Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for GOREDALE SCAR

GOREDALE SCAR, a remarkable rocky gorge in W. R. Yorkshire; 6½ miles E of Settle. It lies in the vicinity of Malham village and Malham cove; and is approached through a wild-rocky ravine. It forms almost a terrific scene; and is immersed, even on the brightest days, in perpetual gloom. A breeze passing through it acquires nearly the force of a hurricane; a streamlet which runs along its bottom, is everywhere lashed into foam; cliffs, bare and torn, rise sheer up from its sides, sometimes to the height of more than 240 feet; and some masses of rock, on these cliffs, project so far as to appear in constant risk of falling. Wordsworth says, -

At early dawn, or rather when the air
Glimmers with fading light, and shadowy eve
Is busiest to confer and to bereave,
Then, pensive votary! let thy feet repair
To Goredale chasm, terrific as the lair
Where the young lions crouch; for so, by leave
Of the propitious hour, thou may'st perceive
The local deity, with oozy hair
And mineral crown, beside his jagged urn
Recumbent.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a remarkable rocky gorge"   (ADL Feature Type: "canyons")
Administrative units: Yorkshire AncC
Place: Gordale Scar

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.