Yockenthwaite is a hamlet in the county of

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 lies in the Langstrothdale valley 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 ...

National Park. Yockenthwaite is north of

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

and south of

Hawes Hawes is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a tourist attraction in the Yorks ...

. The name of the hamlet is said to derive from ''Eoghan's clearing in a wood''. Yockenthwaite lies on the north bank of the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

. It is better known than may be expected because a children's television character from '' The Rottentrolls'' takes its name from the hamlet. The hamlet is connected to the road that winds up and down Langstrothdale by a

grade II listed 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, H ...

bridge from the early 18th century. This is the only route into and out of the hamlet by road. Yockenthwaite Hall is a farmhouse dating from the 18th century. It is a

Grade II listed building 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, H ...

. Yockenthwaite Bridge is also a Grade II listed building. Until 1974 it was part 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 ...

. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Craven, 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 ...

Yockenthwaite stone circle

Just to the west of the village by Yockenthwaite Cave, are some ancient stones arranged in a circle. The stones, which are now a scheduled monument, are in diameter and believed to be

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

in origin. The overall size and layout of the stones gave rise to the nickname of the ''Giant's Grave''. Some of the stones have been taken and re-used for drystone walls and buildings. Speight refers to the site as a "druid's circle" and whilst it has been described as a stone circle, it is believed to be a

ring cairn A ring cairn (also correctly termed a ring bank enclosure, but sometimes wrongly described as a ring barrow) is a circular or slightly oval, ring-shaped, low (maximum 0.5 metres high) embankment, several metres wide and from 8 to 20 metres i ...

. Whilst 23 stones remain extant, there are spaces for three to four more stones in the circle, which have been removed.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Yockenthwaite Hamlets in North Yorkshire Langstrothdale

Yockenthwaite stone circle

See also

References

External links