Settrington: from spies to sat-navs (From Gazette & Herald)

Settrington: from spies to sat-navs

12:39pm Thursday 24th January 2008

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SETTRINGTON may be a peaceful, gentle-paced village now, but it has a dramatic and bloody history.

The settlement, near Malton, which was occupied by the Romans, was the site of a massacre during the Anglo-Saxon period when a feud lasting five generations between the families Waltheol and Ceorl culminated in the sons of Ceorl being attacked at a banquet.

Later, the village played its part in Elizabethan courtly intrigue when Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, a niece of Henry VIII and as such a threat to Elizabeth I, came to live at Settrington House.

Queen Elizabeth, it is said, had her spies among the house staff, and was alarmed to hear the derogatory things Margaret said about her. She was summoned to London where she lived under house arrest, part prisoner, part queen's companion.

In the late 18th and early 19th century, Henrietta Masterman was the mistress of Settrington House, and set about rebuilding the village, which has a picturesque beck running through it as well as a village green. That design remains largely unchanged today.

"If Henrietta had come back and seen the village at the end of the Second World War, she would only have seen three major changes, " said Colin Wigglesworth, former headteacher of Settrington's primary school and a mine of information on the village. "In 1852 the school was built, in 1890 the Methodist chapel was built and in 1853 the Malton to Driffield rail line was opened, running through the village station."

That station closed in 1958 and is now a private house.

Fifty years on, the village still has a school, a church and chapel and in addition a village hall.

One woman who has seen more recent changes first hand is Anne Corner, who grew up there, her family going back generations in Settrington. "When I was a child everybody was in everybody else's houses, that's how it was then, " she said. "We used to go out on bikes all day - you can't do that now. We're so out of the way and we didn't used to get a lot of through traffic."

She acknowledges that the community is less close nowadays.

"People move in from away and you don't get to know people in the same way." She added: "The thing with Settrington is, like many villages, a lot of people who grew up here can't afford to buy houses and so people who can afford the houses move in."

As for the through-traffic, it's quite a sore point at the moment. The advent of satellite navigation, means motorists are being directed through Settrington's narrow streets from the A64 because it is the most direct route to Malton.

But the village still has many positives. "I've never known any different but it is a quiet, friendly and pretty place, " said Anne. Her children are the fourth generation of her family to attend Settrington's primary school, and the fifth generation of her husband's family.

Anne's maiden name is Harrison, and she is very much part of the family business, Harrison Hire, which is based near the village green and supplies industrial and agricultural cleaning equipment.

Anne's father, John, set up the business in 1966, hiring out agricultural machinery.

John still runs his farm in partnership with Anne's sister Ruth Russell, while Anne and her mother Susan run the office of Harrison Hire.

Anne's younger brother Tom works in sales for the company and her older brother Mark has set up another business which runs alongside Harrison Hire, Ryetec Industrial Equipment Ltd.

Anne is clerk to the parish council and says it is an active body.

"There's always something to do, whether it's street lighting or cleaning the beck out."

A key focal point to the village is All Saints' Church.

Headteacher of the school Catherine Hanch said: "We're very much a community school, and obviously being a church school we have close links. Our Christian ethos is very important to us. We also have a lot of support from parents, many of whom come and help in the school."

With 61 pupils, the school is not as small as it once was. "When I first taught here there were 26 pupils, " she said. The pupils come from Scagglethorpe, North Grimston, Wharram and Brambling Fields as well as Settrington, and some come from out of the catchment area too.

Recently inspected by Ofsted, the school was pleased with its report, and in particular with its church school inspection, which won it praise from the Bishop of Selby and the Archdeacon of York.

"The children do get very involved in the community, raising funds for St Catherine's Hospice, helping with the poppy appeal, fundraising for Children in Need and, this Christmas, taking part in the Shoe Box Appeal, " said Catherine.

Building work is currently underway to add a new toilet block and office to the 150-year-old school, and smaller additions are often given courtesy of the PTA, or Focus - Friend of the Children of Settrington School. "The PTA is very active, " said Catherine. "Last year a sponsored walk raised £1,550 for an interactive whiteboard, topped up with a bingo night."

She added: "We always encourage people to come into the school.

When the juniors were doing the Second World War some people from the village came in a talked about their experiences. And likewise, the children go out and use the village - pond dipping in the governors' ponds and in the beck."

Up at Settrington House, Sir Richard Storey and his family are in residence, and live a far more peaceful life than their predecessors!

One well-known resident of Settrington is race-horse trainer John Quinn, who has his yard there.

"It's a lovely village to live and work in, it's really nice and we're very near all the facilities we need as a yard, " he said. "The community is very co-operative with me, as I am with it, and it's just a lovely friendly place to be."

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