Reeth

Coordinates: 54°23′15″N 1°56′32″W / 54.3876°N 1.9422°W / 54.3876; -1.9422

Reeth is a village about 11 miles west of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, located within the civil parish of Reeth, Fremington and Healaugh. It is considered to be the principal settlement of upper Swaledale.

History

In Saxon times, Reeth was only a settlement on the forest edge, but by the time of the Norman Conquest it had grown sufficiently in importance to be noted in the Domesday Book. Later it became a centre for hand-knitting and the local lead industry was controlled from here, but it was always a market centre for the local farming community.

The origin of the name 'Reeth' is unclear. It is possibly derived from the Germanic for 'place by the stream'. While this claim can neither be confirmed nor denied, Reeth is more likely to have been derived from the Cumbric rhyd (cf. ryd in Modern Welsh, áth in Irish Gaelic, rys in Cornish and àth in Scottish Gaelic) meaning 'Ford', which would appear probable as Reeth is located near two shallow rivers.