Monk Fryston 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. 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.

History and overview

The ''Dictionary of British Place Names'' notes Monk Fryston as "Fristun" (c. 1030) and "Munechesfryston" (1166). The name derives 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 ...

for "farmstead of the frisians", with prefix 'Monk' relating to it being an 11th-century possession of

Selby Abbey Selby Abbey is an Anglican parish church in the town of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It is Grade I listed. Monastic history It is one of the relatively few surviving abbey churches of the medieval period, and, although not a cathedral, ...

. According to a personal FreeUK web page, the name of the village originates from ''Monk's Free Stone'' as all of the stone used to build Selby Abbey was obtained from a quarry in the centre of the village across the road from the old school building. The quarry was filled in for a housing development located next to the new school building, built on the old school field in 1998–99. The old school building has since been converted to housing. Monk Fryston Community Centre - geograph

Monk Fryston Community Centre - geograph

The village is very closely linked to

Hillam Hillam is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. The village is closely linked to Monk Fryston, although both villages maintain separate Parish councils of England, parish councils. According to the 2011 U ...

, although both villages maintain separate parish councils. According to the

2011 UK census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

the population of Monk Fryston parish was 1,008 and the number of households was 406. Monk Fryston is situated just over west of the town of

. It lies east of the A1(M) motorway junction 42, (

A1 road A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highw ...

), and north of the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of th ...

, junction 33, at Ferrybridge. The A63 road, Leeds to Selby, runs through the village. Primary education needs are served by Monk Fryston Church of England Primary School. The parish church is St Wilfrid's Monk Fryston (Church of England). The village has one

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 ...

, the Crown Inn, which dates back to the 1600s, and a hotel, the

Monk Fryston Hall Monk Fryston Hall is a Grade II* listed country house standing in 66 acres of parkland in Monk Fryston, Selby, North Yorkshire, England. The hall was originally built for Selby Abbey in the 13th century in Magnesian Limestone The Magnesia ...

Hotel which dates back to the 12th century. The National Heritage List for England, compiled by English Heritage, holds 15

listed buildings 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 ...

for Monk Fryston. The list includes the Grade I St Wilfrid's Church, the Grade II* Monk Fryston Hall and two Grade II

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

s. The York and North Midland Railway passes to the west of Monk Fryston. An old station platform still exists next to the railway just down from

Milford sidings Milford Sidings are a set of railway sidings in South Milford, North Yorkshire, England. The railways through the site were initially opened in 1834 and 1840, when transfer and marshalling yards opened too, which handled mostly coal. However, t ...

. The spot is popular with railway enthusiasts.

Sports

Monk Fryston is involved in village sports, including football and cricket, where home matches are held at Stocking Lane.

Governance

Monk Fryston is part of the Monk Fryston and South Milford

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

. This ward had a total population taken at the 2011 census of 4,096.

References

External links

Monk Fryston Church of England Primary School

The Ancient Parish of Monk Fryston

Hillam News local newspaper

St Wilfrid's, Monk Fryston

Film of Monk Fryston in 1950s

Having fun raising money for the church roof fund
{{authority control Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Selby District Villages in North Yorkshire