Information on Buckden, Yorkshire
Buckden is a small village on the Dales Way in Wharfedale, situated where Buckden Gill joins the River Wharfe. It has a well known pub –The Buck Inn (where ex Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey spent his honeymoon), a couple of café/restaurants and a collection of cottages. The village is at the foot of Buckden Pike – a peak that stands above the village. At 702 metres (2,303 ft), it narrowly misses out on being the highest peak in the area, the title instead going to nearby Great Whernside (704 metres). The village had a population of 184 at the last census though that includes the hamlet of Cray, which is along the road on the other side of Buckden Pike. Although the village of Buckden was founded in Norman times, the village lies on the route of the roman road from Ilkley (Olicana) to Bainbridge (Virosidum) where the Romans had a fort. The current path of the roman road, heads up through Rakes Wood towards Cray and then over Stake Moss. In the mid seventeenth century lead mining developed above Buckden, and the remnants of this can be seen at the Buckden Gavel mine on Buckden Pike. The mine was worked until 1877 when it was abandoned due to competition from cheaper imported lead. In 1964, a skeleton was found in Buckden Gavel mine. The body was never identified and was dated to around 1890 by coins and documents found on the body –perhaps a Victorian hiker who fell down the shaft and was never discovered!
