Conistone is a small village 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. It lies north of

Grassington Grassington is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. The village is situated in Wharfedale, about north-west from Bolton Abbey, and is surrou ...

, south of

Kettlewell Kettlewell is a village in Upper Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of Grassington, at the point where Wharfedale is joined by a minor road (Cam Gill Road) which leads north-east from the village over Park Rash Pass to Cov ...

and north of

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

beside 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. ...

, in Upper Wharfedale.

History

Conistone is 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 ''Cunestune'' and belonging to Ketil. The name derives from a mix of

Old Danish The Danish language developed during the Middle Ages out of Old East Norse, the common predecessor of Danish and Swedish. It was a late form of common Old Norse. The Danish philologist Johannes Brøndum-Nielsen divided the history of Danish in ...

(''Kunung'') and

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 ...

(''tūn''), which means King's farm or Settlement. The village is set in characteristic limestone scenery, including

Mossdale Caverns Mossdale Caverns is a cave system in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is about north of Grassington, and east of Conistone, where Mossdale Beck sinks at the base of Mossdale Scar. It lies at an altitude of on the eastern flank of Wharfedale, ...

, the dry

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

of Conistone Dib and the limestone

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

of Conistone Pie. Above the Dib 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 ...

path connects

, to its north, and Grassington, to its south, providing distant views over Wharfedale. From the B6160 road, the Wharfe is crossed at Conistone by a stone-arch bridge, which is within easy walking distance of

Kilnsey Kilnsey is a small village in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the B6160 road, between the villages of Grassington and Kettlewell, near Arncliffe and just across the River Wharfe from Conistone. The village is north of Skip ...

, with its Crag. The parish church, St Mary's Church, dates from the 11th or 12th century, and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Conistone was historically in the large ancient parish of

Burnsall Burnsall is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Wharfe in Wharfedale, and is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The village is approximately south-east from Grassington. It has ...

, in

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 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 ...

. It became part of the

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 ...

of Conistone with Kilnsey in 1866, and was transferred to 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 population of the parish in the 2001 census was 117, rising to 124 at the 2011 census. In 2015,

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

had estimated the population to be 110. Immediately to the east of the village lies Conistone Moor and Riggs Moor. The moorland here was known for its lead mines, and also as being the furthest point in England from a road. Known by the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

as ''Pile of Stones'', the point is on Riggs Moor and is found at .

Gallery

image:St Mary's Church, Conistone.jpg, St Mary's Church, Conistone, from the south-east Image:Conistone_bridge_1.jpg, Stone arch bridge over Wharfe Image:sweet curve.jpg, Meadowsweet along B6160, toward Kilnsey Image:Conistone Dib wall.jpg, Wall across Dib Image:Conistone_Dib_lookback.jpg, View down Dib from top, at Dales Way path Image:Conistone Dib.jpg, Conistone Dib

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Wharfedale

History

See also

Gallery

References

External links