Easingwold is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, electoral ward 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

Hambleton District Hambleton is a local government district in North Yorkshire, England. The administrative centre is Northallerton, and the district includes the outlying towns and villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, and Easingwold. The ...

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. Historically, part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,233 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,627 at the 2011 Census. It is located about north of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, at the foot of the

Howardian Hills The Howardian Hills are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors National Park, and the Vale of York. They take their name from the Howard family who still own local lands. Topography T ...

History

The town 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 ...

of 1086 as "Eisicewalt" in the Bulford hundred. At the time of 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 ...

, the manor was owned by Earl Morcar, but subsequently passed to the King. In 1265 the manor was passed to

Edmund Crouchback Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his chi ...

by his father, Henry III. The manor was caught up in the dispute between the 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Edward I and the manor passed back to the crown following the

Battle of Boroughbridge The Battle of Boroughbridge was fought on 16 March 1322 in England between a group of rebellious barons and the forces of King Edward II, near Boroughbridge, north-west of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the King a ...

in 1322 which resulted in the execution of the Earl at

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

. The manor was restored to the Earl's brother some six years later, but he left no male heir, so the lands passed to his son-in-law, John of Gaunt in 1361. The lands were next granted to his son-in-law,

Ralph Neville Ralph Neville (or Ralf NevillClanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 90 or Ralph de Neville; died 1244) was a medieval clergyman and politician who served as Bishop of Chichester and Lord Chancellor of England. Neville first appears in t ...

. Following the War of the Roses, the lands were declared forfeit to the Crown until 1633, when they were granted to Thomas Belasyse and subsequently became the possession of the Wombwell family. The town is an amalgamation of two smaller villages, ''Uppleby'' and ''Lessimers''. The former being a settlement, or ''-by'' of a Dane called ''Upple'', and the latter being an Angle settlement on the ''lease-mires'', meaning leased land frequently waterlogged. The name of Easingwold is Anglo Saxon in origin, with ''wold'' being a derivation of ''wald'' meaning ''forest'', and the former part being a Saxon family name, possibly ''Esa''. King John had a hunting lodge there and the royal Forest of Galtres once surrounded the area. The market place was the site of an old toll booth. The base of the old market cross still exists next to Easingwold Town Hall, which was built as a public hall. It replaced an old row of 'shambles' where butchers sold their wares. The market place was also the site of a

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are ...

used for baiting. Records show that markets have been held in the town since 1221, but were formalised under letters patent from Charles I. Under the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...

a Poor law union was established in Easingwold in 1837. The town had a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

built in 1756 on Oulston Road. In 1934 the workhouse was converted into a hospital for the mentally handicapped and known as ''Claypenny Colony'' until 1952 and then as ''Claypenny Hospital'' until the majority of the site was sold and redeveloped as residential accommodation towards the end of the 20th century. In 1891 a privately owned branch line was opened from the town to the

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 ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

main line at Alne after many failed attempts to have the main line pass through or closer to the town. The line ran a passenger service until 1948 and a goods service until its final closure in 1957. The station was located in what is now Station Court. All that remains is the old station house following a fire in 1967 that resulted in its demolition. There are 51 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 ...

s in Easingwold, including five mileposts and the telephone kiosk in Back Lane. The areas of Long Street; the Parish Church and Church Hill; Uppleby and the market place are all within the Easingwold Conservation Area. In 1908 Lieutenant-General

Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

, the founder of the Scout Movement, visited Easingwold as commander of the Northumbrian division of the newly formed Territorial Force. Easingwold's Scout Group was founded two years later.

Governance

The town is situated within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. The town gives its name to the electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council in which it resides, as it does for the ward of Hambleton District Council. The town has its own Town Council made of 11 councillors, with three attendees who are District Councillors.

Geography

The town was bypassed by the A19 in November 1994. The town is the focal point for many nearby villages and the nearest larger settlements are

to the south;

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on t ...

to the west;

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

to the northwest and Malton to the east. The highest point in the town is at the town's edge on the Oulston Road at .

