Cattal Railway Station
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Cattal 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, about east of
Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...
, and is located west of the city of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. Cattal is located on the
River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of Great Whernside. In its first few miles it has been dammed three times, creating Angram Rese ...
. Despite being a small village it is served by Cattal railway station on the Harrogate line (operated by
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
); the railway station generally provides an hourly service to the nearby cities of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. The village has one pub, The Victoria which is located close to the railway station and close to the village. Cattal has good transport links to the nearby cities of York and Leeds as it is located just east of the
A1(M) motorway A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate controlled-access highway, motorway sections in the UK. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1, a major north–south road which connects Greater ...
; this road also connects Cattal with much of south-east England including London. It's also just off the A59 which connects north-east England to the north-west, including Liverpool. Until 1974 it was 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 ...
. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the
Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate was a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Harrogate, but it also included surrounding settlements, including the cathedral ...
, 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 ...
.


History

Cattal is first mentioned 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, as ''Catale'', ''Catala''. The name probably derives from
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''catt'' 'wild cat' + ''halh'' 'nook of land', referring to land in a bend of the River Nidd associated with wild cats. The total tax assessed was described as quite large with a taxable value of 5 geld units. At this time the head of the manor was Aldborough. There were 2 ploughlands in the village at the time of the Domesday Book, and Osbern of Arques was both Tenant in Chief and Lord in 1086. In the 1870s Cattal was described as: :"Cattal, a township in Hunsingore parish, W. R. Yorkshire; on the river Nidd, and on the York and High Harrogate railway, 6½ miles ESE of Knaresborough. It has a station on the railway. Acres, 950. Real property, £1,891. Pop., 189. Houses, 40" Cattal also has a
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
running through it. It provided a northward link between the road from
Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...
to
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
via Tadcaster and the York to Aldborough road. The road approached the
River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of Great Whernside. In its first few miles it has been dammed three times, creating Angram Rese ...
from the south through the 'd' of Bridge and on to the 'Ancient Ford'; this line was abandoned when the bridge was built a little upstream of the ford. The present road north from Cattal follows the Roman line, a little west of north to Providence Green and then a little east of north through Whixley, after which it meets the York-Aldborough road. The road known as Rudgate now has a brewery named after it in the nearby town on Tockwith. Cattal Bridge is a grade two listed structure which carries Tadcaster road over the River Nidd.


Population

The current population of Cattal according to the 2011 census data is 115; this is a decrease in population from 1881 when the population was at its peak at 178 residents. The population decreased steadily from the early census records from 178 in 1881 to 144 residents at the turn of the century in 1901. The population increased during the next two censuses, it grew to 153 in 1911 and 155 in 1921. However population has decreased every census year since 1921 until 1961 with a large dip coming between 1951 and 1961 from 140 to 110 residents.


Age structure

Cattal has an ageing population, with the 73% of the residents of the village being aged 40 or over and having very few young dependants living in the village. With very few amenities in the village this age structure will remain as there are no pull factors for the young population to move to the village.


Centre of Yorkshire

In recent times an argument has arisen between villages in Yorkshire over who should rightfully hold the title of the geographical centre of Yorkshire. Although most recently in 2012 the prestigious title had been given to the village of
Hessay Hessay is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of York, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England west of York. History The rural village of Hessay enjoys a peaceful open setting within the Vale of Yo ...
five miles from Cattal, controversy still remains as to where the centre is. The Ordnance Survey used its own detailed records of the county's boundary and the help of a computer program and a field in Hessay was pinpointed as the centre point of Yorkshire. However a similar computer program used four years prior to this selected Cattal as the geographical centre. To make things complicated further a third village
Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of C ...
also claims the honour of being the middle point in Yorkshire as they claim the ash tree in the village is the midpoint. The mystery remains but The Victoria pub in Cattal use the idea that Cattal is the centre of Yorkshire to claim that they are the most central pub in Yorkshire.


Flooding

Due to the village's proximity to the River Nidd it has a recent history of flooding during extreme weather. Flooding has occurred in the village most recently in 2012 with houses located near the banks of the river put on alert by the environmental agency. During the flooding in 2012 one man had to be rescued from his car near to the Cattal Bridge after the flood waters reached in depth. Also during the floods two donkeys were rescued from a field in Cattal after becoming stranded after the river burst its banks. A specialist team travelled across the North of England for the rescue.


New village

In early 2019, Oakgate Homes submitted an application to
Harrogate Borough Council Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination; its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow ...
to build a new village just north of Cattal clustered around railway station. The 4,000 home village would include two primary schools and a doctor's surgery and would be entitled Maltkiln village. Work would also be undertaken on the adjacent A59 to remove crossroads in favour of roundabouts.


See also

* Listed buildings in Cattal


References


External links

{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire