Bishopthorpe
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Coordinates: 53°55′07″N 1°06′03″W / 53.918722°N 1.100807°W
| Bishopthorpe | |
  Bishopthorpe shown within North Yorkshire |
|
| Population | 3,174 (Census 2001[1]) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Bishopthorpe |
| Unitary authority | City of York |
| Ceremonial county | North Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | YORK |
| Postcode district | YO23 |
| Dialling code | 01904 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| European Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Selby |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish south of York in the City of York unitary authority and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is close to the River Ouse, and has just over 3000 inhabitants. Prior to 1996 it was part of the Selby district. Bishopthorpe was made a conservation area in 1989.
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[edit] Name
It was formerly known as St Andrewthorpe, but in the 13th century, Archbishop Grey bought the manor house and gave it to the Dean and Chapter of York Minster. This became Bishopthorpe Palace, the residence of the Archbishop of York. Many of the roads in Bishopthorpe are named after past Archbishops.
[edit] Climate
Bishopthorpe has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. As with the rest of the Vale of York the climate is dryer and warmer than the rest of the Yorkshire and Humberside region. It is prone to frosts, fog, and cold winds during spring and early summer. In summer the average maximum temperature is 22°C (72°F) although some days can see highs of up to 28°C (82°F) but nights are significantly colder averaging minimum of 15°C (60°F), although these can consistently dip below 10°C on colder summer nights. The average daytime temperature in winter is 7°C (45°F) and 2°C (36°F) at night. Snow can sometimes fall in winter from December and can fall as late as April but quickly melts. The wettest months are November, December and January with an average of 17 days per month with rainfall more than 0.25mm (0.01 inches). From May to July York experiences the most sunshine with an average of six hours a day. Extremes recorded at the University of York campus between 1998 and 2006, include a highest temperature of 33°C (91.4 °F) and a lowest temperature of -6.9°C (19.5 °F). The most rainfall in one day was 53.8 mm.
[edit] Brief chronological history
1086: Domesday: village referred to as Torp/Thorpe or Badetorps depending on which translation is used. It came to be known as Thorp-super-Usam or Thorpe-on-Ouse.
1202: Prior and monks of St. Andrews at Fishergate, built the first church here and dedicated it to their patron saint. The name Thorp-super-Usam therefore gradually superseded by Andrewthorpe or Thorpe St. Andrew.
1226: Archbishop Walter de Gray bought property which once belonged to the Abbot of Kirkstall Abbey and the Priory of St. Andrews.
1241: By this year, Gray had built a Manor House and Chapel by the river. He conveyed this property to the Dean and Chapter of York thus ensuring that it remained with successive Archbishops and did not fall into the king’s hands during a vacancy.
1275: Earliest written record of the name Bishopthorpe - spelt 'Biscupthorpe'.
1405: Archbishop Scrope accused of being a traitor by Henry IV. Beheaded in field near Clementhorpe.
1633: Charles I a guest of Archbishop.
1693: In his will, Thomas Easby left £2 per annum for a schoolmaster.
1757: Enclosure act: Common land enclosed thus placing strictures on where local people could graze their animals. The pinfold may have been built around this time.
1763: Archbishop Drummond transformed the Palace. He built the familiar 'Strawberry Gothick' west front and gatehouse.
1763: A school was founded by local yeoman, Charles Crosby and supported by the parish. The boys and girls - under 20 in number - were taught to read and write and "instructed in the principles of the Christian religion."
1768: Second church built by Archbishop Drummond on site of first building.
1832: Rioters from York attempt to invade Palace angered by initial lack of support from Archbishop Harcourt over the Reform Bill.
1833: The first Methodist Chapel built (now private accommodation Wesley House - situated behind the Co-op.)
1835: Visit of Princess Victoria and her mother. Two years prior to succession.
1846: Archbishop Harcourt built a new village school. The former school, built in 1763 and situated in School Lane, was used as a girls' school and a house for the master. It was divided into three houses in the 1890s.
