Yorkshire A to Y

Gazetteer

Richmondshire former district — part of NORTH YORKSHIRE X

Richmondshire was one of the seven now-abolished large district authorities which have been merged into a unitary authority of North Yorkshire.

The Richmondshire district covered around 509 square miles in the north-west of the area now run by North Yorkshire Council, the unitary authority the Government has created from the former County Council which covers a massive area of around 3,085 square miles and more than 600 towns and villages.

Over half the district is formed of the northern part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park which includes the communities of Wensleydale and Swaledale. A small portion of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is also within the district.

The administrative centre was the town of Richmond. The area also has a few small market towns and dozens of villages.

Despite the vast area over which it is spread, the population of Richmondshire was the smallest of any Yorkshire district authority at around 53,000.

There are 54 parish and town councils within Richmondshire and a further 26 civil parishes have parish meetings.

To view our gazetteer of places across all the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority see