Dentdale

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Dentdale

Dentdale is a dale or valley in the north-west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in Cumbria, England. [1] It is the valley of the River Dee, but takes its name from the village of Dent. The dale runs east to west, starting at Dent Head, which is the location of a railway viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle Line. [2]

Contents

Dentdale is one of the few Yorkshire Dales that drain westwards to the Irish Sea. [3]

History

Dentdale was first settled in the 10th century when Norse invaders first entered the dale. [4] The dale was also known to the Romans although there is no evidence of settlement during that period. The dale was one of the last of the Yorkshire Dales to be Enclosed in 1859. [5]

The typical occupations in the dale were farming and worsted related. Several mills used the fast flowing waters of the River Dee to supply power to the mills. [6] At least one of these was converted to the Dent Marble industry by 1810. [7] Whilst fishing on the Dee at Dentdale in the 1840s, William Armstrong saw a waterwheel in action, supplying power to a marble quarry. It struck Armstrong that much of the available power was being wasted and it inspired him to design a successful hydraulic engine which began the accumulation of his wealth and industrial empire. [8] [9]

Dentdale was originally in the Ewecross wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Cumbria in 1974. [10]

Settlements

Dent village is the main shopping and social centre of the dale. There are two other major villages; Dent Head and Gawthrop. [11] Additionally there are two hamlets at the top of the dale - Cowgill (where Dent Station is located) and Stone House. [12] It has been noted that it is increasingly difficult for young people and family groups to stay in the dale as housing becomes more unaffordable. [13]

There are over 200 listed buildings and structures in Dentdale which include the railway viaducts, bridges, barns, farmhouse, mileposts and even telephone boxes. [14] Only one structure is Grade I listed, that of the Church of St Andrew in Dent. [15]

Transport

A steam train on the Arten Gill viaduct above Stonehouse Stonehouse Artengill Viaduct.jpg
A steam train on the Arten Gill viaduct above Stonehouse

The famous Settle-Carlisle Line [16] passes across the eastern edge of the dale being carried over the becks that feed the River Dee on Dent Head Viaduct [17] and over Artengill Beck on Arten Gill Viaduct. [18] [note 1]

The walking route of the Dales Way crosses through the dale in a rough east/west axis. [19] The route and the seclusion of the dale make it popular with walkers and lovers of The Dales. [20]

National Cycle route 68 (also known as the Pennine Cycleway) that runs from Derbyshire to Berwick-upon-Tweed passes through the dale. [21]

The C5101 road runs through the dale from the nearest main road at Sedbergh (the A683 and A684) to Newby Head Moss, east of the dale head, where it meets the B6255 Hawes to Ingleton road.

Western Dales Bus operate a year round Saturday and summer Sunday service between Dent station and Sedbergh with stops en route. [22]

Geology

The Dent Fault cuts across the valley close to the village of Gawthrop, marking a geological boundary between the Carboniferous Limestone of Deepdale and the Craven Dales to the south and the older Silurian and Ordovician rocks of the Howgill Fells to the north. [23]

The Upper Dentdale Cave System, which is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Dent, was recognized as a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1998. [24] The cave system extends for 1 mile (1.6 km) beneath the valley floor under the River Dee and is notable for providing a unique insight into how caves are formed in valley floors. [25]

Dent Marble was quarried and polished in Dentdale between 1760 and 1909. [26] Both the viaducts that carry the Settle-Carlisle line over the dale are constructed from Dent Marble. [27] The opening of the railway afforded the opportunity to export the marble out of the dale for the first time. The stone is not actually marble, it is a highly polished form of Black Limestone. [28]

Notes

  1. Arten Gill Viaduct is the spelling from the railway even though the water below is Artengill.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dent Marble</span> Polished limestone from Northern England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arten Gill Viaduct</span> Railway viaduct in Cumbria, England

Arten Gill Viaduct is an eleven-arch railway bridge in Dentdale, Cumbria, England. The viaduct carries the Settle to Carlisle railway line over Artengill Beck. The viaduct was originally designed to be further west, which is lower down the steep valley side, but by moving the line slightly eastwards, the viaduct could be installed at a higher location, thereby using fewer materials in its height. Arten Gill Viaduct is constructed partly from Dent Marble in the inside of the arches instead of the more usual brick. Dent Marble is a type of dark limestone which was quarried from Artengill beneath the viaduct itself. The viaduct is a grade II listed structure, and a scheduled monument.

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Dandry Mire Viaduct,, is a railway viaduct on the Settle & Carlisle line in Cumbria, England. It is just north of Garsdale station, 21 miles (34 km) from Settle, and 51 miles (82 km) south of Carlisle. When the Settle & Carlisle line was being built, the traversing of Dandry Mire was to have been by use of an embankment, but the bog swallowed all of the material poured into it, so a trench was dug instead, and a viaduct constructed. The viaduct, which is 227 yards (208 m) long and 50 feet (15 m) high, is still open to traffic on the railway, and is a prominent landmark at the head of Garsdale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dent Head Viaduct</span> A railway viaduct in Cumbria, England

Dent Head Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the Settle–Carlisle line in Dentdale, Cumbria, England. It is the second major viaduct on the line northwards after Ribblehead Viaduct, and is just north of Blea Moor Tunnel at milepost 251, and to the south of Arten Gill Viaduct. Construction of the viaduct began in 1869, and it was completed in 1875, extra time being needed due to periods of heavy rainfall. The line bows slightly to the east in order to follow the contours of Woldfell, which it navigates on the western side. The viaduct was grade II Listed in 1999. Dent Head Viaduct is 17 miles (27 km) north of Settle Junction, and 57 miles (92 km) south of Carlisle railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal Road</span> Ancient road in Cumbria, England

The Coal Road is an unclassified highway which connects the railway stations at Garsdale and Dent in Cumbria, England. The road is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The name derives from its use transporting locally mined coal, although before that it was used as a droving route between England and Scotland through Mallerstang.

References

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  8. Lennie, Stuart (2005). The roof of Wensleydale : a portrait of Wensleydale's two thousand foot fells. Kirkby Stephen: Hayloft. p. 81. ISBN   1-904524-30-3.
  9. Linsley, Stafford M. "Armstrong, William George, Baron Armstrong". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/669.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
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  13. "DENT CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL" (PDF). Yorkshire Dales. December 2009. p. 21. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
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  19. "The Route". www.dalesway.org. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
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  23. "Dentdale". www.yorkshiredales.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  24. "Recognition for caves". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  25. "Upper Dentdale Cave" (PDF). sssi - natural england. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  26. "The Dentdale Marble Industry". www.cumbria-industries.org.uk. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  27. "Engineering Timelines - Arten Gill Viaduct". www.engineering-timelines.com. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  28. "History of Yorkshire". www.museumsintheyorkshiredales.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2016.

54°16′41″N2°27′14″W / 54.278°N 2.454°W / 54.278; -2.454