Wharfedale

Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the upper valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) include Buckden,Kettlewell, Conistone, Grassington, Hebden, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Arthington, Collingham and Wetherby. Beyond Wetherby, the valley opens out and becomes part of the Vale of York.

The section from the river's source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and lies in North Yorkshire and in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The first 15 miles or so is known as Langstrothdale, including the settlements of Beckermonds, Yockenthwaite and Hubberholme, famous for its church, the resting place of the writer J. B. Priestley. As it turns southwards, the Wharfe then runs through a green and lush valley, characterised by limestone outcrops, such as Kilnsey Crag, and woodland, generally quite unusual in the Dales.

Below Addingham, the dale broadens and turns to the east. This section is shared between North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire and includes the towns of Ilkley, Otley and Wetherby. The northern side of Lower Wharfedale, opposite Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Otley, is in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wharfedale (company)

Wharfedale is the name of a prominent audio equipment manufacturer in the United Kingdom best known for loudspeakers. It is currently part of the International Audio Group.

Wharfedale also used to manufacture televisions, DVD players, set-top boxes and Hi-Fi players. Since 2008, they have only manufactured and sold audio equipment.

History

Wharfedale Wireless Works was founded in 1932 by Gilbert Briggs, and became one of Britain's leading manufacturers of audiophile equipment, particularly loudspeakers. In addition to winning awards by groups such as the Bradford Radio Society, in mass public testing at Carnegie Hall Wharfedale speakers proved indistinguishable from live music. Innovations introduced by Wharfedale under Briggs included such basics as the two-way loudspeaker and the ceramic magnet. In the 1950s and 1960s, Wharfedale became famous for its technique of eliminating cabinet resonances by using a double cabinet, with the space between the inner and outer shells filled with sand. Purchasers of the loudspeaker systems would receive the appropriate quantity of sand which had been shipped from Wharfedale in England. (Wharfedale in Yorkshire is the site of numerous sand quarries). Briggs sold the company in 1958, and it has been through several owners since then.

Wharfedale (ward)

Wharfedale is a ward in the north east of the City of Bradford metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England and is situated in the Upper Wharfedale (which the ward is named after) one of the Yorkshire dales. It consists of the settlements of Burley-in-Wharfedale, Burley Woodhead and Menston along with surrounding moorland.

References

Coordinates: 53°54′03″N 1°45′01″W / 53.90091°N 1.75037°W / 53.90091; -1.75037