Great Ayton 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

Hambleton District Hambleton is a local government district in North Yorkshire, England. The administrative centre is Northallerton, and the district includes the outlying towns and villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, and Easingwold. The dist ...

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. The River Leven (a tributary of the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...

) flows through the village, which lies just north of the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

Etymology

Great Ayton's name derives from Old English ''Ea-tun'', meaning 'river farm'. The river flowing through Great Ayton is the

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

, a tributary of the

. A later addition of the word 'great' differentiates the village from nearby

Little Ayton Little Ayton is a village and civil parish in Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England and lies immediately south of Great Ayton. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the ...

History

In the 18th and 19th centuries Great Ayton was a centre for the industries of

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

, and

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

making. Subsequently,

whinstone Whinstone is a term used in the quarrying industry to describe any hard dark-coloured rock. Examples include the igneous rocks, basalt and dolerite, as well as the sedimentary rock, chert. Etymology The Northern English/Scots term ''whin'' is fi ...

for road surfacing was also quarried from the Cleveland Dyke along with

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

, jet and

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...

from the Cleveland Hills. Great Ayton was home to the Great Ayton Friends' School (

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

) from 1841 until it closed in 1997. The village serves as the base for

Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team (or Cleveland MRT) is one of five search and rescue teams based in the North East region of England, North East region of England. The team is based in the village of Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. They were called ...

Geography

Great Ayton is at the foot of the

Cleveland Hills The Cleveland Hills are a range of hills on the north-west edge of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire, England, overlooking Cleveland and Teesside. They lie entirely within the boundaries of the North York Moors National Park. Part of the ...

beneath

Easby Moor Easby Moor is a hill located in the civil parish of Little Ayton in the North York Moors National Parks of England and Wales, national park within the Cleveland Hills, North Yorkshire, England. At the peak, above sea level, is a monument to Ca ...

and the distinctively-shaped

Roseberry Topping Roseberry Topping is a distinctive hill in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Great Ayton and Newton under Roseberry. Its summit has a distinctive half-cone shape with a jagged cliff, which has led to many comparisons with the much h ...

. The River Leven, a tributary of the

, flows through the village and links its two centres, High Green and Low Green. The Cleveland Dyke, a narrow band of hard

rock that runs for about 31 miles between

Robin Hood's Bay Robin Hood's Bay is a small Yorkshire coast fishery, fishing village and a bay located in the North York Moors National Park, south of Whitby and north of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Ba ...

and

Eaglescliffe Eaglescliffe is a village in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is in the civil parish of Egglescliffe. The village was formerly known as Eaglescliffe Junction, being formed around . In 2011, the Office for National S ...

lies to the north-east of the village. The village lies near

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

's built-up area, south-east by less than , from its centre. It is also north-east of

Stokesley Stokesley is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, formerly a part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire. It lies on the River Leven. An electoral ward, of the same name, stretches north to ...

and from

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

. From 1894 to 1974, it was in the

Stokesley Rural District Stokesley was a rural district in the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Stokesley, which it contained. The parish was enlarged in 1932 when it took in part of the Middlesbrough Rural District. It lost p ...

of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

. The centre is from the nexus of

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a borough with unitary authority status in North Yorkshire, England. Its main settlements are Redcar, South Bank, Eston, Brotton, Guisborough, the Greater Eston part of Middlesbrough, Loftus, Saltburn and Skelton. Th ...

borough of Middlesbrough The Borough of Middlesbrough is a borough with unitary authority status in North Yorkshire, England, based around the town of Middlesbrough in the north of the county. It is in the Tees Valley mayoralty along with Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and ...

and the Hambleton districts. This is in keeping with the Langbaurgh hamlet as a historic meeting place of the

Langbaurgh Wapentake Langbaurgh was a liberty or wapentake of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It covered an area of the shire's north-eastern tip. The wapentake took its name from Langbaurgh hamlet, in present day Great Ayton parish. The name was re-used for the ...

