The Village of Clapham in North Yorkshire

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Clapham (grid reference SD745694) is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It was previously in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It lies within the Yorkshire Dales National Park 6 miles north west of Settle just off the A65. The church of St. James in Clapham was founded in Norman times, and was originally dedicated to St. Michael. It is mentioned in records dating back to 1160. Unfortunately, it and the rest of the village were burned during a Scottish raid following the Battle of Bannockburn in the early 14th-century. The church tower was probably erected following this incident, but the rest of the church only dates from the 19th-century.

In the 14th century John de Clapham, who took his surname from the village, was a supporter of the earl of Warwick and lived at Clapdale Castle. His ancestors also took part in the Wars of the Roses, albeit on the side of the House of Lancaster.

Since the 18th century Clapham has been home to the Farrer family who established their Ingleborough estate. The family owns and is responsible for much of the land, walls, woods, fields and moors of the village, surrounding countryside and farms.

Electricity has been generated on the Ingleborough estate since 1893. There is still an operating water turbine-powered generator at the top of the village next to the waterfall. It was installed in 1948. Originally it supplied the church, Ingleborough Hall, Home Farm and 13 street lights. There is another turbine in the sawmill which is also still in use although it is now helped by an electric motor when the larger saw is in use.

In August 1947 the Trow Ghyll skeleton was discovered in a cave above the village.

Clapham is situated at the base of Ingleborough mountain (one of Yorkshire's famous "Three Peaks" - Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent) and is a well known starting point for its ascent.

Running through the village is Clapham Beck. This is fed from Fell Beck which starts on the slopes of Ingleborough and sinks into Gaping Gill, England's highest waterfall, where Fell Beck drops 110 metres vertically down a pothole, and exits via Ingleborough Cave into Clapham Beck. The beck then feeds into the River Lune via the River Wenning. The beck is crossed by four bridges in the village (two footbridges: Brokken Bridge and Mafeking Bridge, and two road bridges).

Above the village is a man-made lake built and expanded in the 19th century. This provided pressure for the water turbines and the drinking water supply, while the outflow fed an artificial waterfall at the top of the village.

Clapham is just below the Craven fault. This is a geological fault which marks the division of the sandstone rocks of the Bowland area and the limestone of the Ingleborough area. The presence of the Craven fault means that the soil is acid and not alkaline which is beneficial to the nearby species of rhododendron which suffer in alkaline soils.

The famous playwright Alan Bennett has a country cottage in the village. The notable botanist Reginald Farrer (1880-1920)[4] was born and lived in Clapham. He collected many new species of rhododendrons, shrubs and alpines in China, Tibet and Upper Burma between 1914 and 1920. Many of these were planted on the Estate by Farrer. In some places he fired seeds at cliff faces from a shotgun, to give a ‘natural’ spread to his rock plants

The village contains Clapham CE Primary School, a village hall, one pub (the New Inn), a local shop and post office, and a small number of businesses, B&Bs and guest houses, including Brookhouse Guest House, located adjacent to Clapham Beck itself.

Up until 2000 the Dalesman magazine was based in the village.

Being within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the car park is run by the national park with fees going directly to them.

Ingleborough Cave is a fine show cave open to the public, accessed through the grounds of the Ingleborough Estate. Beyond the show cave the path continues through the impressive gorge of Trow Gill and hence to Gaping Gill. Local caving clubs set up a winch down Gaping Gill during the Spring and August bank holidays, which is open to the general public.

Based in the village is the Cave Rescue Organisation which serves people and animals above and below ground across a wide area of the Dales.