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Traces of flint tools and weapons have been found in the area, showing that it was populated as long ago as 6000 BC by Neolithic peoples. Allerston stands on the southern edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, at the foot of limestone hills where fossils are to be found from the Jurassic period, around 135 million years old. The parish, extending from the River Derwent in the South to Blakey Topping in the North (to be reached by footpath from Saltersgate carpark [a fine viewpoint]), is the largest in Ryedale, extending to 10,049 acres, a large portion of which is unenclosed moorland. The parish varies in height from 70 to 950 feet above sea level, the lower ground being rich agricultural land and the high ground only suitable for grazing sheep. Much of the parish is under trees planted and now managed by Forest Enterprise, originally planted by the Forestry Commission in 1921. At the time of the Norman Conquest, the manor of Allerston was held by GOSPATRIG, closely descended from the great GOSPATRIG, EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND who had been assassinated shortly before. The somewhat unusual names of this family, coupled with their tendency to make peace with the Normans, suggest they were not of Anglian stock, but of Norse origin. On Gospatric's death, his estates were divided among his sons. UGHTRED, his second son, received Allerston and Cayton. Uchtred appears to have been of a pious frame of mind, for in 1100 he gave his entire Cayton estate to Whitby Abbey on condition that he would be received into the monastery should he ever decide to leave this world - there is no record of his ever so doing. His son TORPHIN de ALVERSTON (died 1170) gave a carucate of land (a variable measure of land used as a unit of taxation) to Rievaulx Abbey. Torphin's son, ALAN (died 1189) had a daughter HELEN, whom HUGH de HASTINGS married and so established the Hastings line at Allerston. At one time the Hastings family held estates in 30 English counties and also in France. Their main estates have been, since the 1 5~ Century, in the Midlands, particularly Leicestershire. Allerston was part of the Duchy of Lancaster and would be held by the Hastings and other families by Knight Service. The Knights Templars had held land at Allerston since MAUD, granddaughter of Torphin, had in 1227 granted them six oxgangs and later in 1231 the mill also. In 1542 after the dissolution of the monasteries, the manor of Allerston was held by the King (Henry VIII) and in 1544 was granted to STEPHEN HOLFORD of Thornton-le-Dale and was absorbed into the Hastings manor, also acquired by Holford. In 1608 RALPH EGERTON was paying rent to the Crown for "Templars' land at Allerston . Allerston church had originally been a chapelry in the enormous parish of Pickering, but in 1252 the chapels of Allerston and Ebberston were made into a parish on their own. in a list of dilapidation's of church properties in 1411 John Vesey, chaplain of Allerston, complained that his parsonage house there "had become ruinous , and in 1594 a report that parishioners complained that they had "had no communion since Easter and curate to administer unto them . In 1602 Isabel Rea was indicted "for dressing and washing hemp on the Sabbath day . At the bottom of the Village Street at Allerston adjacent to the old railway station is a small walled enclosure containing a stone lined pit. This pit has been long used as a sheep wash but is known by older inhabitants as tempit', a version of t' hemp pit', suggesting that there was in Allerston a hemp processing industry. There are frequent references in North Yorkshire to Hemp Garths where hemp was grown. Hemp was of course required in quantity for fitting and rigging sailing ships. Apart from hemp production, Allerston also possessed linen weaving industry. A number of paddocks, lying to the West of the village street behind and below the Chapel, were known at one time as bleaching garths where linen was laid on the grass to bleach after steeping in alkaline lyes and sour milk. As late as 1823 there is mention of a "bleacher and fuller at Allerston. To return to 1332, the taxation lists do not include a Hastings living at Allerston. It would appear that Sir Ralph was living elsewhere, probably going first to his house at Sulby in Northamptonshire and then to Slingsby near Malton. This was at the time of periodic incursions by the Scots following Bannockburn. When the Scots sacked Scarborough in 1318, they would approach from Pickering through Allerston and it is unlikely that the Hastings would escape their attention, so they would probably cease to live at Allerston about this time. In 1329, Sir Ralph Hastings obtained grant of free warren in the privilege of keeping and hunting hare, rabbit, pheasant and partridge. Not content with this he was indicted with others for killing two hinds in the forest. He was pardoned by the Earl of Lancaster but had to find sureties for his future good behaviour. A few years later, in 1334, he was made Constable of Pickering for life and presumably had no more trouble with poaching! In 1376 Sir Ralph held a three weeks Court Baron at Allerston showing that the property was still regarded as a major manor. On maps of 1610 and 1646 the Allerston site is shown as OLLERSTON