Raskelf 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 ...

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 electoral roll has a population of around 400 measured at 519 in the 2011 census.

History

The village appears in the Domesday Book as Rascill and its derivation is believed to be Ra (Roe Deer) and Skelf (Shelf). This implies that at the time, Roe Deer were present on the shelf of land where Raskelf now stands. The village was originally in the

Wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

of Bulmer and is now in the

Hambleton District Hambleton is a local government district in North Yorkshire, England. The administrative centre is Northallerton, and the district includes the outlying towns and villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, and Easingwold. The dist ...

of North Yorkshire. The village itself is split into two, 'The Green' and the main village which are about 400 yards apart. It is situated just off the A19, 2.5 miles (4 km) north west of

Easingwold Easingwold is a market town, electoral ward and civil parish in the Hambleton District in North Yorkshire, England. Historically, part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 4,233 at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,627 at the ...

, 15 miles (24 km) north of

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

and 9 miles (15 km) south 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 ...

. It can be reached by either travelling from Easingwold, turning left at the roundabout at the top of Long Street, along Raskelf Road, or directly from the A19 (just after the Easingwold bypass travelling north), or from Helperby which connects Raskelf to the Boroughbridge/Harrogate areas of North Yorkshire. St Mary's, a 12th-century church is notable for being the only church in Yorkshire to have a wooden tower. The church is in the Parish of Easingwold with Raskelf in the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the A ...

. In 1623, Ralph Reynard and Mark Dun, were accused and convicted of the murder of a yeoman by the name of Fletcher. Along with Fletcher's wife, they were executed.

Transport

Buses provide a Mondays only working from Raskelf to

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...

and back. Service 29 goes to York 6 times daily with only 4 return workings. Most of these services start in Easingwold. Bus 30X runs from Thirsk to York via Raskelf seven times daily Mondays to Saturdays. There are no buses through Raskelf on Sundays.

Railway station

Raskelf railway station was ½ mile (0.8 km) to the west of the village itself. It was opened in 1841 by the

Great North of England Railway The Great North of England Railway (GNER) was an early British railway company. Its main line, opened in 1841 was between York and Darlington, and originally it was planned to extend to Newcastle. Mergers In 1846 it was absorbed by the Newcastle ...

, which was in itself a line built by the North Eastern Railway to connect York with

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. The station was closed to passengers in 1958 and closed completely in 1964. It was the last station on 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 ...

before the north and south to east junction with the Thirsk and Malton Line. The line is still open today and the site of the station is where Hag Lane crosses over the railway. Raskelf station was 13 miles and 28 chains (22 km) north of York and 8 miles and 51 chains (14 km) south of Thirsk.

References

External links

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