Reeth

Coordinates: 54°23′15″N 1°56′32″W / 54.3876°N 1.9422°W / 54.3876; -1.9422

Reeth is a village about 11 miles west of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, located within the civil parish of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh. It is considered to be the principal settlement of upper Swaledale.

History

In Saxon times, Reeth was only a settlement on the forest edge, but by the time of the Norman Conquest it had grown sufficiently in importance to be noted in the Domesday Book. Later it became a centre for hand-knitting and the local lead industry was controlled from here, but it was always a market centre for the local farming community.

The origin of the name 'Reeth' is unclear. It is possibly derived from the Germanic for 'place by the stream'. While this claim can neither be confirmed nor denied, Reeth is more likely to have been derived from the Cumbric rhyd (cf. ryd in Modern Welsh, áth in Irish Gaelic, rys in Cornish and àth in Scottish Gaelic) meaning 'Ford', which would appear probable as Reeth is located near two shallow rivers.

Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in Northern England.

The area is in the historic county of Yorkshire, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.

The Dales comprises river valleys and the hills, rising from the Vale of York westwards to the hilltops of the Pennine watershed. In Ribblesdale and Dentdale, the area extends westwards across the watershed, but most of the valleys drain eastwards to the Vale of York, into the Ouse and the Humber.

The word dale, like dell, is derived from the Old English word dæl. It has cognates in the Nordic/Germanic words for valley (dal, tal), and occurs in valley names across Yorkshire and Northern England. Usage here may have been reinforced by Nordic languages during the time of the Danelaw.

Geography

Most of the dales are named after their river or stream (e.g., Arkengarthdale, formed by Arkle Beck). The best-known exception is Wensleydale, which is named after the small village and former market town of Wensley, rather than the River Ure, although an older name for the dale is Yoredale. River valleys all over Yorkshire are called "(name of river)+dale"—but only the more northern valleys (and only the upper, rural, reaches) are included in the term "The Dales" . The southern boundary area lies in Wharfedale and Airedale. The lower reaches of these valleys are not usually included in the area, and Calderdale, much further south, is not part of the Dales even though it is a dale, is in Yorkshire, and its upper reaches are as scenic and rural as many further north.

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire and ceremonial county in England. It is located primarily in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber but partly in the region of North East England.

Created by the Local Government Act 1972, it covers an area of 8,654 square kilometres (3,341 sq mi), making it the largest county in England. The majority of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors lie within North Yorkshire's boundaries, and around 40% of the county is covered by National Parks. The largest settlements are York (153,717), Middlesbrough (138,400), Harrogate (73,576) and Scarborough (61,749); the county town, Northallerton, has a population of 16,832.

Divisions and environs

The area under the control of the county council, or shire county, is divided into a number of local government districts: Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.

The Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising North Yorkshire County Council's administrative structure by abolishing the seven district councils and the county council to create a North Yorkshire unitary authority. The changes were planned to be implemented no later than 1 April 2009. This was rejected on 25 July 2007 so the County Council and District Council structure will remain.