Easingwold is a

market town A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...

, electoral ward and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the Hambleton District in

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 cou ...

, England. Historically, part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,233 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,627 at the 2011 Census. It is located about north of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

, at the foot of the Howardian Hills.

History

The town 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as "Eisicewalt" in the Bulford hundred. 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 Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, the manor was owned by

Earl Morcar Morcar (or Morkere) ( ang, Mōrcǣr) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced by William the Conqueror with Copsi. Dispute with t ...

, but subsequently passed to the King. In 1265 the manor was passed to Edmund Crouchback by his father, Henry III. The manor was caught up in the dispute between the 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Edward I and the manor passed back to the crown following the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 which resulted in the execution of the Earl at

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

. The manor was restored to the Earl's brother some six years later, but he left no male heir, so the lands passed to his son-in-law, John of Gaunt in 1361. The lands were next granted to his son-in-law, Ralph Neville. Following the

War of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

, the lands were declared forfeit to the Crown until 1633, when they were granted to Thomas Belasyse and subsequently became the possession of the Wombwell family. The town is an amalgamation of two smaller villages, ''Uppleby'' and ''Lessimers''. The former being a settlement, or ''-by'' of a Dane called ''Upple'', and the latter being an Angle settlement on the ''lease-mires'', meaning leased land frequently waterlogged. The name of Easingwold is Anglo Saxon in origin, with ''wold'' being a derivation of ''wald'' meaning ''forest'', and the former part being a Saxon family name, possibly ''Esa''.

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

had a hunting lodge there and the royal

Forest of Galtres The royal Forest of Galtres was established by the Norman kings of England in North Yorkshire, to the north of the Ancient City of York, extending right to its very walls. The main settlement within the royal forest was the market village of ...

once surrounded the area. The market place was the site of an old toll booth. The base of the old market cross still exists next to

Easingwold Town Hall Easingwold Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, England. The structure was used as an events venue and is now used as a commercial printing centre. History In the mid-19th century, a group of loc ...

, which was built as a public hall. It replaced an old row of 'shambles' where butchers sold their wares. The market place was also the site of a bullring used for baiting. Records show that markets have been held in the town since 1221, but were formalised under letters patent from Charles I. Under the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...

a Poor law union was established in Easingwold in 1837. The town had a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

built in 1756 on Oulston Road. In 1934 the workhouse was converted into a hospital for the mentally handicapped and known as ''Claypenny Colony'' until 1952 and then as ''Claypenny Hospital'' until the majority of the site was sold and redeveloped as residential accommodation towards the end of the 20th century. In 1891 a privately owned branch line was opened from the town to the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

main line at Alne after many failed attempts to have the main line pass through or closer to the town. The line ran a passenger service until 1948 and a goods service until its final closure in 1957. The station was located in what is now Station Court. All that remains is the old station house following a fire in 1967 that resulted in its demolition. There are 51 Grade II

listed building 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 I ...

s in Easingwold, including five mileposts and the telephone kiosk in Back Lane. The areas of Long Street; the Parish Church and Church Hill; Uppleby and the market place are all within the Easingwold Conservation Area. In 1908 Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement, visited Easingwold as commander of the Northumbrian division of the newly formed Territorial Force. Easingwold's Scout Group was founded two years later.

Governance

The town is situated within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. The town gives its name to the electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council in which it resides, as it does for the ward of Hambleton District Council. The town has its own Town Council made of 11 councillors, with three attendees who are District Councillors.

Geography

The town was bypassed by the A19 in November 1994. The town is the focal point for many nearby villages and the nearest larger settlements are

to the south;

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...

to the west; Thirsk to the northwest and Malton to the east. The highest point in the town is at the town's edge on the Oulston Road at .

Demography

According to the 1881 UK Census, the town had a population of 2,044. According to the 2001 UK Census the population was 4,233, of which 3,428 were over the age of sixteen. Of those 1,843 were in employment. The 2011 Census showed the population as 4,627.

Parks

After the closure of the Claypenny Hospital, the land was developed into a housing estate with a 34-acre parkland in between called Millfields Park opened in 1999 and now run by the Woodland Trust. The park is bounded to the west by a hawthorn hedge, to the north by a stock proof fence and by the housing estate around the rest. There are a number of informal footpaths across the site as well as the

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United Ki ...

