Leake is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

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 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 six miles north of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological fin ...

. The population of the parish was estimated at 10 in 2010. With the population in 2011 being less than 100 information is contained in the civil parish of

Borrowby, Hambleton Borrowby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated halfway between Thirsk and Northallerton, about north of York, in the Vale of Mowbray, a low-lying agricultural landscape shaped by t ...

The settlement was 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 ...

and the name of the hamlet derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Lece'' or ''Lecan'' which means to drip or leak. All other places in England that are named Leake are situated near to water and an alternative etymology would be that ''Lece'' may be an Old English word for brook. Leake Hall is a

grade II* listed 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 ...

house which dates from the 17th century. Originally built in 3 storeys to an H-shaped floor plan it now has a T-shaped layout with a 6-bay frontage. It is now a farmhouse. The grade I listed Church of St Mary dates from Norman times. The Norman tower has a Saxon cross built into it. The bench ends for the choir stalls in the chancel were rescued from

Bridlington Priory Priory Church of St Mary, Bridlington, , commonly known as Bridlington Priory Church is a parish church in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the Diocese of York. It is on the site of an Augustinian priory founded in 1113 which w ...

at the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

References

External links

St Mary the Virgin Church Leake official website
Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire {{Hambleton-geo-stub