Gargrave is a large village and civil parish in the Craven district located along the A65, north-west of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal pass through the village. It had a population of 1,764 in 2001 reducing slightly to 1,755 at the 2011 census. Etymology Multiple etymologies have been proposed for the name Gargrave. The name may contain Old English gāra in its original meaning of "spear" formed with graf apparently meaning wood, originally meaning "wood from which spear-shafts were cut". The first part of the name may also have had the sense "triangular piece of land" and was replaced by the cognate Old Norse gieri. Also suggested is that the name contains one of the Old Norse names with Geir- (e.g. Geirmundr, Geirlaug) with the Old English termination græf, "grave, trench", Gargrave therefore meaning "grave of the Scandinavian Giermundr, Geirlaug etc". William Wheater thought Gargrave to be derived the Celtic caer and the Saxon gerefa, meaning "the camp or city of the reeve/governor". The element -grave may be a "Celtic lenited" variant of Craven. History At Kirk Sink in the second century the Romans built a villa in flat meadowland near the River Aire. It was excavated in 1968–1974 by Brian Hartley. Its central room had a seven-metre square mosaic floor and a bath house was built alongside. The villa was surrounded by two ditches. In the 1820s the main industry in Gargrave was cotton manufacturing and along the side of the canal were numerous warehouses. The population at this time was 972 and there were several public houses including the pubs named the Masons Arms and the Swan Inn. Gargrave House was built in 1917 by the distinguished Scottish architect, James Dunn. It is a Grade II listed building. The Old Swan is also Grade II listed and was named the Keighley and Craven CAMRA Pub of the Season for summer 1998. Governance Gargrave is in the Gargrave and Malhamdale ward of the non-unitary authority, Craven District Council, and is also served by the North Yorkshire County Council for local services. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was measured at 3,037. For parliamentary elections Gargrave is in the Skipton and Ripon constituency. Transport The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through the village and the main road