Escrick History

Ice Age to Saxon times

Towards the end of the Ice Age, Escrick sat beneath Lake Humber - a huge lake spanning from Thirsk to Nottingham, formed as glacial ice blocked what is now the Humber estuary. As the ice melted and the lake level dropped, the Escrick Moraine emerged from the lake - initially as an island, and later a narrow ridge to Stamford Bridge. Escrick’s history is thought to have begun in the Saxon period, as a small settlement on this moraine. Escrick remained small throughout the medieval period.

The moraine ridge (which runs roughly along the present Cawood Road, and through what is now Queen Margaret's towards Wheldrake) would have provided an area of dry land above the more waterlogged lands of the Vale of York. The ridge was also a key route between the River Ouse at Riccall (the limit of navigation at the time from the North Sea) and York and Stamford Bridge.

1086

In the Domesday Book, Escrick was called ‘Ascri’, and it had only nine villagers, four freemen and eight ‘ploughlands’.

~ 1100

Escrick estates acquired by St Mary's Abbey from Count Alan

1252

Earliest evidence of a church in Escrick

1323

Earliest record of a manor house in Escrick

1539

Escrick Park became Crown property as a result of the dissolution.

Then demised by the Crown to Thomas Knyvett in 1597

1668

Sir Henry Thompson acquires Escrick estates

When the estate was acquired it was described as:
Manor of Escrick with capital messuage, messuages, cottages, windmill and lands (Lord's Carre, Riccall Hagge, Bloome Croft and West Garth, Fogge Carre; Hither, Middle and Further Hall Flatts; Calfe Close; Horse Close, Buskett Close, Lund Wood, Horse Pasture, Hilly Flatt, the Ings, the Intake, Ricall Parke, Dighton Spring)
Manors of Escricke and Bardolgarth with 20 messuages [later corrected to 60],10 tofts, 1 windmill, 1 dovecote, 40 gardens, 1500ac. land, 200ac. meadow, 1000ac. pasture, 400ac. wood, 1000ac. heath and furze .

The Escrick Estate has remained in the ownership of descendents of Sir Henry Thompson to the present day.

1683

~ 60 houses

1680-1700

Escrick Hall built

Although modified and extended since, the current hall dates from this time.

1770s

Hall enlarged & stables built

1776

Bridge over dyke rebuilt

The stone remains on the bridge to this day - "BT" referring to Beilby Thompson.

late 1770s

Houses around the hall demolished

This started a period of reshaping the village, and establishing the hall with its own grounds with some separation from the rest of the village. The village was effectively relocated north of its former location - with the former site of the village becoming the grounds of Escrick Hall.

1781

Act of Parliament to demolish and rebuild the church, and to divert the main road to the west of the Hall

The new road followed a line to the west of Main St, along in part what is now the footpath leading to the playground. This was diverted further west in the 1820s, roughly along the present course of the A19, and at the same time Skipwith Road was established providing a bypass to the east.

1783

New church consecrated in present location to the north of the village.

Remains of the old church (located to the west of the then Escrick Hall), are thought to have remained until ~ 1920.

1801

406 inhabitants

1820

Paul Beilby Lawley Thompson (1st Lord Wenlock) inherits the Estate.

Paul Beilby Lawley (1784-1852) inherited the Estate in 1820 and changed his name to Thompson. He became Baron Wenlock in 1839 and was granted a licence to put the name Lawley before that of Thompson and for his heirs to take the name Lawley only.

~1825

School house constructed

By 1844 there were 142 pupils on the roll.

1831

717 inhabitants

A rapid increase in the population during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, took the population to a peak of 717 - a level not reached again until the early 1970s.

1830s

Duck decoy built

The remains of this decoy can still be seen in Gashouse woods and to the east of Skipwith Road. A second decoy was built a few years later further south on Skipwith Road.

1841

710 inhabitants

1846

All houses to south and west of the hall removed

The hall now standing in its own extensive grounds, with no fewer than three drives approaching it, each guarded by a lodge house.

1848

Rectory constructed

The rectory was replaced with a newer smaller building in 1951, with the 1848 rectory becoming part of Queen Margaret's School for a time, and then later the Parsonage Hotel.

1840s

Dower House constructed

More recently converted to flats of the same name.

1856-7

New church built in same location

1857-8

Police station and court house built on Skipwith Road

(Now Derwent Court)

1860s

Water and gas supplies installed.

Water was drawn from an artesian well located just north of the hall. One of the four original hydrants can still be seen on Main St, opposite the footpath leading to the primary school.
Gas works were constructed in the area that now forms Gashouse woods behind Carrs Meadow.

1871

Railway station opens

Located about 1 mile west of the village on the road leading towards Stillingfleet, adjacent to what is now Lilac Cottage.

There was once an extensive rail network south of York, with Escrick council and Lord Wenlock being instrumental in the construction of the Derwent Valley line, which ran through Skipwith.

1871

651 inhabitants

1897

Dolphin Fish Fountain commissioned to celbrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee

1897

Wholesale butchers established, later to become the abattoir

1901

544 inhabitants

The size of the village had shrunk during the Victorian era, with industrial towns providing employment, and farming suffering from cheaper overseas imports. Towards the end of the Victorian era, landlords such as the Wenlocks increasingly invested in their villages in an attempt to encourage residents to remain.

