What Romans did for us
Quaint festivals, film crews and the Romans. They have all left their mark on picturesque Grassington, writes Phil Penfold.
Like the Romans before him, Edward I ventured to the North of England many times and he, too, realised that Grassington was a good place to pick up vital supplies. So he gave it a Royal Charter to hold a fair and a market in 1282, making it one of the first places to be granted that privilege, and also one of the smallest.
The village had, overnight, become a ‘market town’. The market was held regularly until around 1860, when it slowly waned, and the town’s central square remains an attractive spot and features prominently in the hugely popular revival of
All Creatures Great and Small. Among many other period pieces, the square boasts a highly photogenic, green-painted water pump.
Grassington (which was transformed into the fictional Darrowby for TV) is ready and waiting for the arrival of the many fans of the new series, which is due to start filming this year. The programme instantly became Channel 5’s biggestrating drama. Indeed, only a few days back, the
The town has rolled with the times, embracing the fact it is now a magnet for the lucrative tourist trade.
producers were advertising for extras to flesh out (literally) the backgrounds of further filmed sequences. Among the qualifications required (for men) were relatively short hair, and “no visible tattoos”.
Since one of the most popular annual events in the town is the September 1940s themed weekend, there should be no shortage of applicants. The producers of the series were delighted at their welcome – and at the variety of the locations that they could use. The surrounding countryside may be stunning, but what makes it such an appealing location for TV and film crews is the heritage of the place. Sam West (who plays Siegfried Farnon) called Grassington “the tiny town with the biggest heart”.
Grassington has proven adept at promoting itself. And one of the biggest successes of the last few decades has been the annual Dickensian Festival, which pops up just before Christmas. Perhaps there’s something in the water here that makes folk want to dress up in period costumes for a few days.
There are jugglers, buskers, chestnut sellers, stalls selling all kinds of gifts and produce and the atmosphere is one of relaxed enjoyment. The band plays all the familiar carols, and Punch gets his rightful comeuppance at the Punch and Judy show. It’s generally spread over the first two weekends of December, and folk flock from near and far. It involves all sorts of groups and organisations, schools, sports teams, you name it, everyone wants to get involved.
Centuries back, we would have been in the heart of the English lead mining and quarrying industries. Nearby Yarnbury Lead Mine – a magnet for walkers and those interested in our rich industrial past – is believed to have been worked from around 1200, and for several centuries afterwards. Historians believe that the lead was used for the roofs at Windsor Castle, St Peter’s in Rome, and even in Jerusalem.
However, nothing stands still and the town has rolled with the times, embracing the fact it is now a magnet for the lucrative tourist trade. The annual Grassington Festival (another popular celebration) will hopefully return this summer when restrictions are lifted, with a vibrant mix of dance, live music, theatre, recitals and talks.
The site of the railway station is now built over, and the line to Skipton vanished many years back, but there is an active campaign to relay it, and to reinstate passenger traffic.
For such a compact place, Grassington has a lot to offer. There are numerous independent, family-run shops and businesses, a fascinating little folk museum, run by dedicated volunteers, and the town is an ideal base from which to explore the more remote pockets of the glorious Dales countryside.
It is the remarkable people of Grassington and its neighbours who maintain the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association, which for more than 70 years has been rescuing people and animals from the caves, mineshafts, fells and crags of Wharfedale, Nidderdale, Littondale and beyond.
And there can’t be many Yorkshire communities that get some of their electricity supply from their own hydro-electric system.
A visitor writing an online review of the town might be tempted to call it a “hidden gem”, and they would at least be half right, for Grassington is certainly a gem of a place.