Moving in Smelthouses: what to know first
Smelthouses sits in the bottom of the Fell Beck valley. Brimham Rocks Road is the only public road, a minor lane, and the houses off it are mostly reached by drives and tracks, many of them private or public footpaths and bridleways. The homes are a few dozen houses and some barns, so give the house name with the postcode. Old Coach Road is a bridleway, not a way in for the van.
Smelthouses: the local picture
The name is industrial. By the mid-15th century Fountains Abbey had a bellows-blown lead smelting mill here, at its grange of Wyse Ing. A flax-spinning mill started on the west bank in 1795 and burned down in 1890, and a rope and twine business worked at Little Mill in the early 20th century. A Wesleyan chapel of 1841 served the hamlet until Wilsill's chapel replaced it in 1897.
The bridge explains the lane layout. The Pateley Bridge to Knaresborough turnpike came through Smelthouses, and its trust built a bridge over Fell Beck in 1761 and rebuilt it in 1802: a single segmental arch with pilasters and coped parapets. In 1828 the road was moved to the line the B6165 follows today, and Smelthouses was no longer on the main road. Knox Wood and Cornfield Wood are beside the hamlet, and Knox Hall, with its semicircular wings, is a few hundred metres away.
How the van gets to Smelthouses
The van comes off the B6165 near Low Laithe, where the Harrogate Bus Company stops are named Well Lodge, and up Brimham Rocks Road. From Bradford the van follows the B6451 from Pool past Darley to its end at Summerbridge, then the B6165 north-west for a couple of kilometres. The Way of the Roses cycle route uses the same lane, so expect cyclists.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 50 to 65 minutes. That is an estimate, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Man and van services near Smelthouses
Each service below links to its Harrogate page, which covers how the job works in and around Harrogate.
House Removals
One- and two-bed homes moved with a driver and a Transit LWB van; bigger homes go in two loads.
Learn moreFlat & Apartment Removals
Lifts, stairs, loading bays and building paperwork planned before the van arrives.
Learn moreFurniture & Large Item Transport
Wardrobes, tables and bulky items moved from A to B without a full removals package.
Learn moreAppliance Delivery
Washing machines, fridges and cookers moved, secured and placed in your kitchen.
Learn moreMarketplace & eBay Collection
Bought it on Marketplace, eBay or Gumtree? We collect from the seller and bring it to you.
Learn moreStudent Removals
Halls, shared houses and home again, priced for a room's worth of belongings.
Learn moreEvery service we offer near Smelthouses
All 11 services run to Smelthouses, each with its own page.
Common Smelthouses routes
- Smelthouses → Pateley BridgeBrimham Rocks Road to Lupton Bank (B6165), then Ripon Road into town, about 4 km
- Smelthouses → Harrogatethe B6165 down the dale through Summerbridge, Burnt Yates and Ripley to the A61, about 20 km
Frequently asked questions: man with a van in Smelthouses
Which parish is my Smelthouses address in?
It depends which bank of Fell Beck the house is on. HG3 4DJ, beside the bridge, is in High and Low Bishopside; the far side of the beck is in Hartwith cum Winsley. Both come under North Yorkshire Council, and the postcode is what matters for the booking.
How much does Brimham Rocks Road climb out of Smelthouses?
West to the B6165 it rises only a little. East it climbs steeply over roughly 1.6 km to its junction with Hartwith Bank near the moor top, so a house up that way is a long pull.
Is the old bridge the way in for vehicles?
Yes. Brimham Rocks Road crosses Fell Beck on the listed bridge the turnpike trust built in 1761 and rebuilt in 1802, a single stone arch, and the usual route uses it.
Nearby areas
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 1 October 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data, checked 2026-09-30): HG3 4DJ is in Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale ward, High and Low Bishopside parish; nearby HG3 4DH, 4DF
- OS Open Names, July 2026, record osgb4000000074545781: Smelthouses (hamlet)
- Smelthouses (Wikipedia): 2.3 miles south-east of Pateley Bridge on both sides of Fell Beck, the boundary of Hartwith cum Winsley and High and Low Bishopside; Fountains Abbey grange at Wyse Ing and lead smelting mill; flax mill 1795, burned 1890; Little Mill rope and twine; Wesleyan chapel 1841, replaced at Wilsill 1897; turnpike bridge 1761, rebuilt 1802; route moved to the B6165 line in 1828
- Listed buildings in Hartwith cum Winsley (Wikipedia, from the National Heritage List for England): Smelthouses Bridge (single segmental arch, pilasters, coped parapets), Knox Hall (semicircular wings)
- OpenStreetMap map data around the OS point (checked 2026-09-30): Smelthouses node, Brimham Rocks Road, Smelthouses Bridge (Grade II), Fell Beck, Knox Wood, Cornfield Wood, B6165, Well Lodge bus stops (Harrogate Bus Company), Way of the Roses and NCN 688 relations
- B roads in Zone 6 (Wikipedia): B6451 from the A659 in Otley to the B6165 in Summerbridge
- Route estimate from OpenStreetMap road data (checked 2026-09-30): A658 to Pool, B6451 Darley Carr and Mill Hurst, B6165 (2,402 m)
- OpenStreetMap map data around Smelthouses: Brimham Rocks Road (unclassified, asphalt) over Smelthouses Bridge, Old Coach Road (bridleway), tracks and private drives; 36 houses, 7 barns, 2 ruins (map data read 2026-10-01)
- Driving route on OpenStreetMap road data, Smelthouses to Pateley Bridge: Brimham Rocks Road to Lupton Bank (B6165), then Ripon Road into town, about 4 km
- Driving route on OpenStreetMap road data, Smelthouses to Harrogate: the B6165 down the dale through Summerbridge, Burnt Yates and Ripley to the A61, about 20 km
- Elevation lookup (EU-DEM 25 m via OpenTopoData) along Brimham Rocks Road: about 129 m at the bridge, 151 m to the west, 155 m and 251 m to the east