Kirby Sigston Explained

Kirby Sigston is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, approximately east of Northallerton.^[1] The village is situated on the Cod Beck river,^[2] and the wider parish contains the hamlet of Jeater Houses^[3] due east of the village on the trunk A19 road.^[4]

History

The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having 75 ploughlands, and its name derives from a combination of the Old Norse Kirkju-býr (a village with a church) and Sigges tūn (Sigge's farmstead or settlement).^[5] Sigston is also the name of a village nearby.^[6]

During the 14th century, the parish was part of a huge deer park and hunting area on the eastern side of what is now known as the Vale of Mowbray.^[7] A deserted medieval village (DMV) lies to the south of the church.^[8]

The village has never had a shop, post office or pub, and its school, which opened in 1846 and would teach around 35 pupils, closed in 1944.^[9]

Places of interest

To the north is the site of Sigston Castle, a 14th-century quadrangular castle, surrounded by a now largely dry moat.^[10] South of Sigston Castle, near the grade II listed Manor House, is St Lawrence's church.^[11] The church is largely Norman but the tower was renovated in the 18th century. The grade I listed church is decorated with carvings of dragons, which Pevsner states show the Danish influence in the area.^[12]

Population

The population taken at the 2011 Census was fewer than 100, so details are included in the civil parish of Winton, Stank and Hallikeld. North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of the village in 2015 to be 100 people, an increase of ten since the 2011 census.^[13]

Notable residents

The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Conservative MP for Richmond and Northallerton, Rishi Sunak, currently lives in Kirby Sigston as his constituency home.^[14]

In popular culture

Kirby Sigston is referred to in The Mountain Goats' song "Going to Kirby Sigston".^[15]

External links

54.35°N -22°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Genuki: Kirby Sigston, Yorkshire (North Riding) . www.genuki.org.uk . 31 October 2019.
2. Web site: History of Kirby Sigston, in Hambleton and the North Riding Map and description . www.visionofbritain.org.uk . 31 October 2019.
3. Web site: Parishes: Kirkby Sigston British History Online . www.british-history.ac.uk . 31 October 2019.
4. Northallerton & Thirsk . 302 . 2015 . 1:25,000 . Explorer . Ordnance Survey . 978-0-319-24554-5.
5. Book: Ekwall . Eilert . The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names . 1960 . Oxford University Press. Oxford. 0-19-869103-3 . 279, 422 . 4.
6. Book: Mills . A D . A Dictionary of British place-names . 2011 . Oxford University Press . Oxford . 9780199609086 . 281.
7. Book: National Character Area Profile 24: Vale of Mowbray. . 2015 . Natural England . 978-1-84754-301-1 . 11.
8. Web site: Beresford's Lost Villages :: Site detail :: Sigston, Kirby . dmv.hull.ac.uk . 31 October 2019.
9. News: Golden anniversary can put Sigston on the map . 31 October 2019 . The Northern Echo . 8 June 2004.
10. Book: Pettifer . Adrian . English castles : a guide by counties . 1995 . Boydell Press . Woodbridge . 0-85115-600-2 . 301.
11. Web site: St Lawrence - Kirby Sigston . www.cofe-northallerton.org.uk . 31 October 2019.
12. Book: Pevsner . Nikolaus . Yorkshire, the North Riding . 2002 . Yale University Press . London . 0-300-09665-8 . 212.
13. Web site: 2015 Population Estimates Parishes . northyorks.gov.uk . 31 October 2015 . 11 . PDF . December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20220604015709/https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fileroot/About%20the%20council/North%20Yorkshire%20statistics/Parish_mid-year_population_estimates_2015.pdf. 4 June 2022. dead.
14. News: Copeland . Alexa . Residents celebrate anniversary of vital village hall refurbishment . 31 October 2019 . The Northern Echo . 31 October 2017.
15. News: Chapman . Hannah . US band helps put North Yorkshire village on the map . 31 October 2019 . The Northern Echo . 27 August 2007.