Fagger Gill, Kitley Hill, Langthwaite and Whaw, indicates Viking settlement during the 10th century, probably arriving from the west. Arkil is a Viking name which leads to speculation that he was a local leader. Following the Norman conquest in the 11th century a large part of North Yorkshire was given to Count Alan, a member of William's family. He kept Arkengarthdale and neighbouring New Forest as a hunting "forest" which was policed by forest rangers. In the 14th century there were eight gamekeepers employed preventing game being hunted in the dale. Towards the end of the 13th century there were 30 cottages in the Parish, but there followed a period lasting over a century of depression and de-population, with plague and war with France. By the end of the 16th century the Earls of Richmond had died out and Arkengarthdale and New Forest reverted to the Crown. Attempts by Crown agents to change the leases of the 55 tenants of small-holdings in the area led to protracted disputes. In 1628 the Crown, in an attempt to clear its debts, sold Arkengarthdale as well as other estates to the City of London. In 1656 the valley was bought by Charles Bathurst, who was Oliver Cromwell's doctor. The estate remained in the Bathurst family for four generations, John, Theodore & Charles, until in 1740 it was inherited by Charles' three great-granddaughters. At that time married women were not allowed to own property so the estate belonged to their husbands. In 1770 the turnpike road from Reeth to Brough via Tan Hill was opened. This greatly reduced the cost of transporting lead and coal from the mines since carts could be used instead of pack-horse trains. Between 1808 and 1811 a London banker, George Brown of Stockton, bought all three parts of the estate. Before his death in 1814 Brown had rebuilt the school and laid plans for a new church. The estate was inherited by his sister and his second sister's husband Rev John Gilpin, vicar of Stockton. The early 19th century was a time of growth in the dale. In 1801 there was a population of 1186. In 1811 it had risen to 1529. In 1798 there were 34 miners and 1 farmer; in 1820 there were 9 farmers, 5 innkeepers, 4 mining agents, 2 flour dealers, a curate, a schoolmaster, a clogger, a shoemaker and a shopkeeper. In 1831 there