Swineside

The first mention of the hamlet is in 1240 when it is recorded as Swinesate.^[3] The first part is from Old English swin, meaning swine (pigs), and the second part is from Old Norse sætr meaning pasture.^[4] Locally, the feeling is that the first part of the name is actually an Old Norse personal name, Sven (so Sven's pasture),^[5] but in their book about Wensleydale (Coverdale is a side dale of Wensleydale), Pontefract and Hartley point out that before sheep farming, the dale was largely involved in pig-farming, hence the name deriving from swine.^[6]

In 1270, the settlement was referred to as Swinesate-in-Coverdale when lands were being apportioned,^[7] and later still, appeared in documents as Swyneside.^[8] In the 15th century, the land in and around the hamlet belonged to the Lord of Middleham, who granted it to the monks of Coverham Abbey in 1404/1405.^[9] By 1480, the monks had installed their Bailiff, Edward Loftus, at Swineside.^[10] Over fifty years later, Loftus moved into Coverham in 1536 at the time of the Dissolution, but members of the Loftus family remained in Swineside until at least 1570.^[11]

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the land in Coverdale was granted to the Earl and Countess of Wessex.^[12] A lead mine operated to the north-west of the village, and although dates are unclear, it is believed to have operated from the late seventeenth-century as an entry in the Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 8, 1685-1689 states that ".. he had a reference from the late King for some mines in Swineside, in Coverdale [Coverham] co. Yorks."^[13][14] The hamlet was the original location of Swineside Ceramics, a company known for producing novelty teapots, until the premises at Swineside were not big enough for business, prompting a move to Leyburn in 1984.^[15][16][17] The company is most famous for producing the teapots given out as prizes on the television programme Countdown.^[18]

The hamlet is in the civil parish of Carlton Highdale (formerly a township),^[1] 1-mile (1.6 km) south-west of West Scrafton, 6 miles (10 km) from Middleham, and 8 miles (13 km) from Leyburn.^[19][20][21] Historically, Swineside was in the Ecclesiastical parish of Coverham, the wapentake of Hang West and the rural district of Leyburn; in 1974, it was moved from the old county of the North Riding of Yorkshire, into the Richmondshire District of North Yorkshire.^[22][23] In 2023, the former North Yorkshire districts were amalgamated into one unitary authority.^[24][25][26] East of the hamlet is Swineside Moor, over 90 acres (36 ha) of common land.^[27] The area was determined to be common land in 1977, when an inquiry was held to see who owned the land, but no-one came forward with evidence of ownership.^[28] The hamlet stands on the east bank of the River Cover (looking downstream).^[29]

There is one listed building in the hamlet, Middle House, which has "..quoins, which to left stick out as though to connect with adjacent building."^[21][30] The hamlet used to have a small seven-bedroomed hotel (the Coverdale Country Hotel), but this was converted into a private dwelling in 2011.^[31][32]

• John Bowes, preacher, was born in the hamlet^[33]
• Adam Loftus, priest, became Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland^[34]

• Listed buildings in Carlton Highdale