Yafforth 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 about west 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 village lies on the B6271 road between Northallerton and the village of Scorton. The parish had a population of 174 in the 2011 census. The

River Wiske The River Wiske is a tributary of the River Swale in Yorkshire, England. The Wiske gives its name to several villages it passes through. The name Wiske is derived from an Old English word ''wisca'' meaning a water meadow. It was once known as t ...

passes to the east of the village. Romanby Golf Course is situated between Yafforth and the village of

Romanby Romanby is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Romanby is situated south-west of and contiguous with Northallerton, and at the 2001 UK census had a population of 6,051, increasing to 6,177 at the 2011 Census. History The ...

History

It is thought that the name Yafforth is derived from Ea-ford, meaning the

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

in the river. Yafforth 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 a berewick in the royal manor of Northallerton. To the north of the village lies a notable mound called Howe Hill, It is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

probably built during the reign of King Stephen. Today it still stands high and retains some of its ditch and the counter scarp bank. Its position suggests that it was built to defend the River Wiske. Records suggest that it was disused by 1198. Yafforth was historically a manor in the ancient parish of

Danby Wiske Danby Wiske is a village and the main settlement in the civil parish of Danby Wiske with Lazenby, in North Yorkshire, England. The village lies north north-west of the county town of Northallerton. History Danby Wiske was mentioned in the Do ...

. Yafforth All Saints' Church was built in 1208 and extensively rebuilt in 1870. It was a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

to Danby Wiske. Yafforth also had a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel which closed in 1966. Yafforth became a separate civil parish in 1866.Vision of Britain website
/ref> 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 ...

Yafforth school opened in 1868 and closed in 1952, the school building still stands in the middle of the village. Yafforth once had two shops, three brickyards, and a pub. The pub was named after a horse named

Reveller Reveller was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. His most significant win came in the 1818 St Leger Stakes, but he remained in training until 1823, winning numerous races in the North of England. He had a long rivalry with another northern ...

, winner of the 1818

St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

classic at Doncaster. The pub closed in the late 1990s and is now a residential property. The only reminder of its name is the Reveller Mews across the road.

References

External links

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