Hambleton is a local government district in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The administrative centre is Northallerton, and the district includes the outlying towns and villages of

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 o ...

, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, and

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 district was formed by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

on 1 April 1974, as a merger of Northallerton

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

, Bedale Rural District, Easingwold Rural District, Northallerton Rural District, and parts of Thirsk Rural District, Stokesley Rural District and Croft Rural District, all in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used ...

Geography

Hambleton covers an area of 1,311.17 km² most of which, 1,254.90 km², is green space. The district is named after the

Hambleton Hills The Hambleton Hills are a range of hills in North Yorkshire, England. They form the western edge of the North York Moors but are separated from the moors by the valley of the River Rye. They are the eastern boundary of the low-lying Vale of M ...

, part of the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

, on the eastern edge of the district. This area is the subject of a national habitat protection scheme as articulated in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's Biodiversity Action Plan. About 75% of the district lies in the Vales of Mowbray and 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 ...

. These two vales consist largely of low lying and intensively worked arable land which is mostly used for farming. 16% lies within the

and just over 1% is in the York green belt zone.

Towns

Towns in the district are listed below. Northallerton houses the headquarters of Hambleton District Council. The district is also the location of 17 wards and 177 parishes. *

* Northallerton * Stokesley * Thirsk

District Council

Abolition

In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, the non-metropolitan county will be reorganised into a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Hambleton District Council will be abolished and its functions transferred to a new single authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire.

Demographics

In 2007 Hambleton had an estimated population of 86,900 an increase of 3.2% on the population of 84,200 recorded in the 2001 UK census. In the 2001 census 83% of respondents identified their

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

above the national average for

which was 71.74%. No other religion accounted for more than 0.2% of the population; the next two largest groups of respondents were those with no religion, at 10.40%, and those who did not state a religion, at 6.14%.

References

External links

Hambleton District Council
{{North Yorkshire Districts of England established in 1974 Non-metropolitan districts of North Yorkshire