Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England
Elslack is a village and civil parish in the former Craven District of North Yorkshire, England, close to the border with Lancashire and west of Skipton. Thornton in Craven is nearby. The Tempest Arms is a large pub in the village, sited by the A56, which is popular with locals from the surrounding area. Elslack Moor, above the village, is crossed by the Pennine Way, though this does not visit the village itself. In 2015 it had a population of 100.
History.
A Roman fort lies at about 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 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 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 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. The area is represented at Westminster as part of the Skipton and Ripon Constituency.
Notes.
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References.
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