East Witton is a village 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 Richmondshire

Richmondshire

Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner along the centre. Teesdale lies to the north...

 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...

. Located south of Leyburn

Leyburn

Leyburn is a busy market town and civil parish in the borough of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley' or 'Le' , and 'burn' , meaning clearing by the...

, it is the resting place of Richard Whiteley

Richard Whiteley

John Richard Whiteley, OBE DL , usually known as Richard Whiteley, was an English broadcaster and journalist. He was famous for his twenty-three years as host of Countdown, a letters and numbers arrangement game show broadcast most weekdays on Channel 4...

; he and his partner Kathryn Apanowicz

Kathryn Apanowicz

Kathryn Apanowicz is a British actress best known for her 1980s television appearances in the BBC soap operas, Angels, where she played Nurse Rose Butchins, and EastEnders, where she played the caterer, Magda Czajkowski...

 lived in the village. There is also a West Witton

West Witton

West Witton is a village in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. Located in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales it lies on the A684 . The village is the first one on the A684 to lie within the Yorkshire Dales National Park...

 in the Yorkshire Dales

Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...

. The village lies at the edge of the Jervaulx Abbey

Jervaulx Abbey

Jervaulx Abbey in East Witton near the city of Ripon, was one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, England, founded in 1156. Initially a Savigniac foundation, the abbey was later taken over by the Cistercian order and responsibility for it was taken by Byland Abbey. Originally founded in...

 park, and with Coverdale

Coverdale (dale)

Coverdale is a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It gets its name from the River Cover and the small settlement of Coverham, which is situated on its Northern edge...

 to the immediate west.

History

The village acquired a charter and a market in 1307 which died out in the 18th century. The Earl of Ailesbury rebuilt most of East Witton in the early years of the 19th century, the houses and gardens in the same places as they were in 1627 according to an old estate map

Estate map

Estate maps were maps commissioned by individual landowners or institutions showing their property, typically including fields and buildings.-Development:...

. In 1809, on the new site at the east of the village, a church was built by the road; this replaced the old church of St Martin whose site is now covered in trees.