Morton-on-Swale 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 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. It lies on the

A684 road The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 road in North Yorkshire. It crosses the full width of the Yorkshire Dales, passing through Garsdale and the ful ...

about 4 miles west of the County Town of

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...

. It is less than to the village of

Ainderby Steeple Ainderby Steeple is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. Ainderby Steeple is situated on the A684 approximately south-west of the County Town of Northallerton, and to the immediate east of Morton- ...

. As the name suggests it lies on the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows. Th ...

History

The village is mentioned twice 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 ...

'' as ''Moretun''. At the time of the Norman invasion, the lands were part of the manor of ''Kirkby Fleetham'' held by ''Gospatric, son of Arnketil'', with some lands held by ''Grim''. Afterwards the descent of the manor followed that of nearby Ainderby Steeple. The toponymy of the village is derived 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 ...

word ''mōr'' for ''Moor'' and the word ''tun'' for ''farm'', with the addition of the geographical reference to the nearby river, giving ''Moor farm on the River Swale''.

Governance

The village lies within the Richmond UK Parliament constituency. It also lies within the Swale electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Morton-on-Swale ward of Hambleton District Council. 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 north to

Danby Wiske Danby Wiske is a village in the district of Hambleton in North Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement in the civil parish of Danby Wiske with Lazenby. The village lies north north-west of the county town of Northallerton. History Dan ...

with a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 1,761.

Geography

The parish boundary is formed by the River Swale on the west and

River Wiske The River Wiske is a tributary of the River Swale in Yorkshire, England. The Wiske gives its name to several villages it passes through. The name Wiske is derived from an Old English word ''wisca'' meaning a water meadow. It was once known as t ...

on the east and south. The northern boundary runs just south of

Thrintoft Thrintoft is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated close to the River Swale, west of Northallerton. Thrintoft is mentioned in the Domesday Book as being in the possession of Picot of ...

. The neighbouring parishes consist of Ainderby Steeple, Thrintoft,

Scruton Scruton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is west of Northallerton. According to the 2001 census the village had a population of 442, decreasing to 424 at the 2011 census. History The nam ...

, Leeming,

Gatenby Gatenby is a secluded village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated about two miles east of the A1(M) road, near to the River Swale. Nearby is RAF Leeming. The population of the parish was est ...

Maunby Maunby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about six miles south of Northallerton and on the River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, whi ...

Newby Wiske Newby Wiske is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Wiske, about five miles north-west of Thirsk. History The village has always belonged to the manor of Kirby Wiske. ...

and

Warlaby Warlaby is a small village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Ainderby Steeple. In 2 ...

. The village lies on the A684 road between Northallerton and Bedale. The villages of

and

are within a mile of the village. The highest point in the village is at the recreation ground. In September 2000, the Environment Agency installed a river level monitoring station in the village. It measures the water levels in the River Swale. The range of river levels is between and . The highest recorded level at this point on the river was on 6 September 2008. The Wensleydale Railway Association have extended their line, that currently runs from

Redmire Redmire is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about west of Leyburn in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales. Transport Redmire is the terminus of the Wensleydale Railway. The Ministry of ...

Leeming Bar Leeming Bar is a village in the civil parish of Aiskew and Leeming Bar, in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. The village lay on the original Great North Road (Great Britain), Great North Road (Dere Street) before being bypasse ...

, to run just to the north of the village. This section open to traffic between 2014 and 2016, with a temporary station at Northallerton West and plans to go as far as the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

. This has meant the construction of two level crossings in the village.

Demography

2001 census

The 2001 UK census showed that the population was split 48.6% male to 51.4% female. The religious constituency was made of 86.4% Christian and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 98.1% White British, 1.13% White other and 0.75% Mixed Asian. There were 242 dwellings.

2011 census

The 2011 UK census showed that the population was split 46.6% male to 53.4% female. The religious constituency was made of 71.3% Christian, 0.4% Buddhist and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 95.5% White British with the rest consisting of 4.3% each White Other and 0.2% Asian British. There were 250 dwellings.

Community and culture

There is no church in the village, though the Methodists did erect a chapel in 1815 which is now a Grade II listed private dwelling. The United Methodist Free Church also built a chapel in 1879, which is also private dwellings. The village is served by three bus routes running from Northallerton to

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...

and

Hawes Hawes is a market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a touri ...

. There is one public house, a butchers shop and a village store that includes the local post office.

Education

Notwithstanding its name, Ainderby Steeple Church of England Primary School is situated on Station Lane, Morton-on-Swale which is within the catchment area of

Northallerton School Northallerton School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England. The school is located over two sites on Brompton Road and Grammar School Lane. History The school was founded in 1322 ...

, which provides secondary education and sixth form facilities. Also located in the village near the Primary School is ''The Dales School'', which is a special co-educational school for those with severe and complex learning requirements. It provides some post 16 years old education.

References

External links

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