Killinghall is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The civil parish population taken at the 2011 census was 4,132.
The village is situated approximately north of Harrogate, extending south from the bridges on the A61 road over the River Nidd. The undeveloped area between Killinghall and Harrogate is known as Killinghall Moor some of which has been developed into Jenny Fields Estate. The village of Ripley lies to the north and Hampsthwaite to the west. Killinghall's position on the A61 links the village to Harrogate and Ripon. A regular bus service between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds stops in Killinghall.
Killinghall is primarily a commuter village, currently without a public house, the Three Horseshoes and the Greyhound pub have closed, with the former set for demolition and converted into a local convince store. Within the parish, but outside the village is one other: Old Spring Well - formerly the Travellers' Rest, with a second, The Nelson Inn, just outside the boundary, Killinghall CE Primary School, the Church of St Thomas, Killinghall Methodist Church, a children's day nursery, doctor's office and a garden centre with nursery. The local area incorporates a number of farms.
History
The village dates back before the Norman conquest of England, in fact, there is evidence that it dates back to Celtic times. In the Domesday Book the village is called Chenihalle, i.e. Kennelhall; probably a place where the hounds (which belonged to the Lord of the Manor) were kept. A nobleman in the county of Yorkshire had the power granted to him by one of the Saxon kings to keep Mastiff dogs for chasing wolves out of their territory. The name has also been suggested as deriving from Chillingehal, which means the place of Cylla's people in Old English.
In the 17th century, early settlers acquired land in the Hollins Hall site of Lund Lane. Known at that time as Yearwith Hollins, this was settled by 25 families; the site was chosen because it was inter common with Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, which meant it was not possessed by either village. The Yeoman held plots of land of various sizes between Hollins Hall and Hollins Farm and records show that five of the families were named Hardisty. These early settlements helped create the village. There were also rich families that used to live in the village such as the Pulleyns, Tancreds, and Bayns who all erected manor houses that have since been reduced to grassy steps, and sometimes built over.
During the English Civil War, after the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644, Cromwell's Norwich Troop of horses were quartered at Killinghall Village. The oldest building in the area is the Kennel Hall farm. This building (according to the plaque that commemorates it) was used to house Parliamentary soldiers from Cromwell regiment. The buildings date back only to the 17th century when the village was being largely rebuilt.
Killinghall grew up as a river crossing over the River Nidd where a new bridge now stands (this was also a popular spot with many artists), but Killinghall found a new reputation with its quarries. The quarries have extracted their last lumps years ago, but many stone cutting businesses still exists in the area. A reminder of this is the lump of stone in the glebe that was quarried from the area. This stone also helped make many of Harrogate's structures.
On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.
Governance
The first parish meeting was held in 1895.
There is an electoral ward called Killinghall. This ward stretches north to Ripley and in the 2011 census had a total population of 3,306.
Geography
River Nidd and Oak Beck
These are the rivers that cover the north, and half the south sides of the village. The River Nidd is crossed by two bridges directly next to each other; the biggest of which is for most traffic and leads to Ripley, the other is for small traffic and carries a road that comes from the main one (Ripon Road), and joins back onto it after the water. The Nidderdale Greenway joins this small road.
Killinghall Moor
The borders are not well defined but are roughly Jennyfields, Harlow Hill and the River Nidd. Killinghall Moor has no heather and looks particularly green as it is not a moor by definition but by name. It is a suburb of western Harrogate that is on the south edge of the A59 road. Killinghall Moor Conservation Group has been formed to protect the area around Killinghall Moor from development.