Sherburn in Elmet

Sherburn-in-Elmet is a village close to Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Celtic kingdom of Elmet, the others being Barwick-in-Elmet and Scholes-in-Elmet.

According to the 2001 census, Sherburn has a population of 5,750.

History

The village is of ancient establishment, possibly with Roman origins and was part of the wapentake of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The field adjoining All Saints' Church is the site of the palace of kings of Elmet, which was given (with the manor of Cawood) by Athelstan to the Archbishops of York on his conversion to Christianity in or around the 10th century.

The church itself is unusually large for a village parish church and dates from around 1120, with Norman pillars and a later-built large tower housing a ring of eight bells. It was built on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The Battle of Towton was fought nearby in 1461 and local legend tells that King Edward IV used the church tower as a point for surveying the battle lines. This is indeed a legend as due to the topography of the land and the weather conditions on the day of the battle, it is not possible to see the battle ground from the tower. The church is now home to the church cat, Jess, who moved in in early 2006 and has become a favourite with the congregation. Selby Times article.

Information

Sherburn-in-Elmet is often referred to locally as simply 'Sherburn'. It is notable as a regular meeting place for motorcycle riders, most abundantly on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The roads leading into Sherburn-in-Elmet are known nationally for the varied and pleasurable rides they offer when atop a motorcycle. Meets take place at 'Squires Milk Bar', which recently moved to a bigger site in the nearby village of Newthorpe.

The village is now home to a major industrial site attracting large businesses such as Eddie Stobart Ltd as well as the large Gascoigne Wood mine, which was part of the Selby coalfield project.

Presently home to an airfield and popular aeroclub, Sherburn's links with the air industry go back to World War II when the Blackburn Aircraft Company built the Swordfish in the village. Production ended in 1945, and by then 1,699 such aircraft had been built in Sherburn. The airfield also saw the first flight of L.E. Baynes's famous prototype glider, the Baynes Bat.

Public transport

The village is served by Sherburn-in-Elmet railway station with services to York, Hull and Sheffield with a second station (South Milford railway station) in nearby South Milford providing services to Leeds and Hull, while there are regular bus services to Leeds, Selby, Pontefract and Tadcaster.

Education

Sherburn has two primary schools (Hungate and Athelstan) and Sherburn High School which has recently gained the status of a specialist science school.

Local facilities

It has three supermarkets: Spar, Tesco Express and Co-op. Sherburn also has several independently owned shops as well a market in the centre of the village on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Sherburn has Leeds as its post town and an LS25 postcode, but is in North Yorkshire.

Sport

• Garforth Jets Badminton Club Competitive badminton club based in Garforth (approx 7 miles, towards Leeds)
• Sherburn Eversley Cricket Club
• FevNet Rovers Community Rugby League

External links

• Sherburn-in-Elmet homepage
• All Saints Church
• Sherburn notams, weather, photos & pilots reviews on ukga.com
• The Ancient Parish of Sherburn in Elmet at GENUKI