Swainby is a village 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...

. It is 8 miles north east of Northallerton

Northallerton

Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...

 on the A172. The small market town of Stokesley

Stokesley

Stokesley is a small market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Leven. Stokesley is located about two miles south of the boundary of the borough of Middlesbrough and ten miles south of Middlesbrough town centre. Stokesley is located...

 is only 5 miles away.
Swainby is located on the north western corner of the North York Moors National Park. The characteristics of the village and the surrounding area consist of traditional Yorkshire dry stone walls, sweeping hills, sheep, heather and moor land.

The village contains two pubs, 'The Blacksmiths Arms' and 'The Black Horse'.

The village is close to the ruins of Whorlton Castle

Whorlton Castle

Whorlton Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated near the abandoned village of Whorlton in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in the early 12th century as a Norman motte-and-bailey associated with the nearby settlement. The castle is an unusual example of a motte and bailey that remained in...

. Swainby appears to have been built after this abandonment. When the village housed the miners who worked the nearby hills for ironstone

Ironstone

Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...

 and jet

Jet (lignite)

Jet is a geological material and is considered to be a minor gemstone. Jet is not considered a true mineral, but rather a mineraloid as it has an organic origin, being derived from decaying wood under extreme pressure....

in the 19th century there appears to have been some expansion.

There is also a caravan park and farm house which sold at an Auction on Wednesday 2 July 2008 at The Golden Lion Hotel, High Street, Northallerton, North Yorkshire for £1,950,000.