National Cycle Route 65. Among the tree species planted here are

sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial emb ...

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus '' Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The ...

, field maple,

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...

, whitebeam and

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...

. Some of the shrub species found here are

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergree ...

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999 ...

, hawthorn,

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania ...

and

dogrose ''Rosa canina'', commonly known as the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Description The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though sometimes it ...

. Supported by the council and local community, Millfields Park hosts the 5 km Millfield parkrun every Saturday at 9 am. Towards the centre of the town is Memorial Park. The site was formerly occupied by private tenants, a tennis club and a garage. After several years of planning and delay, the park was opened in September 1955.

Economy

There are a number of local retail businesses in the town. The number of

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 ...

s has significantly reduced since the 19th century, when there were also a number of local brew houses, the names of which can still be seen on local houses. Easingwold is served by bus services to nearby villages, towns and the city of York. This includes services formerly partly run by the local coach business, Stephenson's of Easingwold, now fully run by Reliance Motor Services The Cabinet Office have their

Emergency Planning College The Emergency Planning College also known as "the Hawkhills" foremost a college, based in the United Kingdom which is involved in activities to promote organisational resilience. Since 2010 the college has been operated on behalf of the Cabinet O ...

at the Hawkhills, Easingwold. The town also has its own local newspaper, the ''Easingwold Advertiser'', which provides local news and interest pieces for the town and surrounding villages.

Public services

The police station on Church Avenue is only open on part-time basis on request. The fire station on Stillington Road is a retained station, which is manned by crews of firefighters who provide on-call cover from home or their place of work. St Monica's Community Hospital is part of the York NHS Foundation and is located in Long Street. It has no Accident & Emergency facilities. Hambleton District Council has local offices in Church Hill. The town has a public library situated in Tanpit Lane, just off the Market Place. The tourist information office for the area is located in Chapel Lane.

Education

In 1781, a grammar school was founded in the town, which is now the site of Easingwold Community Primary School. A National School was built in 1862 in the town, but now houses the town library. In 1954 a secondary school, Easingwold School, was built, and is now known as

Outwood Academy Easingwold Outwood Academy Easingwold is a mixed 11–18 secondary school with academy status in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, England. It had 915 pupils in 2017, including an on-site sixth form. The school is operated by Outwood Grange Academies Tru ...

, with a pupil roll of around 1,000 pupils. Its catchment area includes Alne Primary, Crayke CE, Easingwold, Forest of Galtres Anglican/Methodist, Huby CE, Husthwaite CE, Linton on Ouse, Sheriff Hutton, Stillington and Sutton on the Forest CE Primary Schools.

Sports

Easingwold Town AFC were founded in 1892 and were a founder member of the York League. They won the York FA Senior Cup in the 1971–72 season and have been finalists on two other occasions. The Junior side won the York FA Junior Cup in the 1961–62 season and were finalists on one other occasion. The Galtres Centre provides activities including badminton, tennis, netball and gymnastics, and contains an indoor shooting range operated by the local rifle and pistol club. Easingwold Cricket Club play at Memorial Park on Back Lane, and in the York & District Senior League. To the south of the town is Easingwold Golf Club.

Religion

A church in the town is dedicated to St John and All Saints. There has been a church here since Saxon times, though the present building dates from the 15th century. The Catholic church on Long Street, erected in 1830, is dedicated to St John the Evangelist, and served by Benedictine Monks of

Ampleforth Abbey Ampleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine monks a mile to the east of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre-Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the ...

. It was designed by Charles Hansom, the brother of

Joseph Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, '' The Builder'', in 1843. Career ...

who invented the

Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety ...

.Lang, Bill, “Prospect of Easingwold,” ''The Dalesman'', March 1980, p.989 A school was attached to the church in 1871. There has been a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminianism, Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a Christian theology, theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the Christian ministry, ministry of the 18th-century eva ...

chapel in the town since 1786. The location has changed several times, with the second building being erected in 1815 with a school added in 1860, and finally finding a home in Chapel Street in 1975. There used to be a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primit ...

chapel in the town, built in 1870.

References

{{authority control Towns in North Yorkshire Market towns in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Hambleton District