Danby 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. According to the

2011 UK census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

, Danby parish had a population of 1,411, a reduction on the 2001 UK census figure of 1,515. The statistician

Karl Pearson Karl Pearson (; born Carl Pearson; 27 March 1857 – 27 April 1936) was an English biostatistician and mathematician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics. He founded the world's first university ...

spent a lot of time there. Danby is located within the North York Moors National Park and is home to Danby Lodge, the Moors' National Park Centre.The Moors National Park Centre, Danby
Danby Lodge is an official Dark Sky site. Danby is served by a rail network between

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

and

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

as well as East Yorkshire's summer seasonal Moors Explorer bus, which links Danby and the surrounding villages with Malton, Beverley and Hull. Danby village incorporates the Duke of Wellington pub and the neighbouring post office. The village lies on the Esk Valley Walk. The civil parish includes Ainthorpe, Botton, Castleton, Commondale, Danby, Fryup and Westerdale.

Governance

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 t ...

in the same name exists. This ward had a population of 2,072 at the 2011 Census. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the

Borough of Scarborough The Borough of Scarborough () was a non-metropolitan district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England. In addition to the town of Scarborough, it covered a large stretch of the coast of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Filey. It bordere ...

, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

Danby Castle

A little over a mile to the south-east are the remains of Danby Castle.

Danby Show

The Danby

Agricultural Show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, bree ...

is held every year in August, with traditional country entertainments and activities such as

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

, sheepdog trials, exhibitions of farm animals and machinery as well as horticultural, craft and produce competitions. The show was inaugurated in 1848 by the then vicar of Danby, Canon John Atkinson, and regularly attracts 6,000 visitors.

Church history

Daniel Duck (1743-?1825) was the vicar of Danby from 1780 until he was succeeded by his son Joseph in 1825. Joseph came from

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

and his family was one of yeoman freeholders in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

. He is commemorated in the poem, ''Lines in Memory of the Rev. D. Duck, Curate of Danby.'' *''"Yes Daniel, faithful Daniel – gone / We faithfull few lament their loss / No more we fix our eyes upon / That Zealous preacher of the cross."'' The preface to this poem in the original manuscript had: ''”Written on the Back of a pew before divine service while the folk were gathering up. Sunday April 1835.”'' Daniel Duck's diaries are held by the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, which indicates that Daniel was the eldest son of Joseph Duck, yeoman, of Ainthorpe, and Hannah. He was perpetual curate of Danby, first appearing in the church register in February 1780. The Rev. John Christopher Atkinson was Vicar of Danby 1850–1900 and author of ''Forty Years in a Moorland Parish'', 1891.

Danby Beacon

The Danby Beacon was one of a line of beacons up to 20 miles apart, and dates back to the 1600s when the country was living under the threat of invasion from France. It was to have been lit when the soldier stationed nearby had sight of a foreign fleet. The Beacon is now a landmark that is used as a waymarker by thousands of walkers each year. Over time, the old wooden beacon decayed so much that it fell down and the original landmark was lost. A new beacon was unveiled in 2008 by Lord Downe, President of the Danby Beacon Trust. The flame-shaped basket is made out of blued stainless steel, blending in with the sky. The flames are mounted around a cup that is decorated with bronze – a reminder of the Bronze Age burial mound which part occupies the site. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the site became home to one of the first radar stations guarding the north-east coast. The station was responsible for guiding Group Captain Peter Townsend, when he intercepted and shot down the first enemy aircraft to fall on English soil during the war. The radar station, which continued to function until 1957, was the precursor of the RAF Fylingdales early warning station, 15 miles south-east, whose three giant golf balls became one of the North York Moors National Park's biggest attractions.North York Moors National Park: RAF Danby Beacon

References

* ''Wesley Historical Society Notes and Queries'' June 1841, p. 94 * Ord's ''History of Cleveland'' (1840) * Atkinson (1891)

Bibliography

* Atkinson, John Christopher (1891) ''Forty years in a Moorland Parish: reminiscences and researches in Danby in Cleveland''. London: Macmillan (Atkinson was Vicar 1850–1900; later editions: 1907, 1967 and 1983) *Michael Stainsby (2006) ''More Than An Ordinary Man: Life and Society in the Upper Esk Valley, 1830–1910.'' North York Moors National Park Authority. Helmsley.

External links

Parish PlanDanby ShowDanby show 2007

Danby in British History OnlinePoem
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire