The charming village of Dent
St Andrews Church in Dent
Scenic beauty around Dent
Those Nutty Knitters!Nutty knitters, Victorian geology, beautiful countryside and peaceful villages with ample pubs and tea shops - Dentdale is a fascinating area on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The idyllic village of Dent is distinctive for its knitting and woollen heritage.
The speed and craft of Dent's skilled hand knitters was nationally renowned during the 18th century. The village was also the birthplace of acclaimed Victorian geologist Adam Sedgwick. Sedgwick cut his teeth on the geological fossil treasures in the area and you can tread in his footsteps via the Sedgwick Geological Trail along the River Clough in Garsdale.
When you think of Yorkshire you might think of tea rooms, pubs and real ale, cobbled streets and stone cottages. Well you will not find Dent Village wanting for any of these.
In Dent you'll find more of Britain's best real ale - with the famous Dent bitter and local brewery. Here also you'll find plenty of arts and craft shops and a rich heritage of hand knitting. Dent makes the perfect walker base for this part of the Yorkshire Dales - with its array of shops and heritage centres.
Watch out for the famous Dent 'terrible' knitters - called terrible because they were terribly good at knitting - particularly socks!
Dent Village Heritage Centre Dent, Nr. Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5QJ. Tel. 015396 25800.
Dent's links with Victorian Geology are in the fact that Dent is the birthplace of Professor Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873), the 'great' Victorian geologist!
Hitherto I have never turned a stone; henceforth I will leave no stone unturned, said Sedgwick. He was a popular teacher who opened his lectures to women, and is widely recognised as establishing geology as a science. One of the most interesting aspects of Sedgwick was his opposition to Darwin's 'cold atheistic materialism' in 'Origin of the Species'. He saw Darwin's philosophy as a dangerous attempt to 'make us independent of a creator'.
A memorial fountain commemorates Sedgwick in the centre of the village.
The terrible knitters of Dent - terrible in the sense that they were terribly good. Dent and Dentdale is known for its specialisation in hand knitting particularly during the 18th century.
These nutty knitters were fast - their needles became bent they were so fast. They knit everywhere - at church, at home wherever - they couldn't stop, they had a peculiar method of knitting which became famous. If you got married in the area you could expect a special gift of knitting needle engraved with a message.
Find out more about Dent's hand knitting heritage via the Dent Heritage Centre's webguide right.