Demography

According to the 1881 UK Census, the town had a population of 2,044. According to the 2001 UK Census the population was 4,233, of which 3,428 were over the age of sixteen. Of those 1,843 were in employment. The 2011 Census showed the population as 4,627.

Parks

After the closure of the Claypenny Hospital, the land was developed into a housing estate with a 34-acre parkland in between called Millfields Park opened in 1999 and now run by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

. The park is bounded to the west by a hawthorn hedge, to the north by a stock proof fence and by the housing estate around the rest. There are a number of informal footpaths across the site as well as the

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...

National Cycle Route 65. Among the tree species planted here are sessile oak, cherry,

field maple ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

, ash,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

, rowan,

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, comprising subgenus ''Aria'' (or, according to some authorities, its own genus) of genus ''Sorbus'', and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera ''Sorbus'', ''Torminar ...

and

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains fur ...

. Some of the shrub species found here are

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, hazel, hawthorn,

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

and dogrose. Supported by the council and local community, Millfields Park hosts the 5 km Millfield parkrun every Saturday at 9 am. Towards the centre of the town is Memorial Park. The site was formerly occupied by private tenants, a tennis club and a garage. After several years of planning and delay, the park was opened in September 1955.

Economy

There are a number of local retail businesses in the town. The number of

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s has significantly reduced since the 19th century, when there were also a number of local brew houses, the names of which can still be seen on local houses. Easingwold is served by bus services to nearby villages, towns and the city of York. This includes services formerly partly run by the local coach business, Stephenson's of Easingwold, now fully run by Reliance Motor Services The Cabinet Office have their Emergency Planning College at the Hawkhills, Easingwold. The town also has its own local newspaper, the ''Easingwold Advertiser'', which provides local news and interest pieces for the town and surrounding villages.

Public services

The police station on Church Avenue is only open on part-time basis on request. The fire station on Stillington Road is a retained station, which is manned by crews of firefighters who provide on-call cover from home or their place of work. St Monica's Community Hospital is part of the York NHS Foundation and is located in Long Street. It has no Accident & Emergency facilities. Hambleton District Council has local offices in Church Hill. The town has a public library situated in Tanpit Lane, just off the Market Place. The tourist information office for the area is located in Chapel Lane.

Education

In 1781, a grammar school was founded in the town, which is now the site of Easingwold Community Primary School. A National School was built in 1862 in the town, but now houses the town library. In 1954 a secondary school, Easingwold School, was built, and is now known as Outwood Academy Easingwold, with a pupil roll of around 1,000 pupils. Its catchment area includes Alne Primary, Crayke CE, Easingwold, Forest of Galtres Anglican/Methodist, Huby CE, Husthwaite CE, Linton on Ouse, Sheriff Hutton, Stillington and Sutton on the Forest CE Primary Schools.

Sports

Easingwold Town AFC were founded in 1892 and were a founder member of the York League. They won the York FA Senior Cup in the 1971–72 season and have been finalists on two other occasions. The Junior side won the York FA Junior Cup in the 1961–62 season and were finalists on one other occasion. The Galtres Centre provides activities including badminton, tennis, netball and gymnastics, and contains an indoor shooting range operated by the local rifle and pistol club. Easingwold Cricket Club play at Memorial Park on Back Lane, and in the York & District Senior League. To the south of the town is Easingwold Golf Club.

Religion

A church in the town is dedicated to St John and All Saints. There has been a church here since Saxon times, though the present building dates from the 15th century. The Catholic church on Long Street, erected in 1830, is dedicated to St John the Evangelist, and served by Benedictine Monks of

Ampleforth Abbey Ampleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine monks a mile to the east of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre- Reformation community at Westminster Abbey throug ...

. It was designed by Charles Hansom, the brother of Joseph Hansom who invented the

Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety ca ...

.Lang, Bill, “Prospect of Easingwold,” ''The Dalesman'', March 1980, p.989 A school was attached to the church in 1871. There has been a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

chapel in the town since 1786. The location has changed several times, with the second building being erected in 1815 with a school added in 1860, and finally finding a home in Chapel Street in 1975. There used to be a Primitive Methodist chapel in the town, built in 1870.

References

{{authority control Towns in North Yorkshire Market towns in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Hambleton District