1904

Five alms-houses built on Main St

1908

Escrick & Deighton Club built

(originally known as Escrick Institute)

1911

597 inhabitants

1915-1919

Escrick & Deighton Club used as war time NCO hospital

1917-1919

Escrick Hall used as war time hospital for officers

1920

Estate passes to Forbes Adam family through marriage of Irene Lawley to Colin Forbes Adam.

1920

Gas plant closes

Presumably the arrival of electricity to the village made the need for gas for gas lamps redundant?

1921

597 inhabitants

1923

Church destroyed in fire

(rebuilt two years later)

1929

Hall let out as flats

1930s

First cricket pavillion built

1937

Memorial & benches constructed at Main St / Carr Lane junction to commemorate the coronation of King George VI

1939-45

World War II

The village housed many evacuees from Northern cities. Hollicarrs Woods was used as a munitions store from 1942 - with the remains of several of the brick and concrete buildings still visible.

1949

Queen Margaret's School moves into Escrick Hall

The school additionally occupied a number of buildings in Escrick, including the now Parsonage and Dower House, before consolidating on the current site at Escrick Hall.

1951

440 inhabitants

1953

Escrick railway station closes to passengers (and closes to goods 8 years later in 1961)

The railway itself remained (part of the East Coast Mainline from Edinburgh to London) until 1983 when it was re-routed further west due to expected subsidence from mining.

1961

443 inhabitants

1960s

Wenlock Drive and The Glade built

This period of development more than doubled the population of the village - the increased ownership of motor cars started the era of Escrick as a commuter village.

1971

950 inhabitants

1970s

'Woodlands' and Dower Chase built

1972

Escrick Hall sold to Queen Margaret's school

1973

New primary school buildings built for junior classes at site of current primary school

(Until 2007 the primary school was split across two sites, with the juniors on the new site, and seniors in the Old School House).

1974-75

Village Hall rebuilt

1979

North Selby Mine shafts started

Residents of Escrick fought against the proposed mine complex. Sinking of the 1km deep shafts for the mine commenced in 1979 and completed in 1986. Production started in January 1991 and continued until the merger with Stilingfleet mine in July 1997. The site was used for several years after as a training location.
Unlike neighbouring mines, the mine deliberately did not use the Escrick name.
Coal was not extracted at this location - instead being carried by conveyor belt to Gascoigne Wood.

1980s

Escrick Park Gardens and Dower Park built, and a period of change for farming

During the 1980s changes in the nature of farming began to impact the nature of the Escrick Estate. Small farm holdings began to be amalgamated into larger units, and the Estate began to convert the now redundant farmsteads into office and industrial units. At the height of this rural diversification development, the Estate provided some 41 business units.

1985

1045 inhabitants

1991

1131 inhabitants

1991

Escrick brickworks closes

A brickworks had existed on the site (west of the current Escrick Business Park) since approximately 1850, with its own quarry on-site. The brickworks closed in 1991 and the factory building was demolished in 2006.

1990s

Carrs Meadow built

1996

New bells in St Helens

The bells were replaced by the former bells from St Martin-in-the-bullring (Birmingham). These bells were hung in a new two-tier 10 ton galvanized steel frame set on a massive re-inforced concrete gillage. The new frame contained 14 pits, to allow for latter augmentation. The more mellow tone of the new bells proved extremely popular in a village which had fallen out of favour with the previous ones.

1996

Village Green established

The Village Green was established as part of the Carrs Meadow development, having previously been farmland. The Green is leased to the Parish Council by the Estate on a long-term peppercorn rent.

2001

1235 inhabitants

The 2001 Census reports 857 residents in 359 households, plus a further 378 residents in communal living

2004

Development of Hollicarrs Woodland Holiday Park commences

As a further diversification the Estate started the development of "The Hollicarrs" - a woodland holiday park which now comprises of nearly 170 timer lodges and chalets in the Hollicarrs woods south of the village.

2005

New playing fields / playground opened

A group of parents coordinated fund raising through a mix of grants and local fund raising to invest in a new playground on land kindly made available by the Estate on a peppercorn rent.

2007

Primary school leaves old school house, consolidating on current site

The former school site is redeveloped for housing.

2008

Village Hall extended and refurbished

The Village Hall received a £144,204 Lottery grant in 2008 which was used to extend and refurbish the village hall, provide an extra meeting room, modernise the kitchen, improve disabled access and toilet facilities and increase storage space.

2011

1078 inhabitants

The 2011 Census reports 909 residents in 370 households, plus a further 169 residents in communal living

2014

Post Office and General Store closes

A buyer could not be found to take over the village store.

2016

Farrier's Close and Lawley Gardens built

2021

1064 inhabitants

The 2021 Census reports 933 residents in 385 households, plus a further 130 residents in communal living.

2021

Black Bull pub closes.

A year later the premises are sold and an application to convert to three residential properties is approved. The pub dates from the 1750-1770, and was known as The Spotted Bull in 1823, later 'The Bull' and then laterly The Black Bull, with the current facade built 1865-1866.

2022

Abattoir closes after 125 years

A planning application for eight houses is submitted, preserving some of the historic slaughterhouse buildings.

2023

New village store opens

Tenacious work by a small group of residents results in a new village store opening, 9 years after the previous general store closed. Unfortunately the store closed at the end of the year.