
Farndale is a valley and community 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 City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, England, which is known for the daffodils which flower each spring along a stretch of the
River Dove. The valley is in the
North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
National Park, some north of
Kirkbymoorside
Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York; midway between Pickering and Helmsley, and on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The parish had a population of 3,040 in the 20 ...
, the nearest town.
Pickering is some to the south-east and
Helmsley
Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pickering.
Helmsley is ...
to the south-west.
Farndale is an isolated, scattered agricultural community with traditional
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
dry stone
Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...
walls. The valley is popular with walkers due to its famous
wild daffodils, which can be seen around Easter time all along the banks of the
River Dove. To protect the daffodils the majority of Farndale north of Lowna was created a
Local Nature Reserve in 1955.
Farndale is home to three
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
;
Church Houses at the top of the valley and Low Mill further down, with Lowna at the south. Low Mill is a tourist
honeypot during daffodil season as this is where the famous daffodil walk begins. While near the northern end of the daffodil walk is at High Mill a cluster of houses a short distance down a lane from
Church Houses. Lowna is on the Hutton-le-Hole to Gillamoor Road at the south where Farndale changes to Douthwaitedale, while within the Dale it is actually within
Gillamoor parish.
Etymology
The name of Farndale has changed through history:
There is no mention of Farndale in
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 ...
.
It is recorded as:
• Farnedale in 1154
• Farendale in the late 12th century
• Farndal(e) in 1279
Sources disagree on the origin of the name Farndale, although it is a combination of two parts "Farn" and "Dale".
There a four possible origins for "Farn" all of which do describe the dale although the most likely are Scandinavian or Celtic. It may be derived from the Celtic "Faren" meaning beautiful; alternatively it could be derived from the Scandinavian "får" meaning sheep
or possibly from Old English "Fearn" meaning fern or ferny place
or from the Gaelic "Feàrna" which means alder tree of which there are many in Farndale.
While Dale probably means Valley either derived from Scandinavion "Dalr"
or Anglian "Dæl"
although it could be derived from the Gaelic "Dail" meaning level field by a river.
The name of the River Dove which flows through Farndale is almost definitely from either the Old British "Dubo" meaning Black or from the Gaelic "Dubh"
also meaning black, hence Black (or Dark) River.
Geography
Farndale is a valley within the
North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
, it is surrounded by some of the wildest
moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...
in England. The dale is sandwiched between
Bransdale to the west,
Rosedale to the east and
Westerdale to the north. To the north-east sits Blakey Ridge at over above sea level, and to the north-west, Cockayne Ridge reaching up to above sea level is one of the highest points of the North York Moors. The southern boundary of the Farndale Parishes are along Harland Beck and Shortsha Beck (across Lowna Lund), although the
Gillamoor to
Hutton-le-Hole
Hutton-le-Hole is a small village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Pickering. It is a popular scenic village within the North York Moors National Park. Sheep roam the streets at will.
History
The village app ...
road is considered as the boundary for all other purposes, south of this the dale continues but changes its name to Douthwaitedale, though the
Tabular Hills until it reaches Keldhome then Kirkby Mills just east of Kirkbymoorside.
The
River Dove rises on Westerdale Moor North of Farndale, then flows through Farndale south-east past to Church Houses. Here it turns south and continues meandering past Low Mill to Lowna. At
Gillamoor it heads south-east again past
Hutton-le-Hole
Hutton-le-Hole is a small village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Pickering. It is a popular scenic village within the North York Moors National Park. Sheep roam the streets at will.
History
The village app ...
before returning southwards past Ravenswick and to the east of
Kirkbymoorside
Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York; midway between Pickering and Helmsley, and on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The parish had a population of 3,040 in the 20 ...
. It continues past Keldholme and Kikrby Mills to
Great Edstone. From there it flows south-south-east to where it joins the
River Rye in the
Vale of Pickering
The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic ...
near the village of
Salton. Several tributaries meet the Dove through Farndale.
Population
The combined population 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 ...
es of Farndale East and Farndale West at the time of the 2021 Census was 160.
The census Figures are combined under Farndale West.
In recent years there has been a negative trend in the population as indicated by the following population estimate and censuses.
• 2015 the population had been estimated at 180.
• 2011 Census showed the population as 207.
• 2001 the Census recorded the population as 211.
With the population having decreased greatly from the 668 that is recorded in "A Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire" by Thomas Lansdale published in 1822 when farndale East side had a population of 455 and Farndale West Side had a Population of 213.
Local nature reserve

The
Farndale Local Nature Reserve constitutes the majority of Farndale, which is a dale within the
North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
National Park. It was created in 1955 to protect the
wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus), for which the dale is famed. The Local Nature reserve comprises the larger part of the Farndale
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
which comprises .
