Greenhow

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Greenhow
Yorkshire
West Riding
Greenhow village 2003.jpg
Greenhow
Location
Grid reference: SE112641
Data
Post town: Harrogate
Postcode: HG3
Dialling code: 01423
Local Government
Council: North Yorkshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Skipton and Ripon

Greenhow, often known as Greenhow Hill. is a hill-set village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The term how derives from the Old Norse word haugr meaning a hill and a mound,[1] so Greenhow literally means 'Green's hill or mound'.[2]

The village stands about three miles Pateley Bridge on the road heading towards Grassington.

This is one of the highest villages in Yorkshire, at an altitude of between 1,300 feet and 1,380 feet, and one of the few villages in the United Kingdom standing at over 1,300 feet.[3]

History

Greenhow is an old mining village that was a major supplier of lead. Sir Stephen Proctor bought the Manor of Bewerley, including the mineral rights in 1597. He was also responsible, as part of a settlement with John Armitage over disputed land, for the founding of the actual village of Greenhow.[4] Before ths, the only settlement recorded on the Hill itself was Kell House, where monks of Fountains Abbey lived while guarding the abbey's lead interests.[5]

In 1613, an agreement sought to protect the Greenhow miners' rights: "…there may be cottages erected for the miners and mineral workmen upon the said waste … and also for the keeping of draught oxen and horses for the maintenance of the mines, always leaving the tenants sufficient common".[5]

Joseph Kipling, the grandfather of Rudyard Kipling was the minister at the Methodist Chapel at Greenhow and Rudyard himself is known to have visited the village.[6] There is a 'Kiplings Cottage' next door to the 'Miners Arms', but it is not known whether his grandfather actually lived there.

The church in the village (St Mary's) is reputedly the highest parish church in Church of England still in use, though services are now only fortnightly on Sunday evenings plus major feast times.[7][8]

Coldstones Quarry

To the east of the village is Coldstones Quarry, operated by Hanson. The quarry is unusual in that it is located on high ground and is not easy to observe from above like most other quarries in the Yorkshire Dales.[9] The quarry produces 600,000 tons of limestone aggregate a year, with most being used in Yorkshire.[10] Small amounts of fluorspar are also won from the limestone which is sent to Derbyshire for processing.[11] A large public artwork, The Coldstones Cut, has been created by the artist Andrew Sabin, and was opened in 2010.[12]

Greenhow Hill climb

A section of the B6265 road which runs between Pateley Bridge and Grassington through the village of Greenhow has a very steep descent into Pateley Bridge from Greenhow (between 16 and 19%) and has been the cause of many accidents, especially for cyclists.[13] This stretch of road is very popular with cyclists; it was part of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire and is part of the Way of the Roses bike trail.[14][15]

Pictures

Outside links

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("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Greenhow)

References

  1. "Standard English words which have a Scandinavian Etymology". http://www.viking.no/e/england/e-viking_words_2.htm#H. 
  2. Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 204 ISBN 0198691033
  3. "Welcome to Greenhow". http://www.greenhow-hill.org.uk/. 
  4. Jennings, Ed Bernard (1983). A History of Nidderdale. p. 152. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Jennings, Ed Bernard (1983). A History of Nidderdale. p. 153. 
  6. Kipling, Rudyard. "Template:Sourcetext". Life's Handicap. 
  7. "Greenhow Hill: St Mary, Pateley Bridge". achurchnearyou.com. https://www.achurchnearyou.com/greenhow-hill-st-mary/. 
  8. "St Mary's, Greenhow Hill". thechurchinthedale.com. http://www.thechurchinthedale.com/our-churches/the-united-parish-of-upper-nidderdale/the-churches-of-upper-nidderdale/st-marys-greenhow-hill-8944.php. 
  9. "Coldstones Quarry". http://www.yorkshire-dales.com/coldstones-quarry.html. 
  10. "Coldstones quarry community page". http://www.hanson-communities.co.uk/en/sites/coldstones-quarry-community-page. 
  11. "Mineral resource information in support of national, regional and local planning; North Yorkshire" (PDF). 2006. p. 22. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/directDownload.cfm?id=2628&noexcl=true&t=Mineral%20Resource%20report%20for%20North%20Yorkshire%20%28compr. 
  12. "The Coldstones Cut". http://thecoldstonescut.org/. 
  13. Minting, Stuart (12 July 2015). "Cyclist dies after hitting stone wall near Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire". The Northern Echo. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/13408352.Cyclist_dies_after_hitting_stone_wall_near_Pateley_Bridge__North_Yorkshire/. 
  14. "Tour de Yorkshire 2016: Crowd numbers 'phenomenal'". BBC News. 1 May 2016. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36161788. 
  15. "Greenhow Hill Descent, Pateley Bridge" (PDF). wayoftheroses.info. http://wayoftheroses.info/uploads/library/Greenhow-Hill.pdf.