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All the United Kingdom England North Yorkshire Crackpot Hall

Crackpot Hall

The dramatic remains of an abandoned farmhouse sit high on the edge of a remote hillside.

North Yorkshire, England

Added By
Claire Donkin
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  Freddie Phillips/cc by 2.0
  Freddie Phillips/cc by 2.0
Crackpot Hall   Adie Jackson/cc by-sa 2.0
Crackpot Hall   Tom Courtney/cc by 2.0
  Donkers / Atlas Obscura User
Ruins of Crackpot Hall.   Colin Fossdyke/cc by-sa 2.0
Crackpot Hall and Swaledale.   Gordon Hatton/cc by-sa 2.0
The view down into the valley from Crackpot Hall   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Crackpot Hall   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The gateway into Crackpot Hall   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The curiously named Crackpot Hall is an abandoned 18th-century farmhouse that lies in ruins near the village of Keld in Swaledale. The name is said to be derived from the Viking word "pot," meaning a deep hole, and an Old English word for crow, and it is also the name of a cave nearby.

Little is known about the history of the mysterious structure, which was abandoned in 1953 because of subsidence caused by lead mining nearby. It is now an intriguing and impressive ruin in an equally impressive location; the crumbling house sits on the edge of a remote hillside in the Yorkshire Dales, surveying the valley below.

Wandering around the atmospheric remains you inevitably start to wonder about the secrets this old stone farmhouse holds. The old fireside range is still in situ, and there is a rusty tin bath on the stone floor in front of the fire, a poignant reminder of the former lives lived in this place.

Folk stories about the abandoned house also abound, in particular one about Alice, a four-year-old child who is said to have been discovered roaming “wild” near Crackpot in the 1930s. A BBC radio 3 documentary has more recently established that Alice was, in fact, a young girl who lived at Crackpot Hall with her family, including her five brothers and sisters, and these hills and valleys were her playground. 

Related Tags

Houses Abandoned Mines Ruins Homes

Know Before You Go

You can walk to Crackpot Hall from either Keld or Muker. It is situated approximately 1 mile east of Keld, at grid reference NY906008.

Community Contributors

Added By

Donkers

Edited By

Meg, katielou106

  • Meg
  • katielou106

Published

September 13, 2018

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  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06nr54x
Crackpot Hall
B6270
North Yorkshire, England
United Kingdom
54.403046, -2.147948
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Nearby Places

Swaledale Corpse Way

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Buttertubs Pass

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Tan Hill Inn

Richmond, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

England

Places 20
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Swaledale Corpse Way

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Buttertubs Pass

North Yorkshire, England

miles away

Tan Hill Inn

Richmond, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

England

Places 20
Stories 2

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