Kirby Sigston is a denucleated 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 ...

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, approximately east of

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...

. The parish is situated on the Cod Beck river, and also includes the hamlet of Jeater Houses, east of the village on the

A19 road The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in ...

, on the boundary with Thimbleby.

History

The settlement 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 having 75 ploughlands, and its name derives from a combination of the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

'' Kirkju-býr'' (a village with a church) and ''Sigges tūn'' (Sigge's farmstead or settlement). During the 14th century, the parish was part of a huge deer park and hunting area on the eastern side of what is now known as the

Vale of Mowbray The Vale of Mowbray is a plain in North Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by the Tees lowlands to the north, the North York Moors and the Hambleton Hills to the east, the Vale of York to the south, and the Yorkshire Dales to the west. Northall ...

. A

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

(DMV) lies to the south of the church. The village has never had a shop, post office or pub, and its school, which opened in 1846 and would teach around 35 pupils, closed in 1944. 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 ...

Places of interest

To the north is the site of Sigston Castle, a 14th-century quadrangular castle, surrounded by a now largely dry moat. South of Sigston Castle, near the

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 ...

Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

, is St Lawrence's church. The church is largely Norman but the tower was renovated in the 18th century. The

grade I 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, Hi ...

church is decorated with carvings of dragons, which Pevsner states show the Danish influence in the area.

Population

The population taken at the 2011 Census was fewer than 100, so details are included in the civil parish of

Winton, Stank and Hallikeld Winton, Stank and Hallikeld is a civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton District, Hambleton, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. Reference ...

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

estimated the population of the village in 2015 to be 100 people, an increase of ten since the 2011 census.

Notable residents

The former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

, and Conservative MP for

Richmond and Northallerton Richmond and Northallerton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election, when it was won by Rishi ...

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

, currently lives in Kirby Sigston as his constituency home.

In popular culture

Kirby Sigston is referred to in

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...

' song "Going to Kirby Sigston".

References

External links

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