Potto 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. It is southwest of

Stokesley Stokesley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, on the River Leven, North Yorkshire, River Leven. An Wards and ...

and near the main A172 road. Potto has a pub, a church and a

haulage Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk – from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to c ...

company. 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 ...

History

The settlement of Potto can be traced to the 13th century, when it was owned by the Meynell family, as part of the manor of Whorlton. Part of the estate passed to Dame Elizabeth Strangways in the 16th century and then to the

Earl of Rutland Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

. Another part, held by the original de Potto family and awarded to different land owners by royal grant, was merged into the Whorlton estate of the

Marquess of Ailesbury Marquess of Ailesbury (later styled Aylesbury), in the Buckinghamshire, County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1821 for Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, Charles Brudene ...

. In the 19th century, the village was connected by a rail freight line from

Swainby Swainby is a village in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the A172 road, north-east from Northallerton and south-east from the small market town of Stokesley. Geography Swainby is located at the north-western corner ...

to serve the

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be c ...

and jet mines in the area. Potto had a passenger

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the Picton–Battersby line, but its remoteness from the village and the introduction of buses that could take roads direct to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

led to its closure in 1954. The former station was bought by Richard Preston Snr, whose son used it for his haulage company; Prestons of Potto. It is now a private dwelling. In the mid-to-late 1950s the village became known as the village with "the

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

that never opened". If a person wanted to enter, the owner looked through the window to see if you were respectable. After his death, the pub and contents were sold.

Geography

Located close to the western border of

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, the surrounding villages are

to the south, Hutton Rudby and

Rudby Rudby is a village and civil parish, from the market town of Stokesley in the county of North Yorkshire, England. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. Geo ...

to the north, Faceby and

Carlton in Cleveland Carlton in Cleveland is a village in the county of North Yorkshire, England, and on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. It is situated approximately south of Middlesbrough. The village is commonly known as Carlton, and is the only v ...

to the east. It is from

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 ...

, and from

and

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

References

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

History

Geography

See also

References