| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 53.9679°N -1.9418°W |
| Official Name: | Draughton |
| Static Image: | Main road in Draughton heading south.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | The village's main street in the summer of 2007. |
| Population: | 270 |
| Population Ref: | [1] |
| Civil Parish: | Draughton |
| Unitary England: | North Yorkshire |
| Lieutenancy England: | North Yorkshire |
| Region: | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Constituency Westminster: | Skipton and Ripon |
| Post Town: | SKIPTON |
| Postcode District: | BD23 |
| Postcode Area: | BD |
| Os Grid Reference: | SE039524 |
Draughton is a village and civil parish east of Skipton in the former Craven District of North Yorkshire, England. In 2015, the population of the parish was 270. The boundaries of the parish extend well beyond the village proper: eastwards they go all the way to the River Wharfe, including ancient woodland. The village has several listed buildings. The parish lies next to both Yorkshire Dales National Park and to the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The ground the parish sits on is sedimentary, but of varying types.
The A65 road crosses through the centre of the civil parish and by the village; the A59 road is just outside the northward boundary. The parish includes Bolton Abbey railway station. The civil parish is administered by a parish council comprising seven members; in the North Yorkshire Council it is represented by Wharfedale ward; and at the House of Commons by the constituency of Skipton and Ripon.
Draughton is located east of Skipton. The boundaries of the civil parish extend around and to the east of the village proper, and include the Chelker Reservoir. To the east, the parish extends about 3km (02miles) to the River Wharfe and includes three hills and some pockets of ancient woodland; the hamlet of Bolton Bridge, outside the parish boundaries, marks the north-east corner. The parish boundaries extend 2km (01miles) to the south of the village, and include Draughton moor. Northwards and westwards, the parish boundaries follow becks.[2]
The heritage Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway passes near the village,[3] and the area is served by that line's Bolton Abbey Railway station, which lies within the parish boundaries. The A59 road lies just outside of the parish's northern boundary, while the A65 passes through the centre of the parish.
The main street of the village, Low Lane, runs roughly north–south; there is a small stream that runs just east of the village. The A65 road marks the bottom of the settled area. There is a care home in the village, and a place of worship.[4] [5]
The village itself sits mostly on carboniferous mudstone, part of the Hodder Mudstone formation, and is partially surrounded by large patchy swathes of limestone dating to the same era. The rest of the parish is more geologically diverse: a large area to the east of the village is shale, followed by sandstone around the River Wharfe.[6]
The population of the civil parish was 270 in 2015. In 1911, it was 166; this continued to decline during the 20th century until an increase by 1971.[7]
There are several listed buildings in the parish of Draughton, including buildings and boundary stones. The oldest is a house and cottage dating to 1659. The Flat Bridge, which takes the B6160 road over a stream, was built around 1800. Besides five boundary stones and other markers, there is also an 18th-century farmhouse, a lime kiln, and a house dating to around 1810. In addition, there are two ancient woodlands – that is, forests which have existed since 1600 – within the parish, Lob Wood and Eller Carr Wood.
The parish of Draughton is surrounded to the north by Yorkshire Dales National Park, to the east by the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and to the south by the Bradford green belt.
In St. Augustine’s Church, there is a plaque honouring the four men from Draughton who died in the First World War, and the one man who died in the Second World War.[8]
The Dales Way passes through the parish's area, in the segment that connects the village of Addingham with Bolton Abbey. In 2024, a new footpath was added to take walkers off the B6160 road east of the village proper, near Bolton Bridge.[9] [10]
On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village, along the A65 road.[11]
In 2022, disinfection measures were temporarily introduced to a water treatment plant near Draughton to help improve the water quality of a swimming spot at Ilkley in the River Wharfe, after a report that May showed that the river at Ilkley had the lowest water quality in the UK that summer.[12] [13]
As a civil parish, Draughton is administered on the lowest level of local government by a parish council. The Draughton parish council has seven members who are elected to four year terms. The chairman in 2024 was Rachel Binks.[14] At the second level of local government – the North Yorkshire Council, which is a unitary authority – Draughton is part of the Wharfedale ward. At the national level, the parish is represented by the constituency of Skipton and Ripon.[15]