Uckerby is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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 situated at a

crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

on the road between Scorton and Moulton. The hamlet lies north west of the county town 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 ...

History

Uckerby first appears on record as ''Ukerby'', in 1198. The place name is derived from two

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 ...

elements: the first is thought to be an unattested Old Norse

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

, either ''*Úkyrri'' or ''*Útkári''; the second element is ''býr'', meaning farmstead. which cited: The hamlet was once part of the parish of Catterick, but was included in the

Bolton-on-Swale Bolton-on-Swale is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of the civil parish to be 70. History The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' ...

parish in the late nineteenth century. In the 13th century the land was held as part of the FitzAlan

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...

of the manor of Catterick, with the tenants having the same name as the hamlet. The manor had passed to Andrew de Harcla, Earl of Carlisle by the start of the next century, but had to be forfeited when he was defeated in the rebellion against

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

. The manor then became the possession of the Scrope family of Bolton and followed the descent of the manor of

Ellerton-on-Swale Ellerton-on-Swale or Ellerton (historically known as Ellerton-upon-Swale) is a small village and civil parish about a mile east of Catterick in the county of North Yorkshire, England. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the pop ...

until its sale around 1734 to Henry Foster. It was briefly held by James Riddell and his son from 1777 to around 1872 before being bought once again by the lord of the manor of Ellerton-on-Swale.

Governance

The hamlet lies within the Richmond UK Parliament constituency. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = Non-metropolitan district , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_em ...

, 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 ...

Geography

The hamlet lies north west of the county town of

. The parish is sandwiched between those of Moulton and Scorton. Ings Beck and Moulton Beck form a confluence to the east of the hamlet called Uckerby Beck, which eventually flow to the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley throu ...

. Both of the minor roads that cross the main road are dead ends. The one that leads off to the west ends up in a farm yard, it is possible to follow a very rarely used footpath from here to Gatherley Road in

Brompton-on-Swale Brompton-on-Swale is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. The village is located three miles east of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond and north-west of the county town of Northallerton on the northern bank o ...

. The other road which leads off to the east gradually turns into a farmers track and then into a public

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

which leads to another hamlet,

Moulton End Moulton End is a hamlet in North Yorkshire, in England. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Richmondshire, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. The hamlet gradually built up around the now disused railway ...

near North Cowton.

Demography

References

External links

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