Appleton Roebuck 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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. The village is about south-west of

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

. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Holme Green and Nun Appleton, and covers an area of around . The parish had a population of 692 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 870 in the 2021 census and including Acaster Selby. In February 2000 much of Appleton Roebuck was designated a Conservation Area under Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and consists of 18th- and 19th-century buildings. There are six listed buildings within the Conservation Area, all Grade II, including two places of worship.

History

Appleton Roebuck derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon meaning a farm where apple trees grew and, from the fourteenth century, when it was owned by a man called Rabuk. Appleton Roebuck 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' demonstrating that it was already settled before the Norman Conquest. In the 12th century a nunnery was established at Nun Appleton, a short distance from the village. It was founded by Adeliza, or Alice de St. Quintin, in the reign of King Stephen. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site was acquired by the Fairfax family. A house was built there which later became the home of Thomas, the third Lord Fairfax, a parliamentary commander during the Civil War. After the death of Mary Fairfax, Duchess of Buckingham, Nun Appleton was eventually sold in about 1711 to Alderman Milner of Leeds. The Milner family, who made their money from the

Aire and Calder Navigation The Aire and Calder Navigation is the River engineering#Canalization of rivers, canalised section of the River Aire, Rivers Aire and River Calder, West Yorkshire, Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Kn ...

Canal, continued to own the Hall until 1875, when it was leased to William Beckett Dennison. As the

agricultural depression An agricultural recession describes a period of low crop prices and sharply reduced farm incomes. Consequences may include second order effects such as rural flight of people to towns and also had political effects. A common feature of agricultura ...

of the 19th century and competition from railways increased, the Milner fortune dwindled away and the estate was sold. The manor and estate originally belonged to the Latimer family, passing, by way of his daughter Elizabeth, to John, Lord Neville of Raby during the reign of Richard II. The estate and manor stayed in the Neville family until 1426. Woolas Hall, now a farmhouse, was once a more important building, as indicated by the moat by which it was surrounded and may still be traced in the landscape around it. The Old Windmill is a

grade II listed 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, H ...

building which was built in about 1820, and operated until the 1930s.

Governance

The village lies within the UK Parliamentary Constituency of

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

. As of the 2024 election, the seat is represented by Keir Mather of the Labour Party, with 43.6% share of the vote. The village was once part of the Parish of Bolton Percy, but is now a civil parish in its own right and includes the nearby village of Acaster Selby. The population of this ward taken at the 2011 Census was 1,865. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of

, 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 ...

Demography

In 1822 the population was 585. This rose in 1872 to 622 and according to the census of 1881 was 441. The 2011 census recorded the population as 792. In the most recent

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

(2021) the village had a population of 870.

Economy

The village is in a mostly agricultural area, though many residents work in the nearby cities and towns. Within the village are two

public houses A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and various small businesses. Both public houses are Samuel Smith pubs – The Shoulder of Mutton and The Roebuck.

Geography

The village is located in the vale of a rivulet called The Fleet. The East Coast Main Railway Line passes just to the west of the village and the A64 is to the north-west. The nearest settlements are Colton, to the north,

Bolton Percy Bolton Percy is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 305 in 115 households, reducing marginally to 304 at the 2011 census. The village is about east of Tadca ...

, to the south-west, Acaster Selby, to the south-east and

Acaster Malbis Acaster Malbis () is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, England. It is located on the River Ouse, almost south of York. Nearby are the villages of Copmanthorpe to the north-west, Bishopthorpe 2 miles to ...

, to the north-east.

Transport

York Pullman York Pullman is a bus operating company based in Rufforth, North Yorkshire, England. The first company to use the Pullman name was founded in 1926 by Norman Pearce and Hartas Foxton. The Yorkshire Pullman remained in use until the company was d ...

operate the only public bus service that serves the village, the number 21, as part of the York Piccadilly to Colton route. It subsidised by the City of York council, as well as North Yorkshire Council.

Education

The school was built in 1817 and an Infant school was added in 1841. As of 2010, primary education is provided by North Yorkshire Council at Appleton Roebuck Primary School. The school is in the catchment area of Tadcaster Grammar School, a co-educational Comprehensive School, for their secondary education.

Religious sites

The Wesleyans built a Methodist chapel in the village in 1818. All Saints' Church, Appleton Roebuck was built in 1868, by

J. B. and W. Atkinson J. B. and W. Atkinson were English brothers who worked together as architects. John Bownas Atkinson (1807 – 1874) and William Atkinson (1811 – 1886) were the sons of the architect Peter Atkinson (architect, baptised 1780), Peter ...

Sports

The Tennis Club in the village fields one Men's side, two Ladies sides and four mixed sides in the Tyke Petroleum Tennis League.

Landmarks

Nun Appleton Hall () was listed as Grade II on 4 July 1952. It stands in an extensive wooded park, near the confluence of the rivers

Ouse Ouse ( ) may refer to: Places Rivers in England * River Ouse, Yorkshire * River Ouse, Sussex * River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia ** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse Other places * Ouse, Tasmania, a town ...

and Wharfe. The house was built by Thomas, Lord Fairfax, on the site of a Cistercian priory for nuns, founded by Alice de St. Quintin at the commencement of the thirteenth century. A short distance east from the village are the remains of a moated manor site known as Brocket Hall. Brocket Hall has been cited as being one of the best preserved examples in North Yorkshire and, as such, has been made a scheduled ancient monument. It is included within the Appleton Roebuck Conservation Area.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{authority control Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Villages in North Yorkshire