Nawton is a 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 situated on the

A170 road The A170 is an A road in North Yorkshire, England that links Thirsk with Scarborough through Hambleton, Helmsley, Kirkbysmoorside, Pickering. The road is ; a single carriageway for almost its totality. The route has been in existence since pr ...

, almost adjoining Beadlam, three miles west 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 ...

. There are two Methodist chapels on the south side of the village. It had a population of 569 according to the 2011 census. The origin of the name Nawton derives from pre-7th century words "nafola" meaning a hollow, and "tun" settlement. In the 1870s,

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteers. The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–72), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was a c ...

's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' described Nawton as:

A township that comprises 1,200 acres. Real property, £1,899. Pop., 358. Houses, 83. The manor belongs to F. Barr, Esq. Nawton Tower is a castellated mansion, stands on a rising-ground, and commands extensive views.

History

Nawton is mentioned in the original

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 ...

. In 1086 it states that there were 21 villagers, 40 acres of meadows and 12 ploughlands, all of which in the grounds of the manor with a total value of £5. Land at Nawton was then held by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

, and as late as 1831 part of Nawton was still in the

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of St Peter's, York. In 1086 Nawton was a berewick of

, but was later a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of the parish of Kirkdale. In 1333 William de Broklesby, clerk, gave two ploughlands and houses in Nawton and other places to William son of Richard de Nawton, with the remainder to John de Nawton and his heirs. Thomas Nawton of Eddlethorpe, in 1515, left Elizabeth Nawton, his sister, Prioress of Neasham, the properties of Nawton and Nawtondale. He died in 1519 and left a son and heir Henry. Henry died about 1547 with the manor being seised from him. He left four young daughters, Agnes, Elizabeth, Eleanor and Katharine, the first three married respectively Thomas Harwood, George Constable and Francis Conyers. Sir Roger Lascelles of Sowerby was a guardian of these daughters, but he died in 1551 and his manor was "seised" (transferred as an ownership unit). Thomas Sayvell and Cecilia his wife in 1560 gave the manor of Nawtondale to Robert Thornton (of East Newton), and William his son and heir. George and Elizabeth Constable and Francis and Eleanor Conyers also made a transfer of the manor in 1570. In 1617 William Thornton of East Newton died seised of Nawton Manor, in 1666 Clement and Barbara Read and were in possession of the manor. A Clement and Elizabeth Read and held it in 1698 and in 1708 gave it to William Whitehead. In 1744 Thomas Whitehead was the lord appointed gamekeeper. William Whitehead was lord in 1779, Thomas Whitehead in 1816, Francis Barr in 1857–72, W. F. Shepherd in 1879. In 1866 Nawton became a separate civil parish, but remains part of the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

of Kirkdale.

Railway station

Nawton railway station was opened on 1 January 1874. The single platformed station was used in the 1940s as a buffer food depot for the Second World War. Although closed to passengers in 1953, the station saw irregular passenger use until 3 May 1964 with excursion trains such as ramblers, shopping and football excursions. The last train to leave the station was a ramblers' excursion to Kirbymoorside.

Education

The Nawton Community Primary School was built in 1965, to the north of the A170, at the top of School Lane, close to the southern border of the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

National Park. Ryedale School, opened in 1953, is located in Gale Lane and provides mixed comprehensive secondary education for 11–16-year-olds.

Places of interest

Nawton Tower has gardens which are associated with a country house. Features include an 18th-century garden portico, terraces, statuary, and formal walks. Nawton Tower was first created in the 18th century. The house dates back to the mid-19th century and the gardens to the 18th–20th centuries.

References

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