Grassington
Coordinates: 54°04′16″N 1°59′53″W / 54.071°N 1.998°W
| Grassington | |
 Grassington main street |
|
 Grassington
Grassington shown within North Yorkshire |
|
| Population | 1,390 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SE001639 |
| District | Craven |
| Shire county | North Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SKIPTON |
| Postcode district | BD23 |
| Dialling code | 01756 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Skipton and Ripon |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The town is situated in Wharfedale around 9 miles (14 km) from Bolton Abbey and is surrounded by limestone scenery. Nearby villages include Linton, Threshfield, Hebden, Conistone and Kilnsey.
Although often described by local people as a village, Grassington was granted a Royal Charter for a market and fair in 1282 giving it market town status. The market was held regularly until about 1860. A change in land use from the early 17th century, when lead mining began to assume more importance, brought some prosperity, but Grassington's heyday arrived during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The opening of the Yorkshire Dales Railway to Threshfield in 1901 brought new visitors, many of whom settled, some finding work in Skipton or in the developing limestone quarries.
Today Grassington is the main residential and tourist centre in Upper Wharfedale[citation needed] Centred around its small cobbled square is a selection of shops offering food, clothing and gifts, alongside small cafes, restaurants and hotels.
Grassington Festival [1] is a two-week long annual event encompassing music, performance and visual arts, held in a variety of venues around the village. In 2008 it included acts by Jo Brand, Dara Ó Briain, Clare Teal and Toyah Wilcox.
A Yorkshire Dales National Park information centre is on Hebden Road.
Three miles north of Grassington at Kilnsey is the glacially carved overhang of Kilnsey Crag.
Grass Wood, a large area of ancient woodland including the Iron-Age fort, Fort Gregory (also known as Gregory's Fort), is situated just over one mile northwest of Grassington.[1][2]
[edit] Electricity generation
In 1909, Grassington received its first electricity from a hydroelectric plant at Linton Falls, which continued to operate until 1948. Today, there are plans to revive the plant through an English Heritage project, using two Archimedean screw turbines to produce 510,000 kilowatt hours per year.[3][4]
[edit] References
- ^ Grass Wood
- ^ Wharfedale and Littondale
- ^ Brooke, Chris (2008-10-30). "Eureka! How Archimedes and his 2,000-year-old invention will help provide green energy". London: Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1081824/Eureka-How-Archimedes-2-000-year-old-invention-help-provide-green-energy.html. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ "River falls could yield power again". Yorkshire Post. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/River-falls-could-yield-power.4564544.jp. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
[edit] External links
- Map of the Grass Wood
- Grassington Lead Mining Trail by Craven & Pendle Geological Society
- Lead mines - Meerstones of Grassington Moor
- Upper Wharfedale School Website
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| This Craven location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
