Hawes is a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and
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 ...
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, at the head 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 ...
in 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 ...
, and
historically
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
in the
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at .
From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...
. 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. ...
north of the town is a tourist attraction in the
Yorkshire Dales National Park
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England which covers most of the Yorkshire Dales, the Howgill Fells, and the Orton Fells. The Nidderdale area of the Yorkshire Dales is not within the national park, and has instead ...
.
The population in 2011 was 887.
The parish of Hawes also includes the neighbouring
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of
Gayle.
Hawes is west of the
county town
In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
of
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...
. It is a major producer of
Wensleydale cheese
Wensleydale is a style of cheese originally produced in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England, but now mostly made in large commercial creameries throughout the United Kingdom. The term "Yorkshire Wensleydale" can only be used for cheese that ...
.
Hawes has a non-profit group that seeks funding to re-open or keep community amenities.
History
There is no mention 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 of a settlement where the current town is. The area was historically part of 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
Aysgarth
Aysgarth is a village and civil parish in Wensleydale, in North Yorkshire, England. The village is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, about south-west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond and west of the county town of Northallerton.
Hi ...
in the
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at .
From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...
, and there is little mention of the town until the 15th century when the population had risen enough for 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 ...
to be built.
The settlement was first recorded in 1307 as having a marketplace.
The place's name is derived from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
word ''hals'', meaning "neck" or "pass between mountains".
The town was granted a charter to hold markets by
King William III
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...
in 1699. It allowed for a weekly Tuesday market and two fairs a year. In 1887 an auction market was established in the town that held cattle sales fortnightly. In addition, five cattle fairs and three sheep fairs were held each year. Soon after, four cheese fairs spread over the year also became a regular event in the town.
Hawes became a separate
ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
in 1739, and a civil parish in 1866.
The
Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike
The Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike, was a road that was opened in the second half of the 18th century between Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in Lancashire, Northern Engl ...
was diverted in 1795 and from then on, it passed through Hawes. The Wensleydale Railway reached Hawes in 1878.
The village once had a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
that was the terminus of the Hawes branch of the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
and an end-on terminus of the line from Northallerton from its opening in 1878 to its closure in April 1954. British Railways kept the line to Garsdale Junction open for passengers until 1959. The
Wensleydale Railway Association which operates a heritage train has plans to rebuild the railway from
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...
(from its current western terminus at
Redmire
Redmire is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is about west of Leyburn in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales.
From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Richmondshire, it is now administered by the unitary North Y ...
) to
Garsdale
Garsdale is a dale in the south-east of Cumbria, England. It lies within the Westmorland and Furness local government district and in the Yorkshire Dales National Park for planning purposes; it was historically a part of the West Riding of ...
including re-opening the station in the village.
Hawes railway station
Hawes railway station served the town of Hawes, in North Yorkshire, England. It was closed in 1959 and now forms part of the Dales Countryside Museum. Since 2015, the museum has rented the building to a business operating a bike shop and, late ...
remains in its original site, now part of the
Dales Countryside Museum
The Dales Countryside Museum is a local museum for the Yorkshire Dales National Park in Northern England. Run by the National Park Authority, it tells the story of the people who have lived and worked in the Yorkshire Dales for over a 1,000 year ...
. Since 2015, the building has been rented to a business operating a bike shop and later a cafe.
In the past, a water-powered mill operated at Gayle and in Hawes;
Gayle Mill, for example, was built in 1784.
The mills were used to grind corn, produce textiles (wool, cotton, linen, silk, flax), generate electricity or saw wood. Limestone was burnt in kilns.
In 1789, Gayle Mill adopted new technology, and became a mechanised sawmill powered by a double-vortex turbine. In 1919, part of the mill was hired to provide electricity to the area using turbines for the generator. The mill provided electricity for the village until 1948.
Governance
Hawes is part of the
Richmond and Northallerton
Richmond and Northallerton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election, when it was won by Rishi ...
parliamentary constituency. The current
Member of Parliament is
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
, a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, who is a former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
.
Hawes lies within the Upper Dales electoral division of North Yorkshire Council. It was part of the
Richmondshire
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Richmondshire District
, type = Non-metropolitan district
, image_skyline =
, imagesize =
, image_caption =
, image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png
, blank_em ...
district from 1974 to 2023.
The civil parish shares a
grouped parish council
A parish council is a civil local authority found in England, which is the lowest tier of local government. Parish councils are elected corporate bodies, with variable tax raising powers, and they carry out beneficial public activities in geogr ...
with the civil parish of
High Abbotside
High Abbotside is a civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is a rural parish on the north side of upper Wensleydale, and includes the settlements of Hardraw, Sedbusk and several hamlets.
Governance
The parish is located wi ...
, known as Hawes & High Abbotside Parish Council. This is also an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
with a combined population taken at the 2011 Census of 1,347.
Geography
The parish of Hawes covers the large areas of moorland on Dodd Fell, Snays Fell, Stags Fell and Widdale Fell and includes the River Ure tributaries of Widdale Beck and Gayle Beck. The latter flows through the town of Hawes. There are many abandoned lead mines, quarries and limekilns in the parish indicating its industrial past. A short distance from the town on Gayle Beck are the Aysgill Force waterfalls. The highest point in the parish is Great Knoutberry Hill at . The parish extends as far north as Hellgill Bridge along a narrow strip either side of the Ure.
The civil parish of Hawes also includes the neighbouring
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 ...
of
Gayle,
Appersett
Appersett is a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales in the county of North Yorkshire, England west of Hawes. It lies on the A684 road and an unclassified road runs alongside Widdale Beck to connect with the B6255 road between Hawes and Ingleton.
Fro ...
and
Burtersett
Burtersett is a small village in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately east from Hawes and Gayle. The village is known for its former quarrying industry and being the seat of the Hillary family, with one strand ...
. The
A684 road
The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 road in North Yorkshire. It crosses the full width of the Yorkshire Dales, passing through Garsdale and the f ...
from
Sedbergh
Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Cumbria. It falls within the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Since April 2023, it has been administered by Westmorland and Furness local authority. Th ...
to
Osmotherley passes through the town and the
B6255 begins at the western edge of the town and links it to
Ingleton.
The M6 and the A1 to the east are under an hour away by car.
Economy

Now the largest company, with a staff of 224 (spring 2018) and visited by 250,000 people each year,
the
Wensleydale Creamery Centre closed down in 1992; at that time, it was owned by Dairy Crest. Within six months, the former management team acquired the creamery and reopened it. The operation moved to its current location in 2015 and still handcrafts
the eponymous cheese using traditional recipes following those first done by French monks in the 12th century. (Cheese has been made in this village since about 1150.)
Wensleydale Creamery has won many prestigious cheese awards, including ''Supreme Champion'' in 2018 for its new Yorkshire Cheddar at The Great Yorkshire Show's Cheese and Dairy Show. Yorkshire Wensleydale took the ''Reserve Supreme'' Cheese title. The company also received ten other trophies.
The cheeses produced by the Creamery applied for ''
Protected Food Name Status''. The application was successful and the protected geographical indication certificate was received. The term "Yorkshire Wensleydale" can only be used for cheese that is made in Wensleydale.

The farms around Hawes raise sheep and cattle and grow meadow grass for hay and silage.
Tourism is important to Hawes; it is a market town with shops and accommodation for visitors. Over 40 farms in the general area supply the Creamery with milk.
A National Park Centre iLocal is located in the village, with a large parking area, beside the Countryside Museum. Attractions include the
Dales Countryside Museum
The Dales Countryside Museum is a local museum for the Yorkshire Dales National Park in Northern England. Run by the National Park Authority, it tells the story of the people who have lived and worked in the Yorkshire Dales for over a 1,000 year ...
, attached to the old Hawes railway station of the
Wensleydale Railway
The Wensleydale Railway is a heritage railway in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in stages by different railway companies and originally extended to Garsdale railway station on the Settle-Carlisle line ...
, nearby
Hardraw Force
Hardraw Force ( OS grid ref: ) is a waterfall on Hardraw Beck in Hardraw Scar, a wooded ravine just outside the hamlet of Hardraw, north of the town of Hawes, Wensleydale, in the Yorkshire Dales. The Pennine Way long distance footpath passes ...
waterfall, and the
Buttertubs Pass which links Wensleydale to
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 ...
. A market is held in
Hawes Market Hall on Tuesdays, and there are many shops, pubs and tearooms. Hawes is a centre for walking (hiking) the countryside and the
Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...
passes through here. There is a
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...
located on Lancaster Terrace at the western end of the town.
The bookseller Steve Bloom was based in Hawes. His policy of charging a 50 pence entry fee to his shop made him nationally notorious.
Just south of Hawes, the 18th century Gayle Mill is now a Grade II listed building, a scheduled monument. In 2004, it was featured in
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
's
Restoration programme.
It came in the top three in the national finals. Restoration of the mill started in the same year and works to bring the site to operational standard took four years and cost over £1 million. Although it was still open to visitors during the 2017 tourist season, the Gayle Mill Trust that operates the attraction was advised by the North of England Civic Trust in early 2018 that the mill would need to be closed. Work would be necessary to remedy problems discovered since the restoration in order to ensure safety and to comply with insurance regulations. The site was vacated in March 2018. The Civic Trust was hoping that the work could be completed in time to reopen it at Easter 2019. Fundraising was under way in summer 2018.
Community amenities

Hawes Community Primary School provides primary education for the town and nearby settlements. It was established in 1878 and the school retains log books dating back to those dates. Pupils received secondary education at ''The Wensleydale School & Sixth Form'' in Leyburn. The Community School was rated as inadequate by an Ofsted report in late 2015; an action plan was established by North Yorkshire County Council to ensure improvement. In spring 2018, the school had 114 students.
