Little Ouseburn is a small 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 and unitary authority area 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. It is situated near the

A1(M) motorway A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate controlled-access highway, motorway sections in the UK. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1, a major north–south road which connects Greater ...

and south-east of

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge ( ) is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh, which c ...

. It consists of two roads, Main Street which is the residential area, and Church Lane which contains a

Holy Trinity Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

that is a

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 ...

building. (see 'External Links' below for a survey of the burials in the churchyard) It also has a small brick bridge over a stream which leads to

Great Ouseburn Great Ouseburn is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated south-east of Boroughbridge. The village of Aldwark, Hambleton, Aldwark is to the north-east. It had a population of 598 according to the 20 ...

. According to the 2011 census data the total population of Little Ouseburn is 264.

History and population

Little Ouseburn is listed (alongside

) 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 ...

as having three plough lands and three villagers. The name of the village derives from Ouse Beck, which divides Great and Little Ouseburn, with the beck being a tributary of the River Ouse. The village is set out along both sides of Main Street, which runs on an east–west orientation. Most of the villagers were either tenant farmers or workers for the nearby

Kirby Hall Kirby Hall is a Grade I listed Elizabethan country house, located near Gretton, Northamptonshire, England. The nearest main town is Corby. One of the great Elizabethan houses of England, Kirby Hall was built in 1570 for Sir Humphrey Stafford ...

estate, which is on the eastern side of the village across the Ouse Beck. Kirby Hall was designed by Roger Morris and built by John Carr. The hall was demolished in the 1920s and the estate broken up, with most of the houses and land being sold to the villagers. A portion of the house exists as Kirby hall and is a

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 ...

structure. In the 1870s Little Ouseburn was described as: :OUSEBURN (Little), a village, a township, and a parish in Great Ouseburn district, W. R. Yorkshire. The village stands ¾ of a mile S of Great Ouseburn village, and 3¼ N by W of Cattal r. station; and has a post-office under York. Until 1974 it was 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 ...

. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the

Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate was a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in the town of Harrogate, but it also included surrounding settlements, including the cathedral ...

, 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 ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Moat Hall Moat Hall is a historic building in Little Ouseburn, a village in North Yorkshire, in England. The house was originally timber framed, and was constructed in or before the 17th century. Ivan Broadhead claims that some of its beams are 800 years ...

, a mansion house between the village and the church, was used as a hostel for some

Land Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on Ground warfare, land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include avia ...

girls. The Moat Hall and the land between the church were bombed, which is thought to be an overrun of a bombing sortie on the nearby

RAF Linton-on-Ouse Royal Air Force Linton-on-Ouse or more simply RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a former Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (Brit ...

. Also during the war, a bomber from

RAF Tholthorpe Royal Air Force Tholthorpe' or more simply RAF Tholthorpe is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, satellite station located near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, England. It was operational during the World War II, Secon ...

lost control in icy conditions and crashed near to the church damaging the mausoleum and the church building. Census data shows that the population of Little Ouseburn dropped significantly between the years of 1840 and 1880 from around 600 to 250. The 2001 census data stated that there were 226 people living in the parish, since then the population has increased and the 2011 census data states that there are now 264 people living in Little Ouseburn.

Geography

The village lies just to the east of the B6265 road which links Boroughbridge with the A59 road and is part of

Dere Street Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman roads, Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond int ...

. The village is south-east of Boroughbridge, east of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

, and north-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 ...

Industry

According to data from the 1831 census the primary industry in Little Ouseburn was focused on agriculture with almost 75% of men aged over 20 being involved in it. This was reflected by the social status of the people living in Little Ouseburn with around half of them being labourers. This was almost entirely just men, with women taking on the more traditional domestic chores. The 1881 census data shows how many people were involved in an occupation and their gender. Around 30 men worked in agriculture, 15 women in domestic service, but around 40 women were in unknown occupations. There was very little else the population was involved in. 2001 census data shows that in more recent times the occupation of the inhabitants has shifted to manufacturing and retail with few people left working in agriculture.

Housing

As with the population between 1840 and 1880, the number of houses in Little Ouseburn shrunk significantly. This is most likely due to boundary changes. The number of houses began to increase after 1920. Before 1920 a very small percentage of houses were unoccupied. After 1920, every house has been occupied. According to 2011 data there are 110 households and 223 vehicles. 43.6% of the households have two vehicles and 8.2% have four or more.

References

Sources

External links

*http://www.explorebritain.info/locality-north-yorkshire-little-ouseburn-se4460
Survey of the Churchyard Burial Ground
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire