Coordinates: 54°04′26″N 2°17′23″W / 54.0738°N 2.2896°W / 54.0738; -2.2896

Giggleswick
Giggleswick in snow
Giggleswick  Giggleswick shown within North Yorkshire
Population	1,410
OS grid reference	SD809647
District	Craven
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SETTLE
Postcode district	BD24
Dialling code	01729
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Skipton and Ripon
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

The church of St Alkelda

Giggleswick is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England near the town of Settle. It is the site of Giggleswick School.

Origin of name[link]

A Dictionary of British Place Names contains the entry:

Giggleswick N. Yorks. Ghigeleswic 1086 (DB). ‘Dwelling or (dairy) farm of a man called Gikel or Gichel’. OE or ME pers. name (probably a short form of the biblical name Judichael) + wīc.

Giggleswick railway station[link]

The town is served by Giggleswick railway station which provides services to Leeds in one direction and Lancaster and Morecambe in the other. The station is served by only five trains per day in each direction and is operated by Northern Rail.

Church of St Alkelda[link]

The parish church is named after St Alkelda. The present building dates mostly from the 15th century, but carved stones discovered during the restoration of 1890-2 indicated that a building existed on the site before the Norman Conquest. It is a Grade I listed building.

Famous people[link]

The late Richard Whiteley of Channel 4's Countdown was a pupil at Giggleswick School. Russell Harty was an English teacher at the school at the same time. The internationally renowned operatic soprano, Sarah Fox, was born in the village and attended Giggleswick School. The Victorian era actor Sir John Hare was born here in 1844.

Tourist attractions[link]

Giggleswick is famous locally amongst rock climbers for an excellent limestone crag, retro-bolted with many sports routes during 2005 & 2006. The crag may be found opposite the golf course (Settle Golf Club) on the B6480, North of Giggleswick.

Giggleswick in media[link]

An episode of the radio comedy The Shuttleworths was set in Giggleswick.^{[citation needed]} Comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson used Giggleswick as their emblem of a travelling actor's date with obscurity in Hancock's Half Hour, The Train Journey episode, broadcast on 23 October 1959.^{[citation needed]} Les Dawson did the same, in 1975, in Dawson's Weekly.^{[citation needed]}

1927 eclipse[link]

Among the few observers of a 24-second solar eclipse in 1927 were those in the Astronomer Royal's expedition to Giggleswick.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Giggleswick

• Details from listed building database (323793) — Church of St Alkelda. Images of England. English Heritage.
• Yorksview - Giggleswick
• Giggleswick Primary School's Website
• Giggleswick School Website
• Archive with lots of info on Giggleswick
• Walk book on history of Giggleswick

Josh Holmes started touring and recording original music in 1998 releasing four CDs under his group name, The Josh Holmes Band, leading to thousands of CD sales.^{[citation needed]}

He released his first solo album under his own name, Josh Holmes, entitled, A Table 4 One. The launch was coordinated with a national radio market release. Sony Pictures/ABC network incorporated Josh's song “Greener On the Other Side” into the season finale of their series, Beautiful People.

Inspirations[link]

Singer/songwriter Holmes was raised on Motown and classic rock and roll. His musical style reflects influences including Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, Smokey Robinson, and the Temptations.^{[citation needed]}

The future[link]

While Holmes did secure national distribution through OarFin Distribution for his "A Table For One" release, he did not use this distribution system for "2nd Generation Loss."

Instrumentation[link]

Josh Holmes - Singer, Songwriter, Electric/Acoustic Guitar

Discography[link]

Stripped Down: Volumes One and Two (2008)

"2nd Generation Loss" (2006)

“A Table 4 One” (2004)

"Live: Taste of Chicago 02'"

"364 Days"

Holmes has shared the stage with:

• Marshall Tucker Band
• The Bodeans
• Sister Hazel
• The Crickets
• Michael Glibicki of Rusted Root
• Granian
• Chris Shaffer of the The Why Store
• Virginia Coalition
• Dovetail Joint
• Bret Michaels of Poison
• Virginia Coalition

External links[link]

• Official Myspace of Josh Holmes