Skipwith
Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skipwith is a village and civil parish about 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Selby and 10 miles (16 km) south-east of York in North Yorkshire, England. It was historically in the East Riding of Yorkshire.[2] After the 1974 local government reorganisation Skipwith was in the Selby District of the shire county of North Yorkshire. In 2023 the district was abolished and North Yorkshire became a unitary authority.
| Skipwith | |
|---|---|
St Helen's parish church | |
.svg)  Skipwith Location within North Yorkshire | |
| Population | 266 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SE6638 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Selby |
| Postcode district | YO8 |
| Dialling code | 01757 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Skipwith |
The name Skipwith derives from the Old English scēpwīc meaning 'sheep trading settlement'. Wīc was later changed to the Old Norse viðr meaning 'wood'.[3]
Manor
The Domesday Book records that by 1086 Robert de Stutville held a carucate of land at Skipwith.[4] His family held a manor here until 1229, when it passed to Hugh Wake by his marriage to Joan de Stutville.[4] In 1325 it passed to Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent by his marriage to Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell.[4] It remained with his heirs until 1418,[4] a decade after their line became extinct with the death of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent in 1408.[4]
Churches
Church of England
The oldest parts of St Helen's Church, Skipwith are Saxon. The west tower began as a porch, but in the 11th century upper stages were added to turn it into a tower.[5] The tower is linked with the nave by a characteristic Saxon plain Romanesque round arch,[5] so the nave must also have originally been Saxon. St Helen's parish is now part of a joint benefice with the parish of Bubwith with Ellerton and Aughton.[6]
Methodist
Two families in Skipwith were Methodists by 1764.[4] The village's Methodists worshipped in each other's homes until 1833, when a Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built.[4] In the 1860s the Vicar of St Helen's claimed that 300 or 400 of the villagers were Methodists.[4] In 1876 the first chapel was replaced with a larger brick one next to the parish school.[4]
The chapel is now Skipwith Methodist Church.[4] It is a member of the Goole and Selby Methodist Circuit.[7]
Historic secular buildings
Skipwith Hall is an early 18th century house of seven bays and two and a half storeys,[5] flanked by a three-bay wing on each side.[8] It is now a Grade II* listed building.[9]
A school and schoolmaster's house built in 1714,[8] founded and endowed by the bequest of a Dorothy Wilson.[4][10] In the 1851 its pupils included 11 boarders, and in the 1860s a separate classroom for girls was added.[4] In 1871 the school had 54 pupils but in 1872 this fell to only 30.[4] From the 1900s to the 1930s the school averaged 30–40 pupils, but in 1938 this had declined to 26.[4] In 1957 the school was closed and its pupils were transferred to Thorganby.[4] Since 1959 the school has served as the village hall.[4]
0.5 miles (800 m) south-west of the village is the site of RAF Riccall, a training airfield that was a heavy bomber conversion unit in the Second World War. The site is now a national nature reserve known as Skipwith Common.[11]
Amenities
Skipwith has a public house, the Drovers Arms, which is now a gastropub.[12]
