Claro Wapentake
Claro was a wapentake, an old administrative area, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was divided into two parts: the Upper Division and the Lower Division.
- Upper Division: included Farnham, Fewston, Hampsthwaite, Kirkby Malzeard and Pannal, plus parts of Aldborough, Knaresborough, Otley, Little Ouseburn, Ripley, Ripon, Wetherby and Whixley (many of these were exclaves).
- Lower Division: included Allerton Mauleverer, Goldsborough, Hunsingore, Kirk Deighton, Kirkby Overblow, Leathley, Spofforth with Stockeld, Weston and parts of Addingham, Aldborough, Harewood, Ilkley, Kirk Hammerton, Otley, Ripley and Whixley.
In the Domesday Book, the wapentake was called Burghshire, named after its meeting place at Aldborough. In the 12th century the name changed to Claro, from Claro Hill near Coneythorpe, likely its meeting place. Claro is notable for having divisions with exclaves, a rare feature for such areas.
Today the land of the historic wapentake falls mostly within the Harrogate area of North Yorkshire.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:52 (CET).