Rainton is a village in the county of

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. It is situated about north of Boroughbridge, north-east of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

and south-west of Thirsk. The area has a village green and a

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European List of folk festivals, folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on May Day, 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some co ...

. There are approximately 120 houses in Rainton including six

listed building 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, Hi ...

s, several period farm houses, a smithy and a dovecote. The local vernacular building style is sandstone and cobble construction with slate or pantile roof.

History

The village was mentioned 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 ...

as having 30 ploughlands and belonging to Count Alan of Brittany. The name is thought to have derived from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

(though it could be

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 ...

) of the ''Tūn of Regna's/Rægen's ''. Rainton was historically in the parish of Topcliffe in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, part of the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Rainton with Newby. The township became a separate civil parish in 1866, and in 1974 was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the

Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate was a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Harrogate, but it also included surrounding settlements, including the cathedral ...

, 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 ...

. Rainton was a largely agricultural village. However, since 2000, it has become a commuter village, largely due to its close proximity to the A1(M). This in turn has led to an increase in property prices which is evidenced by the large number of barn conversions and property renovations. Rainton continues to host Christmas parties for local children, lunches for retired people, and other social events including a gardening club. Rainton is the principal settlement in the

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 ...

of Rainton with Newby. Newby, historically known as Newby-on-Swale, is a deserted medieval village, now occupied by Baldersby Park (also known as Newby Park), the home of

Queen Mary's School Queen Mary's School is a private day and boarding school for girls in Baldersby Park near Topcliffe, between Ripon and Thirsk in North Yorkshire, England. Established in 1921, the school is set on of landscaped grounds and houses approximate ...

. At the 2001 Census, the population of the parish was 354, which had risen to 447 by the time of the 2011 Census. In 2015,

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 ...

estimated that the population had fallen slightly to 440.

Facilities

The local school is based at Baldersby St James. There are two freehold pubs in the village: ''The Lamb'' and ''The Bay Horse'' which are both traditional village pubs. In 2011, The Lamb diversified into being a village shop as well as a pub. A recreation field, including a children's park, opened in 2000 after local fundraising. The children's park obtained further funds to provide new equipment for older children, which was completed in 2016. The cricket club has two teams which have a new pavilion, built largely by the hands-on cricket team and villagers themselves. There is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel in Rainton. The church at nearby Baldersby St James has a 'impressive' steeple.

References

Sources

External links

Parish council
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire