Reeth is a village west of

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

in the

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

, England, in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is the principal settlement of upper

Swaledale Swaledale is one of the northernmost dales (valleys) in Yorkshire Dales National Park, located in northern England. It is the dale of the River Swale on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire. Geographical overview Swaledale runs ...

Etymology

The origin of the name ''Reeth'' is unclear. It is possibly derived from the Germanic for 'place by the stream', although this claim can neither be confirmed nor refuted. Reeth could also have been derived from the

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the '' Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the sout ...

''rith'' (cf. ''ryd'' in

Modern Welsh The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. Origins Welsh evolved from British, the ...

, ''rys'' in Cornish ), meaning '

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

'. Either would make sense as Reeth is located near two shallow rivers.

History

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

times, Reeth was only a settlement on the forest edge, but by the time of the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

it had grown sufficiently in importance to be noted 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

''. Later it became a centre for hand-

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat o ...

and the local lead industry was controlled from here, but it was always a market centre for the local farming community. Built in 1783
The Burgoyne
(named after Mrs Burgoyne Johnson) stands majestically on Reeth's idyllic green, the late Georgian county house hotel is full of history and elegant charm with many of its original features. The hotel previously known as Hill House, was made into guest accommodation and then a hotel after WW2. May Sinclair features Hill House in her novel, ''The Three Sisters'', as the home of Miss Kendal. The "Swaledale Walk 5 May Sinclair's Reeth", is a short walk that takes you around and above Reeth to discover pivotal places featured in two of her novels. On 5 July 2014, the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.

Governance

The village lies within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which has been represented since 2015 by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...

, who took over from retiring fellow

William Hague William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

. It also lies within the Upper Dales electoral division of

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire; an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England. The council currently consists of 90 councillors. The council is current ...

and the Reeth and Arkengarthdale ward of

District Council.

Geography

Reeth is located on the B6270 road that crosses the entirety of Swaledale, linking

with

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrit ...

in Cumbria. Nearby settlements to Reeth include the fellow parish villages of Fremington east and Healaugh to the west, as well as Grinton, to the east. Reeth is situated at the meeting point of the two most northerly of the Yorkshire Dales: Swaledale and

Arkengarthdale Arkengarthdale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England. Running roughly north-west to south-east, it is the valley of the Arkle Beck, and is the northernmost of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a subsidiar ...

. It is also near to Reeth that Arkle Beck from the north joins the

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

. The village is overlooked by the surrounding

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

s of Harkerside Moor,

Fremington Edge Fremington Edge is a long wall of crags and scree slopes that is situated to the north of the village of Reeth in Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England. Fremington Edge forms the south-eastern edge of Arkeng ...

and

Calver Hill Calver Hill is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in North Yorkshire, England. It is composed of limestone''"The Rivers, Mountains and Sea Coast of Yorkshire"'', John Phillips, States that Calver Hill is composed of limestone. and is si ...

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...

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 ...

, an unofficial but popular long-distance footpath from Saint Bees to

Robin Hood's Bay Robin Hood's Bay is a small Yorkshire coast fishery, fishing village and a bay located in the North York Moors National Park, south of Whitby and north of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Ba ...

, passes through Reeth.

Demography

For the parish of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh:

Community and culture

Primary education is provided by ''Reeth Community Primary School'', which is engaged in a confederation with nearby '' Gunnerside Methodist Primary School''. Pupils then receive secondary education at Richmond School & Sixth Form College. In May and June every year Reeth becomes the hub of the Swaledale Festival, a two-week celebration of music and guided walks. Unfortunately it had to be cancelled in 2020 owing to Coronavirus. Additionally on the final Wednesday of August the Reeth Show, an agricultural event, is held. In 2012 it celebrated its centenary. Reeth is also home to the Swaledale Museum, which covers

rural history In historiography, rural history is a field of study focusing on the history of societies in rural areas. At its inception, the field was based on the economic history of agriculture. Since the 1980s it has become increasingly influenced by social ...

including life and work in the local area of

and

within the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was design ...

Amenities

Village amenities include three

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s (the ''Black Bull Hotel'', the ''Buck Hotel'' and the ''King's Arms''), a caravan and camp site, a village shop and post office, two bakeries, a cafe, eleven guest houses variously bed and breakfast or self-catering, two hotels
The Burgoyne Hotel
, a community centre, the Evangelical Congregational Church, Reeth Memorial Hall and the Swaledale Museum. One of five

National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

Centres for the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York ...

is located in Reeth. The local health establishment is Reeth Medical Centre, which serves more than 200 square miles and more than 1,500 patients.

Religion

Reeth is home to two churches. The current ''Reeth Methodist Chapel'' has been in use since 1822, although Methodists have been worshipping in the village since at least 1766.http://www.nydalesmeth.org.uk/reeth.htm Reeth Methodists The larger ''Reeth Evangelical Congregational Church'' is located on the village green.

Notable people

* The nonconformist minister

David Bradberry David Bradberry, sometimes called Bradbury (1736–1803), was an English nonconformist minister. Life Bradberry appears to have been resident in London in 1768, and for a time was minister of the congregation at Glovers' Hall, London, which then ...

was born in Reeth. * Ruby Ferguson, a writer of popular fiction including children's books, romances and mysteries, was born and brought up in Reeth. *

Arthur Shepherd Arthur Shepherd (February 19, 1880 – January 12, 1958) was an American composer and conductor in the 20th century. Life and career Shepherd was born in Paris, Idaho, into a Mormon family. His family loved to sing and his father, William N. B ...

, M.P. for Darlington 1926-1931, was Headmaster of Reeth School from 1922 until his election to the House of Commons.

References

External links

*
Reeth Information from Reeth.org

Swaledale Museum
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Swaledale Richmondshire