Hovingham is a large 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

Ryedale Ryedale is a non-metropolitan district in North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Vale of Pickering, a low-lying flat area of land drained by the River Derwent. The Vale's landscape is rural with scattered villages and towns. It has been inha ...

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. It is on the edge of the

Howardian Hills The Howardian Hills are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors National Park, and the Vale of York. They take their name from the Howard family who still own local lands. Topography T ...

and about south of

Kirkbymoorside Kirkbymoorside () is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district in North Yorkshire, England. It is north of York, It is also midway between Pickering and Helmsley, on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. It had a populat ...

History

The name 'Hovingham' is first attested 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 ...

of 1086, where it appears as ''Hovingham''. The settlement lay within the ''Maneshou'' hundred. The lands at the time of the

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

belonged to Orm, son of Gamal. After the invasion, the lands were granted to Hugh, son of Baldric. The name 'Hovingham' means 'the village of Hofa's people'. There is evidence of Roman activity around the village which sat on the Malton to Aldburgh road in those times. During the construction of

Hovingham Hall Hovingham Hall is a country house built in the Palladian style in the village of Hovingham, North Yorkshire, England. It has been the seat of the Worsley family and the childhood home of the Duchess of Kent. It was built in the 18th century on ...

gardens, a Roman bath, tesselated pavement and other artefacts were uncovered. The village had a station on the Thirsk and Malton branch of the North Eastern Railway.

Governance

The village is within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. It is also part of the Hovingham & Sheriff Hutton electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Hovingham ward of Ryedale District Council. The local Parish Council is a joint one with nearby Scackleton and the council has seven members including the Chair. 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 ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to

Terrington Terrington is a large village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Howardian Hills, west of Malton. History The village is mentioned four times in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Teurintone'' ...

with a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 1,656.

Geography

The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 600. According to the 2001 UK Census, the population was 371, of which 300 were over sixteen years old and 174 of those were in employment. There were 166 dwellings, of which 59 were detached. The population at the 2011 Census had marginally reduced to 362. The nearest settlements are

Slingsby Slingsby may refer to: * Slingsby (surname) * Slingsby, North Yorkshire * Slingsby Aviation, formerly Slingsby Sailplanes, a manufacturer of gliders and other aircraft * Slingsby Channel Slingsby Channel is a strait on the north side of Bramham Isl ...

to the east;

Stonegrave Stonegrave is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population was less than 100 and so the details are included in the civil parish of Nunnington. By 2015, North Yorkshire County ...

to the north; Cawton to the north-west; Coulton to the west south-west and

Scackleton Scackleton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Howardian Hills and south-west of Hovingham. History The village is mentioned three times in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Scacheldene'' ...

to the south-west. The village lies at an elevation of at its highest point and is on the B1257 Malton to Stokesley road. Marrs Beck flows northwards through the village to eventually join the River Rye near Butterwick and

Brawby Brawby is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, situated at the confluence of the River Seven and the River Rye. According to the 2001 census Brawby had a population of 164, decreasing to 140 at the 2 ...

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

is quarried in

Wath Wath may refer to: Places in England * Wath, Cumbria, a U.K. location * Wath (near Ripon), a village in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire * Wath, Ryedale, a village in North Yorkshire * Wath-in-Nidderdale, a village near Pateley Bridge in Har ...

about east of Hovingham.

Education

There is one school in the village, Hovingham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, built by ''Lady Worsley'' in 1864 and extended in 1888. It is a Grade II Listed Building. The school lies within the catchment area of

Malton School Malton School is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school of some 800 pupils (2021), serving the market town of Malton and the surrounding area in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, England.

for secondary education.

Village services

The village is served by the bus route to Malton only. There is a village shop as well as a bakery and tea room, a hotel, a public house and other local businesses.

Sports

Hovingham Cricket Club run teams at many level, with the Senior team competing in the York & District Cricket League. The village also runs a Tennis Club.

Religion

All_Saints_Church_Hovingham_(Nigel_Coates)

There is a Grade II listed church in the village dedicated to All Saints. The majority of the present church building dates back to 1860, when it was rebuilt at the expense of Marcus Worsley. The tower of 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 All Saints is of

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

origin. An interesting feature is the large 10th-century altar cross. There is also a Methodist church in the village, which is a Grade II Listed Building.

Notable buildings

Hovingham has been home to the

Worsley family Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there is evi ...

since 1563 and was the childhood home of the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

. The sixth Thomas Worsley (1710–1778) designed and built the current

. A unique feature of the Grade I

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 ...

is that it is entered through a covered Riding School, once used for training horses. In addition to the Hall, the School and the two Churches, there are a total of 49 other Listed Buildings in the area.

Music

The Hovingham Festival was founded by Canon Hudson in 1887 and held at Hovingham Hall. Thirteen festivals were held until 1906. The event was revived after 45 years during the 1950s.The Fourteenth Hovingham Festival
, in ''The Musical Times'' Vol. 92, No. 1303 (September 1951), p. 417

Gallery

File:Hovingham.jpg, Hovingham ford File:Hovingham Village - geograph.org.uk - 1201292.jpg, Signpost near School in centre of Hovingham File:Hovingham Hall - geograph.org.uk - 557457.jpg, Hovingham Hall File:Marrs Beck, Hovingham - geograph.org.uk - 1063602.jpg, Marrs Beck, Hovingham File:Hovingham Village - geograph.org.uk - 1201290.jpg, View of Brookside from the ford through Marrs Beck

References

{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Ryedale