Kirklevington (also known as Kirk Leavington) is a village in the

borough of Stockton-on-Tees The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the counties of County Durham and North Yorkshire, England. The borough had a population of 191,600 in 2011. The main settlemen ...

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. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 809. The

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 ...

had a population of 1,361. The village shares it with

Castle Levington Castlelevington (or Castle Leavington) is a group of hamlets, former township and former civil parish. It is east of the River Leven and south south-east of Yarm. The area is in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. Accord ...

and is situated south of

Yarm Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements ne ...

, it hosts station.

History

As an ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, it included the townships of

Castlelevington Castlelevington (or Castle Leavington) is a group of hamlets, former township and former civil parish. It is east of the River Leven and south south-east of Yarm. The area is in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. Accord ...

, Picton and Low Worsall, which became established as separate parishes in 1866. It formed part of the Stokesley Rural District from 1894 to 1974, when it became part of the borough of Stockton. The village was once home to the Kirklevington Country Club. Pieces from the Viking crosses, dating from 10th century, found in Kirklevington, which may have been the centre of a large Anglo-Saxon estate, are on display at Preston Hall Museum in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

. Later it was a planned two row green village. Traces of four fields of

ridge and furrow Ridge and furrow is an archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open-field system. It is also known as rig (or rigg) and fu ...

marking the possible site of a

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...

are to be found at Red Hall Farm. The local names of "Castle Hill" & "Castle Levington" refer to a "castle" on the banks 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 ...

1.25 miles ENE of the village but still in the parish of Kirklevington.

Geography

The unusually dispersed village is relatively modern. It includes a church, village hall, a small public park, a primary school, a riding centre at Town End Farm, Vidgen's engineering garage, and a pub, the Crown Hotel. The population is around 800. In July 2017 Stockton Borough Council said that it "is minded " to approve a proposal to build 145 new houses in the village, which would increase the population by about one third.

Kirklevington Hall

Kirklevington Hall, about 0.75 miles north of the village, is the location of "Judges Country House Hotel", an AA 3 Red Star Country House with 3 Rosettes. From 1881 the Hall was a family home of the Richardsons of Hartlepool. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was a secret command centre for the North-East. In the 1970s and 1980s it was home to the country's Judges when on circuit to Middlesbrough courts, which is the origin of its name.

Kirklevington Grange

On the southern edge of the built up area of Yarm, and about 1.5 miles north of the village, is HMP Kirklevington Grange, a men's resettlement prison for inmates intending to settle (on release) in the North East of England.

Kirklevington Country Club

The village was once home to the famous Kirklevington Country Club, 'The Kirk'.

Governance

Parliament

Kirklevington, as part of the Stockton South Parliamentary Constituency, was represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

by James Wharton (Conservative), who was elected on 6 May 2010. James Wharton was re-elected with an increased majority on 7 May 2015. In August 2016 he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development. As a result of the elections on 8 June 2017 Labour's Paul Williams, a local doctor, took over from James Wharton. In 2019, Conservative

Matt Vickers Matthew Alexander Vickers (born 24 September 1983) is a British politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton South since 2019 and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party since 2022. Early life Vickers was born in Universi ...

won the seat.

Borough

Kirklevington is part of the Stockton-on-Tees Boroug's Yarm ward, represented by three councillors. These councillors were elected as Conservatives on 6 May 2011, Mark Anthony Chatburn later defected to UKIP.

Parish

The Kirklevington and Castle Leavington Parish Council has seven members. It was chaired by Kate Brown for 7 years, however is now chaired by Jennie Beaumont who took her place in May 2017

Police

Kirklevington falls within the

Cleveland Police Cleveland Police is the territorial police force responsible for the policing area corresponding to the former county of Cleveland in Northern England. As of September 2017, the force had 1,274 police officers, 278 police staff, 124 police com ...

area. As of April 2014 the police have installed ANPR number plate recognition cameras on the

A67 road The A67 is a road in England that links Bowes in County Durham with Crathorne in North Yorkshire. The road from Middlesbrough to Darlington was previously the A66 road. Route The section from the A66 to Barnard Castle is primary status; fr ...

through the village, recording all vehicular movements 24 hours a day.

Education

Kirklevington Primary School has about 120 pupils. The nearest secondary school is Conyers School, about 1.5 miles away in Yarm, with approximately 1,300 pupils of ages 11 – 18.

Church

St Martin and St Hilary Church is located on Forest Lane and Pump Lane and can be viewed from the A67. It is an English Heritage Grade II* Listed Building that was re-built in 1882 but still has parts dated to the 12th and 13th century. The Church is mainly associated with St Mary Magdalene Yarm and All Saints Worsall however has connections to Crathorne, Hutton Rugby and Middleton. Service times are: 1st Sunday 08:00 - Holy Communion 2nd Sunday 11:00 - Holy Communion 4th Sunday 11:00 - Family Service (Coffee from 10:30) Morning Prayer takes place every Thursday at 08:00

References

External links

Riding school
*
Kirklevington Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Borough of Stockton-on-Tees Places in the Tees Valley