I imagine this doorway looks lovely when the wisteria is in bloom and I presume that's why they have chosen a pale mauve for the paint. But even when the blossom has gone, I think it's a pretty frontage. The two-bedroomed cottage is on Dent's narrow Main Street, and overlooks the church at the back. It's handy for the Sun Inn too!
It is currently For Sale with a guide price of £195,000.00 - the estate agent's details have some pictures of the interior, if you want to peek inside! They seem to be marketing it as a holiday let - and that is one of the problems besetting the Yorkshire Dales villages, where property is priced out of the reach of young couples and families starting out. The villages are becoming 'ghost towns' out of season. Let's hope that never happens to Saltaire.
I like comparing 'then' and 'now' photographs, and here is a pair showing the old Post Office in Dent, on the interestingly named road The Laning. As the first photo shows, it is no longer a Post Office but a private house. I don't know how old the second photo is - possibly taken just before the First World War? The lady still appears to be wearing a high-necked Edwardian dress. The road is rough and stony and clearly a pony and trap was the local mode of transport of the day.
Dentdale is about 10 miles long. Early Norse settlers preferred to live in scattered homesteads throughout the valley and, perhaps as a result, there is only the one small village of Dent and a few little hamlets in the dale. The village of Dent sits above the River Dee, and the oldest part of the village - shown here - around the Norman church, has very narrow cobbled streets and is quite picturesque. The large stone you can see at the corner of the house in the distance is actually a drinking fountain and commemorates Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873), known as the father of modern geology, who was born in Dent, son of the local Anglican vicar. The Dent area also has a strong Quaker tradition.
I'm putting more photos of Dent and Dentdale on my other blog.
In times past, the hills and moors of Yorkshire and Cumbria were much more heavily populated and worked than they are now. There were mines (coal, lead), quarries and lime kilns, as well as farms and handloom weavers' cottages (and hand knitters in Dentdale). I was fascinated to come across this restored lime kiln in Dentdale, with its useful explanatory board - for a more complete explanation, see here. Lime was one of the goods ferried by train and on the canals from the Dales to the cities during the Industrial Revolution. It has a number of uses, in building and in agriculture.The cellar in my house is white lime-washed - and the mortar in the stone walls is black lime mortar. Lime mortar is relatively soft, allowing some flexibility in the walls as the ground shifts and settles and it also allows the walls to breath and moisture to evaporate. It can cause problems in these old houses if you cover them over with modern mortar or render, leading to damp and cracking. Though the other problem is that, over time, the mortar degrades a bit and the black gritty dust creeps into the house, which isn't good news.
(Best viewed large)
Dentdale, like most of the other Yorkshire Dales, has plenty of old stone barns up on the hills as well as down in the valley. This one had a nice weathered door, with a lovely selection of ferns growing between the stones.
Had a weekend of highs and lows... The highs were here - Dentdale, one of the smaller and less well-known Yorkshire Dales, up to the northeast of Saltaire (almost in the Lake District). My journey started on the glorious Settle to Carlisle railway line, known as one of the best railway journeys in England. On the way to Dent, the train soars over the Ribblehead Viaduct among some wild and beautiful scenery. Dent Station is actually about 4 miles outside Dent village, up a steep hill - so I was glad that there is a special bus connection on Saturdays for visitors. I walked a circular walk around Dentdale, up onto the edge of the moors and then back along the riverside. At one point I found this wonderful viewpoint over the Dale. There was a plaque showing the main points of interest and this verse (from: 'Smiling Along' by Kathleen Partridge), which pretty much summed up how I felt:
Roaming the byways outside the great city
The sky seems too large for my little concerns;
Worries are lost in the green of the landscape
A sense of wellbeing and wonder returns.
A good wholesome breeze sweeps the frown from my forehead,
Here is simplicity, fragrant and free.
It is enough to be living this minute;
To feel and to hear, to think and to see.
The lows?... Unfortunately my worries didn't stay lost for long. My washer-dryer broke down, necessitating a great deal of rewashing, by hand, to try and get the oily marks out of the clothes (!) - not to mention the expense of a new machine. Ah well, luckily Saltaire has a launderette until I can sort out a replacement.
