Crackpot Hall

Crackpot Hall, Swaledale

Crackpot Hall

Where is it – England, Yorkshire and the Humber

Who looks after it –  National Park 

What is it –  Curiosity, Free access, Ruin 

When is it from – Victorian

Crackpot Hall is an atmospheric ruined 18th century farmhouse in a remote location on the northern slope of Swaledale, in the Yorkshire Dales. It is accessible along a track leading off the footpath between Muker and Keld, about a mile from the latter – so a short detour if you’re on this lovely walk. Reminders of past lead mining are all around. It’s an atmospheric place, with tumbled and rusting reminders of what once was. The building was still occupied in the 1920s when visited by local historians/writers Ella Pontefract and Marie Hartley. They noted Alice, 4-year old daughter of the farmer, who had “the madness of the moors about her, and all their wariness.” Apparently, the girl’s “mocking, chuckling, laugh” seemed “as untamed as her lonely house.” Other sources suggest that tales of feral children were simply the way things were. The name Crackpot Hall is apparently derived from the Norse for ‘crow’ and ‘pot’ – the local name for a cave.

 


Address

Near Keld, Swaledale, North Yorkshire DL11 6LJ 

Scroll to Top