Knapton is a village in 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Rufforth with Knapton, in the

City of York The City of York, officially simply "York", is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

area and

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. It is west of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and is bounded by the village of Acomb to the east, the B1224 to the south, the A59 to the north and the A1237 York Outer Ring Road to the west.

History

There are records of a settlement here from Saxon times, but the first mention of Knapton is 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

''. In 1843 the village had a population of 113 in an area of approximately 883 acres made up mainly of farmhouses. The

Lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

at this time was Sir William Eden. In the sixteenth century, the village was a detached part of the parish of Holy Trinity, Micklegate in York. Knapton was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

and

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

in the parish of

Wintringham Wintringham is a new community forming part of St Neots, in the civil parish of St Neots, in the Huntingdonshire administrative district, of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Wintringham is a phase 2 of Love's Farm, on the ...

. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. In 1974 the parish was transferred from the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

(which included the

Ainsty of York The Ainsty or the Ainsty of York was a historic district of Yorkshire, England, west of the city of York. Originally a wapentake or subdivision of the West Riding of Yorkshire it later had a unique status as a rural area controlled by the corpo ...

) to the

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

district in the new county of North Yorkshire. On 1 April 1988 the civil parish was absorbed into the civil parish of

Rufforth Rufforth is a village in the civil parish of Rufforth with Knapton, in the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies about west of York. The village is mentioned in the ''Dom ...

, and the parish of Rufforth was subsequently renamed "Rufforth with Knapton" in 2006. In 1971 the parish of Knapton had a population of 203. In 1996 the parish was transferred to the City of York.

Governance

Knapton is part of the Rural West York Ward of the Unitary Authority of the City of York. It is part of the UK Parliamentary Constituency of York Outer. It is part of the Parish Council of Rufforth and Knapton. Before 1996, the village was administered by

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

and

Harrogate Borough Council Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination; its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow ...

Community

The current population is estimated to be 222 in approximately 96 households. The only permanent amenity in the village is the Red Lion Public House. Local shopping, sports and religious services are served in nearby Acomb. Children of primary school age attend Poppleton Ousebank County Primary School in Upper Poppleton. The Eddie Brown/Harrogate Connexions Bus route 412 from Wetherby to York calls in the village. This service is every two hours in each direction and does not operate on Sundays.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in the City of York Former civil parishes in North Yorkshire