Easingwold
North Yorkshire Market Town

The town of Easingwold lies in the northern part of the vale of York, sheltered on the western side by the Howardian hills, and covers an area of 6,997 acres. It is thirteen miles NNW of York and ten miles SE of Thirsk.

The origins of this market town are now lost in the mists of time but there is a possible Danish legacy contained within the name 'Uppleby' given to the road at the NW of Easingwold. The lower part of the town, Long (Low) Street, is thought to have been settled by the Angles. It is not uncommon to find twin communities which have grown up side by side, like Helperby and Brafferton or Thirsk and Sowerby.

The name Easingwold may derive from the word 'Ease' meaning 'rich irriguous land' prone to overflowing, and 'wold' or 'weald' meaning 'wood' or 'forest'. Another suggestion is that the name could refer to a Saxon clan or family, the 'Esingas' or people of 'Esa'.

The population in 1743 was probably about 1,000. It has increased steadily over the years due to the growing prosperity which was probably related to the increasing coach and carriage trade because Easingwold was on the main route northwards from York. The days of great prosperity faded as railway competition caused the rapid decline of the coach trade. By 1840 there were only three coaches still running through the town.

The railway was a short section of line, the shortest standard guage railway line in the country, connecting Easingwold to the local village of Alne on the main North - South line. Passenger trains ceased in 1948 and, just under ten years later, the line closed. The old station was eventually converted into what is now the Station Hotel where some very fine beer is brewed.

For a town with such a reasonably small population there was a very large public house trade possibly reflecting its role as a business and market centre for the surrounding rural area. In the 1820s there were about 12 public houses and by the mid 1930s this had risen to about 19.

By the 1830s Easingwold had 5 churches. The Parish church was long established, the building dating back to the 13th century. A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in 1816 replaced one built in 1786. The Independants built their new chapel in 1820. The Primitive Methodists built a new chapel in 1840 and the Roman Catholic Church was constructed in the 1830s.

Today's visitor is welcomed to 'Easingwold - A Georgian Market Town', a claim largely based on the buildings which surround its two-acre market place. Architecturally, little has survived of the timber-framed houses which formerly graced Easingwold's streets, although a photographic record remains of some of them. One timber-framed house can still be seen at the corner of Uppleby, displaying close studding and diagonal braces at first floor level. Of the other houses that remain, some pre-date the Georgian period (1714-1830) although individual houses were built or rebuilt during this time. Others had their beginnings in the Victorian period along with the Town Hall which was built in 1864.