Taking a closer look at Sheriff Hutton (From Gazette & Herald)

Taking a closer look at Sheriff Hutton

3:39pm Thursday 27th August 2009 in Village profiles By Natalya Wilson

IN many ways, Sheriff Hutton is a typical quintessential North Yorkshire village, with its pretty, mismatching stone cottages, set back off the immaculately clean main street; a selection of village shops; two well-served pubs, and a friendly community spirit.

But take a closer look and it has some not-very-hidden gems which are unique to Sheriff Hutton and have contributed to its charm over many centuries.

Dominated by the ruins of what must once have been an imposing medieval castle, Sheriff Hutton has been of historical importance for many centuries.

The ruinous castle is one of two which existed in the village, the first was a 10th century motte and bailey – built by Bertram de Bulmer, who was Sheriff of York during the reign of King Stephen – the evidence of which can still be seen next to another of the village’s landmarks, the pretty 12th century St Helen and the Holy Cross church.

Entered along a path, which winds through a small, peaceful churchyard, the Grade I church – described by English Heritage as ‘an outstanding example of an English parish church’ – is then accessed by a wonderful, ancient, heavy oak door. Once inside, there are some marvellous features and artefacts, including box pews, tapestries, an old hand-drawn hearse, stained glass windows – with fragments of medieval glass, including the Sun in Splendour, the symbol of the Plantagenet kings – and, most notable of all, an alabaster tomb believed to be that of Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Richard III, who died in 1411, aged 11 – the only Prince of Wales buried in a parish church.

These days, the church serves as a significant centre for the community, with tables laid out for coffee mornings and post-service cuppas.

But back to the castle, which is perhaps the village’s most famous landmark.

Built by John Neville in the late 14th century, and passed down through the family until the death of Richard Neville at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, the castle and its lands were given to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who later became King Richard III.

In 1484, Richard established the Council of the North, with Sheriff Hutton castle as one of its main bases, which remained so for the next century and a half.

The castle was eventually taken by Henry VII, and belonged to no less than eight monarchs, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. However, it fell into ruin and was acquired by the Ingram family in 1622, and remained in the family until the early 20th century.

It has since served as a working farm, and now has, on its lands, residential property, all of which is currently for sale – its buyer could be the next in the line of very illustrious owners, all for £1.5 million.

These days, the village has a sleepier feel than it must have done in centuries past.

You can sense its strong community vibe, even by just wandering round and observing the large amount of notices about upcoming events and the like on noticeboards scattered around the village.

These aspects of village life in Sheriff Hutton are reiterated by resident Sue Perkins, who moved to the village in 2003.

“I love it to bits,” she told me. “The people are very friendly – my neighbours were so welcoming when I moved here and there’s a huge community spirit. Everyone says hello, which was a bit of a shock to me coming from the Borders.”

She added: “I love it that there’s the church across the road, the medieval castle, the motte and bailey, and the sense of history about the village. I also like the fact that I can go for walks straight out into the country, but that’s it’s also not far from York, and that our village shop and post office is very good. There’s something happening here every night, whether that’s the gardening club, bowling, tennis, whatever. This is the only house I looked at when I came to Yorkshire – it was just what I was looking for, and I wouldn’t ever want to leave it.”

The main ‘commercial’ area in Sheriff Hutton (not including its industrial park, which is situated outside the village itself) is based near the crossroads, with the village shop, a florist, a wine shop, a garage and The Highwayman Inn – The Castle, the village’s other pub, is situated near the castle further down the village.

Tessa and Stuart Vass, of York Wines, which imports and sells new and vintage wines from all over the world, moved to Sheriff Hutton 22 years ago when they were looking for a village property from which to run their business, and haven’t looked back since.

“We’re very happy here,” said Tessa. “Our children grew up here and went to the village school, and it’s a very welcoming, supportive community.

“It’s a nice-sized village and we know lots of people here – the village supports our business and we try to support activities in the community. We have made a lot of friends through having the shop – it’s the kind of place where people stop by for a chat.

“It’s also great that we still have a village shop and post office which provides an excellent service and is a hub of the community.”

Gavin Greenbank, landlord of The Highwayman Inn, moved to the village last November to take over the pub.

“We love the pub, and have been coming in for the past five years,” he said. “We have a lot of locals and there’s always something going on – there are lots of charity events in the village, and The Jumblies raise a lot of money.

“Everyone helps everyone else out – we try to use as many local businesses as possible and everyone works together to support each others’ businesses. I’m definitely glad we made the move.”

Locals Ian Wyrill and his brother, John, who were having a pint in the pub, are from the village and Ian has lived there all his life.

“There’s something about this place,” said Ian. “Lots of people who live here have lived here all their lives. Our family has been here since the early 1900s – our granddad worked with prisoners of war on the castle farm during the Second World War.

“I’ve seen plenty of changes over the years – lots of people have moved into the village from the city and it is much more middle class than when I was a child.

“It’s a welcoming place and everyone fits in and pulls together – that’s the kind of village it is.”