Barden, West Riding

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Barden like this:

BARDEN, a township in Skipton parish, W. R. Yorkshire; in Wharfdale, 7 miles ENE of Skipton. It includes the hamlet of Drebley; and has a post office under Skipton. Acres, 6,115. Real property, £1,332. Pop., 371. Houses, 63. Most of the surface is moor and fell, and anciently was a forest. ...

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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.

Barden through time

Barden is now part of NORTH YORKSHIRE Unitary Authority. Click here for graphs and data of how NORTH YORKSHIRE has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Barden itself, go to Statistics.

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