Sherburn in Elmet (pronounced ) is a large village,

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 ...

and

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

Selby District Selby District is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby. The Local Authority had a population of 83,449 at the 2011 Census. The southernmost distri ...

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, west of

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

and south of

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...

. It was part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

until 1974. It is one of three placenames associated with the post-Roman kingdom of

Elmet Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...

, the others being

Barwick-in-Elmet Barwick-in-Elmet (pronounced ''Barrick-in-Elmet'') is a village in West Yorkshire, east of Leeds city centre. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Romano-British kingdom of Elmet, the others ...

and

Scholes-in-Elmet Scholes-in-Elmet is a village in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Its name is a plural of Old Norse ''skáli'' meaning "temporary shed". It is sometimes known as Scholes-in-Elmet to distinguish it from the villages of the same name in the Holme ...

. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 6,657.

History

The name derives from Old English "scir" (bright, pure) and "burn" (bourne, stream, spring). The earliest record of the name ('Scyreburnan') dates from 963 (Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, OUP, 4th ed, 1960, p. 416).

refers to a little-understood post-Roman, Brittonic (non-Anglo-Saxon) kingdom in the area around what is now the Leeds conurbation, the precise boundaries of which are not known. Sherburn is situated on a low hill of Permian limestone jutting out into the valley of the River Ouse, so the name may refer to the clarity of the water on the hill compared with the muddy streams on the alluvial plain below. This limestone ridge is still an important source of clear water, for example for the brewing industry at

six miles to the north. The Roman road connecting

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

with Tadcaster and

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 ...

ran along this ridge, and the current Low Street/Finkle Hill north–south route through the village marks its line, but little evidence of Roman settlement has been found. An earthwork adjoining All Saints' Church is the site of Hall Garth, sometimes erroneously called 'Athelstan's Palace', a high-status dwelling given (along with the manor of

Cawood Cawood (other names: ''Carwood'') is a large village (formerly a market town) and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England that is notable as the finding-place of the Cawood sword. It was historically part of the West Ri ...

) by King Athelstan to the

Archbishops 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 the ...

to mark his victory over the combined Scots/Norse forces at Brunanburh in 937. Hall Garth cannot be dated back with certainty to the Kingdom of Elmet prior to its absorption into the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 616/7 (see Wikipedia entry for Elmet) and may have been an Anglo-Saxon rather than a Brittonic foundation. All Saints Church from Coldhill Lane, Sherburn in Elmet - geograph

All Saints Church from Coldhill Lane, Sherburn in Elmet - geograph

The existing church, a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

, contains features dating from c.1120: "C12 nave and north aisle, C13 chancel with C14 south aisle and extension to north aisle, C15 south aisle chapel, and later additions and alterations including C16 clerestory, north aisle windows and heightening of tower. East end restored in 1857 by Anthony Salvin and C19 vestry". It was built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon church. The village was part of 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 ...

Barkston Ash Barkston Ash is a small village and civil parish close to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It was formerly known as Barkston in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History The village dates back to at least 1090, when it was spelled Barcestone. No ...

in the

. The

Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...

was fought nearby in 1461 and local legend tells that King Edward IV, who won the battle, used the church tower as a point for surveying the battle lines. In fact the battle, the main action of which occurred between 3 and 4 miles away, could not have been seen with any clarity from the church tower, which was not then as tall as it is today. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, the village was garrisoned by the Royalists for King Charles I; it was close to their stronghold at

and the northern capital of

, and commanded the approaches from both the south and the west. In 1645, the Parliamentarians attacked Sherburn and defeated the garrison. On 15 October 1645 the Battle of Sherburn-in-Elmet took place. A

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

force commanded by Lord Digby and Sir Marmaduke Langdale attacked and initially defeated the Parliamentarian garrison now based in the village. However, another Parliamentarian force, under Colonel Copley, counterattacked and routed the Royalists. Thus was defeated the last significant Royalist force in the North during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

Culture and community

Sherburn in Elmet is often referred to locally as simply 'Sherburn'. It has Leeds as its post town and an LS25 postcode, but is in the

in North Yorkshire rather than the

City of Leeds The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, W ...

