Whaw is a hamlet in

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 subsidiary ...

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 one of few settlements in the dale and is one of the smallest. Its name derives 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 ...

of ''Kvi'' and ''Hagi'', which means the enclosure of the sheep. It is about north of Langthwaite and north west of

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 ...

. The adjacent Arkle Beck Meadows form a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The hillsides around Whaw are scarred with the remnants of lead mining and former hushes are still in evidence. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the hamlet was (and the whole of Arkengarthdale) were subject to a higher population because of the miners working in the hills. In 1840, a Wesleyan chapel was built in Whaw, this survives but no longer as a religious house. The 1851 census counted 18 houses in Whaw. In the 2011 census, Whaw was counted in Arkengarthdale Parish as having 231 residents overall. 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 ...

References

External links

Villages in North Yorkshire Arkengarthdale {{Richmondshire-geo-stub