Grewelthorpe
Encyclopedia
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Harrogate
Harrogate (borough)
Harrogate is a local government district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate but it also includes surrounding towns and villages...
district of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
situated three miles south of Masham
Masham
Masham is a small market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,235. Situated in Wensleydale on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa. The Romans had...
and six miles north of Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
. It is located in the Nidderdale area of outstanding natural beauty.
The name Grewelthorpe derives from the words Gruel and Thorpe, Gruel being a family name and thorpe
Thorpe
Thorpe is a variant of the Middle English word thorp, meaning hamlet or small village. It may also refer to one of the following:-Places in England:*South Thorpe, County Durham*Thorpe, Cumbria*Thorpe, Derbyshire*Thorpe, East Riding of Yorkshire...
meaning "outlying farmstead".
Grewelthorpe was mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
when it was known as Torp and was in the ownership of Gospatric.
In 2009 Grewelthorpe has one active church, St James's and a pub, the Crown. It also has a duck pond, which is a distinctive feature of the village, it is populated by ducks which people come from surrounding villages to feed.
The local primary school is known as Grewelthorpe Church of England Primary school, it takes children from four years old to eleven years old, the current school building was opened in June 2003, and is located at cross hills in Grewelthorpe, however Grewelthorpe has had a school since 1876.
Unlike many Yorkshire villages Grewelthorpe does not currently have a cricket club. It last had one in the 1950s, but it folded as a result of the failure to find a suitable playing field.
Hackfall
On the edge of the village of Grewelthorpe is Hackfall, sometimes called Hackfall Wood, which is a Grade I Garden in English Heritage's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Although it appears to be a natural wood, the landscape that can be seen today was in large part a result of design and work undertaken by the Aislabies of Studley Royal. In Victorian times it was a popular attraction: there are grottos, surprise views, waterfalls, a fountain and several follies, including Mowbray Castle, a ruin in a prominent hill-top position. After a long period of neglect, restoration has been undertaken by the Hackfall Trust and the Woodland TrustWoodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...
, with the help of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
. Hackfall is open to the public.