Buckden 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. Historically part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, Buckden is situated in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

National Park, and on the east 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. ...

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated at source in North Yorkshire and then flows into West Yorkshire and forms the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) includ ...

. The civil parish includes the hamlet of

Cray Cray Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is an American supercomputer manufacturer headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It also manufactures systems for data storage and analytics. Several Cray supercomputer systems are listed ...

and the whole of

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 ...

. According to the 2011 Census the parish had a population of 187.

History

The etymology of the name derives from the Old English words of ''bucca'' and ''denu'' meaning ''he-goat'' and ''valley'' respectively. A bridge at Buckden was destroyed in a flood in 1748. A later and present bridge is known as 'Election Bridge', as a prospective MP made the promise of a replacement bridge an electoral pledge. On 5 July 2014, the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.

Geography

The village of Buckden is situated where Buckden Gill, which rises on

Buckden Pike Buckden Pike is a fell at the head of Wharfedale, a valley in the Yorkshire Dales, that stands above the village of Buckden, North Yorkshire, Buckden, England. At , it narrowly misses out on being the highest peak in the area, the title instead ...

, joins the River Wharfe. Along the Gill is a disused lead mine, Buckden Gavel Mine, which has been designated an ancient monument. Where Langstrothdale joins Wharfedale is the village of

Hubberholme Hubberholme is an old village in Upper Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England, at the point where Langstrothdale meets Wharfedale. It is quite secluded and the nearest village is Buckden. The village was a favourite place ...

, which contains a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

church and inn. The

Dales Way The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'lea ...

passes close to the village, on the opposite bank of the Wharfe. A footpath leads north-east from the village to the top of Buckden Pike, and another south-west to Litton, above Arncliffe, in

Littondale Littondale is a Dale (landform), dale in the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. It comprises the main settlements of Hawkswick, Arncliffe, North Yorkshire, Arncliffe, Litton, North Yorkshire, Litton, Foxup and Halton Gill, and f ...

. Buckden has a village shop, a residential outdoor education centre and a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, the Buck Inn.

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...

, the former Labour

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

(1974–1979), stated that he spent his honeymoon in a converted stable next to the Buck Inn.

Demographics

2001 Census

The population according to the 2011 census was 187 of which 54.3% were male and 45.7 female. There were 81% of the population who stated they were Christian, with the rest declaring no religion or not stating one. The entire population described their ethnicity as White/British. There were 125 dwellings listed within the parish boundary.

2011 Census

The population according to the 2011 census was 187 of which 51.3% were male and 48.7 female. There were 69.5% of the population who stated they were Christian, with the rest declaring no religion or not stating one. The entire population described their ethnicity as White/British. There were 135 dwellings listed within the parish boundary.

Governance

Buckden was historically a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the

ancient 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Arncliffe, part of

Staincliffe Wapentake Staincliffe, also known as Staincliff, was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The wapentake was named from a place called Staincliffe, now lost, in Bank Newton, not to be confused with Staincliffe near Dewsbury. Staincliff ...

in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Buckden became a separate civil parish in 1866. Buckden was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire in 1974. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Craven, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

. The parish lies within the Skipton and Ripon UK Parliament constituency. It also lies within the Mid Craven electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Upper Wharfedale ward of Craven District Council.

Religion

The Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels is located in the nearby hamlet of

. It is a Grade II listed building built in the 12th century with rebuilding work done from the 16th Century onwards.

Location grid

References

External links

Buckden Parish Community Web-site
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Wharfedale Craven District