castle, hinting that there was building of some magnitude. Later at the time of the Civil War when Ralph Egerton held Allerston, a small watermill was built on the site partly overlapping the old hall. This was used for grinding charcoal and sulphur for the manufacture of gunpowder, this site was excavated in 1964-1966 by the Scarborough Archaeological Society. SIR WILLIAM 1st LORD HASTINGS 1430-1483. Grandson of Sir Ralph, was the most eminent member of the Allerston line of the Hastings family. He was made Master of the Mint' in the Tower of London in 1461 and Grand Chamberlain of the Household of Edward lV. He was made Steward of all the Duchy of Lancaster manors in the Midlands. In 1461 he was made Baron by Edward IV, choosing the title Baron Hastings of Ashby, also being appointed Steward of the Honour of Pickering in 1470 including Chief Steward in the North for the Duchy of Lancaster. After the death of Edward IV, William refused to ally himself to the future Richard III, he was charged with treason and was beheaded on the green at the Tower of London. The Hastings family ceased to be local landowners at Allerston on the death of FRANCIS 4th HASTINGS and 2nd EARL of HUNTINGDON in 1561. He had sold Allerston in 1549 to Stephen Holford, who was Steward and Receiver to Sir John Gresham of Thornton-le-Dale. On his death in 1580 the estate passed to his daughter Barbara and her husband Ralph Egerton. The Allerston estate continued under the ownership the Egerton family until it was conveyed to WILLIAM OSBALDESTON of York and his son and heir SIR RICHARD OSBALDESTON of Hunmanby, the property being described as "the capital messuage called the HALL . As the original Hastings house at Allerston had long since gone, the above mentioned Hall may refer to the present Manor Farm, a building which shows distinct signs of having been at one time much larger than at present. Allerston remained with the Osbaldeston' s until being conveyed to the Cayley family in the l9th Century. Excavations at the Allerston Manor site 1962-1964 show the existence of a small two or three-roomed hail dating from the l3~ Century when the Hastings family were active resident Lords of the Manor. After the Hastings moved to Slingsby in the early 14 Century, the building appears to have been only used occasionally. During the Civil War, the family left the district, the hall became derelict and was converted to an industrial site. Water was brought from a nearby spring (possibly the current village water supply) to operate a small waterwheel. The raw materials found on this site show that gunpowder was made here at that time. After the Civil War, the mill was dismantled and farm buildings were erected nearby. The present Manor House shows every sign of re-modelling in the 18th Century and it is obvious that there were several earlier re-buildings. The West gable was once an inside wall as in the centre of the present exterior the remains of a fireplace with a walled-up arch are either side are visible. At first floor level is a walled-up doorway. Clearly, the house extended to the West over what is now the yard, and was at least two storeys in height. The East gable shows various building periods. It is below the gable in the foundations where there are reputedly Roman bricks. In the East wall is part of an early splayed doorway largely destroyed in later remodelling. Certainly, the house must have been considerably larger at one time, representing the residence of the Lords of the Manor of Allerston when the earlier "Hastings hall became unused in Elizabethan times. To the South of the field near the Church, excavations showed the existence of a circular dovecote some 25feet in diameter with nest boxes built into the walls for some 300 nesting pairs to provide meat for the residents of the Manor. In 1809-1810, Squire Osbaldeston now the owner of the Allerston estate gave the Manor a Georgian look and then enclosed fields and commons. He built limekilns and unsuccessfully prospected for coal. He built the sawmill, which is now a house on the main A170, in 1847. THE CHURCH St. John's Church at the northern end of the village was constructed in the l4~ Century, the nave and aisle being built first with the tower added at a later date. The Church has zigzag pieces of ornament built into the walls possibly from a Roman building on the same site. A document of 1595 refers to the church chancel and glass being decayed and the slates needing pointing . The church was restored in 1882-1883 at a cost of £1000. The vicarage at Ebberston was constructed in 1867 at a cost of £1500. THE CHAPEL This was re-built in 1924. ROADS Records show that in 1650 "the inhabitants of Allerston were charged with not repairing Allerston Lane and the following year "the inhabitants of Allerston and Ebberston were remiss in not repairing the highway between Allerston beck and Ebberston . This presumably refers to the low road at the bottom of the village. Originally the main road from York to Scarborough in 1730 passed through Rillington, Yedingham and Snainton and was a toll road. In 1823 a "Boat Coach service ran between Pickering and Scarborough. THE RAILWAY In 1845 the York to Scarborough railway was opened. About the same time, carriers came into existence in most villages linking them with nearby centres of population. In 1882 