Levisham is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England, located within the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

National Park about north of Pickering. At the 2011 Census the population was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of

Lockton Lockton is a small village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the North York Moors about north-east of Pickering. Nearby villages include Newton-on-Rawcliffe and Levisham. The village is often used as a base by t ...

History

The village is recorded as a very small settlement in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. The name of the village was first recorded in 1086 as ''Leuecen'', and it derives from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

, meaning the ''farmstead of Leofgeat's people''. The village is believed to have moved location due to the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

in the 14th century. The Church of St Mary, a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building which dates to the 11th century, is now isolated from the current village, and is thought to mark the site of a

Deserted Medieval Village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

. The church fell into disuse in the 1950s, though burials continue, and the main place of Anglican worship is the Church of St John the Baptist, which is in Levisham village, some away from St Mary's. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of

Ryedale Ryedale was a non-metropolitan district in North Yorkshire, England. It was in the Vale of Pickering, a low-lying flat area of land drained by the River Derwent, Yorkshire, River Derwent. The Vale's landscape is rural with scattered villages ...

, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

Locations

It has a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Ge ...

. Nearby villages include Newton-on-Rawcliffe and

Demographics

At the 2011 census, details were recorded with the parish of Lockton, however, an estimate by

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

in 2015 stated that the population was 70.

Miscellaneous

''Heartbeat'' actress

Lisa Kay Lisa Kay, (born 11 February, 1971) is an English actress who has also worked in Australia. Her credits include '' Chicken Run'' (2000), '' Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), '' Heartbeat'' (2002-2010), '' Foyle's War'' (2003), '' Corpse Bride'' (2 ...

(nurse Carol Cassidy) is from Levisham. In April 2021 the village was used as a filming location for the forthcoming '' Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'' film.

References

External links