Coverdale is a dale in the far east of 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 ...

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It takes its name from the

River Cover The River Cover is a river in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust has a remit to conserve the ecological condition of the River Cover. The river forms a limestone dale with ancient woodlands. Cour ...

, a tributary of the

River Ure The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England, is about long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its river. ...

. The dale runs south-west from the eastern end of

Wensleydale Wensleydale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines. The Dale (landform), dale is named after the village of Wensley, North Yorkshire, Wensley, formerly the valley's market tow ...

to the dale head at a pass, known as Park Rash Pass, between

Great Whernside Great Whernside is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England, not to be confused with Whernside, some to the west. Its summit is the highest point of the eastern flank of Wharfedale above Kettlewell. Great Whernside forms the watershed between W ...

to the south and

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 ...

to the north. It is accessible by a single track road, which runs the length of the dale and over the pass to

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 ...

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 name is taken from that of the River Cover, which is of Brittonic origin. Ekwall suggested that it might mean "hollow stream", but more recently

Andrew Breeze Andrew Breeze FRHistS FSA (born 1954), has been professor of philology at the University of Navarra since 1987. Early life Breeze was born in 1954 and educated at Sir Roger Manwood's School, Emmanuel College, Cambridge (where he took a fi ...

has argued that it is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

with Welsh ''gofer'' "streamlet".

History

An abbey was founded at

Coverham Coverham is a village in Coverdale (dale), Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It lies west of the town of Middleham. History Coverham was mentioned in Domesday Book in 1086, when it was held by Count Alan of Britt ...

in the 14th century by Ralph, son of Robert, Lord of

Middleham Middleham ( ; meaning "middle ''ham''", i.e. "middle village") is a market town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream fr ...

. The order that it belonged to was

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

(or White Canons) and was formally dissolved in 1536. Whilst some of the ruins are still extant, it is not open to the general public. In the 18th century, the road through Coverdale from

to Middleham was used as the route of coaches between

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. The route came north through Halifax,

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

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 ...

and

Cracoe Cracoe is a small village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near to Rylstone and about 6 miles south-west of Grassington Grassington is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Nort ...

as part of its journey. The valley gives its name to a variant of

cheese, produced at the

Wensleydale Creamery Wensleydale Creamery is a cheese manufacturer based in the town of Hawes in North Yorkshire, England. It makes several varieties of cheese, but is most notable as a producer of Yorkshire Wensleydale, a variety of Wensleydale cheese with PGI sta ...

Hawes Hawes is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a tourist attraction in the Yorks ...

. Coverdale cheese is of the same general texture and flavour as Wensleydale, but thought by some to be slightly sourer and therefore possessing greater 'edge'. The

meets its confluence with the

at the hamlet of Coverbridge which consists of Clarkson's farm and the Coverbridge Pub, an ancient travellers inn on the road from

Jervaulx Abbey Jervaulx Abbey in East Witton in North Yorkshire, north-west of the city of Ripon, was one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, England, dedicated to St Mary in 1156. It is a Grade I listed building. The place name ''Jervaulx'' is fir ...

to Middleham. The Coverbridge Pub has at least two claims to fame including having been the hiding place of monks who kept alive the recipe of Wensleydale cheese during the sacking of Jervaulx Abbey by troops loyal to King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, and, the scene of the first formally recorded game of cricket in 1706. In 2006 the Coverbridge Cricket Festival celebrated the 300th anniversary in a massive spectacle of cricket supported by the

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force (RAF) based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-Royal Air Force team, replacing several un ...

and a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

and

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

of the RAF with musical support provided by the band of the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

. A Coverbridge team of dalesmen played the visiting Awali Camels team on tour from the

Kingdom of Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Tourism

Braithwaite Hall Braithwaite Hall is a 17th-century manor house in Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales in England. It lies west of the village of East Witton. It is a Grade II* listed building, owned by the National Trust The National Trust () is a herit ...

, a 17th-century farmhouse that was built in 1667. It has been let out to tenant farmers who also mined coal and quarried limestone in the surrounding area. *

Forbidden Corner The Forbidden Corner is a folly garden located in the Tupgill Park Estate, at Coverham in Coverdale, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, England. It is open to the public. The folly garden is designed as a maze, with tunnels, grottoes, and ...

, a series of tunnels, caves, grottoes and walled gardens that join to form a 3 dimensional maze.

Settlements

Agglethorpe Agglethorpe is a hamlet in North Yorkshire, England, it lies in northern Coverdale, approximately south west of Leyburn. History In 1086 it was recorded as Aculestorp in the ''Domesday Book.'' In 1870–72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial Ga ...

Braidley Braidley is a hamlet in Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It lies in the civil parish of Carlton Highdale in the county of North Yorkshire. The River Cover flows nearby, and the peak of Little Whernside is visible from the hamlet. ...

* Caldbergh * Carlton *

* East Scrafton *

Horsehouse Horsehouse is a village in Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It is listed as a hamlet in many texts, but the presence of the church makes it a village. The River Cover runs near the village, and it lies some and so ...

* Melmerby *

West Scrafton West Scrafton is a village and civil parish in Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is located south west of Leyburn. The population was estimated at 70 in 2013. The village lies on the south bank of the River Cover. The parish ext ...

References

External links

{{Authority control