1862: Archbishop Thomson built the water tower in Acaster Lane.
1871: The main line of the North Eastern Railway cuts through the west end of the parish.
1895: The formation of Bishopthorpe Parish Council.
1898-9: Third Church of St. Andrews constructed well away from the river!
1898-9: The Reading Room was built by Archbishop Maclagan as a place of rest and recreation for local men - without the aid of alcohol. In 1904, a trust was set up whereby a committee administered the building. The Bishopthorpe Women's Institute was formed in 1919 and used it as their base. Re-furbished in 1950, the building was renamed St. Andrew's Hall and is now known as the Village Hall.
1899: Bishopthorpe Methodist Church is opened.
1921: War Memorial erected to parish men who made the supreme sacrifice during WW1.
1928: The first Bishopthorpe Play was performed. It was later revised and renamed the Bishopthorpe Pageant.
1949: Visit by Princess Elizabeth; a little more than two years prior to her succession.
1949: The first council houses (twenty semi's) were built in the village in Maple Avenue.
1963: The Almshouses are demolished due to their deterioration and the need to widen the increasingly busy junction at Sim Balk Lane and Main Street.
1967: Archbishop of York's CE Junior School opened.
1968: Bishopthorpe Library opened. The former library was held in the air raid shelter which was built on the same site in WW2. The site was formerly the village green where fairs were held for the annual two-day Trinity Feast in June.
1969: Vernon House, the specially built community centre for Bishopthorpe's elderly people, was officially opened. It not only provided a place of rest and recreation, but also a kitchen and laundry. Erected at a cost of £7,000 by Tadcaster Rural District Council, it was to compliment the area of sheltered accommodation in the village built two years earlier in Maple Avenue and Vernon Close.
1971: The village population (2,350) almost doubles due to house building during the 1960s on the Bradley Estate in Acaster Lane.
1973: Bishopthorpe Infant school opened.
1986/7: Selby/York Cycle Path opened on the old railway line which had ceased to have railway traffic from 1983 because of the Selby diversion.
2000: To celebrate the Millennium, the Pageant was performed on the steps of the Palace for the 7th time. A Victorian Street Fair was held and Bishopthorpe: Reaping the Past was published. The money raised was used to form the Bishopthorpe Millennium Trust.
2005: HM The Queen takes lunch with other members of the Royal Family at the Palace prior to attending Royal Ascot on the Knavesmire.
2005: John Sentamu is enthroned; the first black Archbishop of York.
2006: Sensory Garden opens to the public next to the Library
2007: new Pinfold structure with village history board and seating opens on site of old pinfold
[edit] Facilities
There are three pubs. The Ebor Inn (previously known as the Brown Cow) is a reminder of not only Eboracum, the Roman name for York, but also the Ebor Handicap which takes place in August on the nearby York Racecourse. The other two are The Marcia and The Woodman, a Working men's club.
Just north of the village is Middlethorpe Hall, a Grade I listed building since 2008 owned by The National Trust and now used as a country hotel.
There is a Post Office and some tennis courts and a cricket pitch on Acaster Lane. The village also has an Infants School and Church Of England Junior School.
The village is close by the river Ouse, along which are "ings", fields into which the water overflows, most recently in June 2007. It is also on the Sustrans Solar System Cycle Track which runs from York to Riccall and is part of the National Cycle Network and Trans-Pennine Way.
During the Races at York Racecourse, parts of the village are subject to much heavy traffic.
[edit] Literature
Bishopthorpe appears heavily in the novel "The Lost Luggage Porter" by Andrew Martin. In the book the village is known as "Thorpe on Ouse" and is where the main character resides.
[edit] External links
- Bishopthorpe Dot Net (community web site)
- Archbishop of Yorks CE Junior School
- Bishopthorpe Infant School
- Bishopthorpe history articles
- Bishopthorpe community information
[edit] References
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