What secrets does blink-and-you’ll-miss-it West Scrafton hold? James Herriot links, one of the tiniest but most perfect village greens in the Dales, a very uphill walk and plenty of curiosities can all be found here. It’s the sort of place that slowly unveils its stories if you spend a while wandering and researching.
The small village green is made more picturesque by its traditional phone kiosk, installed in 1953, eighteen years after villagers had requested one! There are around 10 listed buildings in West Scrafton, including the small manor house originally built in the 1500s and reputedly the birthplace of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots.
If you watched the original TV series of All Creatures Great and Small you may see some familiar buildings as a couple of episodes were filmed in West Scrafton. Alf Wight (creator of James Herriot) is said to have spent a holiday there. At Culverham House there are twelve bee-boles set into the wall. These are rececesses built into the dry stone wall to hold a bee hive.
The small former Methodist Chapel was built after an unfortunate incident. Before they had their own chapel a small group of Methodists met in a hired room. The floor gave way just as they were singing ‘vain delusive world adieu’ and they fell into the cellar!
One time I was there I was surprised to see the old Victorian postbox being replaced with a new Elizabethan one. It seemed odd to go to that effort – or maybe the 100 or so souls who live there are keen letter writers? West Scrafton does feel like a little haven where time doesn’t rush by quite as quickly as elsewhere.
It might come as a surprise that this peaceful haven once had a coal mine, which may originally have been developed by the enterprising monks from either Jervaulx or nearby Coverham Abbey. There was a small colliery on the hillside until 1914: a mines’ inspector reported there were just two people working there at one time, digging out just enough coal for the neighbouring inhabitants.
Walk out of West Scrafton up the hill and you’ll eventually be able to climb to the top of Roova Crags for a wonderful view and some of the springiest heather you’ve ever bouncily walked over. Close by is an old bothy built into the rocks, where you’ll see a stone compass set into the ground.