Priest's Tarn
{{Short description|Upland lake in Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Priest's Tarn
| image = Priests Tarn (2) - geograph.org.uk - 789290.jpg
| alt = A heather moorland shot with a small amount of water in the middle
| caption = Priest's Tarn on Grassington Moor
| location = Grassington Moor, North Yorkshire
| coordinates = {{coord|54.121|-1.959|region:ZZ_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| outflow = Crag Grainings
Blea Beck
| basin_countries = England
| area = {{convert|1|ha|adj=on}}
| elevation = {{convert|516.5|m}}
| pushpin_map = North Yorkshire
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt = Relief map of North Yorkshire showing the location of Priest's Tarn
| pushpin_map_caption =
| reference = {{cite web |title=Priest's Tarn, Craven |url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/priests-tarn-craven |website=getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=4 June 2022}}{{cite web |title=Priests Tarn Water Body ID 29804 |url=https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29804 |website=eip.ceh.ac.uk |access-date=4 June 2022}}
}}
Priest's Tarn is an upland lake on Grassington Moor, in North Yorkshire, England. The water from Priest's Tarn was historically used for hydraulic mining purposes during the lead industry on Grassington Moor. The flow of water largely exits the hill to the south-east into Grimwith Reservoir, which in turn feeds into the River Wharfe. Walkers have observed that the tarn is looking like it is drying up.
Description
File:Plaque on the Mossdale memorial cairn - geograph.org.uk - 2856811.jpg
Water exiting from Priest's Tarn flows south firstly through Crag Grainings and then into Blea Beck. Water was canalised here to feed the dams of the Grassington Moor lead industry.{{cite web |title=The Mine workings of Grassington |url=http://www.northcravenheritage.org.uk/NCHTJto2009/Journals/1999/J99A14.html |website=www.northcravenheritage.org.uk |access-date=4 June 2022}} The water flows to Grimwith Reservoir, some {{convert|5.3|km}} to the south-east of the tarn, which feeds into the River Wharfe.{{cite web |title=DALES AREA FRESHWATER RIVERS AND CANALS RIVER REACH CLASSIFICATION SUMMARY 1990-9 |url=http://ea-lit.freshwaterlife.org/archive/ealit:1356/OBJ/19000957.pdf |website=ea-lit.freshwaterlife.org |publisher=Environment Agency |access-date=4 June 2022 |page=26 |date=July 1999}}
Walkers who have navigated to the tarn, state that it has largely dried up in comparison to the expanse shown on Ordnance Survey maps.{{cite web |title=Priest's Tarn {{!}} Lakes & Tarns |url=https://myyorkshiredales.co.uk/water/lakes-and-tarns/priests-tarn/ |website=My Yorkshire Dales |access-date=4 June 2022}}{{cite web |title=View map: SE06 - D/ (includes: Appletreewick; Grassington; Hartlington; Hebden) - Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1945-1969 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/91788787 |website=maps.nls.uk |access-date=8 July 2022}} The average annual rainfall between 1916 and 1955 was {{convert|1,549|mm|0}},{{cite book |title=Monthly and Annual Totals of Rainfall 1969 for the United Kingdom |date=1979 |publisher=Meteorological Office |location=Bracknell |isbn=0-86180-021-4 |page=5}} and between 1941 and 1970, it was {{convert|1,501|mm}}.{{cite book |title=Monthly and Annual Totals Of Rainfall 1973 For the United Kingdom. |date=1981 |publisher=Meteorological Office |location=Bracknell |isbn=0-86180-047-8 |page=6}}
Stones from the tarn were taken to a point a few hundred metres to the south-west of the tarn to build a memorial cairn for those who died in the Mossdale Cavern tragedy of 1967. The cairn marks the spot above ground where the bodies of six cavers were found after they had drowned in a flash flood underground.{{cite book|last1=Brook |first1=Alan |title=The Mossdale Tragedy 1967 |url=https://www.michaelmelvin.co.uk/mossdale/The%20Mossdale%20Tragedy.pdf |editor-last=Melvin|editor-first=Michael|chapter=Building the Mossdale Cairn|via=michaelmelvin.co.uk |access-date=4 June 2022 |page=60}} Priest's Tarn sits atop the Black Keld Catchment SSSI; one of the largest and deepest cave drainage systems in England.{{cite web |title=Black Keld Catchment Area |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/2000376.pdf |website=designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk |access-date=8 July 2022}}{{cite web |title=Magic Map Application |url=https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271001979%27 |website=magic.defra.gov.uk |access-date=8 July 2022}}
The western boundary of the civil parish of Grassington goes through the north-west of the tarn, and access to the tarn is via many paths in the area.{{cite web |title=Grassington CP |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/?x=403255&y=469057&z=8&bnd1=CPC&bnd2=DIW&labels=off |website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=4 June 2022}}{{cite map|title = Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western Area|map =OL2 |year =2016 |scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey |isbn =978-0-319-26331-0 }} One of the beds of sandstone on Grassington Moor has been named Priest's Tarn Grit.{{cite thesis|title=The structure and stratigraphy of Nidderdale between Lofthouse and Dacre|last=Thompson|first=A.|year=1957|publisher=University of Durham|location=Durham|oclc=757133510 |page=29}} The etymology of the name of the tarn is unsure, having been recorded in its earliest form in 1717.{{cite web |title=Priest's Tarn :: Survey of English Place-Names |url=http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/532881fbb47fc40c81004208-Priest%27s+Tarn |website=epns.nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=8 July 2022}}
Rainfall
Meteorological table are available online from the UK Meteorological office. A selection of the results for Priest's Tarn are given below.
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Rainfall (annual) !Ref |
| 1966
|{{convert|1,731|mm}} |
| 1967
|{{convert|1,777|mm|0}} |
| 1968
|{{convert|1,642|mm}} |
| 1969
|{{convert|1,323|mm}} |
| 1973
|{{convert|1,256|mm}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://myyorkshiredales.co.uk/water/lakes-and-tarns/priests-tarn/ Priest's Tarn on myyorkshiredales.co.uk]
- [https://maps.nls.uk/view/91788787 Priest's Tarn on mapping from 1956 (at gridref SE027696)]
{{Lakes in Yorkshire}}