, which is in West Yorkshire. The village has four supermarkets:

Spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Express,

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

and

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

. Until 2018, a market was held in the village centre. HSBC - Low Street (geograph 2662907)

Squires Cafe just outside Sherburn is a long-established meeting place for motorcycle riders, particularly on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The roads leading into Sherburn-in-Elmet are known nationally for the varied and pleasurable rides they offer for motorcyclists. The village is now home to a major industrial site attracting large businesses such as

Eddie Stobart Edward Pears Stobart (born 18 April 1929), better known as Eddie Stobart, is a British businessman who started an agriculture business in the late 1940s. This became ''Eddie Stobart Ltd'' in 1970 and expanded to a haulage company during the 19 ...

Ltd. The former Gascoigne Wood mine, which was part of the Selby coalfield project, is to the south-east. Home to

Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield is located east of Sherburn in Elmet village and west of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. Pre-War and Wartime history In the 1920s, the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club began operating here. The novelist, pilot, and aeron ...

which is currently the base for the Sherburn Aero Club, Sherburn's links with the air industry go back to the Second World War when the Blackburn Aircraft Company built the

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used ...

in the village. Production ended in 1945, and by then 1,699 such aircraft had been built in Sherburn. The airfield also saw the first flight of L. E. Baynes's famous prototype glider, the

Baynes Bat The Baynes Bat (or sometimes Slingsby-Baynes Bat) was an experimental glider of the Second World War, designed by L. E. Baynes. It was used to test the tailless design that he had suggested as a means to convert tanks into temporary gliders s ...

Notable residents

Ernest Popplewell, Baron Popplewell,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(10 December 1899 - 11 August 1977). Ernest was conferred the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life, by the name, style and title of Baron Popplewell, of Sherburn-in-Elmet in the West Riding of the County of York.

Transport

The village is served by Sherburn-in-Elmet railway station with services to

York railway station York railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and on the main line it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the station is operated by London North Ea ...

Hull Paragon Interchange Hull Paragon Interchange is a transport interchange providing rail, bus and coach services located in the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. The G. T. Andrews-designed station was originally named ''Paragon Station'', and together ...

and

Sheffield railway station Sheffield station, formerly ''Pond Street'' and later ''Sheffield Midland'', is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam Unive ...

, with a second station (

South Milford railway station South Milford railway station serves the villages of South Milford and Sherburn in Elmet in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Selby Line east of Leeds. History The station was opened in 1834 as Milford railway station on the Leeds a ...

) in nearby South Milford providing services to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and Hull.

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

buses go to Leeds,

and

Economy

The British Gypsum Sherburn Works on Fenton Lane (geograph 3564039)

Sherburn has a large manufacturing and trading base with British Gypsum being a long time major employer,

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

have a distribution centre. In 2011 bus manufacturer,

Optare Switch Mobility (originally called Optare) is an English bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company would be responsible for the EV operations of the group with ...

moved their factory from

Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the south east ...

to a new purpose-built site in the village.

Education

Sherburn in Elmet has two

primary Schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and one

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. Its

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s are Sherburn Hungate Primary School and Athelstan Primary School. Its

Sherburn High School Sherburn High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Sherburn in Elmet in Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It has around 950 pupils aged 11 to 18 years. The current head teacher is Miriam Oakley. The school was a ...

, which is located on Garden Lane.

Sport

Sherburn Eversley Cricket Club

Sherburn Eversley Cricket Club was formed in the 20th century and play at Eversley Park in Sherburn-in-Elmet. The club has two teams that play on a Saturday afternoons in the Leeds & Wetherby Cricket League; with the firsts gaining promotion and playing in the Second division in 2016 and the second team playing in Division Five. The club also has a Thursday evening team.

Fishing

The Bacon Factory Pond is a local recreational fishery located on the eastern side of the village. With a total of 40 pegs the fishery is controlled by the Wheatsheaf Angling Club. The pond is stocked with

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...

tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s and

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

Compass Martial Arts

Established in 2016 , Compass Martial Arts is based on Sherburn Industrial Estate in a purpose-built

Dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

, delivering

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

and Okinawan Weaponry classes.

References

External links

Parish Council Community Web SiteSherburn-in-Elmet homepageAll Saints ChurchSherburn notams, weather, photos & pilots reviews on ukga.com
at

GENUKI GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. It "provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland". It gives access to a large collection of information, with the emphas ...

Sherburn Eversley Cricket ClubSherburn Aero Club
Sherburn Aeroclub, light aircraft hire and PPL training. {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Selby District