Over 40,000 people visit the dale in the springtime to walk along the
River Dove and see the daffodils. The variety of daffodil that grows wild in the valley, has shorter stems than the cultivated variety and are believed to have been planted by monks in medieval times. The daffodils are also known as ''Lent Lilies'' in Farndale and they usually appear around
Lent
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
.
Long distance foopaths
Around the north of Farndale, between Bloworth Crossing and Blakey is the track bed of the old
Rosedale Ironstone Railway (Rosedale Branch) which forms part of three
Long Distance Footpaths these being
Wainwright's
Coast to Coast Walk
The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, ...
,
The Lyke Wake Walk and the
Esk Valley Walk.
Governance
Farndale was historically divided between three ancient parishes. Farndale Eastside was a
township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in the parish of
Lastingham
Lastingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, north-east of Kirkbymoorside, and to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to the early m ...
. The township of Farndale High Quarter and Bransdale Eastside (also known as Farndale Westside) and the township of Farndale Low Quarter (also known as Low Farndale) were in the parish of
Kirkbymoorside
Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York; midway between Pickering and Helmsley, and on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The parish had a population of 3,040 in the 20 ...
.
In 1873 Farndale Hiqh Quarter and Farndale Westside joined to become a single parish. The Farndale parishes were subsequently realigned to Farndale East and Farndale West. The dividing line between the two Farndale
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 ...
es is along the course of the River Dove. Until 2018 Farndale East had a
Parish Council responsible for the eastern side including Church Houses and Farndale West had a
Parish Meeting
A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend.
In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...
looking after the western side including Low Mill.
In April 2018 a joint Farndale Parish Council was formed under a grouping order and it now represents the interests of all residents in Farndale.
Between 1974 and 2023 the area was part of the
Ryedale
Ryedale was a non-metropolitan district in North Yorkshire, England. It was in the Vale of Pickering, a low-lying flat area of land drained by the River Derwent, Yorkshire, River Derwent. The Vale's landscape is rural with scattered villages ...
district. 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 ...
.
Farndale is part of the
Thirsk and Malton
Thirsk and Malton is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 United Kingdom general el ...
UK Parliament constituency and formerly the
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It is one of the three regions covering Northern England, alongside the North West England and North East England regio ...
European Parliamentary constituency.
Religious sites
Farndale originally had a parish church and mission room and two Methodist chapels but now has only St Mary's parish church.
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
St Mary's Church, Farndale is a Grade II
listed, built in 1831 by William Stonehouse and restored and extended in 1907–14 by
Temple Moore
Temple Lushington Moore (7 June 1856 – 30 June 1920) was an English architect who practised in London but whose work can be seen across England, particularly in the North. He is famous for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built betwe ...
. Originally a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
in
Lastingham
Lastingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, north-east of Kirkbymoorside, and to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to the early m ...
parish, it is now within the Kirkbymoorside benefice.
The Farndale War memorial commemorating the men of Farndale lost in the First World War is near the church entrance; those named are: William Breckon,
Charles Duncombe, Earl Of Feversham, Joseph Garbutt, Albert Handley, Joseph Handley, Percival Maw, Frederick Mortimer, Thomas Bertie Mortimer, Joseph Ward, Joseph Watson, and Alfred Percy Wilson.
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
Both Low Mill Methodist Chapel closed and was converted to residential dwelling around 1984 and High Farndale Methodist chapels closed in 2018.
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
At the south of the dale is the Lowna Quaker burial ground used between 1675 and 1854 where 114 Quakers are laid to rest.
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Farndale used to be part of the giant Blackamoor parish of
Nicholas Postgate fame. Today the nearest catholic church is in KIrkbymoorside.
Farndale show
The annual Farndale
Agricultural Show
An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, bree ...
which is held on the
Summer Bank Holiday
In the United Kingdom, public holidays are days on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. Many retail businesses (especially the larger ones) do open on some of the public holidays. There are restrictions on trading on Sunda ...
Monday in late August and is a popular local event. The 100th Show was held in 2006.
The first Farndale Show was held in August 1896, the exhibits were confined to Farndale, Brandale and Rosedale and held near Church Houses.
By 1898 the show had become known by the name Farndale, Bransdale and Rosedale Show having apparently merged or superseded the triennial Bransdale Show first held in 1880 until 1895 and the Rosedale Show first held in 1871 until at least 1878. This name continued to be used as the formal name for the show until the First World War.
In 1900 the Farndale, Bransdale and Rosedale show was held in Rosedale Abbey this proved to be great success with the result in 1901 a new Rosedale and Hartoft Show was formed. By 1911 the Rosedale show had become known as the Rosedale, Hartoft and Farndale Show meaning two agricultural shows included the name Farndale this continued until around 1923.
The official name of the Farndale show is the Farndale Agricultural, Horticultural and Industrial Society annual exhibition, in 1988 the society became a
Charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
.
While the show was not held during the two world wars and had previously been cancelled due to
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...