The town has a retained fire station, which means that they are crewed by firefighters who provide on-call cover from home or their place of work. The station is operated by the
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service is the statutory Fire services in the United Kingdom, fire and rescue service covering the area of the unitary authority, unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and the York, City of York. The service cover ...
.
Medical care is available at the Hawes Surgery of The Health Centre. Three physicians serve this office and the one in
Aysgarth
Aysgarth is a village and civil parish in Wensleydale, in North Yorkshire, England. The village is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, about south-west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond and west of the county town of Northallerton.
Hi ...
. The nearest hospitals are
Friary Community Hospital in Richmond () and
Castleberg Hospital in Settle ().
On weekends and bank holiday Mondays, the
DalesBus
DalesBus is a bus network serving the Yorkshire Dales and managed by Dales and Bowland Community Interest Company, a volunteer-run subsidiary of the Yorkshire Dales Society.
Services are funded by organisations, including the National Trust, We ...
travels among various villages, including Hawes, from Easter Sunday until late summer. Several other buses provide a year-round service stopping at Hawes and other villages in the area.
Saving village services
The only petrol station at Hawes was expected to close in 2017 due to falling sales, and the next nearest re-fuelling station involved a round trip. A non-profit community group, the Upper Dales Community Partnership (UDCP), took a three-year lease on the station October 2017 after
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 ...
awarded a grant to the community grant. The Dale Head Garage is so remote that the town receives a £0.05 rebate from the government on every litre of fuel sold. This benefit is passed on directly to consumers at the pump. A grant in May 2018 from the
Richmondshire District Council's Economic Growth Fund enabled the petrol station to remain open 24 hours a day.
In previous years, UDCP had also taken over the library and the post office. In February 2018 however, Royal Mail announced that the sorting department in the village would close. In addition to the loss of jobs, the plan would have meant that residents would be required to drive 30 minutes to Leyburn to pick up packages. Lobbying by village residents convinced the Post Office to cancel its plans.
The Partnership also started a bus service in 2011 when the previous service ceased operation. The Little White Bus has 11 vehicles and transports 60,000 visitors per year. After the police station was shut down, the constables were given a room in the community group's office which houses the Post Office and Library, and also offers free Wi-Fi, a coffee machine and a scanner/printer for use by residents. In 2018, the Partnership was considering a plan to start a Land Trust that would build four new houses and rent them to low-income families with children.
Formed over 20 years ago, the Partnership has 25 paid staff and 60 volunteers (May 2018).
Religion
The church in Hawes is dedicated to
St Margaret of Antioch. The current building was rebuilt in 1850 on the site of the former
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 ...
and is a Grade II listed building. There were Wesleyan and Congregational chapels in the village as well as the
Sandemanians
The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's word (Bible) over allegiance to Church and state to his congregation in Tealing near Dundee in July 172 ...
and a Friends Meeting House.
The Methodist Church in Hawes was built in 1856 and was part of the Wensleydale Circuit. It closed in 2015, was sold in early 2017, and placed again on the market in early 2018. Worshippers can attend the chapel in nearby Gayle.
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC North East and Cumbria
BBC North East and Cumbria is one of the BBC's BBC English Regions, English regions covering Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside, City of Sunderland, County Durham, Northumberland, north and mid Cumbria and parts of N ...
and
ITV Tyne Tees
ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchisee for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire.
Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a convert ...
. Television signals are received from the
Bilsdale
Bilsdale is a Dale (landform), dale in the western part of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire, England. The head of the dale is at Hasty Bank, and the dale extends south to meet Rye Dale near Hawnby. The dale is the valley of the River ...
and local relay TV transmitters.
Local radio stations are
BBC Radio York
BBC Radio York is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of North Yorkshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Bootham area of York.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...
on 104.3 FM and community station
Dales Radio on 103 FM.
The town is served by the local newspaper, ''
The Westmorland Gazette
''The Westmorland Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kendal, England, covering "South Lakeland and surrounding areas", including Barrow and North Lancashire. Its name refers to the historic county of Westmorland. The paper is now owned ...
''.
Demography
2001 census
The 2001 UK census showed that the population was split 50% male to 50% female. The religious constituency was made of 82% Christian, 1.5% Jewish and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 97.9% White British, 1.3% White other, 0.5% Mixed ethnic and 0.3% Chinese. There were 601 dwellings.
2011 census
The 2011 UK census showed that the population was split 50.1% male to 49.91% female. The religious constituency was made of 70.8% Christian, 3.8% Buddhist, 0.1% Muslim and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 91.4% White British, 3.5% White Other, 0.3% Mixed Ethnic, 4.2% British Asian and 0.4% each British Black. There were 683 dwellings.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Hawes
References
Further reading
*''Clarke's Monthly Advertising Journal, for Leyburn, Middleham, Askrigg, Hawes, Sedbergh, and Kirkby Stephen, also for Dent and Swaledale''. Hawes: Fletcher Clarke
External links
{{authority control
Towns in North Yorkshire
Market towns in North Yorkshire
Civil parishes in North Yorkshire
Wensleydale