Hambleton (Sutton Bank)

Hambleton is a hamlet on the A170 road between the towns of Thirsk and Pickering in the English county of North Yorkshire. It lies on the Hambleton Hills and is 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Sutton Bank. The 1856 Ordnance Survey map shows the Hambleton Hotel (later the Hambleton Inn) at the location, but no hamlet. By 1893 the wider settlement had appeared. The location was historically associated with horse racing. Horse racing here is recorded from the early 17th century, although in 1775 races were transferred to the Knavesmire in York. Training has continued at Hambleton, associated with nearby Hambleton House. The Hambleton Inn closed in 2015. The northern part of hamlet is in the civil parish of Cold Kirby, whilst the southern part, including the Hambleton Inn, is in the civil parish of Kilburn High and Low. Until 2023, the Cold Kirby part of the hamlet was administered by the former Ryedale District, whilst the Kilburn part was in the former Hambleton District. Since 2023, both parts have been within the North Yorkshire unitary authority area.

Nearby Places View Menu

Hambleton Hills

The Hambleton Hills are a range of hills in North Yorkshire, England. They form the western edge of the North York Moors but are separated from the moors by the valley of the River Rye. They are the eastern boundary of the low-lying Vale of Mowbray which they abut with a precipitous escarpment. They run in a north–south direction for about 15 miles (24 km) and merge with the Cleveland Hills in the north and Howardian Hills in the south. The entire range is within the North York Moors National Park. The hills are made up of rocks of middle and late Jurassic age with the hard Corallian Limestone forming the cap at the highest points. The highest point is Black Hambleton which rises to 1,308 feet (399 m) at the northern end of the range. Roulston Scar reaches 919 feet (280 m) and Whitestone cliff is 1,063 feet (324 m). The Corallian Limestone also outcrops along the southern edge of the North York Moors forming the Tabular Hills which run from Black Hambleton eastwards to Scarborough, although much broken through by river valleys. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Hambleton Hills was the production centre for York Glazed Ware, a type of Medieval ceramic.

Nude in the Nettles

The Nude in the Nettles is the name given by the media to the body of an unknown female found concealed under what was reportedly a nettle bush (actually a willowherb bush) near Sutton Bank in North Yorkshire, England in 1981. The police were notified of the body’s location by an anonymous caller who claimed that he could not give his name for reasons of “national security”. Neither the identity of the woman nor that of the caller has ever been established despite an extensive investigation.

Yorkshire Gliding Club

The Yorkshire Gliding Club (YGC) operate from an airfield on Sutton Bank in the North York Moors National Park, England. The airfield site is 7 miles (11 km) east of Thirsk along the A170 road and just south of the National Park visitors centre at Sutton Bank. The club formed in 1934 from an amalgamation of gliding concerns from the West Riding of Yorkshire and has been in existence for over 80 years and has had many famous fliers such as Nicholas Goodhart, Amy Johnson and Fred Slingsby. The club's location, on top of Roulston Scar and Sutton Bank over the White Horse of Kilburn, and the sheer drop away of the cliff, has made it a notable aircraft launching point. It is the most popular gliding club in the north of England.

Cold Kirby

Cold Kirby is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Hambleton Hills, near Rievaulx Abbey and Sutton Bank, 5 miles (8 km) west of Helmsley. The name Kirby derives from the Old Norse Kaeribȳ meaning 'Kaeri's village'. The Cleveland Way long distance footpath passes through both civil parish and village on its way from Helmsley and Rievaulx to Sutton Bank and, eventually, Filey. The upper section of Sutton Bank is also in the civil parish. The whole civil parish lies within the North York Moors National Park. From 1974 to 2023, the civil parish was part of the district of Ryedale. It is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. The population of the civil parish at the time of the 2011 census (including Angram Grange) was 205.