History of Embsay with Eastby

Embsay-with-Eastby is a township in the Parish of Skipton in the Wapentake of Craven in the county of North Yorkshire. This description of a rural community both locates its position and provides the setting in which that community originated and developed. The first settlers in this area were probably the Angles and the Danes, who followed the river routes and settled on the hillsides. They avoided the valley bottoms which were thickly wooded, swampy and difficult to clear; they also avoided the higher bleak moorland. The Anglian group came to rest at Embsay, a name believed to be derived from two words: Embys - an enclosure, and ay - an island. Another settlement developed at a later date at Eastby or Esteby, derived from Norse words meaning a hamlet or farmstead to the east. The Danes chose slightly higher ground just below the moor.

The choice of location was obviously influenced by the plentiful water supply,the presence of woods for the provision of timber to give shelter, and suitable land which could be cleared for cultivation. Stone could be quarried on the moors, bracken gathered for bedding, peat for fuel, and rushes for floors and lighting.

From these agricultural origins the villages developed and progressed until, after the Industrial Revolution, water power eventually turned the wheels of six spinning and weaving mills in Embsay and one in Eastby. The advent of railways and canals caused these small mills to be abandoned and new mills were built in Skipton where they could be run more economically.

Spared from large scale housing or industrial development the parish of Embsay-with-Eastby is pleasantly situated between the grouse moors of Barden to the north and the limestone bank of Haw Park to the south. The rocky outcrop of Embsay Crag stands out from the moor to the west, whilst a similar outcrop Eastby Crag, is set above the village to the east. The road through the township is the boundary ,of the National Park, and leads in the direction of Barden to a height of 1,100 feet where, at Park Top there is a magnificent panoramic view along Wharfedale, across to Ilkley, and out westward to Pendle Hill.

This information has been gathered by the Embsay with Eastby Local History Group. It has been collated and edited by Winifred Wharton.