Cononley Village
Find out about our community
Cononley is a small village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, around 3 miles south of Skipton in the Aire Valley. It used to be part of the old West Riding of Yorkshire.
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People have been living in and around Cononley since the Bronze and Iron Ages. The village gets a brief mention in the Domesday Book, but the name itself is thought to be much older. The ‘ley’ part means a clearing in the woods, which makes sense given the Aire Valley’s landscape back then. The first part of the name might come from an old personal name or possibly a nearby stream or river.
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The Cononley local historian Trevor Hodgson discovered over 60 different spellings of Cononley over the centuries – including early versions like 'Conundley' and 'Cunanlay' – giving us a fascinating glimpse into the village’s long history.
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