The main settlement in the parish is the village of Summerbridge. The parish also includes the hamlets of Low Laithe, New York, Brimham, Hartwith and the eastern part of Smelthouses. Winsley consists of some scattered houses and farms in the east of the parish. In 2015 the population of the parish was estimated at 1,020.[2]
The parish occupies the north side of lower Nidderdale. In the north of the parish are Brimham Rocks.
In the Middle Ages, Hartwith cum Winsley (then known as Brimham) formed part of the lands of Fountains Abbey, which established granges at Wise Ing (near Smelthouses), Braisty Woods, Brimham Grange and Brimham Park.[3] At Brimham Grange there was a chapel, where local recusants kept a Catholic priest in the late 16th century.[4] In the 18th century Brimham Hall was built on the site of Brimham Grange and is now a Grade II listed building.[5] Brimham Park was used by the abbots as a hunting lodge. It was replaced in 1661 by a substantial house now known as Brimham Lodge, which is a Grade I listed building.[6]