Askrigg, Wensleydale, Yorkshire - Judges postcard

Postcard

 

• Picture / Image:  'Homeward Bound', Askrigg in Wensleydale, Yorkshire Dales
• Publisher:  Judges of Hastings c.1990s
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes & Key words: 

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Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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Askrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is part of the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The village and its parish are positioned in Upper Wensleydale, 12 miles west of the main town, Leyburn, and 5 miles east of Hawes, the home of Wensleydale cheese.

The name Askrigg is of Old Norse origin meaning the ridge where ash trees grew, denoting the existence of Viking settlers and their farming. The oldest settlement probably dates back to the Iron Age.

The village remained of little commercial importance throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries when Wensleydale was extensively used for sheep grazing by the Cistercian monks, who became prosperous on the profits of the wool trade. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, however, secular wealth became important in the dale following the border conflicts in the north and the Dissolution of the Monasteries throughout the country. The local church, the church of St Oswald, was erected about 1466 and is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower with pinnacles containing a clock and six bells.

Askrigg was granted a Charter for a weekly market by Elizabeth I in 1587 for the holding of a weekly market on Thursday, and of fairs in spring, summer and autumn. Askrigg's prosperity peaked in the eighteenth century when trade in textiles and knitting was most lucrative and the village supported many craftsmen and gained a reputation for clockmaking; the earliest mention of Askrigg clockmakers being a Quaker named John Ogden, who moved to Askrigg in 1680 and manufactured his clocks there until 1720. He was succeeded by Mark Metcalfe (1687-1776) and Christopher Caygill (1747-1803). Another well-known clockmaker was James Pratt (1787-1850). All three had sons who were also clockmakers. Two 19th-century clockmakers were John Stancliffe and John Skidmore. Askrigg is also known for its hand-knitting.

The neighbourhood of Askrigg was traditionally the home of the Metcalfe family who lived at nearby Nappa Hall. Mary, Queen of Scots, was once imprisoned in the house, possibly before she was moved to Castle Bolton further down the dale. Nappa Hall is a fine example of a 15th-century fortified manor house. It was built in 1459 by James Metcalfe at a time when there were frequent raids by the Scots. A single-storey central hall sits between two towers, a four-storey western tower and a two-storey eastern tower. The four-storey tower has a turret, lit by slit vents, for a spiral staircase that climbs to crenellated parapets. The taller tower retains its original windows, but sash windows were inserted in the 18th century in the lower two-storey block which housed the kitchen and service rooms, at the opposite end of the hall. In the 17th century, an extra wing was added. The hall remained in the hands of the Metcalfe family for centuries. Today it is sadly in need of repair.