| Bentham | |
High Bentham main street |
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Bentham
Bentham shown within North Yorkshire |
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| Population | 2,994 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | SD666693 |
| Parish | Bentham |
| District | Craven |
| Shire county | North Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LANCASTER |
| Postcode district | LA2 |
| Dialling code | 015242 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Skipton and Ripon |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Bentham is a small town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, with a population of 2,994.[1] The town includes High Bentham, sometimes known as Higher Bentham, and Low Bentham. Bentham has a few youth groups for teenagers at the BYC (Bentham Youth Café) which is by the railway station, Mondays Youth Club which is also now by the railway station, Thursdays at the community centre, and GFI at the methodist church. There is also Springboard and Adventurers at the Methodist Church for younger children.
The town lies on the River Wenning, west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and on the northern edge of the Forest of Bowland. The original centre lay in Low Bentham, but a market was granted to High Bentham in the 14th century, and it became a centre for weaving from the 18th century, particularly after weavers in the town discovered how to weave hosepipes from flax.[2]
Airedale NHS Trust covers Bentham for health matters.
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High Bentham has some pubs; the Black Bull, the Byres, the Coach House and the Horse and Farrier. The Coach House was previously called The Brown Cow. The town's pubs play host to a number of events for the annual Bentham Bash, organised by the Harley Davidson Club's Wrecking Crew.[3]
The Leeds to Morecambe railway passes through the unmanned Bentham Station. The station was opened in 1850 and has about 18000 users per year. When it first opened it was owned by the "Little" North Western Railway, it was later bought by the Midland Railway and is now operated by Northern Rail.
Bentham has its own heritage trail. There are three trails, named purple, pink and blue. The Purple Trail is 2 miles (3.2 km) long and is a good environment for walking the dog. This route goes through Ridding Lane Farm and over Shaky Bridge, and has stone styles and lots of plants and flowers. The Pink Trail is 5 miles (8.0 km) long and is good for family walks. In addition to the purple trail it also visits the Old Quarry. The difference is that a small part of the journey, about 0.3 miles (0.48 km) is on the road. The Blue Trail comes in longest of all at over 9 miles (14 km) but will have the most to see. It also has ladder stiles and it passes the Great Stone of Fourstones.
There are three churches in High Bentham: St Margaret of Antioch Church, St Boniface Roman Catholic Church and Bentham Methodist Chapel. St John the Baptist Church and Bentham Quakers Meeting House are in Low Bentham.[4]
St John the Baptist Church is one of the oldest churches in the area, and was noted in the Domesday Book in 1086. During restoration work in the 19th century, a Saxon cross was discovered in the wall of the tower, and blackened stones in the tower wall are evidence that it was almost totally destroyed by fire after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The church contains a display of Tudor glass, which is similar to some of the glass in York Minster. The present building was built in the 1870s by Richard Norman Shaw, and includes an ancient coffin slab dating from about 1340; the Kirkbeck Stone dating from the 17th century; a 15th century bell hanging in the porch; and a reredos in Caen stone with marble panels. The church reputedly has the heaviest peal of six bells in Yorkshire, and together weigh 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg). The old organ, which is no longer playable, was built by William Hill of London as a "house organ" for Walker Joy, a prosperous oil merchant in Leeds; his brother designed a hydraulic engine to pump the bellows, making it the first ever to be blown by mechanical power. The churchyard contains a memorial to Robert Poole, a gravedigger, consisting of a sculptured shovel leaning against a tree trunk.[4]
Bentham Golf Club is located on Robin Lane. Is an 18-hole course which was established in the 1920s. There are views of Pen-y-Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside. It has been recently bought by new owners and is no longer owned by the members of the club. It has a members club for all ages, and no level of skill is required to play golf there. It has been described as the Augusta of the Dales because it has seven ponds and features brilliant views.
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