Old Malton

10:05am Thursday 31st August 2006

IT'S a cardinal sin to miss the Old' out of Old Malton.

Despite its proximity, it is quite distinct from its neighbour and namesake, and is a proud village with a lot to be proud of.

Old Malton village is traditionally thought to be the original settlement of Malton, before its destruction by Archbishop Thurstan of York in 1138 to drive out the Scots.

Its inhabitants take a keen interest in their heritage, which even includes a special name for someone who was born there - Peaker. Legend has it that local children would climb into trees to "peak" out and keep an eye on local happenings.

Not a Peaker, but a very long-term resident, farmer Stan Cockerill moved to Old Malton aged eight in 1939. He still farms at the end of Town Street, and admits it is a rare thing to have a working farm remaining in a village.

"When you don't have a farm in a village, you need traffic calming measures," said Stan. "Farmers keep the traffic calm, and we don't charge for it."

In fact, the advent of traffic is one of the major changes Stan has seen in his lifetime.

"When I was young you could walk from here to Howe Bridge and be lucky if a car passed you," he said. "I used to cycle home from school in the centre of Malton and never see a motor car."

But the levels increased to such a great extent that eventually the Malton bypass was built in 1979, having a major impact on the farm and Stan's working life. It has separated the farmhouse from a great deal of farmland.

"We used to be able to walk out of the back door and down to the fields," he recalls. Now the tractor is taken over the roundabout, and back in a full circle over a road bridge home.

Stan's wife, Doreen, 70, moved to the village from Southolme when they married.

"It's not like it used to be," she said. "You used to know everybody, and now there's a lot of newcomers and you don't get to know people, they come and go. But there are still a lot of events which are well-supported - the community spirit is still there."

The couple remember dances being held in the village's halls - the War Memorial Hall and St Mary's Community Centre, as well as concert parties and wartime entertainment for soldiers.

During the war, Stan remembers Eden Camp being built. Now a museum, the building was originally used to hold Italian prisoners of war. "They used to walk down to the brewery every Sunday to have a bath," he recalls.

Stan's father, Jack, was a farmer before him, and now his son, Stephen has followed him and his grandson, Thomas, 15, likes to help out on the farm.

"He takes a keen interest but I don't think realistically he will go into farming," said Stan. "Farming's changed a lot."

He remembers a time when the village boasted a butcher, a post office, sweet shop, a grocery store and a cobbler's.

"Wood's grocery shop was the most marvellous shop you could imagine," he said. "It was run by Miss Wood and Miss Beal, and I can't think of a thing you couldn't get in there - from buttons and cotton to paraffin and feed for the animals, and they used to make deliveries around the countryside in a horse and cart."

Sadly, all those facilities have now disappeared, but, while many villages fear the loss of their pubs, Old Malton boasts two.

Owned by the same person, the Wentworth Arms and the Royal Oak are both busy and vibrant, sharing between them darts, pool and domino teams, not to mention numerous charity nights.

"We get quite a lot of customers coming to eat here and then going on for a drink at the Royal Oak," said Nicola Mills, who manages the pubs with her husband Phil. "There is a really lively local social scene, especially at weekends.

"We have people from the village and also some people from Malton who have decided to adopt it as their local," she said.

A highlight in the calendar is the Ryedale Run - a sponsored race which sets off from outside the Wentworth Arms. "It's a great atmosphere, all the villagers come out to watch and cheer them on," said Nicola. "We're not open but we do coffees and people use the toilet. A lot!"

Both pubs have a selection of real ale on offer, and they try to keep a variety between them so that punters can have an authentic pub crawl.

Part-time barmaid Rachel Dales, 18, is about to leave to study at the University of London. "The pub is the centre of village life," she said. "I have been coming here for Sunday lunches since I was little, and I've been working here since I was 16.

"It's a brilliant village, even though it's out in the country, it's near to Malton so you have that town influence. The social life is great and I will always come back here on holidays, I don't want to forget my home."

Also pleased to call Old Malton its home is the charity Ryedale Special Families, which provides support for the families of children with special needs. Originally based in an office at Welburn Hall School, it needed to expand after receiving Lottery funding, and wanted to set up a drop-in centre.

"We looked about for ages and then this came up and it just felt right," said resource manager Lisa Keenan. "It was a residential house before we moved here and it's residential either side, and in a way that's what we were looking for," she said.

"We didn't want an office. The organisation is very much led by the parents and they wanted a more homely atmosphere, so we have a parents' room downstairs. It had a nice feel to it and we've settled in really well."

The location and facilities the village provide are perfect for the organisation.

"The two village halls are within walking distance, and we use them for activities and training days, and Eden Camp is just over the road, so it is very easy to take the children. And in terms of road links for getting around Ryedale it couldn't be better," said chief officer David Brewster. "We're just off the A64 at the Malton bypass - so going out to see a family in Sherburn, or to a meeting in York it's very handy.

"At the same time, we provide a lot of respite care for children, and where we are we can take a wheelchair out and over the bridge and be surrounded by fields and countryside."

The charity is currently developing a sensory garden at its headquarters, which will be used by groups of children with a variety of special needs.

There are four people working at the centre, which shares its premises with North Yorkshire Music Therapy, where another two workers are based, and volunteers are also constantly coming and going.

Although many things have come and gone in Old Malton, one constant central focus of the village is its beautiful church. Before St Mary's Priory was built, Old Malton was the site of a Gilbertine priory and the town grew up around it, before it was destroyed by fire. St Mary was built using material from the old priory. The priory was dissolved in 1539, and for some years the monastic buildings were used as a convenient quarry, before a restoration project began in 1877.

Now very much a living church, the congregation this year celebrated popular clergyman Canon John Manchester's 30th year at the priory.

He summed up most residents' sentiments as he described his feelings about Old Malton: "This is a beautiful village and a wonderful community. I've seen three generations grow up here, and I feel really proud and privileged to have been a vicar and friend to so many people here."

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