Bedale | |
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The centre of Bedale with St Gregory's Church in the background |
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Bedale shown within North Yorkshire | |
Population | 3,156 (Including Firby. 2011) |
OS grid reference | SE266883 |
• London | 206 mi (332 km) south |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BEDALE |
Postcode district | DL8 |
Dialling code | 01677 |
Police | North Yorkshire |
Fire | North Yorkshire |
Ambulance | Yorkshire |
EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
UK Parliament | |
Bedale is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated 34 miles (55 km) north of Leeds, 26 miles (42 km) south-west of Middlesbrough and 7 miles (11 km) south-west of the county town of Northallerton. It was originally in Richmondshire and listed in the Domesday Book as part of Catterick wapentake, which was also known as Hangshire (so named from Hang Bank in Finghall and because of the many gallows used to execute marauding Scots); it was split again and Bedale remained in East Hang. Bedale Beck is a tributary of the River Swale, which forms one of the Yorkshire Dales, with its predominance of agriculture and its related small traditional trades, although tourism is increasingly important.
Before the Harrying of the North Bedale was held by Torpin (Thorfinn), a patronym retained by the infamous Dick Turpin. The parish church also dates from this time (as evidenced by its crypt), before significant remodelling. The recent discovery of the Bedale Hoard provides further evidence of high-status Anglo-Saxon and Viking age activity in the area.