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.
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.
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.
