Rathmell is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Craven

Craven

Craven is a local government district in North Yorkshire, England that came into being in 1974, centred on the market town of Skipton. In the changes to British local government of that year this district was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton...

 district of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is close to the River Ribble

River Ribble

The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...

 and about three miles south of Settle

Settle

Settle is a small market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is served by the Settle railway station, which is located near the town centre, and Giggleswick railway station which is a mile away. It is from Leeds Bradford Airport...

. Other towns and villages nearby include Wigglesworth

Wigglesworth

Wigglesworth is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the road between Long Preston to the east, Clitheroe to the south and the small village of Rathmell lies just to the north. It is about 5 miles south of Settle.Despite the size of the village, it...

, Tosside

Tosside

Tosside is a small village on the border of North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It lies within the Forest of Bowland, and is between the villages of Slaidburn in Lancashire and Wigglesworth in North Yorkshire. It lies 11.5 miles north of Clitheroe and 17 miles from Skipton...

, Giggleswick

Giggleswick

Giggleswick is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England near the town of Settle. It is the site of Giggleswick School.-Origin of name:A Dictionary of British Place Names contains the entry:...

 and Long Preston

Long Preston

Long Preston is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, in the Yorkshire Dales. It lies along the A65 road, and is 12 miles from the larger town of Skipton and four miles from the town of Settle...

.

Origins

The name Rathmell comes from Old Norse rauðr 'red' + melr 'sandbank'. Indeed, the area has a long history of Norse settlement.

Dissenting academy

Rathmell is the birthplace of Richard Frankland

Richard Frankland (tutor)

Richard Frankland was an English nonconformist, notable for founding the Rathmell Academy, a dissenting academy in the north of England.-Biography:...

 (1630–1698), the nonconformist divine. He was ordained by presbyter

Presbyter

Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...

s under the Cromwellian

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 regime, but was ejected from his ministry

Great Ejection

The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Two thousand Puritan ministers left their positions as Church of England clergy, following the changes after the restoration to power of Charles II....

 at the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

. He retired home to Rathmell, where he founded a dissenting academy

Dissenting academies

The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....

, which migrated to Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 after his death. This academy was the germ of the institution now known as Harris Manchester College, Oxford

Harris Manchester College, Oxford

Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at University ceremonies it is called Collegium de Harris et...

. The location of the original Academy at Rathmell is marked by a memorial plaque

Memorial Plaque

The Memorial Plaque was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war....

on the end of a small terrace of cottages which still bears the name "College Fold".

External links