Gunnerside 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

Swaledale Swaledale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines, and within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is named after the River Swale, which runs through it. Swaledale is the mo ...

, on the B6270 road, east of

Muker Muker is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the western end of Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England, within the Yorkshire Dales. The parish includes the hamlets and villages of Angram, Muker, Angram, Keld, North Yorkshire ...

and west of

Grinton Grinton is a small village and civil parish in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. Close to Reeth and Fremington, North Yorkshire, Fremington, it lies west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond on the B6270 road. On 5 July 2014, t ...

. The village lies between the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley throu ...

and its tributary, Gunnerside Beck, and is within 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 ...

National Park.

History

The name of the village derives from an Old Norse personal name ''Gunnar'' and ''sætr'' meaning hill or pasture. Gunnerside Ghyll (or Gunnerside Gill), a smaller valley running northwards, at right angles to the Swale valley (Swaledale), was the site of a major

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mining industry in Swaledale from the 17th century to the late 19th century. The beck that runs through the narrow valley, also called Gunnerside Gill, or Gunnerside Beck, rises between

Rogan's Seat Rogan's Seat is a remote hill located near East Stonesdale and Gunnerside Gill, in the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is a high expanse of moorland that stretches alongside Swaledale, Swinner Gill and Gunnerside Gill. It is the joint 17th h ...

and Water Crag, and runs for emptying into the River Swale at the site of Gunnerside New Bridge. The bridge carries the B6270 over the River Swale south of the village; it was rebuilt several times during the 19th century due to flooding. The current structure dates from around 1892 and is now grade II listed. The area attracts many ramblers who use the foot tracks for exploring the area. Some decide to visit The Old Working Smithy & Museum, established in 1795, for a modest admission fee. The site contains historic items. Gunnerside is served by the

Gunnerside Methodist Chapel Gunnerside Methodist Church is a historic building in Gunnerside, a village in North Yorkshire, in England. The first Wesleyan Methodist Church in Gunnerside was built in 1789. It was rebuilt in 1866. Hall and Zaman describe it as the "most ...

, a part-time post office, a weekly market, a restaurant and some shops selling food items. The chapel was founded in 1789, but rebuilt in 1866. The structure is now

grade II 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 ...

listed. A private building to the north of the crossroads in the village was the site of a medieval corn mill, and in the early 20th century, a bus garage. At the foot of Gunnerside Ghyll is the King's Head

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

. The village primary school is one of two sites of the

Reeth Reeth is a village west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England, in the civil parish of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is the p ...

and Gunnerside Schools. At the last

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection in 2023, the primary school was rated as ''Good''. Local employment centres on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

clockmaking A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly t ...

hill farming Hill farming or terrace farming is an extensive farming in upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle were often reared extensively in upland areas. Fell farming is the farming of fells, a fell being an area of uncult ...

gamekeeping A professional hunter (less frequently referred to as market or commercial hunter and regionally, especially in Britain and Ireland, as professional stalker or gamekeeper) is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional ...

and

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

, the latter concerned chiefly with the maintenance of traditional stone-built field walls, houses and field barns. The latter, also known as laithes, are typically referred to as "cow'uses" or cow houses in Swaledale. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = Non-metropolitan district , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_em ...

, 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 ...

Notable people

* John Close, poet, was born in the village in 1816 File:2014 Fields Swaledale Gunnerside.jpg, Stone barns in the meadows near Gunnerside New Bridge File:Methodist Church, Gunnerside.JPG, Methodist Chapel File:Typical yorkshire village B 9079.jpg, Approaching Gunnerside

References

Sources

External links

Map of the village buildings

Gunnerside.info

(web archive)

Gunnerside school
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Swaledale

History

Notable people

See also

References

Sources

External links