Description and History of Site:-
A small stone building on, and partly in, the Kettlewell Beck. "Kettlewell (Yorkshire).
”In the upper reaches of the river Wharfe, high among the Craven Hills of West Yorkshire, last Saturday was a day of festivity, when the new electric lighting installation of the village of Kettlewell was inaugurated. The affair is under the control of a little local company, the Kettlewell Electric Supply Co., Ltd., ... The plant consists of a "Turgo" turbine of 10 H.P. and a dynamo of 6 kW, 230 volts, 515 rpm. The plant is in a stone power house, erected on a concrete foundation on the bank of a stream, the waters of which drive the turbine. The village is connected by four miles of aerial cable. The installation is probably the smallest and cheapest public one in the country. It was provided at a cost of £560. The lighting in this village is a change direct from oil and candle to electricity. The local council is considering the question of lighting by electricity streets which have never been lit by anything before." The Electrical Review, June 20th 1913.

The plant continued in use up until the connection of Kettlewell to the National Grid in the 1950's.

In 2011, a plan to resurrect the scheme was refused by the Environment Agency on the grounds that re-instating the dam presented a flood risk.

Further Reading and References:-
http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/nostalgia/nostalgia_history/10169439.Visionary_Kettlewell_postmaster_who__lit_up_Dales_community/
http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/9139712.Bid_to_reinstate_Upper_Wharfedale_dam_is_rejected/

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Key Words :- electricity hydroelectric generating

Viewing the Site :- possibly from the road on the opposite bank

Address :- Kettlewell, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 5RJ
Grid Ref :- SD 9733 7236
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.147060 , Long -2.042372
Local Authority :- North Yorkshire Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site condition unknown
Site Dates :- 1913 - 1950
Record Date :- 4 July 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson