Gilling West

Gilling West

Gilling West
Gilling West
 Gilling West shown within North Yorkshire
Population 534 
OS grid referenceNZ183050
DistrictRichmondshire
Shire countyNorth Yorkshire
RegionYorkshire and the Humber
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town RICHMOND
Postcode district DL10
Police North Yorkshire
Fire North Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
EU Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire

Coordinates: 54°26′27″N 1°43′09″W / 54.4408°N 1.71913°W / 54.4408; -1.71913

Gilling West is a village about 3.5 miles north of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located in the civil parish of Gilling with Hartforth and Sedbury.

History

Remains of the village pinfold, dating from around 1897

Gilling was mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name of Ghellinges. Contrary to the now sleepy nature of the village, it was once a place of some importance in the Anglo-Saxon period of British history, in the 7th century it was a seat of the Deira in the southern region of the Anglican kingdom of Northumbria, and from the 9th century, the surrounding area known as Gillingshire was ruled by the Earls of Mercia, specifically Edwin, who was the last of the Earls to have a seat of power at Gilling before the Norman Conquest saw Edwin's lands given to William the Conqueror's kinsman, Alan Rufus.[1] St Agatha's Church in the village features a monument to Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, who was born in the parish, at Hartforth.[2] In April 1976 nine-year-old Garry Fridd found a sword in the beck while playing close to the bridge in Gilling. It turned out to be a double-edged, iron-bladed sword with a silver-decorated handle, dating from the 9th century. It is regarded as being amongst the best Anglian weapons ever to be discovered in England. The restored sword is currently in the collection of the Yorkshire Museum in York[3]

Governance

The village lies within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which has been represented since 1989 by Conservative William Hague. It also lies within the Richmondshire North electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Gilling West ward of Richmondshire District Council.[4]

Geography

Gilling West is located on the B6274 road that links nearby Richmond with the A66 trunk road and eventually continues on to Staindrop in County Durham. Nearby settlements to Gilling include Hartforth 1.1 miles (1.8 km) north-west, Whashton 2.6 miles (4.2 km) to the west, and the market town of Richmond 3.6 miles (5.8 km) to the south. Gilling Beck flows through the village. Further upstream the same watercourse is known as Hartforth Beck as it passes through the settlement of Hartforth, whilst downstream of Gilling West it becomes Skeeby Beck before its ultimate confluence with the River Swale just west of Brompton-on-Swale. The village is also prone to major flooding.[5]

Demography

For the parish of Gilling with Hartforth and Sedbury:

Population[6][7][8]
Year 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961 2001 2011
Total 872 754 736 714 721 739 669 665 555 534

Community and culture

The Village Hall

Education for the children of the village is provided by three primary schools in nearby Richmond (CE, Methodist and St Mary's). There was formerly a village school known as Gilling School, built in 1847,[9] but it has since closed and been redeveloped into housing. Pupils receive secondary education at Richmond School & Sixth Form College.[10] The village has two pubs, the Angel Inn and the White Swan, and had a post office/village shop until its closure in 2013.

Religion

St Agatha's Church

The parish church is dedicated to St Agatha. The Domesday Book records a place of worship in the village as far back as 1086; the current building is thought to be the same one mentioned, restored in the 11th century with minor additions in the 14th century and major alterations in 1845.

References

External links

Media related to Gilling West at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.