Skipwith
Encyclopedia
Skipwith is a village and civil parish
in the Selby District
of North Yorkshire
, England
. It lies about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Selby
Half a mile to the south-west is the traces of RAF Riccall, a training airfield that was a bomber Heavy Conversion Unit in the Second World War.
The lowland heath is entirely man-made, relying on land clearances followed by grazing, peat cutting etc. The Common has been a resource for local residents until relatively modern times as timber for building, turves and peat for fuel, bracken for bedding and soap production, reeds for thatching, rushes for bedding and floor covering as well as wicks for lighting, and the while grazed by cattle, sheep and geese amongst other things.
Only since grazing ceased in fairly modern times, have trees started to feature on the Common again. Before the First World War, the Common was almost treeless.
Presumably man has maintained his usage of Skipwith Common as the next phase of occupancy after the Bronze Age was Iron Age Man. He too left a whole series of burial mounds and a triple-bank system which runs roughly North South across the Common and links with an Iron Age settlement clearly visible as crop marks of hut circles and other features in fields directly adjacent to the Common on the Northern side.
The Anglians were present in this part of Yorkshire and the Romans also left their mark on the Common in the form of a Romano-British enclosure close to the Northern boundary overlooking present-day Skipwith village. There are significant Roman features to Skipwith Church including a complete and authentic Roman arch which must have come from some local villa. The Vikings were also present in the area as they landed their long-boats at Riccall on the Ouse in 1066 and marched off to fight the Battle of Fulford. Skipwith is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Two ponds close to Skipwith village on Common Road, called the Line Ponds, are believed to have been used for flax-retting (the process of immersing the flax stems in water to soften the outer husk before preparing the inner fibres to create linen). During the Second World War a bomber training airfield was constructed on the Western end of the Common and much of the infrastructure, one of the runways, and other features survive both on and adjacent to the Common on both North and South sides.
In 1957 (?) the area was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest
. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
and English Nature
(latterly Natural England) have left their mark in the form of tree and scrub clearance aimed at bringing back the lowland heath that had been lost to silver birch regeneration. In 2009 the site was designated a National Nature Reserve
.
The site is in excess of 600 acres of roughly 50% lowland heath and 50% woodland. Two types of heather are present and re-inhabiting the freshly cleared areas. Areas of swamp and mire, home to rare flora and fauna in which sphagnum moss is in evidence, together with fen and reed-beds, ponds, rushy areas and grass-land. An ancient breed of longhorn cattle, wild and hardy Hebridean sheep and Exmoor ponies plus a herd of wild fallow and roe deer now graze the Common and help to prevent silver birch regeneration.
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 Selby District
Selby (district)
Selby is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby and provides services to an area which includes Tadcaster and a host of villages....
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...
. It lies about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
Half a mile to the south-west is the traces of RAF Riccall, a training airfield that was a bomber Heavy Conversion Unit in the Second World War.
Skipwith Common
Ancient remnants of sand dunes are a feature of Skipwith Common and the first indications of man's impact take the form of Bronze Age burial mounds 3000 to 4000 years old.The lowland heath is entirely man-made, relying on land clearances followed by grazing, peat cutting etc. The Common has been a resource for local residents until relatively modern times as timber for building, turves and peat for fuel, bracken for bedding and soap production, reeds for thatching, rushes for bedding and floor covering as well as wicks for lighting, and the while grazed by cattle, sheep and geese amongst other things.
Only since grazing ceased in fairly modern times, have trees started to feature on the Common again. Before the First World War, the Common was almost treeless.
Presumably man has maintained his usage of Skipwith Common as the next phase of occupancy after the Bronze Age was Iron Age Man. He too left a whole series of burial mounds and a triple-bank system which runs roughly North South across the Common and links with an Iron Age settlement clearly visible as crop marks of hut circles and other features in fields directly adjacent to the Common on the Northern side.
The Anglians were present in this part of Yorkshire and the Romans also left their mark on the Common in the form of a Romano-British enclosure close to the Northern boundary overlooking present-day Skipwith village. There are significant Roman features to Skipwith Church including a complete and authentic Roman arch which must have come from some local villa. The Vikings were also present in the area as they landed their long-boats at Riccall on the Ouse in 1066 and marched off to fight the Battle of Fulford. Skipwith is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Two ponds close to Skipwith village on Common Road, called the Line Ponds, are believed to have been used for flax-retting (the process of immersing the flax stems in water to soften the outer husk before preparing the inner fibres to create linen). During the Second World War a bomber training airfield was constructed on the Western end of the Common and much of the infrastructure, one of the runways, and other features survive both on and adjacent to the Common on both North and South sides.
In 1957 (?) the area was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the traditional county of Yorkshire, England.The Trust is part of the UK-wide partnership of 47 Wildlife Trusts.It was formed in 1946, as the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust, essentially to preserve its first nature reserve Askham Bog on the...
and English Nature
English Nature
English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...
(latterly Natural England) have left their mark in the form of tree and scrub clearance aimed at bringing back the lowland heath that had been lost to silver birch regeneration. In 2009 the site was designated a National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
.
The site is in excess of 600 acres of roughly 50% lowland heath and 50% woodland. Two types of heather are present and re-inhabiting the freshly cleared areas. Areas of swamp and mire, home to rare flora and fauna in which sphagnum moss is in evidence, together with fen and reed-beds, ponds, rushy areas and grass-land. An ancient breed of longhorn cattle, wild and hardy Hebridean sheep and Exmoor ponies plus a herd of wild fallow and roe deer now graze the Common and help to prevent silver birch regeneration.