Masongill is a small community on the edge of the Craven

Craven

Craven is a local government district in North Yorkshire, England that came into being in 1974, centred on the market town of Skipton. In the changes to British local government of that year this district was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton...

 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...

. The village, in the Yorkshire Dales

Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...

, lies near the border of Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 to the west, and the nearby hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of Ireby

Ireby, Lancashire

Ireby is a small hamlet and civil parish on the edge of Lancashire, England, bordering North Yorkshire. It lies in the City of Lancaster, just outside the Yorkshire Dales, near the community of Masongill. The parish had a population of 78 according to the 2001 Census. The name means "Town of the...

.

St. Mary's Church Ingleton contains a memorial to one Randall Hopley Sherlock (father of the vicar, TD Sherlock) hit by lightning at Ingleton

Ingleton, North Yorkshire

Ingleton is a village and civil parish in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is famous for walking, hiking and caving. Favourite walks are the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail and the climb up Ingleborough which is one of the famous Three Peaks. Directly from the village visitors can...

 station), and several locations in the area include the word Holme. Mary Doyle (mother of Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...

) lived in Masongill, and Conan Doyle (creator of a character called Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

) was a frequent visitor. So some do wonder if the name of Sherlock Holmes came from Masongill.

Another person of interest in the history of Masongill is Dr. Bryan Charles Waller (1853–1932). Waller was Squire of Masongill from 1877 but prior to that he was Professor of Pathology at Edinburgh School of Medicine. He lodged with the Doyle family and quickly became a dominant factor in their lives. It was he who persuaded Conan Doyle to train as a doctor, and his mother to come and live in Masongill.
Doyle and Waller were big men with strong characters and their relationship deteriorated to such an extent that they came to blows. Also, Waller married in August 1896. Nevertheless, Mary Doyle remained as tenant of Masongill Cottage until 1917, when she moved south. She preferred the regular company of Waller to the irregular companionship of her son.