West Burton is a village in Bishopdale, a side valley of

Wensleydale Wensleydale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines. The Dale (landform), dale is named after the village of Wensley, North Yorkshire, Wensley, formerly the valley's market tow ...

, 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 ...

, North Yorkshire, England. It lies south-west of

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley' ...

and west of the county town of

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...

. It is the largest settlement in the

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 ...

of Burton-cum-Walden.

History

There is some evidence of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

settlement on top of nearby Burton Moor that has been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It consists of about eighteen

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s and defined fields. 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 just ''Burton''. The toponymy of the village is derived 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 ...

meaning a ''fortified farm''. Until the 17th century the village was known as Burton in Bishopdale. "West" distinguishes the village from the village of

Constable Burton Constable Burton is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Leyburn. History The village takes its name from ‘Burton’, meaning a fortified settlement in Old English, and ‘Constable’ as in 1100 it was gr ...

, to the east, also known simply as Burton in the early Middle Ages, and in the 19th century as ''Burton-in-Bishopdale''. At the time of the Norman invasion the village was part of the manor belonging to ''Thorkil'', but afterwards the manor was granted to Geoffrey of Swaffham by

Count Alan of Brittany Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz (Breton language, Breton), Alain le Roux (French Language, French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond, was a Bretons, Breton nobleman, ...

, who had been awarded the lands by the Crown. West Burton (or Burton in Bishopdale or Burton-cum-Walden) was a manor or

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of the

ancient 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 ...

Aysgarth Aysgarth is a village and civil parish in Wensleydale, in North Yorkshire, England. The village is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, about south-west of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond and west of the county town of Northallerton. Hi ...

, and was always coupled with

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is an 1854 book by American transcendentalism, transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. T ...

. The manor befell the same fate as other lands belonging to Geoffrey in that they eventually passed to Richard Duke of Gloucester in 1480. Thereafter the descent of the manor followed that of Castle Bolton into the 19th century. West bourton row 9278

The village used to be an important local centre and the octagonal West Burton Obelisk and stocks are still seen today on the village green. Sorrelsykes House, a country house known for the

follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...

in its parkland, lies east of the village. Burton-cum-Walden became a separate civil parish in 1866.

Governance

The village is in the

Richmond and Northallerton Richmond and Northallerton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election, when it was won by Rishi ...

UK Parliament constituency. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = Non-metropolitan district , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_em ...

, 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 ...

. Burton-cum-Walden Parish Council has five Councillors and a parish clerk.

Geography

West Burton lies within the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England which covers most of the Yorkshire Dales, the Howgill Fells, and the Orton Fells. The Nidderdale area of the Yorkshire Dales is not within the national park, and has instead ...

on the B6160 road to

Addingham Addingham (formerly Haddincham , Odingehem 1086)Mills, A. D. (2003). ', Encyclopedia.com is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford West Yorkshire, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the A65 road, A65, south-east ...

. Two other roads leave the village, both dead ends, but one leads to the two hamlets of

and Walden Head. The villages of

, Newbiggin and Thoralby are all about a mile from the village. West Burton lies near the mouth of Bishopdale and at the mouth of Waldendale, the valley through which Walden Beck runs. Walden Beck runs north past the eastern edge of the village to join Bishopdale Beck on its way to the

River Ure The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England, is about long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its river. ...

. Cauldron Force or Falls, (also called West Burton Falls), is a small waterfall in the village. It is only a short walk from the centre of the green.

Demography

Population figures are for the whole parish of Burton-cum-Walden.

2001 census

The 2001 UK census showed that the population was split 48.5% male to 51.5% female. The religious constituency was made of 72.3% Christian and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 98.7% White British and 1.3% White other. There were 178 dwellings.

2011 census

The 2011 UK census showed that the population was split 48.8% male to 51.2% female. The religious constituency was made of 66.7% Christian, 0.3% Jewish, 0.3% Buddhist, 1.6% Hindu and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 94.4% White British, 1.3% Mixed Ethnic, 2.3% Asian British and 2.0% each White Other. There were 192 dwellings.

Community and culture

Education in the village is provided at West Burton Primary school. The school was built in 1873. Pupils receive secondary education at ''The Wensleydale School & Sixth Form'' in Leyburn. There are a number of local businesses including a butchers shop, a small pottery, general store and a public house.

Notable people

In their retirement, musical theatre actress Pat Kirkwood and her husband Peter Knight, the former president of

Bradford & Bingley Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's me ...

, lived in the village for ten years.

Religion

The Wesleyan and Independent Methodists both built chapels in the village in 1813 and 1851 respectively. The Wesleyan Methodist chapel was rebuilt in 1898.

References

External links

Parish CouncilWest Burton on Pardoe.net
{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Wensleydale