Croft-on-Tees 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

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

district 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. It has also been known as Croft Spa, and from which the former Croft Spa railway station took its name. It lies north-north west of the county town of

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increa ...

History

The village is 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

'' as ''Crofst''. It makes no mention of any lord of the manor prior to the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, but names ''Enisant Musard'' as lord after 1086, granted to him by Count Alan of Brittany. The lands were subject to many years of dispute until the 13th century. In 1205, King John settled the issue by granting the lands to Roald the Constable of Richmond. His heirs inherited the title until 1299 when they were succeeded by Henry le Scrope of Bolton. Thereafter the lands were held under the Scropes by the Clervaux family. They held the manor until 1590 when the direct male line ceased, but Clervuax inheritance continued via marriage to the Chaytor family into the 20th century. The etymology of the village name comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), 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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

word ''Croft'' meaning a small enclosed field. Croft was once significant for its spa, first noticed in 1668, and as early as 1713 the sulphurous

spring water A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust ( pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh ...

had acquired such fame that it was sold in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as a cure for ailments and diseases as described in Robert Willan's study of the sulphur water at Croft, published London 1782. A.B.Granville's description of the "Old Well" and the "New Well" described the Croft Spa for which the railway station was both opened and named. was published in 1841. The village was once served by its

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the East Coast Main Line. The railway still passes near Croft but the station, which was opened in 1841, closed in 1968 and has been demolished. The 1861 Epsom Derby winner

Kettledrum Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

was bred at Croft in 1858.

Geography and governance

south of Darlington, Croft stands on the opposite side of the River Tees from Hurworth-on-Tees between Clow Beck and Spa Beck and is situated on the

A167 The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road’s route was formerly that of the A1, until it was ...

. The bridge over the Tees between Croft and Hurworth marks the boundary between North Yorkshire and County Durham. The exact point of transition is the fourth of the seven arches.Biff Vernon, A1-The Great North Road, Croft-on-Tees
It is a Grade I listed building. The settlements of Eryholme and Dalton-on-Tees are also within three miles of the village. The village lies within the Richmond UK Parliament constituency, the Richmondshire North electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Croft ward of Hambleton District Council. An electoral ward in the name of Croft exists. This ward stretches south to North Cowton with a population taken at the 2011 census of 1,272.

Demography

2001 Census

According to the 2001 UK Census, the parish was 50.6% male and 49.4% female of the total population of 427. The religious make-up was 86.4% Christian with the rest stating no religion. The ethnic distribution was 100% White. There were 180 dwellings.

2011 Census

According to the 2011 UK Census, the parish had a total population of 466 with 50% male and 50% female. The religious make-up was 75.5% Christian, a small Hindu minority, with the rest stating no religion. The ethnic distribution was 97.8% White with a small Mixed Ethnic and British Asian minority . There were 198 dwellings.

Community

Croft on Tees, St Peter's Church - geograph

The village is served for Primary education by Croft CE Primary School which caters for ages 3 to 11 and has a capacity of 105. It lies within the catchment areas of both

Northallerton School Northallerton School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England. The school is located over two sites on Brompton Road and Grammar School Lane. History The school was founded in 13 ...

and Richmond School for secondary education. Croft has two hotels, one a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Croft motor racing circuit is built on the former aerodrome,

RAF Croft Royal Air Force Croft or more simply RAF Croft is a former Royal Air Force station located south of Darlington, County Durham, England and north-east of Richmond, North Yorkshire. The site is also known locally as Croft Aerodrome or Neasham. C ...

Religion

The village church, St Peter's, is a 14th-century style building situated on the bank of the Tees. It is a Grade I listed building. Whilst not a job in Yorkshire, the incoming

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

meets the Mayor of Darlington to be presented with the

falchion A falchion (; Old French: ''fauchon''; Latin: ''falx'', "sickle") is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin. Falchions are found in different forms from around the 13th century up to and including the 16th century. In some version ...

that John Conyers used to despatch the

Sockburn Worm In the folklore of Northumbria, the Sockburn Worm was a ferocious wyvern that laid waste to the village of Sockburn in Durham. It was said that the beast was finally slain by John Conyers. The tale is said by many to be the inspiration for Lewis C ...

. The ceremony, which is performed on the bridge over the River Tees in the village, has been carried out since 1790.

Notable residents

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

lived in Croft from 1843 to 1850. His father the Revd Charles Dodgson was Rector of Croft and Archdeacon of Richmond from 1843 to 1868. Carroll's photo of the niece of

Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

's wife was taken at Croft. Historians believe Lewis Carroll's

Cheshire Cat The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...

in the book Alice in Wonderland was inspired by a carving in Croft Church.

References

External links

Village website

Croft Circuit

BBC article about the Croft carving
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft-On-Tees Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Richmondshire