Stillington 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. It lies on the

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

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pickering. Helmsley is ...

road about north of

. Stillington Mill was the endpoint of the Foss Navigation Act 1793.

History

The village is 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 ...

'' as ''Stivelincton'' in the ''Bulford hundred''. The lordship of the manor was in the possession of the ''Archbishop of York St Peter'' at the time of the Norman invasion and remained so afterwards. The church continued to hold the land until 1616, when it was leased to a ''William Ramsden''. The lease was then granted to ''Christopher Croft'' in 1625. During the first year of the Commonwealth, many church lands were put up for sale and Croft purchased the manor outright. Following the Restoration, Christopher Croft, son of the former, sought a grant from the church for the manor when many church lands were being reclaimed. He was

Lord Mayor of York The Lord Mayor of York is the chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a sheriff, the city's other civic head. York's lord mayor ...

at the time and was knighted soon after. The Croft family held the manor until 1895 when it was sold. The name is derived from the name of a local Saxon settler, ''Styfel'', and 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 ...

word ''tun'', meaning ''farm''. Therefore, as a whole it means ''Styfel's farm''.

Governance

The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. 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 local Parish Council has seven members that are re-elected every four years.

Geography

The nearest settlements are Farlington to the east, Huby to the south west,

Crayke Crayke is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, about east of Easingwold. Etymology The name ''Crayke'' is of Brittonic origin, derived from the neo-Brittonic Cumbric ''crẹ:g'', meaning "a crag" or "prominent rock" ( Wels ...

to the north west and Sutton-on-the-Forest to the south. It is also just from the market town of

Easingwold Easingwold is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish 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 2011 Census. I ...

. The

River Foss The River Foss is in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Ouse. It rises in the Foss Crooks Woods near Oulston Reservoir close to the village of Yearsley and runs south through the Vale of York to the Ouse in the centre of ...

flows southwards just outside the eastern end of the village. The B1363 road between York and Oswaldkirk runs north–south through the village following the old Turnpike set up in 1768.

Demography

In 1881 the population was recorded as being 600. The 2001 UK Census recorded the population as 741 in 326 households. The population was made of 50.2% males and 49.8% females, of which, 613 (82.7%) were over the age of sixteen years. There were 340 dwellings of which 155 were detached. The population of the village increased to 782 at the 2011 Census.

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 stretches north to

Yearsley Yearsley is a small village and civil parish in the county in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the civil parish was less than 100 at the 2011 Census. Details are included in the civil parish of Brandsby-cum-Stearsby. It is situate ...

with a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 1,919.

Amenities

Economy

The area around the village is farmland and much of the local business is still involved in this. There are some small local enterprises. The Post Office is run by the local community. There are two public houses, with the other former pub now being a food establishment.

Education

A National School was built on The Green in 1821 on the site of the current village hall. The present Primary School built in 1907 is located on Main Street and is within the catchment area of Easingwold School for secondary education.

Sports

Stillington Sports and Social Club was founded in 1959 when the joint committees of the existing Cricket and Football Clubs purchased six acres of land from the Church Commissioners. Cricket has been played at Stillington since the 1840s, in The Park by permission of the Croft Family. The club joined the York and District League in the 1880s. Football has been played at Stillington since 1899. The Tennis Club was founded in 1976. A Bowling Green was created in 1978, with a club house added in 1997 with a Lottery grant. Two Squash courts were built in 1983. The hockey club, founded 1979, has recently disbanded.

Religion

The church in the village is dedicated to ''St Nicholas''. The current Grade II Listed building dates from the late 15th century, but has been subject to rebuilding. There are records of an earlier 12th century structure. The Primitive Methodists used to have a chapel in the village. A Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1844, but has been replaced by a modern structure in 1971.

Notable residents

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric. He is best known for his comic novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' (1759–1767) and ''A Sentimental Journey Thro ...

- vicar of Stillington 1745–1768. Author of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman''. * John Croft (1732–1820), born in Stillington.

References

External links

Stillington Village Hall

Stillington and District Community Archive

Stillington Village Online
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire