Yorksview
Stocks on the village green
Threshfield is a pleasant village astride the main road up the valley from Skipton. For most folk it is just a small village that they have to pass through on the way to Grassington. Blink and you'll miss it. It's well worth stopping here to explore. As the name suggests, it was once a place where corn was threshed in the field. The Angles founded the village, and in the C16th it was part of a huge deer park.
Once you enter the village, over a hump-back bridge, you will see Ling House, it was here that the Ibbotson family for centuries ran their besom-making industry, producing brooms, walking sticks and shepherds' crooks.
| There are some very interesting buildings. The Manor House on the green has a Victorian facade although a C17th three-storeyed porch and wheel window can be seen. Threshfield Free Grammar School was built in 1674, it is still in use today as a school. The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of 'Pam the Fiddler,' immortalized in Halliwell Sutcliffe's novel. In the olden days they had some strange forms of punishments at the school. Naughty pupils caught pinching fruit from trees had to sew them back on with a needle and thread. Another punishment involved standing on one leg holding a heavy log at arms length, the log had a passage written on it and had to be learned by heart before the punishment ended. It must have worked, no less than 21 boys left the school for Cambridge. |
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Old Hall Inn |
The Old Hall is a fine Georgian inn which takes its name from the C14th hall at the rear, built by monks and reputedly the oldest inhabited building in Wharfedale. It serves some good ales and is a regular entry in the Good Beer Guide. It serves large portions of good quality food, which are better than your average pub meals. I can highly recommend the Bangers and Mash. The ceiling is decorated with numerous chamber pots, thankfully all now empty. Two open fires and a beautiful traditional range warm this pub. A sign outside says 'The best food in the Dales' I think they could be right. |
There is an interesting walk from here that passes the hamlet of Skirethornes. Keep a look-out for a cave where evidence of prehistoric dwellers was found. Nearby are several ancient settlements and a stone circle.
Not bad for a small village is it?
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1:Chamber Pots 2:Traditional Range 3:Pub Sign (Click to enlarge)