| Appleton Wiske | |
|---|---|
 Appleton Wiske | |
.svg)  Appleton Wiske Location withinNorth Yorkshire | |
| Population | 487 (2011 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NZ390047 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORTHALLERTON |
| Postcode district | DL6 |
| Dialling code | 01609 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
| 54°26′11″N1°23′57″W / 54.43639°N 1.39917°W /54.43639; -1.39917 | |
Appleton Wiske is a small village andcivil parish that sits betweenNorthallerton andYarm in theVale of York, a flat tract of land that runs between theNorth Yorkshire Moors to the east, theYorkshire Dales to the west and theRiver Tees to the north.
The village, which was known as Apletona in theDomesday Book, eventually took the name of the nearbyRiver Wiske to distinguish itself from other Appletons in the area, such asAppleton-le-Moors.
Appleton Wiske - today just a tinyparish within theHambleton District ofNorth Yorkshire - is actually one of the 41 ancient parishes of theWapentake ofLangbaurgh in theCleveland division of theNorth Riding of Yorkshire.[2][3] It was also a part of the sessional division ofYarm.[4]
The parish was gifted byWilliam the Conqueror toRobert de Brus of Skelton, an ancestor ofRobert the Bruce, the famous Scottish king.[5] De Brus's son gave it to St. Mary's Abbey,York, along withHornby and other lands. It remained in the possession of the St. Mary's until thedissolution of monasteries, when it was granted byHenry VIII toCharles Brandon, who later became theDuke of Suffolk.[6] The parish then passed through several hands and was finally split up in the early 19th century after the death of Robert Henry Allan, whose family had owned the parish since the early 18th century.[5]
The village is thought to date back toSaxon times[7] and is referred to in theDomesday Book as Apletona.[8]St Mary's Church, Appleton Wiske is not quite as old - the first reference to it is in 1299, whenEdward I visited and heard Mass.[9]Parish records indicate that it was being called TheChapel of StMary Magdalen in Appleton by 1586.[10] It is a small Norman structure, consisting of nave, chancel and porch.[11] The church is now agrade II listed structure, as is theWesleyan Methodist chapel built in 1821.[12][13]
In theFirst World War, 38 acres (15 ha) of land to the north east of the village was used by two squadrons of theRoyal Air Force in the Home Defence role. The squadrons were based atRAF Ripon and used Appleton Wiske as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG). Whilst the airfield was scoped out for a possible role in theSecond World War, it was never used.[14][15]
In 2009 it was suggested that a planning application for nine wind turbines was due to be raised with Hambleton District Council. With each turbine planned to be 410 feet (125 m) high and the nearest some 800 yards (730 m) from the village,[16] a group of villagers formed the still existent North Hambleton Windfarm Action Group (NHWAG) to oppose the development.
The village is 7.5 miles (12.1 km) north east ofNorthallerton and 4.3 miles (7 km) south west ofYarm.[17] The River Wiske passes to the immediate south of the village on its long journey to the North Sea at Spurn Head.[18][19]
Appleton Wiske Primary School has a roll of around 80 to 90 pupils with an age range of four to eleven.[20] Children from East Harsley attend Appleton Wiske Primary School alongside children from the village itself.[21] All are in the catchment area for Northallerton School and Sixth Form College.[22]
The village won a gold medal in Yorkshire in Bloom in 2006, 2007 and 2008, also winning best village in 2008. Appleton Wiske has also represented Yorkshire and Humberside three times in the national Britain in Bloom competition.[23] In 2002 winning a silver medal, in 2004 a Silver-Gilt and Best Village and in 2009 a gold medal.[24]
