Pateley Bridge

Coordinates: 54°05′07″N 1°45′44″W / 54.0854°N 1.7622°W / 54.0854; -1.7622

Pateley Bridge
Pateley Bridge (2).JPG
Pateley Bridge High Street
Pateley Bridge is located in North Yorkshire
Pateley Bridge

 Pateley Bridge shown within North Yorkshire
Population 2,000 
OS grid reference SE155655
Civil parish High and Low Bishopside
District Harrogate
Shire county North Yorkshire
Region Yorkshire and the Humber
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Harrogate
Postcode district HG3
Dialling code 01423
Police North Yorkshire
Fire North Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire

Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd.

It has the oldest sweet shop in England[1] and is the home of the Nidderdale Museum.

The last Dales agricultural show of the year, the Nidderdale Show, is held annually on the showground by the River Nidd. The show attracts over 14000 visitors each year.

History

Pateley was first recorded in the 12th century. It takes its name from the Old English paða-leah, meaning "clearing near the paths" and referring to paths up Nidderdale and from Ripon to Craven, which intersected here.[2] The local story that the name comes from 'Pate', an old Yorkshire dialect word for 'Badger',[3] is incorrect.[4]

In 1320 the Archbishop of York granted a charter for a market and fair at Pateley.[5]

Until 1964, Pateley was the terminus of the railway line running up Nidderdale from Nidd Valley Junction, near Harrogate. Between 1907 and 1937, the Nidd Valley Light Railway ran farther up the dale. Access is now by road, with an hourly bus service from Harrogate.[6]

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Local government

Pateley Bridge was historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and in the Lower Division of Claro Wapentake. In the 19th century local government reforms the town fell within the Pateley Bridge Poor Law Union,[7] later the Pateley Bridge Rural Sanitary District[8] and from 1894 Pateley Bridge Rural District.[9] In 1937 the rural district was merged to become part of Ripon and Pateley Bridge Rural District.[10]

Since 1974 the town has fallen within the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

Pateley Bridge is the largest settlement in the civil parish of High and Low Bishopside, historically a township in the large parish of Ripon. High and Low Bishopside was created a civil parish in 1866.[11] Pateley Bridge was granted town status in 1986, and the High and Low Bishopside Parish Council was renamed Pateley Bridge Town Council.[12] However, the official name of the parish remains High and Low Bishopside.

The parish is bounded on the west by the River Nidd, and includes a large area of moorland to the east of the town. Other settlements in the parish include the southern part of Wath, Glasshouses, Wilsill, Blazefield and Fell Beck. The parish does not include the Nidderdale showground or the district of Bridgehouse Gate, which are on the west bank of the Nidd in the parish of Bewerley.

In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,153.[13]

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Amenities

"The Oldest Sweet Shop in England"

Bed & breakfast houses, church and chapel, garage (Nidderdale Motors), hotels, Nidderdale Museum, primary school, public houses, public library, public park, restaurants, secondary school, shops and theatre (Pateley Playhouse). Bewerley Park Centre for Outdoor Education is in the nearby village of Bewerley. Brimham Rocks and Stump Cross Caverns are also close by.

The Nidderdale Way and Six Dales Trail both pass through the town.

The town also serves as a sporting hub, with several teams (known collectively as 'The Badgers') competing in football, cricket and crown green bowling.

The football team, known as Pateley Bridge FC currently competes in the 14th level of the footballing pyramid in the Harrogate and District Football League Premier.

The town is also famous for "The Oldest Sweet Shop in England" which was established in 1827 and is the oldest existing sweet shop in the country.

The King Street Workshops can be found on King Street & house a talented group of artists and designers. Their studios are open and they include jewellers, milliner, textile art & gifts, sculptors, fine artist and glassblowers.

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Further reading

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Last modified on 28 March 2013, at 12:39