Great Ayton
| Great Ayton | |
| Yorkshire North Riding | |
|---|---|
 Footbridge over the Leven in Low Green | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ565115 |
| Location: | 54°29’17"N, 1°7’59"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,629 (2011) |
| Post town: | Middlesbrough |
| Postcode: | TS9 |
| Dialling code: | 01642 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | North Yorkshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Richmond (Yorks) |
| Website: | great-ayton.org.uk |
Great Ayton is a village in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Leven, a tributary of the River Tees, flows through the village: the village is found just north of the North York Moors.
The 2011 Census recorded a population of 4,629.
This village was the boyhood home of Captain James Cook, the great explorer and navigator, who was born in nearby Marton. Cook’s family moved to the village when he was eight years old and lived there until he was sixteen. The Cook family home stood on Bridge Street was built by James' father in 1755. The cottage was dismantled in 1934 to be shipped to Australia. Each stone was numbered so that the cottage could be reconstructed exactly in its new home in the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne.
Name
Great Ayton's name derives from Old English Ea-tun, meaning 'river farm'. The river flowing through Great Ayton is the Leven, a tributary of the River Tees. A later addition of the word 'great' differentiates the village from nearby Little Ayton.[1]
Churches
The parish church, Christ Church, was built in 1876. It is a Grade II listed building.[2] The church has an organ built by James Jepson Binns.[3]
In the summer months, the evening service takes place in All Saints' Church, the former parish church, which dates back to the 12th century.[3] James Cook's mother and siblings are buried in the churchyard of All Saints' Church:[4] the Captain was slain in the Sandwich Islands.
- Church of England:
- Christ Church
- All Saints
- Methodist
- Quaker meeting house
- Roman Catholic
History
This village was the boyhood home of Captain James Cook, the great explorer and navigator, who was born in nearby Marton. Cook’s family moved to the village when he was eight years old and lived there until he was sixteen.
The Cook family home stood on Bridge Street, built by James' father in 1755. The cottage was dismantled in 1934 to be shipped to Australia and reconstructed exactly as it stood in its new home in the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Great Ayton was a centre for the industries of weaving, tanning, brewing, and tile making. Subsequently, whinstone for road surfacing was also quarried from the Cleveland Dyke[5] along with ironstone, jet and alum from the Cleveland Hills.[6][7]
Great Ayton was home to the Great Ayton Friends' School, a Quaker school, from 1841 until it closed in 1997. The village serves as the base for Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team.[8]
About the village
Great Ayton is at the foot of the Cleveland Hills beneath Easby Moor and the distinctively-shaped Roseberry Topping. The River Leven flows through the village and links its two centres, High Green and Low Green. The Cleveland Dyke, a narrow band of hard whinstone rock that runs for about 31 miles between Robin Hood's Bay and Eaglescliffe lies to the north-east of the village.
Three miles to the north-west begins Middlesbrough's suburbs: the town centre of seven mlies from the village. Three miles south-west is Stokesley.
The village is served by Great Ayton railway station on the Esk Valley Line.
Landmarks
The village landmarks below all relate to James Cook.
- A granite obelisk now marks the original site of the Cook family cottage in Great Ayton. The obelisk is constructed from granite taken from Point Hicks, the first land sighted by Cook in Australia.
- The Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum is within a former charity school, founded in 1704 by landowner Michael Postgate. James Cook received his early education here from 1736 to 1740.
- James Cook statue, unveiled in 1997 on High Green: Cook is portrayed at the age of 16 looking towards Staithes where, according to tradition, he first felt the lure of the sea.
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Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Great Ayton) |
References
- ↑ Smith, A.H.: 'Place-Names of North Riding of Yorkshire , Part' (English Place-Names Society, 1928)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1150639: Christ Church (Grade II listing)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Christ Church, Great Ayton". A Church Near You. The Church of England. http://www.achurchnearyou.com/great-ayton-christ-church/.
- ↑ "All Saints (Old Church), Great Ayton". A Church Near You. The Church of England. http://www.achurchnearyou.com/great-ayton-all-saints-old-church/.
- ↑ O'Sullivan, Dan. "Whinstone Mining". Great Ayton - History of the Village. http://greatayton.wdfiles.com/local--files/whinstone/Whinstone-Mining.pdf.
- ↑ "Great Ayton". Esk Valley Railway. 2009. http://www.eskvalleyrailway.co.uk/stations/greatayton.html.
- ↑ "Great Ayton". Welcome to Yorkshire. http://www.yorkshire.com/places/herriot-country/great-ayton.
- ↑ Flanagan, Emily (17 August 2017). "Rescue volunteers to climb from dawn until dusk" (in en). The Northern Echo. https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15476967.cleveland-rescue-volunteers-pitting-roseberry-topping-great-ayton/.