Skyrack

{{short description|Wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England}}

{{use British English|date=October 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

Image:Wapentakes of the West Riding of Yorkshire.png

Skyrack was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into upper and lower divisions and centred in Headingley, Leeds. The Lower Division included the parishes of Aberford, Bardsey, Barwick-in-Elmet, Kippax, Thorner, Whitkirk and part of Harewood, while the Upper Division included the parishes of Adel, Bingley, Guiseley and parts of Harewood, Ilkley and Otley.

File:SkyrackHeadingley.jpg

The Upper division of Skyrack was bounded to the north by the River Wharfe whilst the southern edge was bounded by the River Aire.{{cite web|title=History of Skyrack, in Leeds and West Riding {{!}} Map and description|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/25702|website=Visionofbritain.org.uk|accessdate=18 October 2017}} Both divisions together contained 82 settlements.{{cite web|last1=Powell-Smith|first1=Anna|title=Hundred of Skyrack {{!}} Domesday Book|url=http://opendomesday.org/hundred/skyrack/|website=Opendomesday.org|accessdate=18 October 2017}}

The Skyrack wapentake derives its name from a large oak that grew for centuries in Headingley. It is believed that the word "skyrack" comes from the Old English phrase scir ac meaning "Shire Oak", under which meetings were held.Peter Hunter Blair, Simon Keynes, An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England, (Cambridge University Press) p. 236. The tree finally collapsed in 1941.Arthur Mee (1941) The King's England: Yorkshire - West Riding (Hodder & Stoughton, London) p. 179 There is a plaque to commemorate it on the outside of the garden wall of the Original Oak pub.{{cite news|title=Big plans for Leeds pub refurbishment to create ‘timeless ambience’|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/big-plans-for-leeds-pub-refurbishment-to-create-timeless-ambience-1-8643884|accessdate=18 October 2017|work=The Yorkshire Evening Post|date=11 July 2017|language=en}} It also gives its name to the Skyrack pub opposite the Original Oak.{{cite news|last1=Hudson|first1=Neil|title=Leeds nostalgia: When the Leeds oak was at the centre of Yorkshire|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/your-leeds/nostalgia/leeds-nostalgia-when-the-leeds-oak-was-at-the-centre-of-yorkshire-1-8036545|accessdate=18 October 2017|work=The Yorkshire Evening Post|date=27 July 2016}} The pub, which is one of the stopping points on the Otley Run pub crawl, is a grade II listed building.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1375304|desc=The Skyrack Public House|grade=II|accessdate=18 October 2017}} The Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club, the second oldest mountaineering club in England, was founded at a meeting held in the Skyrack pub on 6 October 1892.{{Cite journal |last=Bellhouse |first=H. H. |date=July 1899 |title=The Formation of the Club |url=https://www.yrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/YRCJ-1-1-1899.pdf |journal=Yorkshire Ramblers' Club Journal |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3-12}}

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