There was a wedding taking place in Bolton Priory Church last Saturday when I was there. It meant I couldn't go into the church, which is a pity as it's very attractive inside. The church is in such a picturesque setting that it is a very popular choice for (well-to-do!) couples. I caught a glimpse of the bride and groom through the glass doors of the church, but didn't manage to take any photos of them. This, however, was the vintage car waiting to whisk them off to their reception after the wedding ceremony. I'm not sure what type of car it is. It was so highly polished that this picture could also qualify for the Weekend Reflections theme!
This is a clearer view of Bolton Abbey ruins, the Priory Church and its graveyard (where, incidentally, the famous Yorkshire & English cricketer Fred Trueman is buried.) Nestled into a bend in the River Wharfe, it is an idyllic spot, beloved by locals and tourists alike. The Bolton estate around it has miles of lovely walks along the river banks and through ancient woods. There are several famous beauty spots including the Strid, a point where the generally broad river suddenly narrows and rushes through a steep chasm among the rocks.
PS: History note - the abbeys and monasteries all over England were deliberately dissolved, by King Henry 8th around 1536 - the English Reformation - when he made himself 'Supreme Head of the Church of England' and split from Papal authority. (In part because he wanted his marriage annulled, which the Catholic church would not allow). Once disbanded, the buildings fell into neglect and much of the stone was stolen and used for other buildings. That's why we have so many ruined abbeys in England.
Another contender for Weekend Reflections .... I do love reflections and this is a particularly peaceful image.
Actually, it's a very popular tourist spot and the footbridge and the adjacent stepping stones can sometimes hold a continuous stream of people crossing from one bank of the River Wharfe to the other. But I managed to catch a moment when all was quiet. It's a magical and, I think, very 'English' scene, especially when the cows wander down to drink in the river. When I was there last weekend, the water level in the river was quite low, but it can be deceptive and parts of the river have deep pools and nasty currents. A child sadly drowned here last year.Happily, nothing spoilt the fun on Saturday and there were lots of families out picnicking, paddling and sampling delicious Yorkshire Dales ice-cream.
It's Weekend Reflections time again, hosted by James at Newtown Area Photo. And here is an intrepid family crossing the river at Bolton Abbey via the stepping stones. Me...? I used the footbridge!
Bolton Abbey is a famous beauty spot (about 20 miles north of Saltaire) at the southern end of the Yorkshire Dales, where the River Wharfe winds its way through meadows and woods belonging to the estate of the Duke of Devonshire. The Abbey ruins are the remains of a priory (small monastery) founded in 1151. When the monasteries were dissolved by King Henry 8th, the nave of the priory was allowed to continue as a parish church, so you have the interesting situation where there is a small but active local church (which, incidentally, is really beautiful inside) within the imposing ruined abbey.
Kettlewell still has one of the iconic old-fashioned red phone boxes (hooray!). So many of these have disappeared from our streets, replaced by modern glass designs. But I imagine there would be an outcry if BT were to try to change this one. The National Parks Authority has very strict rules about planning and what can be changed. Ironically, when the boxes were first introduced, a lot of rural areas were upset by the bright colour. Nowadays people fight to keep these old red boxes.
The red box (K2) was originally designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1924. He was a famous architect who designed many notable buildings including Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. He was the grandson of Sir George Gilbert Scott who designed the Albert Memorial (see my post of June 3) and St. Pancras Station in London. The red box design was continued with minor alterations - this one is a K6, originally introduced in 1935.
This is one of the windows in the chancel (choir area) of St Mary's Church, Kettlewell. Though it was quite a dull day, just for a moment sunshine streamed through, creating soft colours on the stone.
Several of the stained glass windows in the church are memorials to servicemen - to John and Michael Holdsworth (of Scargill House) who were both killed in WW2 (though Michael's twin William survived the war) and to Charles Godfrey Cutcliffe Hyne, who was killed aged 18 in WW1 1916. I didn't get a good photo of that window (didn't have my tripod) but it is a very poignant picture. It shows Christ - with a very boyish face, glowing with light - standing by a pile of soldier's clothes representing the boy who died. There are two uniformed soliders, one on each side, each with the face of one of his real-life friends. It really reminded me that so many of those killed in war (even today) are such young men.
There has been a church in Kettlewell since Norman times (1120). The present building is Victorian, consecrated in 1885. It replaced the previous Georgian building that was found to be unsafe and was demolished, though the Georgian tower still stands. It is a modestly sized church set in attractive grounds - some of the churchyard is tended, with mown grass and garden flowers but some has been allowed to grow wild. At the churchyard entrance there is a lychgate - a wooden arched gateway - erected in 1921 by the Holdsworths (who at that time owned Scargill House) in thanksgiving for their marriage. (If you want to know more about lychgates, look at H's blog, Little Sealed Packages).
One of those shops that sells pretty much everything you might need! - general grocery items, newspapers, lottery tickets, beer and wine, fruit and veg, bread and cakes, meat, frozen foods, chilled goods, sweets and chocolate, cigarettes, and local produce including ice cream and Wensleydale dairy cheeses. Oh yes, fishing nets too! It has modern fittings inside (fridges etc) of course, but looks little changed on the outside. It's a long way to the nearest supermarket, so the villagers and visitors will be glad of it.
The village of Kettlewell is a typical Dales village, with a cluster of stone cottages and a village church. It sits on a bend in the River Wharfe. A small stream - Kettlewell Beck - flows right through the centre (see map), bridged at both the top and bottom end of the village. The village has three pubs, a village shop, a garage (rare in these parts!), a Youth Hostel, some tourist shops, cafés and bed & breakfast accommodation. It also famously holds a 'Scarecrow' Festival every August when hundreds of decorative scarecrows appear throughout the village.
Another characteristic feature of the Yorkshire Dales is the old stone barns dotted across the landscape. Some are still in good repair but many are crumbling and no longer used. There are reputed to be about 4500 field barns (in some dales there is one in nearly every field!) most dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. There are books devoted to them, and some have in recent times been converted into very desirable homes, but the vast majority just sit there, providing good subject matter for photographers and a bit of shelter from the wind for hikers eating their sandwiches!
One of the most obvious features of the Yorkshire Dales landscape is the numerous limestone drystone walls that snake across the land. These are often very old, built of stones without any mortar. They can look as though they are just a pile of stones thrown together, but in fact there is a lot of skill involved in building drystone walls. Some of them have holes for livestock to move through - small bolt holes for rabbits, larger 'cripple holes' for sheep. These walls criss-cross the valley floor in Upper Wharfedale and some extend right up the valley sides. Around Kettlewell, there is evidence of an Iron Age (approx 499 BC - 71 AD) co-axial field system - long field boundaries that run from the valley bottom right up to the high limestone plateau.... though most of these walls are more like 150 - 200 years old.
I headed up into the Yorkshire Dales last weekend to help celebrate a friend's birthday, with a weekend house-party at Scargill House in Upper Wharfedale, not far from the village of Kettlewell.
It's about 25 miles (40 km) NNW of Saltaire. (For more information about the house and the Scargill Movement please click the links.)After all the brilliant weather we have been having, sadly it reverted to type, with fine drizzle for much of the time. But that didn't stop me walking and taking photos. Upper Wharfedale is a classic U-shaped valley, scoured out by glaciers in the Ice Age.
It has been farmed since at least the Bronze Age, and farming and tourism continue to be the main activities in the area. The scenery is dominated by outcrops of Great Scar Limestone (notably at Kilnsey Crag) and the area is popular with walkers, climbers and pot-holers. This whole area is part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
A 'dale' is a river valley. The Yorkshire Dales National Park covers the scenic, rural upper reaches of these rivers: the Ribble; the Aire (Saltaire is in Airedale. The upper reaches of Airedale around Malham are known as Malhamdale); the Wharfe (
Ilkley, the town I featured earlier this month, is in Lower Wharfedale and Kettlewell is in Upper Wharfedale);
the Nidd; the Ure - whose valley used to be called Yoredale but is now known as Wensleydale, after one of its villages; and the Swale. There are also numerous smaller dales, all of which are very attractive and interesting. The geography and geology of the Yorkshire Dales are a bit complicated to describe at length here, but there is plenty of info and maps on the internet.
I imagine this doorway looks lovely when the wisteria is in bloom and I presume that's why they have chosen a pale mauve for the paint. But even when the blossom has gone, I think it's a pretty frontage. The two-bedroomed cottage is on Dent's narrow Main Street, and overlooks the church at the back. It's handy for the Sun Inn too!
