| Great Smeaton | |
|---|---|
 Great Smeaton Community Primary School | |
.svg)  Great Smeaton Location withinNorth Yorkshire | |
| OS grid reference | NZ348045 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Northallerton |
| Postcode district | DL6 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| UK Parliament | |
| 54°26′03″N1°27′50″W / 54.43417°N 1.46389°W /54.43417; -1.46389 | |
Great Smeaton is a village andcivil parish inNorth Yorkshire, England. It lies on elevated ground near theRiver Wiske, which is atributary of theRiver Swale. The parish population at the2011 census was 187.[1]
The name of Great Smeaton is first attested in theDurham Liber Vitae for the years 966–72 in the phrase 'on smiþatune' ('in Smeaton'). The first attestation of the 'great' element is found in 1231, in the Latinised formSmithetuna Magna; this element distinguishes Great Smeaton from the neighbouringLittle Smeaton. The name comes from theOld English wordssmiþ ('craftsman, smith') in itsgenitiveplural formsmiþa andtūn ('estate, village'). Thus the name once meant 'smiths' estate'.[2]
TheA167 (Darlington Road) passes through the village, which is about halfway betweenDarlington andNorthallerton. It once stood on the route of theGreat North Road betweenLondon andEdinburgh. Great Smeaton was an important coaching stage; one of the original fourinns still remain, the Black Bull; the Bay Horse having recently closed. Those that have gone were the Golden Lion at Entercommon and the Blacksmiths Arms in the village, which also traded as the Post Office in the 1840s. It seems to have ceased trading as an inn prior to 1857.
Great Smeaton is listed in theDomesday Book. Many armies have passed through the village over the years, including that ofWilliam the Conqueror on his way north.
Anne of Denmark had dinner at Smeaton on 10 June 1603 on her way to London from Edinburgh, and travelled on to stay the night atBreckenbrough Castle, home of Thomas Lascelles of Brackenborough and Sowerby.[3]
St Eloy's Church, Great Smeaton, is the only church inBritain named after thissaint and stands on the site of an 11th-centurySaxon church.
Smeaton Manor is an Arts & Crafts style house byPhilip Webb.
Great Smeaton, like many other villages, has suffered from rural decline over the last few decades. It has lost amenities such as the village shop, the butcher's shop, the blacksmiths, the post office and the Working Men's Club and Reading Room (established in 1880). Amenities that remain include the pubs and the church, Great Smeaton Community Primary School, the village hall and a saddlery shop. The village also has basic amenities such as apost box and a publictelephone box.
Since 1972, the parish council has covered the parishes ofLittle Smeaton, Great Smeaton andHornby.[4]
