Askham Richard 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

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

City of York The City of York, officially simply "York", is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. ...

in the north of England, 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 ...

, close to

Copmanthorpe Copmanthorpe () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of York in the English county of North Yorkshire, south-west of York, west of Bishopthorpe and close to Acaster Malbis, Askham Bryan and Askham Richard. Accord ...

, Bilbrough and

Askham Bryan Askham Bryan is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area of City of York in the north of England, south-west of York, west of Bishopthorpe, and close to Askham Richard a ...

. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 351. The village became a

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

in 1975. Nearby is Askham Bryan College of Agriculture. The village was historically part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

until 1974. It was then a part of the district of

Selby District Selby District was a local government district of North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Selby. The district had a population of 83,449 at the 2011 Census. The southernmost district of North Yorks ...

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 ...

from 1974 until 1996. Since 1996 it has been part of the City of York unitary authority.

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

''. The name comes from ''ascam'' or ''ascha'' meaning "enclosure of ash-tree". It has been also known as "Little" or "West" Askham". The "Richard" in the village name is reputed to be that of

Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of P ...

. Before the Conquest the villages of Askham Richard and nearby Askham Bryan were one manor belonging to Edwin, Earl of Mercia. When Edwin's lands were confiscated by William the Conqueror, the village was granted to Roger de Mowbray who then passed the Manor to his friend, William de Tykhill, a former Warden of Foss Bridge.

Governance

Askham Richard lies in the Rural West York Ward of the City of York Unitary Authority. It is a part of the UK Parliamentary Constituency of York Outer.

Demography

In 1848, parish records show the population as 232. In 1881, the National Census showed the population as 226. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 273. The 2011 census recorded the population as 351.

Geography

The village consists of one main street, where the main

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

and

duck pond A duck pond or duckpond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for waterfowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Often, as in public parks, such ponds are artificial and ornamental in desig ...

are located, and a couple of small lanes. The soil consists of gravel and clay. The village is 1.7 miles west of

, 2.3 miles south of

Rufforth Rufforth is a village in the civil parish of Rufforth with Knapton, in the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies about west of York. The village is mentioned in the ''Dom ...

, 1.5 miles north-east of Bilbrough.

Economy

Within the village is Her Majesty's Prison Askham Grange. Also in the village is the Rose and Crown

pub 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 ...

. There are three farms, but the remainder are dwellings. The nearby Askham Bryan College of Agriculture and Horticulture provides some local employment.

Transport

York Pullman serves the village 2/3 times a day (Monday-Saturday) in each direction on service 37 which runs between Tadcaster to York.

Education

Primary education is catered for at

St. Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

primary school. Nearby is Askham Bryan College of Agriculture and Horticulture. The college was originally known as the Yorkshire Institute of Agriculture, which opened in 1948. It became Askham Bryan College of Agriculture and Horticulture 19 years later. It now includes equine management, animal management, land management, business, food production, engineering and bioscience.

Religious sites

St Mary's Church is Grade II* listed. There is record of a church here from 1086 but most of the existing building dates from 1887, a simple Victorian design with no tower (it has a bellcote). The rebuilding however retained some fabric of the earlier church, notably the porch doorway (much restored), with two orders of colonettes and zig-zag pattern across the roll moulding. This fits with a late 11th century date for the original church. It is one of a local group of churches with Norman doorways (see

Ainsty The Ainsty or the Ainsty of York was a historic district of Yorkshire, England, west of the city of York. Originally a wapentake or subdivision of the West Riding of Yorkshire it later had a unique status as a rural area controlled by the corpo ...

). At nearby St Nicholas

the door has similar motifs (leaves in the teeth of the zigzags) and may well have been made by the same hands. The doorway to the church, as opposed to the porch, is less grand but also late C11th, and there is an unusually plain west doorway of comparable age.

Notable people

Mary Flora Bell lived and worked here for a while. She also spent some time at the HM Prison Askham Grange.

Gallery

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in the City of York Civil parishes in North Yorkshire