[5] William Wheater thought Gargrave to be derived the Celtic caer and the Saxon gerefa,[6] meaning "the camp or city of the reeve/governor".

[7] In the second century, the Romans built a villa in flat meadowland near the River Aire at Kirk Sink; it was excavated in 1968–1974 by Brian Hartley.

[9] Gargrave House was built in 1917 by the distinguished Scottish architect, James Dunn; it is a Grade II listed building.

[14] The village is in the Skipton and Ripon constituency of the UK Parliament; the seat is held currently by Julian Smith of the Conservative Party.

[15] Northern Trains operates regular services from Gargrave railway station to Skipton and Leeds in the east; Morecambe and Carlisle are destinations to the west and north-west.

[19] Gargrave was the centre of an ancient parish, which also included the townships of Bank Newton, Coniston Cold, Eshton, and Flasby with Winterburn.

It has a village hall that hosts art exhibitions, tea dances, snooker, lectures, indoor bowls and pantomimes.