Sledmere is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire

East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 that is situated approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) north west of Driffield

Driffield

Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield....

 on the B1253 road.

Together with the hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of Croome

Croome, East Riding of Yorkshire

Croome is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of Driffield. It lies just to the north of the B1253 road at Sledmere.It forms part of the civil parish of Sledmere and Croome....

 it forms the civil parish of Sledmere and Croome

Sledmere and Croome

Sledmere and Croome is a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of the town of Driffield and covering an area of .The civil parish is formed by the village of Sledmere and the hamlet of Croome....

.

Local points of interest include Sledmere House

Sledmere House

Sledmere House is a Grade I listed Georgian country house, containing Chippendale, Sheraton and French furnishings and many fine pictures, set within a park designed by Capability Brown. It is located in the village of Sledmere, between Driffield and Malton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...

, a Georgian

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 country house. Built in 1751 by Richard Sykes, the house has remained in the Sykes family

Sykes family of Sledmere

The Sykes family of Sledmere own Sledmere House in Yorkshire, England.-Family history:The Sykes family settled in Sykes Dyke near Carlisle in Cumberland during the Middle Ages. The earliest correspondence in the Sykes archives relates to Richard Sykes , from his factors in Danzig and local gentry...

 since then. It is now the home of Sir Tatton Sykes, 8th baronet.

Approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south east of the village, along the B1252 road, on top of Garton Hill stands the Sledmere Monument. The monument stands 120 feet (36.6 m) tall and is a tribute to Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th baronet, built by his friends in 1865.

Another notable monument is the war memorial

War memorial

A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...

 in the village, designed by Sir Mark Sykes, 6th baronet. The memorial is dedicated to the Wolds

Yorkshire Wolds

The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in northeastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie....

 Wagoners Reserve, a regiment that Sir Mark Sykes raised from the local population to fight in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. It is noted for its unusual shape and its graphic scenes of war and country life.

Sledmere is also the site of an "Eleanor's Cross

Eleanor cross

The Eleanor crosses were twelve originally wooden, but later lavishly decorated stone, monuments of which three survive intact in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had the crosses erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly...

", though this is a replica, not one of the 12 original crosses.

East of the village is a folly known as Sledmere Castle, built around 1790 by John Carr for Sir Christopher Sykes, the 2nd Baronet Sledmere, to enhance the view from Sledmere House.

External links

• Yorkshire Wolds Villages
• Sledmore estate papers - University of Hull.
• Yorkshire Wolds Wagoners.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/voices2/ram/voices2_20030821.ram - Radio4 programme presented by Melvyn Bragg on the Wolds Wagoners.