Stonebeck Down is a 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 Harrogate district

Harrogate (borough)

Harrogate is a local government district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate but it also includes surrounding towns and villages...

, 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. Historically it was a township

Township (England)

In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...

 in the ancient parish of Kirkby Malzeard

Kirkby Malzeard

Kirkby Malzeard is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England.In recent years a creamery in the village was acquired by the Wensleydale Creamery, and Wensleydale cheese is now made there.-History:...

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The main settlements in the parish are the village of Ramsgill

Ramsgill

Ramsgill is a small village in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England about two miles south east of Lofthouse. It lies near Gouthwaite Reservoir. It is chiefly known for the Yorke Arms, a Michelin-starred restaurant on the village green....

 and the hamlets of Stean

Stean

Stean is a small village and in the Harrogate borough of North Yorkshire, England. It is in Nidderdale and 8 miles north of Pateley Bridge.It is located on Stean beck, which flows through which includes a cave named after Tom Taylor, a highwayman who is rumoured to have hidden there....

 and Heathfield

Heathfield, North Yorkshire

Heathfield is a hamlet in the civil parish of Stonebeck Down in upper Nidderdale, in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a broad terrace on the west side of the dale, overlooking a steep slope down to the River Nidd....

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The parish occupies the west side of upper Nidderdale

Nidderdale

Nidderdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south through the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.The only town in the dale is...

. It is bounded on the north by Stean Beck, from which the parish takes its name (stean being a dialect form of "stone"), and which separates it from the parish of Stonebeck Up

Stonebeck Up

Stonebeck Up is a civil parish in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire, England. Historically it was a township in the ancient parish of Kirkby Malzeard.The only village in the parish is Middlesmoor.The parish occupies the highest part of Nidderdale...

. To the west it is bounded by the ridge separating Nidderdale from Wharfedale

Wharfedale

Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in England. It is the valley of the River Wharfe. Towns and villages in Wharfedale include Buckden, Kettlewell, Conistone, Grassington, Hebden, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Arthington, Collingham, and Wetherby...

, to the south by Ashfold Gill, separating the parish from Bewerley

Bewerley

Bewerley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about twelve miles west of Ripon. The parish includes the urban area of Pateley Bridge west of the River Nidd , and the village of Greenhow, as well as Bewerley village...

, and to the east by the River Nidd

River Nidd

The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir which attract around 150,000 visitors a year...

 and Gouthwaite Reservoir

Gouthwaite Reservoir

Gouthwaite Reservoir is a reservoir in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of many in the area, others include Roundhill Reservoir and Angram Reservoir.Gouthwaites sole purpose is a compensation reservoir for the River Nidd....

, which separate the parish from Fountains Earth. The parish includes large areas of grouse

Grouse

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

 moor, rising to the remote peak of Meugher

Meugher

Meugher is a hill in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It lies in remote country between Wharfedale and Nidderdale, in the parish of Stonebeck Down less than 1 km outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park...

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In the middle ages Stonebeck Down formed part of the lands of Byland Abbey

Byland Abbey

Byland Abbey is a ruined abbey and a small village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England at .-History:It was founded as a Savigniac abbey in January 1135 and was absorbed by the Cistercian order in 1147. It wasn't an easy start for the community who had had to move five times before...

, which established granges in the dale.