Skelton on Ure - A Brief History
Skelton-on-Ure: A Changing Yorkshire Village
by the late John Holt, extract below
John lived in the village for many years; his father was the Headmaster at the Village School from 1926 to 1953. John generously donated the proceeds from his book to restoring the War Memorial outside the Village Reading Rooms. Please see the end of this article for details of John’s book. Have you ever wondered about the history of Skelton and how old it is? It could be very much older than you think.
When an air raid shelter was being dug in the Church Wood at the back of one of the Skelton lodge houses in 1940 a stone-age axe-head was discovered about 3 feet down in the clay. So could Skelton have been the domicile of a stone-age settlement several thousand years ago? In the book on the history of the village there is a photograph of an axe head just like the one that was found.
Certainly Newby Hall has been in existence for a very long time; it is said to have been in the possession of the Nubie family at some time in the 13th century. Before that however there was a Mansion located on a circular mound to the North of Great Givendale that belonged to the powerful Warde family; and history tells us that Scheldone (Skelton) was a berewick (appendage) of Gherindale (Givendale). So Skelton was there then. The early Warde family tree dating back to the time of Henry 1 is shown in the history book. Mulwith, the subsequent home of Mary Warde was there at the same time and has an indirect connection with the Gunpowder plot of 1605. Brampton further along the road was the home of a branch of the Tancred family in the 14th century.
There is no doubt that Skelton is still predominantly an agricultural village although methods of farming today have changed dramatically. The old method of husbandry using the “open fields” system changed for all time when the Enclosure Act came into being at the end of the 18th century. There is a description of this system in Skelton and a map at the back of the history book shows the original open fields and commons in 1795.
The present church of St Helen’s in the centre of the village supplanted one in 1810, thought to have been named St Swithuns and dating back to the 13th century. St Helen’s itself has a varied history being largely built by John Middleton, a relative of the Leake family. Lord Grantham gave the land on which it is built and his name will probably be familiar to many people, being connected with the Lord Grantham of the present TV series Downton Abbey.
The Church of Christ the Consoler is thought to be the only church with that name in the UK. Known as a ransom church, it was built by Lady Mary Vyner to commemorate her son, Frederick Grantham Vyner. Her son, aged 23, was kidnapped in 1870 by Greek brigands while on the Grand Tour, who then killed him while fleeing from a rescue attempt by Greek soldiers. Lady Mary Vyner had already found the substantial ransom demanded by the brigands, which she then used to build the church, designed by William Burges, between 1871 and 1876.
Skelton Newby Hall Primary School (Closed by North Yorkshire Council in August 2023) replaced one that was on the same site and was built at the expense of Lady Mary Vyner of Newby Hall in the mid 19 th century. The previous school was a boys’ school only, with the girls’ school being somewhere near to the Skelton Lodge bungalow nearest to the village. Prior to that it is thought that local children were given a very rudimentary, mainly religious, education by a local Dame School. The Reading Room (present village hall) was also provided by Newby Estate to provide a library of books for the local people.
In later years Skelton men were actively involved in both World Wars, with 14 giving their lives for freedom in World War 1. The restored War Memorial is on the outside of the village Reading Rooms porch.
A very interesting but tragic event took place in 1869 when 6 men were drowned in the River Ure in what has been described as the worst disaster in the history of hunting. Several poems were written about it and there is a commemorative plaque in the Church of Christ the Consoler.
The local public house, The Black Lion, is always a point of interest in local history but it was not always the only such establishment. At one time there was another at the Ripon end of the village called the Malt Shovel. There has always been a village shop although it has moved from place to place. The windmill near to Kirby Hill was once part of the active history of Skelton; as was brick making at what later became known as the Brick-hills, more correctly named Brick Kiln Wood. Clay was dug here and there were kilns for the making of bricks. Every village had a blacksmith too; next to, and at one time owned by the proprietors of The Black Lion.
Books by the late John H Holt:
Skelton-or-Ure: A changing Yorkshire Village. This book contains over 400 A4 sized pages and 280 photographs and illustrations. The first edition sold out but a reprint is planned, with the cost remaining at £24.95 plus £5 postage.
Childhood Memories of a Yorkshire Village. This describes memories of growing up in the 1930s and 40s in Skelton. It has 224 A5 sized pages with over 60 photographs. This book is out of print at present but if there is sufficient demand then it could be reprinted. The cost would be no more than about £12.95 if a relatively small number were to be printed.
One Man’s War. This is a short book of 52 pages describing the First World War experiences of Herbert Holt, the headmaster of Skelton school from 1926 to 1953, as told by his own 100 year old archival documents. It leads up to The Battle of the Somme where he was wounded on the first day, 1st July 1916. It contains numerous photographs, cards etc sent at the time and the names of all the men in his platoon. It also includes instructions for "going over the top", scrambling out of the trenches to attack the enemy with bayonets fixed. The photograph on the front cover shows the Thiepval monument on which is inscribed 517,000 names of men known to have died in the war but whose bodies either could not be found or could not be identified.
Publication of this book in 2016 coincides with centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The book costs £11.50 (including £1.50 postage).Anyone interested in acquiring any of these books should contact [email protected]
by the late John Holt, extract below
John lived in the village for many years; his father was the Headmaster at the Village School from 1926 to 1953. John generously donated the proceeds from his book to restoring the War Memorial outside the Village Reading Rooms. Please see the end of this article for details of John’s book. Have you ever wondered about the history of Skelton and how old it is? It could be very much older than you think.
When an air raid shelter was being dug in the Church Wood at the back of one of the Skelton lodge houses in 1940 a stone-age axe-head was discovered about 3 feet down in the clay. So could Skelton have been the domicile of a stone-age settlement several thousand years ago? In the book on the history of the village there is a photograph of an axe head just like the one that was found.
Certainly Newby Hall has been in existence for a very long time; it is said to have been in the possession of the Nubie family at some time in the 13th century. Before that however there was a Mansion located on a circular mound to the North of Great Givendale that belonged to the powerful Warde family; and history tells us that Scheldone (Skelton) was a berewick (appendage) of Gherindale (Givendale). So Skelton was there then. The early Warde family tree dating back to the time of Henry 1 is shown in the history book. Mulwith, the subsequent home of Mary Warde was there at the same time and has an indirect connection with the Gunpowder plot of 1605. Brampton further along the road was the home of a branch of the Tancred family in the 14th century.
There is no doubt that Skelton is still predominantly an agricultural village although methods of farming today have changed dramatically. The old method of husbandry using the “open fields” system changed for all time when the Enclosure Act came into being at the end of the 18th century. There is a description of this system in Skelton and a map at the back of the history book shows the original open fields and commons in 1795.
The present church of St Helen’s in the centre of the village supplanted one in 1810, thought to have been named St Swithuns and dating back to the 13th century. St Helen’s itself has a varied history being largely built by John Middleton, a relative of the Leake family. Lord Grantham gave the land on which it is built and his name will probably be familiar to many people, being connected with the Lord Grantham of the present TV series Downton Abbey.
The Church of Christ the Consoler is thought to be the only church with that name in the UK. Known as a ransom church, it was built by Lady Mary Vyner to commemorate her son, Frederick Grantham Vyner. Her son, aged 23, was kidnapped in 1870 by Greek brigands while on the Grand Tour, who then killed him while fleeing from a rescue attempt by Greek soldiers. Lady Mary Vyner had already found the substantial ransom demanded by the brigands, which she then used to build the church, designed by William Burges, between 1871 and 1876.
Skelton Newby Hall Primary School (Closed by North Yorkshire Council in August 2023) replaced one that was on the same site and was built at the expense of Lady Mary Vyner of Newby Hall in the mid 19 th century. The previous school was a boys’ school only, with the girls’ school being somewhere near to the Skelton Lodge bungalow nearest to the village. Prior to that it is thought that local children were given a very rudimentary, mainly religious, education by a local Dame School. The Reading Room (present village hall) was also provided by Newby Estate to provide a library of books for the local people.
In later years Skelton men were actively involved in both World Wars, with 14 giving their lives for freedom in World War 1. The restored War Memorial is on the outside of the village Reading Rooms porch.
A very interesting but tragic event took place in 1869 when 6 men were drowned in the River Ure in what has been described as the worst disaster in the history of hunting. Several poems were written about it and there is a commemorative plaque in the Church of Christ the Consoler.
The local public house, The Black Lion, is always a point of interest in local history but it was not always the only such establishment. At one time there was another at the Ripon end of the village called the Malt Shovel. There has always been a village shop although it has moved from place to place. The windmill near to Kirby Hill was once part of the active history of Skelton; as was brick making at what later became known as the Brick-hills, more correctly named Brick Kiln Wood. Clay was dug here and there were kilns for the making of bricks. Every village had a blacksmith too; next to, and at one time owned by the proprietors of The Black Lion.
Books by the late John H Holt:
Skelton-or-Ure: A changing Yorkshire Village. This book contains over 400 A4 sized pages and 280 photographs and illustrations. The first edition sold out but a reprint is planned, with the cost remaining at £24.95 plus £5 postage.
Childhood Memories of a Yorkshire Village. This describes memories of growing up in the 1930s and 40s in Skelton. It has 224 A5 sized pages with over 60 photographs. This book is out of print at present but if there is sufficient demand then it could be reprinted. The cost would be no more than about £12.95 if a relatively small number were to be printed.
One Man’s War. This is a short book of 52 pages describing the First World War experiences of Herbert Holt, the headmaster of Skelton school from 1926 to 1953, as told by his own 100 year old archival documents. It leads up to The Battle of the Somme where he was wounded on the first day, 1st July 1916. It contains numerous photographs, cards etc sent at the time and the names of all the men in his platoon. It also includes instructions for "going over the top", scrambling out of the trenches to attack the enemy with bayonets fixed. The photograph on the front cover shows the Thiepval monument on which is inscribed 517,000 names of men known to have died in the war but whose bodies either could not be found or could not be identified.
Publication of this book in 2016 coincides with centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The book costs £11.50 (including £1.50 postage).Anyone interested in acquiring any of these books should contact [email protected]