Wath, Hovingham

Wath is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Hovingham, in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated at the northern edge of the Howardian Hills AONB, about 0.6 miles (1 km) east of Hovingham on the B1257 road which crosses here over Wath Beck. Limestone is quarried here which in the 1950s was in demand by the steel industry for lining the furnaces. In the late 19th century there were only two houses, later just one farm. The population in 1880 was 11 persons, increasing to 20 in 1914 and decreasing to six in 1950. The area of Wath covered about 300 acres (121 ha) and included the northeastern part of Wath Wood. Wath was formerly a township in the parish of Hovingham, in 1866 Wath became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1986 the parish was abolished and merged with Hovingham. In 1971 the parish had a population of 6. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of Ryedale district, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council. The farm on the northern side of the road is now used as business premises by a fabric store. The abandoned Wath Old Quarry is an important site for the study of the stratigraphy and the fauna of the Upper Jurassic of the Cleveland Basin.

The name Wath derives from the Old Norse vað meaning 'ford'.

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Fryton

Fryton is a small village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England with a population of around 50. This population remained less than 100 at the 2011 Census. Details are included Slingsby (see below). It is located in its own Civil parish 0.5 miles (0.8 km) west of Slingsby and 3.7 miles (6 km) north of the prominent estate of Castle Howard. Because of its small size it is often associated with Slingsby for purposes such as the official Census and is part of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Slingsby All Saints. The name Fryton is the same derivation as Fritton; from Old English meaning enclosure or enclosed space. The village is in a rural location and the parish is predominantly agricultural with potatoes forming an important crop. In 2005 Cherrygarth Farm started to diversify from potatoes and converted dis-used farm buildings into luxury holiday accommodation. These went on to win the Yorkshire Tourist Board's award for Best Newcomer to Tourism in 2006. Despite its small size Fryton features in the history of Yorkshire railways. The Thirsk and Malton Line passed through Fryton until it closed to passenger traffic in 1931. It was recorded that on 31 July 1961, a crossing keeper was killed at Fryton crossing.

Hovingham Primary School

Hovingham Primary School is a former school in Hovingham, a village in North Yorkshire, in England. The school and attached teacher's house were built in 1864. An extension was added in 1880, to provide a primary schoolroom. The building was grade II listed in 1987. By 2022, the school had no pupils and in 2023 it was closed down, against local objections. At the time, it was proposed that it would be converted to a community use. The school and house are built of stone with Welsh slate roofs. The school has a single storey, an open schoolroom to the east, and an extension to the north. In the centre of the main block is a three-light transomed window flanked by paired trefoil-headed windows. On the right return is an oriel window. The entrance on the left has a hood mould, over which is an inscribed plaque, and to its left is a window with a dated lintel and a half-dormer above. The house has two storeys, three bays, and an outshut on the left. It contains a bay window and trefoil-headed windows. Both buildings are surrounded by railings.

Hovingham

Hovingham is a large village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the edge of the Howardian Hills and about 7 miles (11 km) south of Kirkbymoorside.

Hovingham railway station

Hovingham Spa railway station was located just north of the village of Hovingham in North Yorkshire, England and opened on 19 May 1853. Regular passenger service ceased on 1 January 1931 but freight traffic and occasional special passenger trains continued until complete closure on 10 August 1964. It was part of the Thirsk and Malton (T&M) rail route, which paralleled today's B1257 road from Hovingham to Malton. The station had a single platform on the up side of the line, which was originally very low, but which was in 1865 partially raised to the NER standard height of 2 feet 6 inches (760 mm). The station offices were incorporated in the stationmaster's house, a two-storey brick building. The goods yard, mainly on the up side of the line, had up to six sidings which served the coal drops, two warehouses, a cattle dock, and another loading dock, and handled timber traffic. In the 1950s goods traffic increased due to limestone from nearby Wath quarry being in demand from the steel industry. The goods yard was extended in 1948 with a new loading dock. The limestone traffic practically ceased by 1960 when the stone was not needed any more for lining the steel furnaces.