"From the earliest events recorded in history down to the middle of the nineteenth century the ecclesiastical parish of Giggleswick contained nearly thirty square miles and embraced the townships of Giggleswick, Settle, Rathmell, Langcliffe and Stainforth…Protected on the south by marshes and on all other sides by crags and rough moorlands, the parish lay in comparative isolation and for long periods was left, for all practical purposes, at liberty to manage its own affairs. Till about 1770 no heavy wheeled vehicles could enter it without great difficulty and the introduction of materials or merchandise from outside depended on pack-horse transport; this led to the growth of many home industries and to the production of a type of architecture remarkable for its ingenious use of local material. The same families lived within it for centuries, and by following their fortunes from one generation to another one can trace the influence of great events in the homes of the people. The parish was, in fact, a microcosm of England, and, to local people at any rate, a study of its development makes English history seem more living and real…Certain great events have had an immediate and permanent effect on Giggleswick history, and serve to divide it up into definite epochs."
Thomas Brayshaw and Ralph M. Robinson
(1932), 2007, CD-ROM, Graphic Images, Searchable, Adobe v6, PC or Mac, 316 pp.
ISBN: 9780788437694
101-CD3769
