Nesfield

Nesfield
Stocks, Nesfield Village
Nesfield Location within North Yorkshire
OS grid reference	SE092495
Civil parish	Nesfield with Langbar
Unitary authority	North Yorkshire
Ceremonial county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ILKLEY
Postcode district	LS29
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
UK Parliament	Skipton and Ripon
List of places UK England Yorkshire 53°56′31″N 1°51′36″W / 53.942°N 1.860°W / 53.942; -1.860

Nesfield is a small village,^{[note 1]} 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west of Ilkley on the north bank of the River Wharfe, in the civil parish of Nesfield with Langbar, in the Harrogate district, in the county of North Yorkshire, England.^[4] Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the village sits at the southern edge of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Nesfield is recorded in the Domesday Book as belonging to Lord William Percy and as having two ploughlands.^[5] The name Nesfield derives from a mixture of Old English and Old Norse; Neates-feld, which means Open land where cattle were kept. The name has been recorded in different forms at least a dozen times, being Nacefeld in the Domesday Book, Nesfeld(e) in Qwhorfdale in the 15th century, and even Nesfeild (with the I and the E reversed) in the 17th century.^[6][7] However, the history of the settlement predates the Domesday Book as to the west of the village is the remains of Castleberg, an Iron Age or Roman fortified location. Many artefacts have been found on the mound including a copper key almost 2 feet (0.61 m) in length (surmised to be the key for gates to the Roman compound), urns and human bones.^[4] However, this is all conjecture and there is no evidence to support that Castleberg was part of the Roman Empire in the area, although Ilkley (Olicana), was known to have had a Roman settlement/camp.^[8][9] The site is 400 feet (120 m) above sea level, and is thought to have attracted early settlers as the ground around Castleberg falls away from the raised patch of land in all directions, so being naturally defensive.^[10][11]

The village used to be in the township of Nesfield with Langbar, in the wapentake of Claro, in what was the West Riding of Yorkshire.^[12][13] later, this became the Wharfedale Rural District,^[14] and since the Yorkshire boundary changes of 1974, the village is now in North Yorkshire (part of the Harrogate District, separated from West Yorkshire by the River Wharfe),^[15] and in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.^[16] It used to be in the parish of Ilkley, but is now in the civil parish of Nesfield with Langbar, which at the 2011 Census had a population of 180.^[17] In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population to be 170.^[18]

The stocks at the east end of the village date back to the 18th century and are now Grade II listed.^[19] A church was consecrated in the village in August 1892 on land donated by the Duke of Devonshire, and was known as Christ Church, being able to seat 120 people.^[20] Due to a lack of attendance, it was demolished in 1955.^[21] Besides agriculture, the other main industry in the village was a bark mill, which used horse or donkey power to grind up the bark for use in tannery. This mill is believed to have only operated during the 19th century.^[21]

A suspension bridge across the River Wharfe, erected in 1896, connects the village via West Hall to Addingham on the south side of the river.^[20][22]

• Nesfield Conservation Area Character Appraisal (PDF). nidderdaleaonb.org.uk (Report). Harrogate: Harrogate District Council. November 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
• Speight, Harry (1900). Upper Wharfedale. Being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valley of the Wharfe, from Otley to Langstrothdale. London: Elliott Stock. OCLC 7225949.

Media related to Nesfield, North Yorkshire at Wikimedia Commons

• Map of the village