Galphay (traditionally pronounced �gɔ:fə) is a village 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. It is situated in the

Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Nidderdale National Landscape is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England, bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the east and south. It comprises most of Nidderdale itself, part of lower Wharfedale, the Wa ...

(AONB). It is a lower dales village, some west of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

and close to the larger village of

Kirkby Malzeard Kirkby Malzeard () is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. There has been a creamery in the village making Wensleydale cheese for almost 100 years, first owned by Mrs Mason, then Kit Calvert, of Hawes, subsequen ...

. A large central green is used for village events and has a flagstaff, village seat and a number of trees. The pub, ''The Galphay Inn'' is open Tuesdays to Sundays. The village has no church, shops or other public buildings and the Red Phone Box is also under threat of closure. The name is derived from the

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 ...

''galga'' 'gallows' and ''haga'' 'enclosure', and thus means 'gallows enclosure'. The earliest documentation about Galphay records that it was owned by

Fountains Abbey Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercians, Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operat ...

in 1189. Galphay now has around 60 houses, with a population of about 200. In the last 100 years, a village school was opened; and subsequently closed. The same fate awaited the Methodist Chapel, which is now a private house. A 'Village Institute', which was established after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, is still in existence; housed in wooden structure originally used to house troops in training camp. Galphay was historically a hamlet in the

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 ...

Azerley Azerley is a hamlet and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is about north-west of Ripon. The civil parish includes the larger village of Galphay, and also the village of Mickley, North Yorkshire, Mickley. The populat ...

in the large

ancient 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 Kirkby Malzeard 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 ...

.The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, 1868, cited at It became part of the civil parish of Azerley in 1866, and has now grown larger than the village of Azerley. In 1974 it was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire. 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 ...

References

External links

Galphay Village WebsiteAzerley Parish Council website

- text of a talk given to Galphay

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

in 1959
Robert Welles of Galphay c.1516-1584/5 and others, with associated Vyner Deeds
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire

See also

References

External links