South Milford is a 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Lumby, located south-west of the main village. The village was historically part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

until 1974. Traditionally an agricultural village, the population has recently boomed due to housing development. South Milford is now generally considered a commuter village for nearby towns and cities because of the local

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

network, including the A1(M), M1 and M62. Still, South Milford maintains links with the local farming community.

History

Milford is first recorded in 963 as ''on niy senford'', which means ''Mylenforda'', or mill on the ford. The name derives from Anglo-Saxon, and though it predates 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

, it is not explicitly mentioned, though North Milford near Kirkby Wharfe is. The mill was located in the north of the parish on Mill Dike, the body of water which separates South Milford from Sherburn. The watercourse runs from Micklefield to Sherburn and eventually falls into the Ouse at

Cawood Cawood (other names: ''Carwood'') is a large village (formerly a market town) and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England that is notable as the finding-place of the Cawood sword. It was historically part of the West Ri ...

. South Milford is served by

South Milford railway station South Milford railway station serves the villages of South Milford and Sherburn in Elmet in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Selby Line east of Leeds. History The station was opened in 1834 as Milford railway station on the Leeds a ...

, part of the

Leeds and Selby Railway The Leeds and Selby Railway was an early British railway company and first mainline railway within Yorkshire. It was opened in 1834. As built, the line ran west/east between two termini, Marsh Lane station, Leeds and Selby railway station. Th ...

- a line that runs west/east across the north of the village. It has been in operation since 1834 and provides a service between , and . South Milford lies at the convergence of several lines, and was an important

staging post A stage station or relay station, also known as a staging post, a posting station, or a stage stop, is a place where exhausted horses could be replaced by fresh animals, since a long journey was much faster without delays when horses needed rest ...

in coal traffic between the pits and the power stations in the Aire Valley. Another station, Milford Junction, was located on lines running north/south, but this closed in 1904, being replaced by , which closed in 1959.

Steeton Hall

''Steeton Hall Gateway'' is a listed ancient monument and is protected by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. It is situated about west of South Milford. The gateway originally served a large hall, which was demolished and replaced by a house, which has since been converted into several dwellings. The gateway dates from the 15th century, and is one of four such structures which marked the corners of the estate. It has two arched passages, the large one in the centre to allow horsemen and carriages through and the smaller one to the left for

footmen A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

. There are a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

which leads into a large room above the arch and a number of shields and coats of arms surrounding the structure. Steeton Hall Gateway has been described as a "fair and stately structure in the brave days of old".

Governance

South Milford was historically in the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...

Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It was formerly known as Barkston in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History The village dates back to at least 1090, when it was spelled Barcestone. No ...

in the

. The village was in the parish of Sherburn which lies to the north, but in 1859 was made its own ecclesiastical parish with lands from

Sherburn-in-Elmet Sherburn in Elmet (pronounced ) is a large village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, west of Selby and south of Tadcaster. It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It is one o ...

and

Monk Fryston Monk Fryston is a small village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. The village was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. History and overview The ''Dictionary of British Place Names'' n ...

. In 1974 the area was moving from the West Riding into North Yorkshire, and until April 2023, it was part of the Selby District. The area is represented at Parliament as part of the Selby and Ainsty Constituency. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 2,368, and in 2015,

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire; an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England. The council currently consists of 90 councillors. The council is current ...

estimated that it had increased to 2,700.

Notable people

* Joseph Hirst, architect, born in the village.

References

Sources

External links

South Milford Parish Council websiteSouth Milford Cricket ClubSouth Milford Women's Institute Page at English Heritage
{{authority control Civil parishes in North Yorkshire English Heritage sites in North Yorkshire Selby District Villages in North Yorkshire