This is a self-published account of nineteenth century Arkengarthdale, with the 1891 census as the main source. Anyone researching their ancestors who they know were living in the Arkengarthdale or in Swaledale, will certainly find this publication en- lightening.

One gains a vivid picture of aspects of life for those living there during a particularly varied, and often difficult period of history. Under different headings the author has covered subjects as diverse as the work of the Census Enumerator to the common Christian names of children during different decades.

Gomersall who was the vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Arkengarthdale at the time of writing, describes the lives of the inhabitants as lead mining declined, the fluctuation in number, their surnames, their employment. We find facts about the migration of those whose lives became too difficult to continue in the Dale, where it had been so dependent on the lead industry. We learn where they moved to, both in the north of England and further afield.

The Census Enumerator in 1891 commented that there were sixteen empty houses in Booze, and ten empty houses in Arkle Town where there had previously been nearly thirty.

Today it is hard to imagine these hamlets as having housed so many people. Now there is only a handful of occupied houses, and little evidence of where so many others existed in the past. At one time there were large households where it was not only the men who were employed in the mines, but also women and sometimes children. The author comments on the schooling the children received, and the lack of literacy in the adult population. He writes about the local churches and the attitude of the people to religion.

Arkengarthdale was a remote valley, very self-contained. Families remained there over hundreds of years. Individuals were born, married locally and died, retaining names still found locally today.

The book is illustrated with a number of old maps, which locate individual buildings by name, as well at drawings of some of the most interesting of these buildings.

This book may be difficult to obtain, however it is worth the hunt. It is a fascinating read which covers areas of information which are difficult to find elsewhere collected together in one publication. There is a comprehensive bibliography, where those wishing to locate details of life in the Dale will find added information.

I found this an informative and interesting book ,which I recommend to anyone inter- ested in local history or the demanding lives of their ancestors.