Scagglethorpe is a parish and small village with a population of around 220 and situated about 3 miles east of Malton in North Yorkshire, and mid way between York and Scarborough on the A64. It grew as a farming community, having at least four farms in the village in its heyday, but now having only one. Until 1974 the village lay in the historic county boundaries of the East Riding of Yorkshire. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the Ryedale district. It is now administered by North Yorkshire Council.
The village lies on the edge of the wide and flat Vale of Pickering to the north and the hilly Yorkshire wolds to the south. There are two public footpaths in the parish providing a circular walk of about 1 mile, and popular with dog walkers. The cul-de-sac making up the oldest part of the village, known locally as "Village Street" has two 17thC houses, and is the site of mediaeval manor house, although no traces remain. At the southern end of the village on Main Street is Scagglethorpe Manor, a grade II listed house also dating back to the 17th century.
Many maps show the name of the main road through the village as "Bull Piece Lane" The bull piece is now a lay-by between Scagglethorpe and Settrington but in centuries past was the place were the parish bulls was kept.
Within the village we have a popular pub/hotel, a methodist chapel and a small village hall, available for hire. We also have a playing field with play equipment suitable for all ages including adult exercise equipment. Outside the village there are more farms, a fishing lake and a camping pod site.
Scagglethorpe residents use both Facebook and Whatsapp groups to communicate with neighbours in the area. Residents meet together on special occasions such as the beacon liighting celebrations of the jubilees and coronation and other organised social events. Within the village hall are photographs showing past village activities, and a number of old black and white photgoraphs showing aspects of the village history.
A Short History of Scagglethorpe
Evidence of early settlements in this region are shown by the discovery of Iron Age or Roman ditches and rectilinear enclosures, located some 700 yards south of the village. Within the village, fragments of 1st century Roman pottery have been found, and in the old part are the sites of a medieval manor house and the original thatched Ham and Cheese pub.
Scagglethorpe is derived from the Viking word "Schachetorp", meaning hamlet of a man called Skakull or Skakli. In the 1086 Domesday Book, Scagglethorpe is written as "Scachetorp". The manor, in the East Riding Hundred of Scard, comprised of one household.
The oldest house in the village in the old village cul-de-sac dates fromthe early 17th century. In the south end of the village is Scagglethorpe Manor, parts of which also date from 17th century. When Buffalo Bill toured England in 1904 with his Wild West Show, it is believed that he bought horses in Scagglethorpe which were paraded through the ballroom in Scagglethorpe Manor.
The building now used as the village hall was originally the Victorian school room, opened in 1844. In more recent times it was used as the mess hall for a brigade of troops camped just south of the village during the second world war. During that period, a bomb was dropped below the brow and shock waves from it caused damage to property in the centre of the village.
A significant change to the area came in the late 1970s when the A64,originally passing through the northern end of the village, was upgraded and moved away leaving a short section of the old A64 in place which is now can be enjoyed by walkers and cyclists.
The population is lower now than it was in the early 20th century as the requirement farm labourers disappeared. Predominenty a farming community in times past, the village is now primarily residential.