Appleton Wiske
Encyclopedia
Appleton Wiske is a small village
and civil parish that sits between Northallerton
and Yarm
in the Vale of York
, a flat tract of land that runs between the North Yorkshire Moors to the east, the Yorkshire Dales
to the west and the River Tees
to the north.
The village, which was known as Apletona in the Domesday Book
, eventually took the name of the nearby River Wiske
to distinguish itself from other Appletons in the area, such as Appleton-le-Moors
. The river does not actually run through the village itself, passing about half a mile to the south on its meandering journey to the larger River Swale
.
whilst the road to the east - after crossing the railway line connecting Teesside
to the East Coast Main Line
- leads to West Rounton
. Heading out of the village to the west the road runs up a small hill known locally as Cheesecake, which briefly follows the course of a minor Roman road, before passing through Hornby
and into Great Smeaton
. The southerly road forks, passing through Welbury on the eastern branch and through Deighton
and on to Northallerton on the western one.
within the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire
- is actually one of the 41 ancient parishes of the Wapentake of Langbaurgh in the Cleveland
division of the North Riding of Yorkshire
. It was also a part of the sessional division of Yarm
.
The parish was gifted by William the Conqueror to Robert de Brus of Skelton, an ancestor of Robert the Bruce, the famous Scottish king. De Brus’s son gave it to St. Mary’s Abbey, York
, along with Hornby
and other lands. It remained in the possession of the St. Mary’s until the dissolution of monasteries, when it was granted by Henry VIII
to Charles Brandon
, who later became the Duke of Suffolk
. The parish then passed though several hands and was finally split up in the early 19th century after the death of Robert Henry Allan, whose family had owned the parish since the early 18th century.
The village is thought to date back to Saxon times and, as already mentioned, is referred to in the Domesday Book
as Apletona. The village church is not quite as old - the first reference to it is in 1299, when Edward I
visited and heard Mass. Parish
records indicate that it was being called The Chapel
of St Mary Magdalen in Appleton by 1586. It is a small Norman structure, consisting of nave, chancel and porch.
In 2009 it was suggested that a planning application for nine wind turbines was due to be raised with Hambleton District Council. With each turbine planned to be 425 feet high and the nearest some 800 yards from the village some locals started an opposition group (North Hambleton Windfarm Action Group) to oppose the development.
. Records show that 200 looms were in operation in 1850, but the industry had almost completely disappeared by 1900. The modern population of the village still includes a fair share of farmers and farm workers, but nowadays most people commute to jobs in nearby towns, such as Northallerton, Darlington
and Middlesbrough
.
, a post office/general store and two pubs: The Lord Nelson and the Shorthorn
Inn. The Lord Nelson sits at the centre northern edge of the village, fronted by a small green, and is divided into a public bar and lounge, in traditional fashion. The Shorthorn lies on the edge of the village.
A major fund raising effort in the mid-1980s saw the village acquire and develop its own recreation field. The field comprises a football pitch, a cricket square (defunct since the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak when playing restrictions were introduced) and pavilion, two tennis courts, a children's playground, and a skatepark. There are also recycling facilities.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish that sits between Northallerton
Northallerton
Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...
and Yarm
Yarm
Yarm is a small town and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in North Yorkshire...
in the Vale of York
Vale of York
The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the north-east of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north-south transport corridor for northern England....
, a flat tract of land that runs between the North Yorkshire Moors to the east, the Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...
to the west and the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
to the north.
The village, which was known as Apletona in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, eventually took the name of the nearby River Wiske
River Wiske
The River Wiske is a river in the county of Yorkshire, England and is a tributary of the River Swale. The Wiske gives its name to several of the villages it passes through. The name Wiske is derived from an Old English word wisca meaning a water meadow....
to distinguish itself from other Appletons in the area, such as Appleton-le-Moors
Appleton-le-Moors
Appleton-le-Moors is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 183. The village is in the North York Moors National Park, and is near to Pickering and Kirkby Moorside....
. The river does not actually run through the village itself, passing about half a mile to the south on its meandering journey to the larger River Swale
River Swale
The River Swale is a river in Yorkshire, England and a major tributary of the River Ure, which itself becomes the River Ouse, emptying into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary....
.
Surrounding area
There are four roads out of Appleton Wiske, each leading to a neighbouring village or hamlet. The road north leads to the tiny community of PictonPicton, North Yorkshire
Picton is a hamlet and civil parish located in the north of North Yorkshire, England. It is about 5 km south of Yarm and 12 km south of Middlesbrough.The parish is in the Hambleton district and had a population of 108 according to the 2001 census...
whilst the road to the east - after crossing the railway line connecting Teesside
Teesside
Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...
to the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
- leads to West Rounton
West Rounton
West Rounton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near East Rounton and 8 miles north of Northallerton....
. Heading out of the village to the west the road runs up a small hill known locally as Cheesecake, which briefly follows the course of a minor Roman road, before passing through Hornby
Hornby, Hambleton
Hornby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a minor road between Great Smeaton and Appleton Wiske.It lies roughly 9 miles from Northallerton, 9 miles from Darlington, and 7 miles from Yarm....
and into Great Smeaton
Great Smeaton
Great Smeaton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on elevated ground near the River Wiske, which is a tributary of the River Swale...
. The southerly road forks, passing through Welbury on the eastern branch and through Deighton
Deighton, Hambleton
Deighton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about 6 miles north of Northallerton and near the A167 road.A moated site at in Deighton is a scheduled ancient monument.-References:...
and on to Northallerton on the western one.
Appleton Wiske in history
Appleton Wiske - today just a tiny parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
within the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
- is actually one of the 41 ancient parishes of the Wapentake of Langbaurgh in the Cleveland
Cleveland, England
Cleveland is an area in the north east of England. Its name means literally "cliff-land", referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly...
division of the North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
. It was also a part of the sessional division of Yarm
Yarm
Yarm is a small town and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in North Yorkshire...
.
The parish was gifted by William the Conqueror to Robert de Brus of Skelton, an ancestor of Robert the Bruce, the famous Scottish king. De Brus’s son gave it to St. Mary’s Abbey, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, along with Hornby
Hornby, Hambleton
Hornby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a minor road between Great Smeaton and Appleton Wiske.It lies roughly 9 miles from Northallerton, 9 miles from Darlington, and 7 miles from Yarm....
and other lands. It remained in the possession of the St. Mary’s until the dissolution of monasteries, when it was granted by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
to Charles Brandon
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was the son of Sir William Brandon and Elizabeth Bruyn. Through his third wife Mary Tudor he was brother-in-law to Henry VIII. His father was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and was slain by Richard III in person at...
, who later became the Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in British history, all three times in the Peerage of England.The third creation of the dukedom of Suffolk was for Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, in 1551. The duke also held the title Baron Ferrers of Groby...
. The parish then passed though several hands and was finally split up in the early 19th century after the death of Robert Henry Allan, whose family had owned the parish since the early 18th century.
The village is thought to date back to Saxon times and, as already mentioned, is referred to in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Apletona. The village church is not quite as old - the first reference to it is in 1299, when Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
visited and heard Mass. Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
records indicate that it was being called The Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
of St Mary Magdalen in Appleton by 1586. It is a small Norman structure, consisting of nave, chancel and porch.
In 2009 it was suggested that a planning application for nine wind turbines was due to be raised with Hambleton District Council. With each turbine planned to be 425 feet high and the nearest some 800 yards from the village some locals started an opposition group (North Hambleton Windfarm Action Group) to oppose the development.
Local economy
The traditional source of revenue in Appleton is from farming, though weaving enjoyed a brief ascendancy during the industrial revolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Records show that 200 looms were in operation in 1850, but the industry had almost completely disappeared by 1900. The modern population of the village still includes a fair share of farmers and farm workers, but nowadays most people commute to jobs in nearby towns, such as Northallerton, Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
.
Amenities
Today the village boasts, in addition to the church, a chapel, a primary school, a village hallVillage hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
, a post office/general store and two pubs: The Lord Nelson and the Shorthorn
Shorthorn
The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late 18th century. The breed was developed as dual purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however there were always certain blood lines within the breed which emphasised one quality or the other...
Inn. The Lord Nelson sits at the centre northern edge of the village, fronted by a small green, and is divided into a public bar and lounge, in traditional fashion. The Shorthorn lies on the edge of the village.
A major fund raising effort in the mid-1980s saw the village acquire and develop its own recreation field. The field comprises a football pitch, a cricket square (defunct since the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak when playing restrictions were introduced) and pavilion, two tennis courts, a children's playground, and a skatepark. There are also recycling facilities.