Bishop Monkton 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England, about five miles south of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 775, increasing slightly to 778 at the 2011 Census. In 2015,

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is the county council governing the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire; an area composing most of North Yorkshire in England. The council currently consists of 90 councillors. The council is current ...

estimated the population to be 760. Main features of the village include a beck which runs through the centre of the village, two churches (St John the Baptist of Eand a Methodist church), a newly built village hall and playing fields, a primary school, two pubs and two caravan sites. It is within easy reach of Ripon and Harrogate (via the A61). Leeds and York are both less than an hour's drive. Littlethorpe and

Burton Leonard Burton Leonard is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, and approximately south from Ripon. In the 2001 Census, the population of the village was 654, which had risen to 690 by the time of the 2011 ...

are the nearest villages.

History

The settlement is 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as belonging to the then Archbishop of York. The name ''Monucheton'' predates the survey (listed in 1030) as the ''Town of the monks''. It is thought that 13th century, the archbishop resided in a manor house in the village, which has since been destroyed. between 1848 and 1967, there was a railway station at to the south-west. The nearest station now is at , some south. Twentieth century developments include a council estate built in the 1960s, and two more housing estates built at the south-eastern tip of the village. In 1986 a rural area to the east of the village, Bishop Monkton Ings, was designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

. To the west of the village lies ''Bishop Monkton Railway Cutting Nature Reserve'', which is managed by the

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charitable non-governmental organisation, one of the UK's 46 county-based Wildlife Trusts. It's focus is nature conservation and it works to achieve a nature-rich Yorkshire with healthy and resilient ecosystems ...

. The village has a church, St John the Baptist, a

grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed structure that was built in 1878. The nearby primary school is also located on St John's Road and has been rated ''Good'' by Ofsted in 2006, 2009 and 2013. Bishop Monkton Beck runs eastwards through the middle of the village on its way to the

River Ure The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England is approximately long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its ...

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches to the north, south and east of the parish with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 2,842.

References

Sources

External links

Bishop Monkton Website
– Maintained by Richard Field Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire {{harrogate-geo-stub