Middlesmoor

Middlesmoor

Part of the village opposite the Crown Inn
Middlesmoor
 Middlesmoor shown within North Yorkshire
Population 40 
OS grid referenceSE092741
Civil parishStonebeck Up
DistrictHarrogate
Shire countyNorth Yorkshire
RegionYorkshire and the Humber
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town HARROGATE
Postcode district HG3
Police North Yorkshire
Fire North Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK ParliamentSkipton and Ripon
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire

Coordinates: 54°09′46″N 1°51′30″W / 54.1629°N 1.8583°W / 54.1629; -1.8583

Middlesmoor is a small hill village at the head of Nidderdale in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Middlesmoor is the principal settlement in the civil parish of Stonebeck Up, historically a township in the ancient parish of Kirkby Malzeard in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

History

The place name was first mentioned in the 12th century. It probably means "moorland in the middle of two streams" referring to the River Nidd and its tributary How Stean Beck.[1] An alternative explanation is that the name comes from an otherwise unrecorded personal name, Midele, also seen in the name of Middlesbrough.[2]

In the 12th century Byland Abbey established a grange at Middlesmoor.[3]

Church

It appears that there has been a place of worship at Middlesmoor since Anglo-Saxon times. There is a stone cross inscribed "Cross of St Ceadda" (Chad), dated to Anglo-Saxon times, in the Church of St Chad, which also contains an ancient font which is possibly Anglo-Saxon.[4]

The present church was built in 1864 by Crossland. It is a Grade II listed building.[4] The church occupies a commanding position overlooking upper Nidderdale.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Middlesmoor", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press
  2. ↑ Smith, A.H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire 5. Cambridge University Press. p. 217.
  3. ↑ Jennings, Bernard (1992). A History of Nidderdale. p. 96. ISBN 1-85072-114-9.
  4. 1 2 English Heritage: Images of England. Church of St Chad
  5. ↑ Harrogate Borough Council: Middlesmoor Conservation Area

External links

Media related to Middlesmoor at Wikimedia Commons

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