, the 2009 show was the only time in the history of the show it was cancelled due to the weather. The show was again cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
and returned in 2022.
Farndale hunt
The Farndale Hunt may have been one of the oldest in the country. It is known that
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 19th Baron de Ros (30 January 1628 – 16 April 1687) was an English statesman and poet who exerted considerable political power during the reign of Charles II of England.
A Royalist during the Engl ...
stayed with a tenant in Kirkbymoorside and hunted in the area. However the first documented reference states "it dated from 1835", although it is likely to have existed long before this date.
The hunt was disbanded in 2015 although their Facebook page remains active.
The Second World War
hunt-class destroyer
The Hunt class was a class of escort destroyer of the Royal Navy. The first vessels were ordered early in 1939, and the class saw extensive service in the Second World War, particularly on the British east coast and Mediterranean convoys. Th ...
HMS ''Farndale'' was named after the hunt. The ship's bell, still bearing evidence of enemy action, is in the bar of the Feversham Arms Inn, Farndale.
Farndale reservoir scheme
In 1932 the Kingston upon Hull Corporation bought a large area of land in Upper Farndale in the North York Moor, c. 2,000 hectares. The Corporation had a plan to create a large reservoir behind a constructed earth embankment at Church Houses , and then using gravitation through a series of pipes/aqueducts bring a safe and reliable water supply down to Hull (c. 50 miles away). The plans also involved a second stage with weirs constructed in the neighbouring dales of Rosedale and Bransdale (and possibly Westerdale?) – with the collected water piped through the dividing hills into the Farndale Reservoir, if and when demand required it.
This scheme did not get off the ground and then the Second World War intervened.
The project was revived in 1965 and a revised plan was produced in 1969. The reservoir was to be 2½ miles long, cover a total of 400 acres and hold 8,000 million gallons of water.
Finally, after five years of work, Parliament rejected the bill to create the reservoir. The Farndale scheme was postponed, then formally laid to rest in 1988.
Notable people
Henry Harwood Flintoff who lived in Farndale at the time, was awarded the
Edward Medal
The Edward Medal was a British civilian decoration which was instituted by royal warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers. The medal was named in hono ...
later exchanged for a
George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
for an act of heroism where he went to the assistance of farmer John Atkinson of Olive House, Farndale and saved him from a bull.
Angus Ashworth, auctioneer and presenter of the Yorkshire Auction House on the
UK Discovery Channel and expert on the BBC ''
Antiques Road Trip
''Antiques Road Trip'' (also known as ''Celebrity Antiques Road Trip'') is a BBC television series produced by STV Studios. It was first shown on BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom ...
'' grew up in Farndale.
In popular culture
Farndale has been used as a location for a number of film and TV locations including:
Film
The 2020 Film adaption of ''
The Secret Garden
''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...
'' includes moorland scenes filmed around Farndale.
The 1975 Film, ''
All Creatures Great and Small'' starring
Simon Ward
Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor from Beckenham, England. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film '' Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles ...
and
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
, included locations in Farndale.
Television
In 2019 an episode of the BBC series ''
Walking With...'' featured
Monica Galetti walking between Rosedale and Farndale.
BBC Documentary: ''A Wild Year, The North York Moors'' was partly filmed in and around Farndale, and featured the wild daffodils.
''
Bad Move'', an ITV
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
written by
Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee (born 24 September 1961) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom '' Lead Balloon'' and hosts the panel show ...
and
Pete Sinclair and starring Jack Dee was partly filmed in Farndale. The location of Rawlings' new home is near Low Mill.
''
Accidental Farmer'', a pilot for BBC TV starring
Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in '' Extras'' (2005–2007, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award), Christina McKinney in ''Ugly Betty'' (2006� ...
was partly filmed in Farndale, June / July 2010.
''BBC
Inside Out'' covered Heavy Snow in Farndale in November 2010.
A 1991 Tyne Tees television programme "Kirkby's Kingdom" featured the Farndale show.
Music
Alan Ridout wrote a work called Farndale Dances for solo Piccolo in 1992 consisting 5 Movements: Down the Dale, Sylvio the Pheasant, Whistling Walker, The Stream and Up the Hill.
Songwriter Graham Miles wrote a folk song called Farndale Daffodils.
A Hymn Tune: Farndale was written by local resident Harold Dobson.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Farndale East
*
Listed buildings in Farndale West
*
River Dove, North Yorkshire
*
Church Houses
*
Farndale Local Nature Reserve
References
External links
Farndale ShowFarndale Village HallFarndale Parish Council*
* {{cite news , url=https://discover.bbcrewind.co.uk/asset/60d2aef470c9c1001f8ad41c
, author=BBC Look North , title=Look North: Farndale – Daffodil walk , format=video , date=1968 , accessdate=13 October 2022, work=BBC Rewind
North York Moors
Valleys of the North York Moors
Civil parishes in North Yorkshire