16 
JOTTINGS ON THE HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, 
WORTHIES, AND SCENERY OF SETTLE 
AND GIGGLESWICK. 
By THOMAS BRAYSHAW. March Ist, 1892. 
Settle has been rather unfortunate in its situation, as most of 
the old antiquarians, such as Leland, who went about the 
country gleaning and garnering up scraps of information, seemed 
to fight shy of what they doubtless considered an out of the way 
corner of the mountainous and uncivilized district of Craven, and 
we are thus deprived of their valuable assistance. I shall, how- 
ever, endeavour in a great measure to follow chronological order, 
and as I think we obtain the earliest information respecting the 
inhabitants of our valley from the result of the exploration of 
the Victoria Cave, we will begin by considering for a moment or 
two what that exploration has brought to light. In the first 
place, we learn that thousands of years ago, the tourist of that 
day, supposing man had been in existence, would, instead of the 
gentle herds of cattle and sheep that are now to be seen on every 
hand, have been greeted with the sight of hyenas, bears, bison, 
and the graceful form of the woolly rhinoceros. If he were 
fortunate he might come across a mammoth or elephant 
measuring fifteen feet or so in length, having shaggy hair and 
mane, and huge tusks that curved outwards until their tips were 
ten or twelve feet apart. But the great change of the glacial 
period comes, our hills and vales are covered with ice, and the 
animals that have hitherto held undisputed sway are seen no 
more. Ages pass, the ice vanishes, and now man appears in 
Ribblesdale. Hehad not yet learned the art of erecting artificial 
habitations, and so he makes the cave his dwelling place. He is 
as yet a savage, and living a hand-to-mouth existence, waging 
a perpetual warfare with the bears and other wild animals that 
infest the neighbourhood, and using their skins as clothing. 
The weapons with which he is armed are very simple, for he 
knows not the use of iron; sharp flakes of flint serve him for 
knives, and a flat piece of bone about four inches long is 
converted into a harpoon for catching fish in the lake which 
then was situated at the place we now call Attermire (corrupted 
from ‘‘ Utter-mere”’ or ‘‘ Ottermere,”) by the simple process of 
cutting two sharp notches into it on each side, so as to make a 
double barb, and again a third notch on each side, cut in the 
opposite direction, which enabled him to bind it firmly to a 
wooden handle with thongs of leather. Years roll on and man 
