Skyrack was a
wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...
of 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 ...
, England. It was split into upper and lower divisions and centred in
Headingley, Leeds. The Lower Division included the
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 ...
es of
Aberford
Aberford is a village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,059 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,180 at the 2011 Census. It is situated east, north east of Leed ...
,
Bardsey,
Barwick-in-Elmet
Barwick-in-Elmet (pronounced ''Barrick-in-Elmet'') is a village in West Yorkshire, east of Leeds city centre. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Romano-British kingdom of Elmet, the others b ...
,
Kippax,
Thorner,
Whitkirk and part of
Harewood, while the Upper Division included the parishes of
Adel,
Bingley
Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is sited on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The town had a population of 18,040 at the United Kingdom ...
,
Guiseley
Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...
and parts of Harewood,
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...
and
Otley
Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...
.

The Upper division of Skyrack was bounded to the north by the River Wharfe whilst the southern edge was bounded by the River Aire. Both divisions together contained 82 settlements.
The Skyrack wapentake derives its name from
a large oak that grew for centuries in Headingley. It is believed that the word "skyrack" comes 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 ...
phrase ''scir ac'' meaning "
Shire Oak", under which meetings were held. The tree finally collapsed in 1941.
[Arthur Mee (1941) The King's England: Yorkshire - West Riding (Hodder & Stoughton, London) p. 179] There is a plaque to commemorate it on the outside of the garden wall of the Original Oak pub.
It also gives its name to the Skyrack pub opposite the Original Oak. The pub, which is one of the stopping points on the
Otley Run pub crawl, is a
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 building.
The
Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club, the second oldest
mountaineering club in England, was founded at a meeting held in the Skyrack pub on 6 October 1892.
References
External links
Full list of 82 settlements in the wapentake of Skyrack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skyrack
History of Bradford
History of Leeds
Wapentakes of the West Riding of Yorkshire