Elslack

History

A Roman fort lies at about 500 m north-west of Elslack. The fort may have been named Olenacum, or Ριγοδουνον, according to the analysis of Ptolemy's coordinates by Kleineberg et al. It guarded a Roman road linking two other forts: Bremetennacum at Ribchester and another at Ilkley. This road has been traced by archaeologists running north-east up Ribblesdale about 0.6 mi east of Clitheroe. Then at it turns eastwards passing Barnoldswick, Elslack and Skipton.

Elslack is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as Eleslac. The name derives from a personal name at the start (Elli or Elesa) and the Old English word for stream (Lacu).

Elslack Hall is thought to have be constructed in the 16th century (since modified) on the moated site of a Mediaeval manor house. Godfrey de Altaripa was granted a licence to crenellate a building here in 1318, presumably at this location.

Elslack had its own railway station which connected it with Colne and Skipton, but this was closed in 1952. The line passing through it suffered the same fate in 1970. Skipton is some 4.5 mi to the north-east of Elslack. The Pennine Way long-distance walk crosses Elslack Moor (to the south-west of Elslack village), but the walk bypasses Elslack itself. The village is 50 yard east of the A56 road which connects Skipton with Colne.

The Tempest Arms was named "Pub of the Year" in the 2011 Good Pub Guide.

Governance

Historically the village was in the wapentake of Staincliffe (East), in the old West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1974, Elslack was transferred as part of the township of Broughton into the Craven District in the county of North Yorkshire. Population statistics for Elslack have been grouped together with Broughton, or with Thornton-in-Craven, especially in the 2001 and 2011 censuses, however by 2015, Elslack was again its own separate parish. Craven was abolished in 2023 and the village is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

The area is represented at Westminster as part of the Skipton and Ripon Constituency.

Notes

References

References

1. (December 2016). "2015 Population Estimates: Parishes".
2. Ordnance Survey Map OL2 Yorkshire Dales Southern and Western areas {{ISBN. 978-0-319-24068-7
3. "Elslack". Roman Britain.org.
4. (2011). "Germania und die Insel Thule". WBG Academic.
5. (2019). "Gaelic influence in the Northumbrian Kingdom: the Golden Age and the Viking Age". The Boydell Press.
6. Ordnance Survey Map OL41 Forest of Bowland & Ribblesdale {{ISBN. 978-0-319-24071-7
7. "Elslack {{!}} Domesday Book".
8. (1960). "The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names". Oxford University Press.
9. {{HERR
10. (2014). "The Lost Railway's of Yorkshire's West Riding: Harrogate and the North". Stenlake.
11. "History of Elslack, in Craven and West Riding {{!}} Map and description".
12. "Walk the Way in a Day - Walk 38 - Elslack Moor from Ickornshaw".
13. (14 August 2024). "Tempest Arms Hotel". The Telegraph.
14. (7 October 2010). "Tempest Arms at Elslack named pub of the year". BBC News.
15. "Genuki: Broughton, Yorkshire (West Riding)".
16. (2021). "Guide No. 6: North Yorkshire Gazetteer of Townships and Parishes". North Yorkshire County Council.
17. "Broughton/Elslack Parish".
18. "The Craven District Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2011".
19. "Election Maps".
20. (1907). "The Victoria history of the county of York. vol 3". Constable & Co.
21. "Wilton Ch/CP through time {{!}} Population Statistics {{!}} Total Population".