Sherburn in Elmet

North Yorkshire

Sherburn in Elmet is a village in the Selby district of North Yorkshire.

Sherburn in Elmet is around 7 miles south of Tadcaster, 7 miles north-east of Castleford, and 8 miles west of Selby. The village is around 12 miles east of Leeds and 13 miles south-west of York.

Low Street, Sherburn in ElmetSherburn in Elmet has a long history and in the past 100 years has also had a varied industrial life alongside it, more than might be expected for a village of its size in a mostly agricultural area. Together with residential expansion of the village, the area covered now has the proportions of a small town.

Soon after the start of World War II, Sherburn became responsible for producing Fairey Swordfish aircraft. The bi-planes, used for naval torpedo and reconnaisance flights, dated from 1936 and had an extended life as they were produced through the war at a factory set up in Sherburn by the Blackburn Aircraft Company. The Sherburn airfield is now the home of Sherburn Aero Club.

Sherburn also brought home most of Yorkshire's bacon at a bacon factory established in 1932 but this was destroyed by fire in 1988, a fate which had back in 1921 also brought an end to flour production at the large windmill which had stood as a centrepiece of Sherburn in Elmet.

And at the time when rashers of bacon would be sliced in the shop, weighed out and placed in paper packaging, some of that weighing would have been be done on scales made by W & T Avery, who had a factory at the former Blackburn Aircraft site.

In recent years, industry and commerce has become even more diverse, with the establishment of a bus manufacturing business, the distribution centre of a major supermarket, a depot of one of the country's leading transport and logistics companies and the factory of a building insulation product manufacturer.

Church of All Saints, Sherburn in ElmetThe Church of All Saints is a Grade I listed building of considerably large proportions for the village it serves. Its nave and north aisle date from the 12th century but stand at the site of an earlier church. The church was extended with several additions between the 13th and 16th centuries before a 19th century restoration.

Immediately north of the church is a listed scheduled monument described as the Site of King Athelstan's Palace. King Athelstan, or Aethelstan, was the first king to lay claim to the rule of all England. He defeated an alliance involving Scots and Norsemen in 937 at the bloody Battle of Brunanburg. Where that battle took place is still unknown. The land at Sherburn in Elmet was given by the King to the Archbishopric of York and has its scheduled monument designation as a bishop's palace site. The palace or manor house at the site eventually fell into ruin and was demolished in the 14th century and today there are only traces of the banks and ditches of its earthworks.

While there is nothing to suggest the Battle of Brunanburg in 937 was in the Sherburn in Elmet area, more than 500 years later England's bloodiest recorded battle was. The Battle of Towton on March 29, 1461 during the War of the Roses was three miles to the north of Sherburn in Elmet between the villages of Saxton and Towton and continued the previous day's Battle of Ferrybridge, five miles to the south. At the Battle of Towton, King Edward IV secured his claim to the throne, deposing King Henry VI, as his Yorkist army inflicted a decisive defeat on the Lancastrian forces.

The village has several other old buildings. One dates back to 1619 when a school was established in Sherburn.

Sherburn in Elmet has a railway station. Its original buildings were demolished when the station was closed during the Beeching cuts in 1965, but the station was reopened in the 1980s. To the south of the village South Milford station is only about a mile away.

Sherburn is one of two places which have "in Elmet" in their name, the other being Barwick in Elmet just over 6 miles away in West Yorkshire. The name Elmet is likely to have originated from a forest of elm trees, but small pieces of evidence lead historians to suggest Elmet to have once been a small independent kingdom in the post-Roman Dark Ages when England was divided into a number of such kingdoms, including Deira, the region around York extending from Humber to the River Tees. The extent of Elmet is unclear and could easily have varied over years of mostly unrecorded history before it was taken under the control of the King of the unified Deira and Bernicia in the early 7th century.

Village features

The village has pubs and a social club.

The village has a range of shops and supermarkets.

The village has a Post Office.

The village has a pharmacy.

Inn and restaurant dining can be found in Sherburn in Elmet.

The village has cafes and tea-rooms.

Takeaway food outlets in the village include fish and chips, chinese, curries, sandwiches.

The village has a community library.

Sherburn in Elmet has a village hall.

Sherburn in Elmet has schools.

Sherburn in Elmet has an old parish church.

Place of worship: Anglican, Catholic, Methodist.

Sherburn in Elmet was formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Travel

Sherburn in Elmet station

Station managed by: NORTHERN. Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NORTHERN - Departure and station info
Link to Northern - external website providing information on all services at this station.

South Milford station

South Milford station is situated between South Milford and Sherburn in Elmet, about a mile to the north.
Station managed by: NORTHERN. Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NORTHERN - Departure and station info
Link to Northern - external website providing information on all services at this station.

Bus travel

The village has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.

Road travel

Sherburn in Elmet can be reached via the A162 B1222

Places to visit

Selby Abbey

The Crescent, Selby
The church of Selby Abbey can trace its history back nearly 1,000 years and many English kings visited the abbey over its lifetime. It is a rare survivor as an abbey church, which was built at a Benedictine monastery founded in 1069. The church was begun around the start of the 12th century, but has seen many changes over its years. The church was restored after a major fire in 1340 and there were further alterations in the 15th century. Selby was apparently treated favourably by King Henry VIII at the time of the monastery's Dissolution surrender in December 1539 and the church was left intact. There has however been considerable damage and restoration since that time, including the collapse of its central tower in 1690 which also destroyed the south transept. The tower was rebuilt in around 1701 by a local builder in the style of the time. In the mid-19th century there was substantial restoration of the church, but the abbey was extensively damaged by a fire in 1906. A complete restoration took place in the following years, followed by the rebuilding of the south transept, which was consecrated in 1912. Today the abbey church of St Mary and St Germain continues to be an active parish church at the centre of its local community.

More information at

Selby Abbey website

Skipwith Common

Situated four mile north-east of Selby, Skipwith Common is a National Nature Reserve and Special Area of Conservation as one of a few remaining areas of lowland heath in northern England. The common features a 270 hectare ancient landscape including a huge variety of plants and animals and small signs of around 4,000 years of human impact, such as bronze and iron age burial mounds. Skipwith Common is managed by the landowner, the Escrick Park Estate, in partnership with Natural England and is supported by a Friends group.

Information at

Friends of Skipwith Common website and

Escrick Park Estate website.

Lotherton

Lotherton, off B1217 Collier Lane, near Aberford
Lotherton is a country house estate with eight acres of Edwardian gardens and an orchard, deer park and grassy fields beyond. The hall itself consists mainly of Victorian and Edwardian extensions of a Regency core and it is decorated to reflect upper class life in the early 1900s. Its museum includes dedicated fashion galleries. Lotherton also has a historic chapel dating from the 12th century which was once part of the mediaeval village of Luttrington. Wildlife World at Lotherton represents the development of a bird garden established in the 1980s, featuring Humbolt penguins among the birds and other animals. Free ticketed entry to the estate is available. See the Leeds City Council website for details of current opening arrangements.
More information at the

Lotherton pages of the Leeds City Council website.
Find on map:

Lotherton

Yorkshire Air Museum

Halifax Way, Elvington, near York
The Yorkshire Air Museum is at the former RAF Elvington, about 3 miles south-west of York. During World War II it was an RAF Bomber Command Station used by Allied bomber crews, including French Air Force squadrons. The museum now situated there has a huge range of exhibits taking visitors from the earliest pioneers of aviation, including Yorkshireman George Cayley, through both World Wars and the Cold War era. More than 60 aircraft and flight-related vehicles are on show at the airfield. The museum is also the location of the Allied Air Forces Memorial, commemorating all allied airmen and women.
More details at the

Yorkshire Air Museum website.
Find

Yorkshire Air Museum on map.

York

The Selby district is not far from Yorkshire's principal city by road with bus and in some places train connections. Find out more about the historic city on our York page.

Emergency services

North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police website.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

Local government

Civil parish council

Sherburn in Elmet Parish Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:

Sherburn in Elmet Parish Council

District authority

Selby District Council
The southernmost district of North Yorkshire is centred on Selby and also includes the towns of Tadcaster and Sherburn in Elmet and many villages.

The district is a mostly rural area and has boundaries with the City of York unitary authority, the East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authority, the Doncaster district of South Yorkshire, Wakefield and Leeds districts of West Yorkshire and its shortest border with the North Yorkshire district of Harrogate.

The council is made up of 31 councillors who are elected each four years across 19 wards. There are between one and three councillors per ward.

The North Yorkshire County Council will absorb the services of Selby District Council and six other district councils as a unitary authority area of more than 3,100 square miles from April 2023.

Link to Selby District Council website.

The political composition of the council after the May 2019 election was:

1684YP 3

31 members YP = Yorkshire Party

County authority

North Yorkshire County Council
Includes the Selby district and six other non-unitary districts of North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire County Council website.

Police and Crime Commissioner

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire
Covers the county of North Yorkshire and City of York.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire website.

Fire Authority

The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was previously governed by the North Yorkshire Combined Fire Authority made up of elected members from across the broad areas of North Yorkshire and City of York councils which it serves. Following a ministerial announcement in June 2018 the governance of the fire service was transferred to the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire from 15 November 2018.
Further information at the

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Police and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire website.

Ceremonial county

North Yorkshire

Historic

1894-1974: Within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
1974-present: Within Selby district of the county of North Yorkshire.

Also in Yorkshire.guide

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