Hawes
| Hawes | |
|---|---|
 Main Street, Hawes |
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 Hawes
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| Hawes shown within North Yorkshire | |
| OS grid reference | SD873898 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HAWES |
| Postcode district | DL8 3 |
| Dialling code | 01969 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | |
Hawes is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, that was granted its market charter in 1699. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Hawes is located at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, the River Ure runs to the north of the town and is regarded as one of the honeypot tourist attractions of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The parish of Hawes also includes the neighbouring hamlet of Gayle. It is 31.2 miles (50.2 km) west of the County Town of Northallerton. The Wensleydale Creamery is a major producer of Wensleydale cheese.
There is no mention in the Domesday Book of a settlement where the current town is. There is little mention of the town until the 15th century when the population had risen enough for a chapel of ease to be built.
The place's name is derived from the Old Norse word hals, meaning "neck" or "pass between mountains".
The town was granted a charter to hold markets by King William III in 1699. It allowed for a weekly Tuesday market and two fairs a year. In 1887 an auction market was established in the town that held cattle sales fortnightly. In addition, five cattle fairs and three sheep fairs were held each year. Soon after, four cheese fairs spread over the year also became a regular event in the town.
The village once had a railway station that was the terminus of the Hawes branch of the Midland Railway and an end-on terminus of the line from Northallerton from its opening in 1878 to its closure in April 1954. British Railways kept the line to Garsdale Junction open for passengers until 1959. The Wensleydale Railway Association has plans to rebuild the railway from Northallerton (from its current western terminus at Redmire) to Garsdale including re-opening the station in the village.
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Wikipedia