Editing River Wharfe (section)

==History==

The name Wharfe appears to be recorded in the form ''Verbeiae'' on a Roman inscription at [[Ilkley]], dedicated to [[Verbeia]], thought to be the [[tutelary goddess]] of the river.  The name is probably of [[Brittonic languages|Brythonic]] origin, from a root meaning "winding".  Later forms of the name were probably influenced by the [[Old Norse]] ''hwerfi'', meaning "bend".<ref>{{cite book | contribution = Wharfe  | year = 2010  | title = The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names  | editor-last = Watts | editor-first = Victor  | publisher = Cambridge University Press  | isbn=9780521168557 }}</ref>

Iron Age fields and [[hut circle]]s can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.<ref name="Wharfe-Litton"/> The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighbouring [[Wensleydale]]. The local British tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD&nbsp;74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD&nbsp;410.<ref name="Wharfe-Litton"/> After AD&nbsp;620 the [[Romano-British culture|Romano-Britons]] were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th&nbsp;century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.<ref name="Wharfe-Litton"/> During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.<ref name="Wharfe-Litton"/>

In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of [[Fountains Abbey|Fountains]], [[Rievaulx Abbey|Rievaulx]] and [[Bolton Abbey|Bolton Priory]] had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of [[drovers' road|drove roads]], which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.<ref name="Wharfe-Litton"/>

When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th&nbsp;century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early 19th&nbsp;century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wharfequest.co.uk/|title=Area history|access-date=25 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316133750/http://www.wharfequest.co.uk/|archive-date=16 March 2013}}</ref>

On 5 July 2014, the [[Tour de France]] Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through Wharfedale along roads running close to the river. The route in Wharfedale started near the official start at Harewood and ended just after Buckden when the competitors turned to climb over Kidstones Pass near Cray.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-1.html|title=Tour de France Stage 1|access-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725103624/http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-1.html|archive-date=25 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The river has featured in films. In 1992, the town of [[Grassington]] was used as a filming location for ''[[Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights|Wuthering Heights]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104181/locations/locations|title=Filming Locations|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date= 26 August 2011}}</ref> The 2003 film, ''[[Calendar Girls]]'', was filmed at several locations in the river valley including ''Ilkley Moor'', ''Buckden'', ''Burnsall'', ''Kettlewell'' and ''Kilnsey''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337909/locations|title=Filming Locations|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date= 26 August 2011}}</ref>