Leake is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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, about six miles north of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

. The population of the parish was estimated at 10 in 2010. With the population in 2011 being less than 100 information is contained in the civil parish of

Borrowby, Hambleton Borrowby is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated halfway between Thirsk and Northallerton, about north of York, in the Vale of Mowbray, a low-lying agricultural landscape shaped by the last glaciation, that l ...

. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton, 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 ...

The settlement was mentioned in 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

and the name of the hamlet derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''Lece'' or ''Lecan'' which means to drip or leak. All other places in England that are named Leake are situated near to water and an alternative etymology would be that ''Lece'' may be an Old English word for brook. Leake Hall is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

house which dates from the 17th century. Originally built in 3 storeys to an H-shaped floor plan it now has a T-shaped layout with a 6-bay frontage. It is now a farmhouse. The grade I listed St Mary's Church, Leake dates from Norman times. The Norman tower has a Saxon cross built into it. The bench ends for the choir stalls in the chancel were rescued from

Bridlington Priory Priory Church of St Mary, Bridlington, , commonly known as Bridlington Priory Church is a parish church in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the Diocese of York. It is on the site of an Augustinians, Augustinian priory founded i ...

at the Dissolution. Close to the church is the site of the

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

of Leake.

References

External links

St Mary the Virgin Church Leake official website
Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire {{NorthYorkshire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links