Pateley Bridge

Pateley Bridge is a market town in North Yorkshire. The population of Pateley Bridge is 1,345 (2024 estimate).

It's a popular centre for exploring Nidderdale.

Pateley Brige: History

The Romans in Nidderdale

There is evidence of Roman activity in Nidderdale. It is thought that they forded the Nidd at Pateley Bridge.

Three Roman lead 'pigs' or ingots were dug up by later lead miners in the 1700s and 1800s. Two of them were found at Greenhow and date from the 81AD. One is in the British Museum, and the other at the Craven Museum in Skipton.

On one side is the inscription 'IMPERATORE CAESARE DOMITIANO AUGUSTO CONSULE SEPTIUM'. This is a reference to the Emperor Domitian's seventh term as consul.

On the other side it says 'BRIG', short for Brigantes. The Brigantes tribe were conquered by the Romans in 74-75AD, and were probably forced into slave labour, working in the lead mines.

The third pig was found near Pateley Bridge and was from the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117AD). Unfortunately, it has been lost.

In 1868, a hoard of Roman silver coins was found in How Stean Gorge, Upper Nidderdale. They are from the period 54-138AD.

Bishopside

Just before the Norman Conquest of 1066, the Archbishop of York acquired land in Nidderdale. His territory was called Bishopside, and the main settlement was at Wilsill.

Pateley Bridge

The first documentary record of Pateley Bridge is in 1175, as Patleiagate.

In 1320, the Archbishop granted a charter for a market and fair at Pateley.

Scotgate Ash Quarries

Around the same, quarrying had begun on the slopes to the north east of Pateley Bridge, at Scotgate Ash. A prized sandstone was found there.

After the railway came to Pateley Bridge, the quarry owners installed an inclined tramway (1872) to take stone down to the station for export.

The stone was used for plaform edging, including at York, London Victoria and London Paddington; and for the National Gallery, the Station Hotel in York, and many buildings in Harrogate.

The quarries closed in 1915.

The High Street

The oldest buildings on the High Street in Pateley are from the 1600s.

That includes the Pateley Club, originally the George & Dragon Inn. This is where Metcalfe's Nidderdale Brewery was founded.

The Railway at Pateley Bridge

The railway came to Pateley Bridge in 1862.

It was a branch line from Harrogate built by the North Eastern Railway and called the Nidd Valley Railway.

The Nidd Valley Railway diverged from the Harrogate-Ripon line at Ripley Junction, then called at Ripley Valley, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley and Dacre before reaching Pateley Bridge.

As the line was single-track, there was a turntable in Pateley Bridge to turn the locomotives around.

The stone sculptures on the old turntable are called Pillars Past.

Passenger services ran until 1951.

Inbound goods included coal, and building materials for the reservoirs in Upper Nidderdale. Milk and other agricultural products went the other way, as did stone from Scotgate Ash Quarries. Goods traffic stopped in 1964.

The old Nidd Valley Railway line could be made into an extension of the Nidderdale Greenway.

Nidd Valley Light Railway

A light railway was built from Pateley Bridge to Upper Nidderdale by Bradford Corporation and its contractors. It was there from 1907 to 1937.

It was needed for the building of Angram Reservoir (1903-1916) and Scar House Reservoir (built 1920-1936).

The 32-mile Nidd Aqueduct (which is partly tunnels) takes water from the reservoirs to Bradford.

Reservoirs in Upper Nidderdale

There are three, or four depending on how you count them, reservoirs in Upper Nidderdale.

The order they were built in was Haden Carr, Gouthwaite, Angram and Scar House. The reason you might not count Haden Carr is because it was submerged in the larger and later Scar House.

Scar Village was built to house the workers and their families during the construction of Scar House Reservoir. It was home to 1,250 people.

There were 10 large hostels, 34 semi-detached bungalows and 28 houses.

Amenities included a grocery shop run by William Morrison & Co, a canteen, a bakery, a library, a bakery, a mission hall, a bank, a Post Office, a school, a hospital, tennis courts and a 600-seat cinema.

Scar had hot and cold water, electric lighting and flushing toilets, which made it more luxurious than Pateley.

When the reservoir was finished in 1936, the village was sold in lots over two days. The canteen is now Darley Memorial Hall.

Pateley Bridge Today

Pateley Bridge is a local centre for Nidderdale residents, and attracts a lot of visitors.

Nidderdale Plus (pictured above) is the tourist information, as well as serving as a hub for locals and offering shared community transport.

Pubs and Cafés in Pateley Bridge

There are lots of pubs, cafés and restaurants in Pateley Bridge.

Shops in Pateley Bridge

There are independent shops on, and just off, Pateley's High Street. They include a butcher, and England's oldest sweet shop.

There's a bakery on the High Street.

And there's a bookshop.

In a courtyard just off High Street, King's Court, there are more shops.

Activities and Attractions in Pateley Bridge

Pateley Bridge is a very modest town, but has a few interesting attractions.

Pateley Bridge Playhouse

The Playhouse is in the former Primitive Methodist Chapel, built in 1859. It is used by Pateley Bridge Dramatic Society to perform for audiences up to 73 in total.

The Nidderdale Museum

The Nidderdale Museum is in the former workhouse.

The museum has thirteen rooms, each with a different theme, housing 30,000 display items, all from Nidderdale.

St Mary's Church

The original Parish Church from the 1200s (until St Cuthbert's was built in 1827) was St Mary's, up the hill on Old Church Street from Pateley.

The skeleton of the church is still there, in an atmospheric graveyard.

Walking Routes near Pateley Bridge

There are riverside paths between Pateley Bridge and Glasshouses, and on as far as Summerbridge. They broadly follow the route of the old railway.

The Nidderdale Way goes through Pateley Bridge. It is a 53-mile walk that forms a loop.