Coxwold 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, in the North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north 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 ...

and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote '' A Sentimental Journey''.

History

The village name is derived from

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

words ''Cuc'', meaning ''cry'', and ''valt'', meaning ''wood''. 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 ...

of 1086 as part of the ''Yarlestre'' hundred by the name of ''Cucvalt''. The lord of the manor 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 Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066 was ''Kofse'' but the manor passed to ''Hugh, son of Baldric'', and thence to Roger de Mowbray. Before 1158 the manor and lands of Coxwold passed to Thomas de Colville. In return for the lands Thomas had to swear allegiance to Roger de Mowbray. Thomas de Colville's estate included the manors of Yearsley, Coxwold and Oulston as well as other properties and land in

, Thirsk, Everley, Nunwick, Kilburn and Upsland. The Colville shield is proudly displayed at one of the roof intersections in the twelfth-century Norman church in Coxwold.Yearsley: A Genealogical Story Part 1: The Early Years
/ref> Successive generations of Colvilles held the estate and lands of Coxwold until 1405 when the eighth Thomas Colville was murdered, probably on the instructions of Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York, who, in turn, was acting on behalf of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. The bulk of the Coxwold estate was then granted to the Uhtred-Neville family. While in possession of the Coxwold estate the Colville family made generous grants to

Byland Abbey Byland Abbey is a ruined abbey and a small village in Byland with Wass civil parish, in the county of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors National Park. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Ryedale, it is now administe ...

and Newburgh Priory but at the turn of the fourteenth century there were disputes between the monks of Newburgh Priory and the Colvilles over rights to land around Coxwold. In 1304 the fifth Sir Thomas Colville started a tradition of a weekly market to be held in the grounds of the manor of Coxwold. He also established a two-day annual fair to celebrate the Assumption, a tradition that survived uninterrupted in Coxwold Manor for some five hundred years. The seventh Sir Thomas Colville (of Yearsley and Coxwold) became famous following a jousting incident before the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King Edward III. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France ...

in 1346 when he crossed the river to joust with a French knight who had been hurling abuse at the English king. He later joined the retinue of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

, the Duke of Lancaster, the third son of Edward III and by far the richest noble in England. At one time the village had a station on the Thirsk and Malton Line. It opened on 19 May 1853 but closed on 7 August 1964 as part of the reorganisation of the national railway system. In 1603 Sir John Harte, who was born in nearby Kilburn, North Yorkshire, built a grammar school in the village, which closed in 1894. He was also a Lord Mayor of London.

Governance

Coxwold is in the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton, 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 ...

. A ne
Coxwold village website
was launched in 2018.

Geography

Most of the buildings in the village are on a slight incline, with the church at the top. At the bottom of the hill was the village smithy, now a holiday cottage. The Fauconberg Arms Inn is on the main street. It bears the arms and motto of Baron Fauconberg and offers accommodation and a restaurant. According to the 1881 UK Census the population was 313. The 2001 UK Census put the population of the wider civil parish at 265. The nearest villages to Coxwold are Husthwaite to the south-west, Carlton Husthwaite to the west, Kilburn to the north-west, Wass to the north-east and Oulston to the south-south-east. Ordnance Survey
/ref> Green's Beck runs south-westwards through the village to join Mill Beck, form Elphin Beck and eventually flow into the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley throu ...

Education

The village had a primary school from 1863 until 1974. It is in the primary-education catchment area of Husthwaite Church of England School and in the secondary-education catchment area of Easingwold School.

Religion

Since 700 AD Coxwold has had a church at the top of the hill. The present church was built in 1420 in the Perpendicular style with an unusual octagonal west tower and is dedicated to St Michael. The chancel features a unique tongue-shaped communion rail (early 18th century). Laurence Sterne was appointed vicar in 1760.

Notable residents

The Rev. Laurence Sterne lived at Shandy Hall from 1760 to 1768 and the house was named by him. Shandy Hall is on Thirsk Bank at the north-western end of the village and was originally built in 1430 as a parsonage for Coxwold's village priest. It is a small brick building with a mossy, stone-covered roof, wide gables and massive chimney-stacks. It was originally a timber-framed open-hall house but was considerably altered in the 17th century. The stone tablet above the doorway states that Sterne wrote '' Tristram Shandy'' and ''A Sentimental Journey'' at Shandy Hall. This is not entirely accurate, for two (of the nine) volumes of ''Tristram Shandy'' had already been published in 1759 before Sterne moved to Coxwold. Sir George Orby Wombwell, 4th Baronet and the last surviving officer of the Charge of the Light Brigade, is buried in the village churchyard. In more recent times the village was the home to the Coxwold Pottery, run by Peter & Jill Dick.

Notable buildings

To the south of the village is Newburgh Priory, a Grade I listed stately home built on the site of a former Augustinian priory. The original priory was built in 1145 by Roger de Mowbray but fell victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries instigated by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

. The King sold the estate to Anthony de Bellasis, whose family took the name of Fauconberg when the baronetcy was created. The estate passed to the Wombwell family in 1825 at the end of the male line and remains in their possession today. To the north of the village are the ruins of

, a Grade I listed building, which was founded in the 12th century by Savigniac monks. In the village is Bell House, almshouses dating from 1662, and The Old Hall, a former school built about 1600.

References

External links

Coxwold village
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire