Coordinates: 54°04′16″N 1°59′53″W / 54.071°N 1.998°W / 54.071; -1.998

Grassington
Grassington main street
Grassington  Grassington shown within North Yorkshire
Population	1,390
OS grid reference	SE001639
District	Craven
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SKIPTON
Postcode district	BD23
Dialling code	01756
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

Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. The town is situated in Wharfedale around 9 miles (14 km) from Bolton Abbey and is surrounded by limestone scenery. Nearby villages include Linton, Threshfield, Hebden, Conistone and Kilnsey.

The entrance to an inclined shaft at Yarnbury Lead Mine to the north of Grassington.

Although often described by local people as a village, Grassington was granted a Royal Charter for a market and fair in 1282 giving it market town status. The market was held regularly until about 1860. A change in land use from the early 17th century, when lead mining began to assume more importance, brought some prosperity, but Grassington's heyday arrived during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The opening of the Yorkshire Dales Railway to Threshfield in 1901 brought new visitors, many of whom settled, some finding work in Skipton or in the developing limestone quarries.The Old Hall at Grassington is reputedly the oldest house in Yorkshire, dating from the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century.^[1]

Today Grassington is the main residential and tourist centre in Upper Wharfedale^{[citation needed]} Centred around its small cobbled square is a selection of shops, pubs and the village museum, offering food, clothing and gifts, alongside small cafes, restaurants and hotels. Grassington Folk Museum houses a collection which tells the story of Wharfedale.^[2] It is an independent museum, run and managed by volunteers. Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association is a voluntary mountain rescue organisation, located in Grassington, which rescues people in trouble from the surrounding fells and caves.^[3]

Grassington Festival is a two-week long annual event encompassing music, performance and visual arts, held in a variety of venues around the village.^[4] In 2008 it included acts by Jo Brand, Dara Ó Briain, Clare Teal and Toyah Wilcox.

In the winter Grassington also hosts the very popular Dickensian Festival when the entire village is taken over by Dickensian costumes and Christmas activities and opportunities to purchase Christmas presents.^[5]

A Yorkshire Dales National Park information centre is on Hebden Road.

Three miles north of Grassington at Kilnsey is the glacially carved overhang of Kilnsey Crag.

Grass Wood, a large area of ancient woodland including the Iron-Age fort, Fort Gregory (also known as Gregory's Fort), is situated just over one mile northwest of Grassington.^[6][7]

Electricity generation[link]

In 1909, Grassington received its first electricity from a hydroelectric plant at Linton Falls, which continued to operate until 1948 when the National Grid arrived in the area. In March 2012 a new hydroelectric power plant was opened using the same but restored turbine house, which provides 500,000 kWh of electricity a year, using two Archimedean screws.^[8][9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Map of the Grass Wood
• Grassington Lead Mining Trail by Craven & Pendle Geological Society
• Lead mines - Meerstones of Grassington Moor
• Upper Wharfedale School Website