrounded by fells. This exposed position means the temperature range is limited, due to little pooling of cold air. Extremes of temperature (since 1960) range from during August 1990, down to during March 2001.

Village events

The village hosts an annual agricultural and horticultural show on the Saturday before the August Bank Holiday. Known as the Malham Show, it has competitions for everything from Lego models to fell running. Another major annual event is the Malham Safari, when the villagers and particularly the local school build sculptures around the village. This event attracts many tourists and stalls are put up on the green.

Places of worship

Malham Methodist Church is located in Chapel Gate and is part of the Skipton and Grassington Circuit of the Methodist Church. St Helen's Chapel was an ancient religious foundation mentioned in monastic charters from the twelfth century. It was demolished during the

reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Archaeological dig In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s at the site have been supported by the Ingleborough Archaeology Group.

Picture gallery

Image:Malham countryside.jpg, Malham is surrounded by stone-walled pastures Image:Ford in Malham.JPG, Ford Image:Malham Beck small bridge.JPG, Small bridge Image:Malham store.JPG, Sweet shop and Post Office Image:Malham Beck bridge.JPG, Malham Beck

References

External links

Village and area web site
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Craven District