. According to the 2011 Census, it has a population of 4,629. An

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 ...

, of the same name, stretches east to

Kildale Kildale is a village and civil parish in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-east from Great Ayton, within the North York Moors National Park and on the Cleveland Way National Trail. The parish occupies ...

with a population of 4,973 at the 2011 census .

Transport

The village is served by Great Ayton railway station on the Esk Valley Line.

Landmarks

The village landmarks below all relate to James Cook. * A granite obelisk now marks the original site of the Cook family cottage in Great Ayton. The obelisk is constructed from granite taken from

Point Hicks Point Hicks (formerly called Cape Everard), is a coastal headland in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, located within the Croajingolong National Park. The point is marked by the Point Hicks Lighthouse that faces the Tasman Sea ...

, the first land sighted by Cook in Australia. * The Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum is within a former

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

, founded in 1704 by landowner Michael Postgate. James Cook received his early education here from 1736 to 1740. * Unveiled on 12 May 1997 on High Green is a statue depicting James Cook at the age of 16 looking towards

Staithes Staithes is a seaside village in the borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Easington and Roxby Becks, two brooks that run into Staithes Beck, form the border between the Borough of Scarborough and Redcar and Cleveland. The area l ...

where, according to tradition, he first felt the lure of the sea. This was commissioned by Hambleton District Council and is the work of sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby.

Religion

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Christ Church was built in 1876 and now designated a Grade II

listed building 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 ...

. It holds a number of services during the day that attract a total attendance of about 200. In the summer months, the evening service takes place in All Saints' Church, the former parish church, which dates back to the 12th century. The church has an organ built by

James Jepson Binns James Jepson Binns (c. 1855–11 March 1928) was a pipe organ builder based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Organs Pipe organs at the following locations were either built or rebuilt by James Jepson Binns or his JJ Binns company. A number of ...

. There is also a

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, Catholic and

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

in the village. James Cook's mother and siblings are buried in the churchyard of

All Saints' Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania *All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Henley Brook, Western Aust ...

Notable people

The village was the boyhood home of

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, the British

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

, who was born in nearby Marton.

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

and his family moved to the village when he was eight years old and lived there until he was sixteen. The Cook family home on Bridge Street was built by James' father in 1755. The cottage was dismantled in 1934 to be shipped to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Each stone was numbered so that the cottage could be reconstructed exactly in its new home in the

Fitzroy Gardens The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne central business district in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Cyclist brothers

Harry Tanfield Harry Tanfield (born 17 November 1994) is a British cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Career From Great Ayton in Yorkshire, England, Tanfield rode for in 2015 and in 2016, before joining for the 2017 season. At the Br ...

(born 1994) and

Charlie Tanfield Charles Tanfield (born 17 November 1996) is a British Track & Road Cycle sport, racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team Saint Piran (cycling team). He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the Team pursuit, Mens Team Pursuit ...

(born 1996), were born in the village. They both share a birthday, 17 November.

References

External links

Great Ayton Tourism, Parish Council, and Community Website

* ttp://www.captaincookschoolroommuseum.co.uk/ The Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum Website* {{navboxes , list1 = {{Geographic location , Northwest =

Nunthorpe Nunthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the historic county of Yorkshire, North Riding. It is near to the village of Great Ayton and formerly part of the Ayton ancient ...

, North =

Newton under Roseberry Newton under Roseberry is a village in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the A173, between Great Ayton and Guisborough and is close to the base of Roseberry Topping. The villa ...

, Northeast = ''

'' , West = , Centre = Great Ayton , East = ''

'',
Captain Cook's Monument , Southwest =

, South = Great Broughton , Southeast =

,
Easby,

Ingleby Greenhow Ingleby Greenhow is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the border of the North York Moors and south of Great Ayton. The parish of Ingleby Greenhow has records of a John Thomasson de Gren ...

{{North Yorkshire {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Obelisks in England Monuments and memorials in North Yorkshire