Crayke
Encyclopedia
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Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Hambleton
Hambleton
Hambleton is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The main town and administrative centre is Northallerton, and includes the market towns and major villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley and Easingwold....
district of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about two miles east of Easingwold
Easingwold
Easingwold is a small market town and a civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 4,233.It is located north of York, at the foot of the Howardian Hills....
.
The parish was formerly a detached part of County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
(until 1844), due to its connection with St Cuthbert and the Bishop of Durham, who had a castle at Crayke.
The seventh-century king Egfrith granted Crayke to the church in 685 to be used by Cuthbert on his visits to York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, to which end Cuthbert founded a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
here. Cuthbert died in 687AD. The monk Aediluulf wrote a poem Carmen de Abbatibus between 803 and 821 about the history of his monastery, and some scholars propose that the monastery, which was in the circle of Lindisfarne, was in Crayke. (For instance, Michael Lapidge
Michael Lapidge
Michael Lapidge D.Litt. is a Canadian historical linguist, fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and Fellow of the British Academy A lecturer in Anglo-Saxon studies at Cambridge from 1974 onwards, Lapidge was Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1991 to 1998...
in Anglo-Latin Literature 600-899, Hambledon Press, London 1996) According to the chronicler Symeon, the Northumbrian King Aelle appropriated Crayke and used it as his headquarters during the unsuccessful campaign against the Danes in 867. He also reports that when the congregation of St Cuthbert was wandering homeless during the seven year period 875-882 the monks remained four months at Crayke.
In Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
times the Bishops of Durham constructed a castle over the monastic cemetery.
Links with Cuthbert and the bishopric of Durham are recognised in the dedication of the 1436 Anglican church to St Cuthbert, and the naming of the pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
as the Durham Ox, (an allusion to the foundation myth of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
).