Darrowby
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Darrowby is a fictional village in the
North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which was created by author Alf Wight under the pen name of
James Herriot James Alfred Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), better known by his pen name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and author. Born in Sunderland, Wight graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939, returning to En ...
as the setting for the veterinary practice in his book ''It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet''. The book has been adapted for two television series, both titled ''All Creatures Great and Small''. The first was the BBC's 1978 series, which aired between 1978 and 1990. A new adaptation was produced for the 2020 series. Darrowby is a composite of
Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...
,
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
,
Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley' ...
and
Middleham Middleham ( ; meaning "middle ''ham''", i.e. "middle village") is a market town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream fr ...
(until 2017, Thirsk had a
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
, named The Darrowby Inn, to recognise this).
Askrigg Askrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, part of the county of North Yorkshire, England. The village and its parish are located in Upper Wensleydale, west of Leyburn, and east of Hawes. ...
, in
Wensleydale Wensleydale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines. The Dale (landform), dale is named after the village of Wensley, North Yorkshire, Wensley, formerly the valley's market tow ...
, was used for filming scenes set in Darrowby for the BBC production. In the first three series, the surgery's phone number was "Darrowby 85"; for the final four series it became "Darrowby 385". The 2020 production primarily used
Grassington Grassington is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 1,126. The village is situated in Wharfedale, about north-west from Bolton Abbey, and is surrou ...
for filming scenes that took place in the town. This series began being aired in 2020 on Channel 5 and in early 2021 on PBS' ''
Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...
'' in the U.S.


Amenities

The Skeldale House
veterinary surgery Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/u ...
of central characters Siegfried Farnon and James Herriot is on Trengate. Although the vets are based here, they travel all over the Dales. Darrowby Church (represented in the BBC series by St Mary and St John's Church, Hardraw) is a few hundred feet from the surgery, beyond the small
market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...
. The local pub, the Drovers Arms, is on the opposite side of Trengate, a little further up the hill. (The Drovers was made out to be near the church in the early series, as evidenced in the episode "The Name of the Game".) The Darrowby Hotel and Drovers Arms are among the inns in the village. The Plaza is the local cinema. Mr Edwards' carpentry shop is on Market Street. Bob Howell's Music Shop is where Siegfried buys, as a birthday gift for Tristan from their mother, the acoustic guitar he had been admiring. The village
butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...
is A. Bainbridge and Sons. Sandra's ladies' hair stylist is directly across from the surgery, a few doors up from Roland Partridge's cottage. The Darrowby
constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and s ...
has consisted of P.C. Claude Blenkiron ("Nothing Like Experience" and "Be Prepared"), P.C. Smith ("Golden Lads and Girls"), P.C. Leach ("Pups, Pigs and Pickle"), P.C. Goole (1983 and 1990 Christmas Specials and "Mending Fences") and P.C. Hicks ("Food For Thought").


Transport

The very first programme begins with Herriot travelling on a bus and dismounting in the town square (filmed in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
). Subsequently, all visitors to Darrowby arrive at Darrowby bus stop (filmed in
Redmire Redmire is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is about west of Leyburn in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Richmondshire, it is now administered by the unitary North Y ...
village, Wensleydale). A railway station was mentioned only once in the first three series, upon Tristan’s arrival, and that was filmed at Leyburn railway station on the Wensleydale Railway. In series 4, the nearest station (and superior city) is called Mannerton, filmed at Goathland railway station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. From series 5, those travelling to Darrowby by train alight at neighbouring Rainby Halt; for filming, Finghall Station, a few miles east of Leyburn, was given a makeover as Rainby Halt (its sign saying "Alight here for Darrowby").


Media

The local newspapers are ''The Darrowby and Houlton Times'' and the ''Daily Dispatch''.As seen in the episode "A Cat in Hull's Chance"


Culture

Annual events in the village include the Darrowby and Houlton Show (featured in "Judgement Day" and "Ace, King, Queen, Jack") and the Vegetable Show ("Hampered").


Sport

The local
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
team, based in Rainby, is featured in the episode "The Name of the Game", when they play arch-rivals Hedwick. The annual Gentlemen v. Players match can be seen in "Big Fish, Little Fish". Darrowby Golf Club is on the fell top.


Gallery

File:Skeldale House, Askrigg (1a).jpg, "Skeldale House" in Askrigg File:The Kings Arms, Askrigg - geograph.org.uk - 54330.jpg, The Kings Arms Hotel in Askrigg, used for "The Drovers Arms" in the BBC-TV series.


References

{{All Creatures Great and Small Fictional populated places in England Thirsk