The Landscape of Nidderdale

The distinction between landscape and history is a matter of convenience, intended to classify material to make it more accessible - however, the distinction is a false one. We live in a landscape which is significantly shaped, not only by our forebears, but by our own actions. This thinking has given rise to the concept of a 'cultural landscape', one determined by the continuing interaction between people and the land.

This site is primarily concerned with Nidderdale, the valley of the River Nidd, which rises on the slopes of Little Whernside and enters the River Ouse at Nun Monkton. However, it is impossible to limit the subject matter to an area defined in these precise geographical terms. Not only does the valley have many links to the surrounding dales and share many of their characteristics, but human curiosity draws the 'eye' outwards to the wider context. For these reasons, the site incorporates material on areas and features that are not contained within Nidderdale itself. The definition of the area covered by the Nidderdale AONB similalry blurs the issue, as it incorporates significant areas outside Nidderdale proper, including large areas of the Ure and Washburn valleys. Whenever this site strays from the dale, it should either be self evident or acknowledged in the text.

500 million years ago, the land that became Nidderale was far south of the equator. During its journey north, the limestone foundation was laid down when Nidderdale was at the bottom of a warm, shallow sea. Stump Cross Cavern and the lead industry had their origins in faults which filled with liquid rock and the millstone grit was laid down when Nidderdale lay in the delta of a huge river. In recent geological time, the distinctive shape of the valley was carved by glaciers flowing from the flanks of Great Whernside and exciting features, such as Brimham Rocks and How Stean Gorge, were shaped by the forces of erosion.

During the bronze and iron ages, the woodland covering was substantially cleared by our ancestors, seeking to farm the land. The Romans left little behind, but place names can be traced to the Anglo Saxons and Vikings. Following the 'Harrying of the North' by William I, the Domesday Book recorded that much of Nidderdale was 'waste'. The foundations of modern agricultural organisation were laid down by the grange farms of the Abbeys of Fountains and Byland and the neat, rectangular fields of the uplands, bounded by grit-stone walls, are owed to the enclosure movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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