Plompton

Plompton
Plompton
Plompton shown within North Yorkshire
Population 124 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference SE355535
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town KNARESBOROUGH
Postcode district HG5
Dialling code 01423
Police North Yorkshire
Fire North Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament

Plompton (formerly also spelt Plumpton) is a hamlet and civil parish located south of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. It is close to the A661.

Plompton Hall is a Grade II* listed building designed by the architect John Carr, and built about 1760.[2] The composer John Hebden originates from the parish.

History

Plompton was mentioned in the Domesday Book (as Plontone), and in the middle ages was variously spelt Plumton, Plumpton or Plompton. The name is from the Old English plūme and tūn, and means "plum-tree farmstead".[3] Plompton or Plumpton was historically a township in the parish of Spofforth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and became a separate civil parish in 1866.[4] It was the seat of the Plumpton family from the reign of William the Conqueror until 1749, when it was sold to Daniel Lascelles.[5] The estate was reacquired by the Plumpton family in the 20th century.

Plumpton Rocks

Plompton Rocks, circa 1798 - J.M.W. Turner
A photographer capturing an image of the rocks in 2009.

Plumpton Rocks is a man-made lake and surrounding pleasure gardens designed by Daniel Lascelles against a backdrop of towering Millstone Grit rocks that have been eroded by the wind. The lake was extended by a dam built by John Carr, architect of the hall. The artist J.M.W. Turner was commissioned by Edward Lascelles, 1st Earl of Harewood to produce two paintings of the lake and rocks.[6] These now hang at Harewood House.

The rocks were also painted by Thomas Girtin.[7]

It is currently operated as a tourist attraction by the owner Robert de Plumpton Hunter. The site is now generally spelt with a 'u' (for the older name of the parish), although Turner referred to it as Plompton Rocks, in keeping with the modern spelling of the parish itself.[8]

It has been suggested that the highest point of rock adjacent to the lake is called Lovers' Leap.[9]

Opening times Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays March to October, 11.00am to 6.00pm

The gardens reopened on 30 July 2016 following a major restoration of the lake, dam and woods. The garden is open every day in August.

The park was a filming location for Swallows and Amazons

References

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Historic England. "Details from image database (330897)". Images of England. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Smith, A.H. (1961). The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. 5. Cambridge University Press. p. 30.
  4. ↑ Vision of Britain website
  5. ↑ GENUKI website: Plumpton
  6. ↑ Brief history at follifoot.org
  7. ↑ Morris, Susan. "Girtin, Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10777. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ↑ Turner painting at Tate Online
  9. ↑ Harrogate Borough Council: Plompton Conservation Area Character Appraisal

Media related to Plompton at Wikimedia Commons

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