Grinton Explained

Country:England
Static Image:Grinton Bridge.jpg
Static Image Width:250px
Static Image Caption:Grinton Bridge across the River Swale
Coordinates:54.3809°N -1.9297°W
Official Name:Grinton
Population:200
Population Ref:(2011 census)
Unitary England:North Yorkshire
Lieutenancy England:North Yorkshire
Region:Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituency Westminster:Richmond (Yorks)
Post Town:RICHMOND
Postcode District:DL11
Postcode Area:DL
Os Grid Reference:SE046983

Grinton is a small village and civil parish in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. Close to Reeth and Fremington, it lies 15km (09miles) west of Richmond on the B6270 road.[1] [2]

On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.[3] The route would have been repeated, if not for the changing of the route due to high rainfall, in the Men's road race in the 2019 UCI World Championships[4] going through the climb Grinton moor, which lasted for at an average gradient of 7%.[5]

St Andrew's church

See main article: Church of St Andrew, Grinton. Often called "The Cathedral of the Dales", Grinton church is dedicated to St Andrew and was for centuries the main church for the whole of upper Swaledale, with many burials coming from miles away.[6] The bodies were carried as much as 16 miles down the valley along the footpath from Keld, now known as the Corpse Way or corpse road, in wicker coffins. Several long stones, located at intervals along the path, traditionally called "coffin stones", are said to be where the coffin would have been set down while the pallbearers rested.[7]

Fragments of the old Norman church remain, including the font and the tower arch, which dates from the late 12th century.[8] Other parts of the building date from the late 13th or early 14th century, and the pulpit is Jacobean, but St Andrew's is now mainly a 15th-century rebuild.

The church is often used as a venue for concerts during the Swaledale Festival and at other times.[9] It was featured in the British television series All Creatures Great and Small, in the episode "Brotherly Love".[10]

Other notable features

The stone bridge across the River Swale was widened in the 18th century. The river is reputedly the fastest-flowing in England, and Grinton is the first point above Richmond where it could normally be forded.[11]

Blackburn Hall, between the churchyard and the river, dates from 1635.

The Bridge Inn is popular with walkers and is a venue for weekly folk music sessions, normally held on Thursday evenings.[9]

Above the village, on the Leyburn road is YHA Grinton Lodge, a former shooting lodge which is now a youth hostel.[12] Further on from the youth hostel, just off the road, is the site of Grinton Smelt Mill, a lead processing site built in the 19th century.[13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Yorkshire Dales - Northern & Central Area . OL30 . 2016 . 1;25,000 . Explorer . Ordnance Survey . 9780319263358 .
  2. Darlington & Richmond . 304 . 2015 . 1;25,000 . Explorer . Ordnance Survey . 9780319245569.
  3. Web site: Tour de France Stage 1. 15 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140725103624/http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-1.html. 25 July 2014. dead.
  4. Web site: 2019 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race. 27 September 2019.
  5. Web site: Grinton moor climb, North Yorkshire . 27 September 2019.
  6. Web site: Gunnerside archives website. 2008-11-14.
  7. Web site: The Corpse Way leaflet. https://web.archive.org/web/20060823033651/http://www.lhi.org.uk/docs/yh00474_leaflet.pdf . 23 August 2006 .
  8. [Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner, Nikolaus]
  9. Web site: Swaledale Festival website. 2008-11-14.
  10. Web site: St Andrew's Church, Grinton, N Yorks, UK – All Creatures Great & Small, Brotherly Love (1990) . Waymarking.com.
  11. Web site: 2 Dales website . 2008-11-14.
  12. Web site: YHA Grinton Lodge. YHA . 2009 . 20 May 2009 .
  13. Web site: Out of Oblivion: A landscape through time . www.outofoblivion.org.uk . 3 November 2019 . 19 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210719164821/http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=556 . dead .