Egton

Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Human settlement in England

Egton

The High Street

Egton

Location within North Yorkshire

Population| 448 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference| NZ808063
Civil parish|

* Egton

Unitary authority|

* North Yorkshire

Ceremonial county|

* North Yorkshire

Region|

* Yorkshire and the Humber

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| WHITBY
Postcode district| YO21
Police| North Yorkshire
Fire| North Yorkshire
Ambulance| Yorkshire
UK Parliament|

* Scarborough and Whitby

List of places

England
Yorkshire

54°26′46″N 0°45′18″W﻿ / ﻿54.446°N 0.755°W﻿ / 54.446; -0.755

Egton is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) west of Whitby, and located within the North York Moors National Park. There is a nearby village called Egton Bridge, which is home to Egton railway station.

The village was included in the Survey of English Dialects, published in various forms between 1962 and 1996. Unlike the other sites, a full book was written on the local dialect by Hans Tidholm.[2] According to the 2011 UK census, Egton parish had a population of 448,[1] a reduction on the 2001 UK census figure of 459.[3]

From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the Borough of Scarborough, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

## History

[edit]

The parish hall

Egton is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having three ploughlands and several leagues of woodland.[4][5] The name derives from an Old English personal name, Ecga and the word tun, meaning Ecga's farmstead or settlement.[6][7] The village was historically in the wapentake of Langbaurgh East, and in the petty sessional division of Whitby Strand.[8][9] 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.[10]

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 c. 1700.[11] 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.[12]

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.[13] The cemetery is half a mile west, at the old church site, the church being demolished in 1878.[14] After 1870 many parishioners were buried at nearby Aislaby.

### Population

[edit]

Population of Egton 1811–2015[15][16][1][3][17] 1801  | 1811  | 1821  | 1831  | 1841  | 1851  | 1861  | 1871  | 1881  | 1891  | 1901  | 1911  | 1921  | 1931  | 1951  | 1961  | 1971  | 2001  | 2011  | 2015

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

971  | 1,026  | 1,037  | 1,071  | 1,128  | 1,129  | 1,115  | 1,330  | 1,226  | 1,329  | 1,020  | 1,026  | 993  | 920  | 796  | 674  | 616  | 459  | 448  | 450‡

‡ Estimated.

## Events

[edit]

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.[18]

St Hilda's Church, Egton built in 1879, replaced an earlier 14th century structure

## Sport

[edit]

Egton Cricket Club is based on the Egton Recreation Ground, on the northern outskirts of the village.[19] The club has a Midweek Senior XI in the Esk Valley Evening League[20] and a junior section that compete in the Derwent Valley Junior Cricket League.[21]

## Notable people

[edit]

* John Oxlee, curate at the Church of St Hilda 1805–1811[22]
* Nicholas Postgate, the Catholic martyr was born in Egton.[23]
* Christopher Simpson (musician)[24]

## See also

[edit]

* Listed buildings in Egton

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Egton Parish (1170217333)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
2. ^ Tidholm, Hans. The Dialect of Egton in North Yorkshire. JSTOR 413603.
3. ^ a b UK Census (2001). "Local Area Report – Egton Parish (36UG013)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
4. ^ "Egton | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
5. ^ Page 1968, p. 343.
6. ^ Smith, A. H. (1979) [1928]. The Place Names of the North Riding of Yorkshire. English Place Name Society. p. 129\. OCLC 19714705.
7. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 162\. OCLC 1228215388.
8. ^ Parliamentary Papers Poor Law Unions volume 49, part II. London: HMSO. 1862. p. 324\. OCLC 145367615.
9. ^ Page 1968, p. 217.
10. ^ Guide No. 6: North Yorkshire Gazetteer of Townships and Parishes. Northallerton: North Yorkshire County Council. 2021 [1986]. p. 12\. ISBN 0 906035 29 5.
11. ^ Page 1968, p. 345.
12. ^ Fox, Dorothy (1979). The history of the church and parish of Egton. Egton: Fox. p. 5\. OCLC 1443834744.
13. ^ Hamilton, Elizabeth (1980). The priest of the moors: reflections on Nicholas Postgate. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. p. 13\. ISBN 0232514984.
14. ^ Page 1968, p. 347.
15. ^ Page, William, ed. (1907). The Victoria history of the county of York. vol 3. London: Constable & Co. p. 516\. OCLC 500092527.
16. ^ "Egton Tn/CP". visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
17. ^ "2015 Population Estimates: Parishes" (PDF). northyorks.gov.uk. December 2016. p. 17\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
18. ^ "The Egton road race and fun run – also known as the Gooseberry Run after the famous Gooseberry Show". gazettelive.co.uk. Gazette Live. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
19. ^ "Egton CC website". egtoncc.play-cricket.com. Egton Cricket Club. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
20. ^ "Esk Valley Evening League". eskvalleyeveninglge.play-cricket.com. EVEL. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
21. ^ "Derwent Valley Junior Cricket League". derwentvalleyjcl.play-cricket.com. DVJCL. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
22. ^ Boase, G. C. (23 September 2004). "Oxlee, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21059. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
23. ^ Shiels, William Joseph (23 September 2004). "Postgate, Nicholas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67458. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
24. ^ Bartlett, Ian (23 September 2004). "Simpson, Christopher". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25578. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

### Sources

[edit]

* Page, William (1968). The Victoria history of the county of York, North Riding volume 2. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall for the University of London Institute of Historical Research. ISBN 0712903100.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Egton at Wikimedia Commons

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[c.]: circa