the Seamer to Pickering railway line was opened, by 1930 due to rival forms of passenger transport, the line through four villages was closed and the whole line closed in 1950. Allerston station was originally named WILTON but was changed to EBBERSTON to avoid confusion with other places of similar name. THE SCHOOL The "Public Elementary School and schoolmaster's house was built by public subscription in 1874, but there had been a school of some sort erected in 1839. The school was closed in 1945 when the children were transferred to Thornton-le-Dale. END OF THE ESTATE About the year 1900, the owner of the Allerston estate was Sir George Cayley of Brompton, who sold it in the early 1 920s to the North Riding County Council for the formation of 12 smallholdings for the re-habilitation of First World War soldiers. These have gradually amalgamated on tenants' retirement and death until at the present time there are only five working units remaining. PUBLIC HOUSES The present public house "The Cayley Arms , named of course after Sir George Cayley, is now the only one in the village. In 1823 there was "The Heart and in 1840 "The Plough and the "Osbaldeston Arms . INDUSTRY At the turn of the 19th/20th Centuries there was a brick yard in the village, the clay being obtained from the hillside between Allerston and Wilton to the South of the Al70. Building stone for houses was quarried behind the pub as the road rises up to Warren House Farm. During this time there was a boot and shoemaker who worked at one of the Lockey Close cottages, and also a tailor. FAMOUS PEOPLE Capt. Oates, who died on the ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1911, lived at low Farm, now divided into two houses. ALLERSTON IN 1999 There are currently 106 houses within the village. This does not take into account outlying farms and cottages. In the last 33 years 48 residences, either new or conversions of existing buildings, have been built, almost doubling the size of the village in that time. In 1972 a sewerage scheme was built with a pumping station at the bottom of the village. Prior to this everyone relied on septic tanks. During the last three decades the village has lost a number of businesses, as stated before, farms have amalgamated and become larger. The petrol pumps closed, although we still have a car repair garage. The joiner's shop is now a domestic residence, the village shop has closed and the mill no longer produces animal feed. The agricultural engineers in the station yard closed on his death, and the agricultural contractor once there now operates from another site. We do now have in the village a hairdresser, a signwriter, a blacksmith (farrier), two joiners and a builder, and the station has been resurrected to its former glory with carriages on the track being used as self-catering holiday accommodation. SERVICES Allerston still owns its own water supply, from the spring on the North of the Al 70, being administered by the Parish Council. Supplies were sorely stretched in the drought years of the early 1990s when the spring became a trickle and a new larger holding tank had to be installed. DOCTORS Doctor's surgeries are at the nearby villages of Snainton and Thornton-le-Dale. POLICE Allerston is on the outer edge of the Filey Police area. If you have a problem, it's no good phoning Malton or Scarborough - they will only give you the Filey telephone number. TRADESMEN A Fishmonger, Butcher, Baker and Milkman supply the village, a mobile Library from the North Yorkshire Service also visits regularly. BUS SERVICE The 128 Helmsley to Scarborough bus operates along the main Al70, one early morning bus comes through the village. POST OFFICE Since the closure of the village shop, the Post Office is now run from a private house for three hours, four mornings a week, enabling residents to collect their pensions, buy stamps etc. and obtain other Post Office services. DAILY PAPERS These are delivered in the village if ordered from Waterways'. Sunday papers are delivered if ordered from Wardill Bros' in Thornton-le-Dale. There are currently 37 schoolchildren in the village attending Thornton Dale Junior School or Lady Lumley' s Comprehensive School in Pickering. Apart from agriculture, there are few people working or running businesses within the village, most having to seek employment outside of Allerston. This is becoming more of a problem throughout the smaller villages of Ryedale. It will be interesting to see how the village changes in the next thirty years compared to the last thirty, when Mr. Turner first produced a paper on Allerston in 1970. With current planning regulations it would seem unlikely that as much residential building would take place, and due to the advent of computers more people may work from home. We shall see! Ryedale.co.uk would like to know who compiled this wonderful paper, so if you know who did, please e-mail me so I can credit it the the correct person. mailto:david@ryedale.co.uk Well we now know who compiled the above document so thank's to MICHAEL PEARSON who mailed me to tell me he researched and compiled it as a project to sell and raise funds for village celebrations of the millennium. One copy was put in to the village time capsule which was buried on the village green near the church again as a millennium project. Thank's Michael for mailing me.