Barden, West Riding of Yorkshire
Historical Description
Barden, a township in Bolton Abbey parish, W.R. Yorkshire, in Wharfedale. It includes the hamlet of Drebley. The post town and nearest railway station is Bolton Abbey. Acreage, 7138; population, 173. The Duke of Devonshire is lord of the manor and sole landowner. Most of the surface is moor and fell, and was anciently a forest. Barden Tower, built by Henry Clifford, " the Shepherd Lord," after his restoration to his property and titles, a plain structure in the Tudor style, was in good repair so late as 1774, and is now a picturesque ruin. A chapel of the same age, attached to an adjacent farmhouse, is still in use. The Shepherd Lord, as says the poet Wordsworth," Did not in wars delight; This Clifford wished for worthier might; Nor in broad pomp, or courtly state; Him his own thoughts did elevate—Most happy in the shy recess Of Barden's lowly quietness.''
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Yorkshire | |
| Civil parish | Skipton | |
| Poor Law union | Skipton | |
| Riding | West | |
| Wapentake | Staincliffe and Ewcross |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Barden from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for the West Riding of Yorkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Barden are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following West Riding newspapers online: