Romanby 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 ...

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. Romanby is situated south-west of and contiguous with

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 at the

2001 UK census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

had a population of 6,051, increasing to 6,177 at the 2011 Census.

History

The name Romanby suggests that the village dates from

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times, but derives from the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

name Hromund. The village was 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 ...

as belonging to King William. Romanby chapel, which dated from the 13th century, was demolished in 1523 on the orders of the

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...

. Its destruction was ordered because the vicar of Northallerton at the time, had questioned the bishop's authority. St James' Church was built in 1882. It is a grade II listed structure. Romanby Methodist Church dates from 1962.

Geography

Before the railway was built, Romanby was separated from Northallerton by a strip of pasture land, but since the railway opened, the spread of each settlement means that the two are contiguous. The Wensleydale Railway passes over a bridge on the outskirts of Romanby village on its way to

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 ...

from Northallerton West railway station. A grade II listed packhorse bridge straddles the Willow Beck. Water from the beck powered a water-mill in the village, which was last listed in 1663. The beck flows southwards and enters the River Wiske before the A684 road. The River Wiske formed the western boundary of the old Allertonshire Wapentake. In March 2025, more than 3,700 trees were planted on a site between the village and the Willow Beck. The community woodland, known as Thompson's Wood after the landowners, is part of the White Rose Forest initiative.

Governance

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 ...

has its headquarters at County Hall in Romanby, which is built on the site of a former a racecourse. County hall was designed by the York architect Walter Brierley for North Riding County Council. The main building constructed in 1904–14 is of two storeys in red brick with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

details on a square courtyard plan, it has a 15-bay frontage and 23-bay returns. It is a grade II* listed building. Romanby

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

does not cover all the parish and had a total population at the 2011 Census of 3,946. From 1974 to 2023 Romanby was part of the

Hambleton District Hambleton was a local government district in North Yorkshire, England. The administrative centre was Northallerton, and the district included the outlying towns and villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, and Easingwold. The di ...

, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

Amenities

The village has several shops, a post office, a dentist, a hairdressers and a public house, the Golden Lion. Romanby is served by Romanby Primary School. The local secondary school and sixth form is Northallerton School. Romanby Golf Course on the village outskirts has an 18-hole course, floodlit driving range and a clubhouse. Northallerton Town Football Club is located in Romanby.

References

Sources

External links

Romanby war memorial details on IWM website
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire