Littondale
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/2014_Littondale.jpg/310px-2014_Littondale.jpg)
Littondale is a dale in the former Craven District of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. It comprises the main settlements of Hawkswick, Arncliffe, Litton, Foxup and Halton Gill, and farmhouses that date from the 17th century. The main waterway in the dale is the River Skirfare which is fed by many small gills and becks.
The dale, first recorded by name as Littundale in 1198, is one of the few dales named from its main settlement rather than its river (Wensleydale is the best known example).[1] Historically the dale was also known as Amerdale.[2] The village of Arncliffe was the original setting for the TV series Emmerdale, which is believed to take its name from Amerdale.[3]
Geography
Littondale is a side dale to the west of
A narrow road leads up the dale from the B6160 near
History
Littondale is rich in Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements, and has been a sheltered fertile valley for 5,000 years or more. Anglian cultivation terraces (lynchets) can be seen in the valley. After the Conquest, the Normans turned it into a hunting chase before the land was granted to the monks of Fountains Abbey in the 13th century, and became extensively used for sheep farming.[4]
All of Littondale was historically in the
Settlements
Arncliffe is the second, and largest, settlement reached travelling from the B6160, lies at the confluence of Cowside Beck and the River Skirfare. The name derives from the Old English, earna-clif, meaning eagles cliff.[9] It is now a conservation area and is centred on its village green and has one public house. The church was built in the 16th and 18th centuries to replace the stone 11th century building, which probably superseded a wooden Anglo-Saxon church.
Litton is the third settlement reached travelling from the B6160. The name has the meaning village on a roaring stream.[10]
Halton Gill is the fourth settlement reached travelling from the B6160. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon haugh meaning Valley and tun meaning farm. Gill is a derivation of the Olde Norse 'gil', meaning ravine, therefore the whole name means valley farm by the ravine.[11][12]
Foxup is the last settlement reached travelling from the B6160. The name means fox valley.[13]
Governance
Littondale lies within the Mid Craven electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council. The county councillor in 2020 is Gill Quinn of the Conservative Party.[14]
Littondale lies within the Craven District Council ward of Upper Wharfedale and as of 2020 is represented by Sue Metcalfe of the Conservative Party.[15]
There are four civil parishes in Littondale. Arncliffe has a
Gallery
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Littondale. Seen from above Hawkswick on the path from Kettlewell.
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View down Littondale
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View up Littondale. Looking north-westwards from footpath corner at MR: SD916739.
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View up Littondale. Looking up dale from the Monks Road in a north-westerly direction.
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Stone pillar, Littondale near Hawkswick Bridge.
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Littondale (North Yorkshire). View from near the Hawkswick to Malham footpath.
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Hawkswick
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Arncliffe
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The Queen's Arms, Litton
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Halton Gill
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Foxup
References
- ^ Smith, A. H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 126.
- ^ Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1805). History and Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven. p. 421.
- ^ "Guide to Littondale". Yorkshire Dales Online. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Littondale Information" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Scoska Wood" (PDF). designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ Vision of Britain website
- ^ "Hawswick etymology". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Etymology". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Arncliffe etymology". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Litton etymology". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Halton Gill Etrymology". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Etymology". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ Smith, A. H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 122.
- ^ "County Councillors map". North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ "List of Councillors". Craven District Council. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ "Parish clerks". North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
External links
Media related to Littondale at Wikimedia Commons