Three properties in thriving Dales village Kirkby Malzeard

For a village with such unpromising beginnings, Kirkby Malzeard has done surprisingly well for itself.
Well Garth, Back Lane, Kirkby Malzeard - £750,000 with Hunters, 01765 530007.Well Garth, Back Lane, Kirkby Malzeard - £750,000 with Hunters, 01765 530007.
Well Garth, Back Lane, Kirkby Malzeard - £750,000 with Hunters, 01765 530007.

Its name started out simply as Kirkby – Anglo-Norse for a place with a church – and the name Malzeard, Norman French for “bad clearing” was added in the early 12th century, when William the Conqueror’s invasion and crushing of the North was still within living memory.

Thankfully, things did start to look up for the village eventually, and they’re still pretty good today.

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Kirkby Malzeard lies south of Kex Beck, a tributary of the River Laver, which joins the River Skell six miles away at Ripon and then the River Ure just beyond. This means that, despite being within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is technically in lower Wensleydale, and indeed the Wensleydale Creamery – maker of the eponymous cheese – has a packaging plant here, providing employment.

3 Bridge Cottages, Laverton - £250,000 with Davis & Lund, 01765 602233.3 Bridge Cottages, Laverton - £250,000 with Davis & Lund, 01765 602233.
3 Bridge Cottages, Laverton - £250,000 with Davis & Lund, 01765 602233.

As this might suggest, Kirkby Malzeard is very much a working, thriving community, rather than a dormitory or retirement village.

According to the 2011 census, there were 887 people living in the Kirkby Malzeard parish, two thirds of them under retirement age, and almost one in four were under the age of 18. As a result, it still has a thriving primary school, rated Good by Ofsted.

There’s also the Mechanics’ Institute (village hall), Kirkby Stores (everyday essentials), Kirkby Fisheries (fish and chips), Kirkby Motors (car repairs and MOTs), Kutz at Kirkby (hairdresser’s), the Rose Lea Tea Rooms, the Queen’s Head pub, and Highside Playing Fields (football, cricket, tennis, bowls, quoits, and a children’s play area).

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As you might imagine, community spirit is strong here. There are numerous local interest groups, and whether your interests lie in singing, acting, walking, gardening, history or sport, you should find an outlet here (Covid restrictions permitting).

The Old Post Office, Main Street, Kirby Malzeard - £325,000 with Bridgfords, 01765 519244.The Old Post Office, Main Street, Kirby Malzeard - £325,000 with Bridgfords, 01765 519244.
The Old Post Office, Main Street, Kirby Malzeard - £325,000 with Bridgfords, 01765 519244.

If Kirkby Malzeard sounds like the vibrant kind of rural community you’d like to be part of, one of the following three properties may be ideal for you.

Well Garth is a detached, stone-built family home overlooking the playing fields, with plenty of scope to improve or extend. It has five bedrooms (or four and a study), two bathrooms, a large living kitchen, utility room/back kitchen, lounge and conservatory. The house sits in a large garden with double garage and a half-acre paddock.

The Old Post Office is a mid-terrace cottage right next to Kirkby Stores. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, and on the ground floor there is an entrance hall, good-sized lounge and a long kitchen-diner that opens out onto the back patio. Outside, there are gardens to both front and rear and a detached garage.

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Finally, a short walk or three-minute drive away in the village of Laverton, 3 Bridge Cottages is a mid-terrace house with two bedrooms, a shower room, kitchen-diner, living room and conservatory. Outside, there’s off-street parking, a single garage and a garden to the rear.

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