Saxton, North Yorkshire

Saxton is a small village in North Yorkshire, England, 14 miles (23 km) southwest of York[1] and 12 miles (19 km) east of Leeds. The resident population is about 250. It is close to the battlefield of Towton (Wars of the Roses).[2] The closest town is Tadcaster.

Saxton

All Saints Church, Saxton
Saxton
Location within North Yorkshire
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTadcaster
Postcode districtLS24
Dialling code01937
PoliceNorth Yorkshire
FireNorth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
The Greyhound at Saxton

History

The place-name 'Saxton' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Saxtun.[3] This is from the Old English Seax-tūn, meaning 'town or settlement of the Saxons'.[4]

Saxton is home to an Anglican church, a primary school, a village hall, one pub, the Greyhound owned and operated by Samuel Smith's Old Brewery, a cricket club, and the surviving medieval motte of Saxton Castle which was built in the eleventh century.[5]

All Saints Church is a grade I listed structure which dates back to the 11th century.[6] Some of the bodies of those who were killed in the Battle of Towton were buried in the churchyard.[2] The men who gave their lives in the First World War are remembered on the War Memorial outside the church and a plaque inside the church.

References
  1. "Genuki: Saxton, Yorkshire (West Riding)". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. Speight 1902, p. 214.
  3. "Saxton | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 460. ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
  5. Historic England. "Saxton Castle: a motte and bailey castle with a later medieval manor house and field system including a trackway and fishpond (1008226)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. Historic England. "Church of All saints  (Grade I) (1168016)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 July 2019.

Sources


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