Egton

History

Egton is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having three ploughlands and several leagues of woodland. The name derives from an Old English personal name, Ecga and the word tun, meaning Ecga's farmstead or settlement. The village was historically in the wapentake of Langbaurgh East, and in the petty sessional division of Whitby Strand. In 1974, the village and parish were moved from the old Whitby Rural District in the North Riding of Yorkshire, to the newer county of North Yorkshire.

In 1269, a weekly market to be held each Wednesday was granted by Henry III. The king also granted the lord of the manor a yearly feast on the eve of St Hilda, the church's dedication. It appears that the market and feast-day ceased to be celebrated as a Tuesday only market was granted by William III . After the Reformation, Egton retained a number of Catholic families (recusants), this was due to the settlement being located near to the coast, and priests from Europe could be smuggled into one of the many sympathetic families in the area.

Egton is an important local centre for family history. Prior to 1880, many important birth, marriage and death records were administered from Egton parish. The church in Egton holds detailed transcriptions of parish records, but these only date as far back as 1622. The cemetery is half a mile west, at the old church site, the church being demolished in 1878. After 1870 many parishioners were buried at nearby Aislaby.

Population

‡ Estimated.

Events

Egton is home to the Egton Road Race or Gooseberry Run, an annual charity race around the village, which was first held in 2001 to raise funds to save St Hilda’s Chapel from demolition.

Sport

Egton Cricket Club is based on the Egton Recreation Ground, on the northern outskirts of the village. The club has a Midweek Senior XI in the Esk Valley Evening League and a junior section that compete in the Derwent Valley Junior Cricket League.

Notable people

• John Oxlee, curate at the Church of St Hilda 1805–1811
• Nicholas Postgate, the Catholic martyr was born in Egton.
• Christopher Simpson (musician)

References

Sources

References

1. "Egton Parish".
2. "Egton Parish".
3. "Egton {{!}} Domesday Book".
4. (1979). "The Place Names of the North Riding of Yorkshire". English Place Name Society.
5. (1960). "The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names". Oxford University Press.
6. (1862). "Parliamentary Papers Poor Law Unions volume 49, part II". HMSO.
7. (2021). "Guide No. 6: North Yorkshire Gazetteer of Townships and Parishes". North Yorkshire County Council.
8. (1979). "The history of the church and parish of Egton". Fox.
9. (1980). "The priest of the moors: reflections on Nicholas Postgate". Darton, Longman & Todd.
10. (1907). "The Victoria history of the county of York. vol 3". Constable & Co.
11. "Egton Tn/CP".
12. (December 2016). "2015 Population Estimates: Parishes".
13. (7 June 2007). "The Egton road race and fun run – also known as the Gooseberry Run after the famous Gooseberry Show.". Gazette Live.
14. "Egton CC website". Egton Cricket Club.
15. "Esk Valley Evening League". EVEL.
16. "Derwent Valley Junior Cricket League". DVJCL.
17. Boase, G. C.. (23 September 2004). "Oxlee, John".
18. Shiels, William Joseph. (23 September 2004). "Postgate, Nicholas".
19. Bartlett, Ian. (23 September 2004). "Simpson, Christopher".