Newsham 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

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

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. The village is north west of Richmond and south west of Darlington.

History

The settlement of Newsham predates 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 ...

, although the name of the village 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 ...

''nēowan hūsum'', which means ''New Houses''. At the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, Newsham belonged to ''Sprot'' and ''Ulfkil''. After the Domesday Book assessment, the land was in the hands of Count Alan and later passed to Minotts (of

Carlton Miniott Carlton Miniott, formerly Carlton Islebeck is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, on the A61 road to the immediate west of Thirsk, north of York. According to the 2001 census it had a populatio ...

) in 1285 and then being seized by the Markenfield family by 1497. During the Stuart and Tudor periods, the village was regarded as quite important due to its market, of which the

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 ...

market cross still exists, having been erected in the 16th century. Another grade II listed building in the village is Newsham Hall, now a farmhouse, it once housed a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in the early 19th century. In 1870-72 John Marius Wilson's

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

described Newsham as:

"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 ...
and a sub-district in Richmond district, N. R. Yorkshire. The township lies 8 miles N W of Richmond, and is in Kirkby-Ravensworth and Barningham parishes. Acres, 3, 312. Real property, £3, 974. Pop. in 1851, 434; in 1861, 366. Houses, 84. Pop. of the Kirkby-Ravensworth portion, in 1851, 333; in 1861, 283. Houses, 61. Much of the surfaceis moor and woodland.—The sub-district contains also seven other townships. Acres, 16, 481. Pop., 1, 413. Houses, 313."

Governance

Now a separate parish, Newsham was formerly part of the Kirkby Ravensworth, which also included

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...

, Gayles and

Whashton Whashton is a village and List of civil parishes in North Yorkshire, civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. History The name is of an uncertain origin and could either be taken from a personal name ''(Hwaessa)'' ...

. The village lies within the Richmond (Yorks) parliamentary constituency, which is under the control of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. The current Member of Parliament, since the 2015 general election, is

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

. Newsham is part of the

Richmondshire District Council Richmondshire District Council is the administration body covering Richmondshire, a large area of the northern Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner at its centre. ...

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 ...

of Gilling West.

Community and culture

Newsham has a village hall and a village green, on which an annual carnival takes place in May/June. The village was once home to a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, ''The Pipes Tavern'', however it has since closed, the ''Smallways Country Inn'' and the ''Rokeby Inn'' (formerly the ''A66 Motel'') are less than a mile north of the village on a junction with the

A66 road The A66 is a major road in Northern England, which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria. Route From its eastern termi ...

References

External links

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