Romanby is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Romanby is situated south-west of and contiguous with Northallerton, and at the 2001 UK census had a population of 6,051, increasing to 6,177 at the 2011 Census.[1]
The name Romanby suggests that the village dates from Roman times, but derives from the Viking name Hromund.[2] The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to King William.[3]
Romanby chapel, which dated from the 13th century, was demolished in 1523 on the orders of the Bishop of Durham, Thomas Wolsey.[4] Its destruction was ordered because the vicar of Northallerton at the time, had questioned the bishop's authority.[5]St James' Church was built in 1882. It is a grade II listed structure.[6] Romanby Methodist Church dates from 1962.[7]
In March 2025, over 3,700 trees were planted on a 9.5 acres (3.8ha) site between the village and Willow Beck. The community woodland will be known as Thompson's Wood (the landowners) and is part of the White Rose Forest initiative.[8][9]
Geography
Before the railway was built, Romanby was separated from Northallerton by a 0.5-mile (0.8km) strip of pasture land, but since the railway opened, the spread of each settlement means that the two are contiguous.[10] The Wensleydale Railway passes over a bridge on the outskirts of Romanby village on its way to Redmire from Northallerton West railway station. A grade II listed packhorse bridge straddles the Willow Beck.[11][12] Water from the beck powered a water-mill in the village, which was last listed in 1663.[13] The beck flows southwards and enters the River Wiske before the A684 road. The River Wiske formed the western boundary of the old Allertonshire Wapentake.[14]
Governance
North Yorkshire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall in Romanby, on the site of a former a racecourse. It was designed by the York architect Walter Brierley for North Riding County Council. The main building constructed in 1904–14 is of two storeys of ashlar and red brick on a square courtyard plan, it has a 15-bay frontage and 23-bay returns. It is a grade II* listed building.[15]
Romanby electoral ward does not cover all the parish and had a total population at the 2011 Census of 3,946.[16]
Amenities
The village has several shops, a post office, a dentist, a hairdressers and a public house, the Golden Lion.[17]
Romanby is served by Romanby Primary School. The local secondary school and sixth form is Northallerton School.
Romanby Golf Course on the village outskirts has an 18-hole course, floodlit driving range and a clubhouse. Northallerton Town Football Club is located in Romanby.
↑ Bogg, Edmund (1908). Richmondshire: an account of its history and antiquities, characters and customs, legendary lore, and natural history. London: Elliot Stock. p.25. OCLC1385443354.
↑ Minting, Stuart (26 March 2025). "Community woodland to leave lasting legacy". The Yorkshire Post. p.12. ISSN0963-1496.
↑ Bogg, Edmund (1908). Richmondshire: an account of its history and antiquities, characters and customs, legendary lore, and natural history. London: Elliot Stock. p.24. OCLC1385443354.
Page, William, ed. (1968). The Victoria History of the Counties of England; Yorkshire, the North Riding Volume 1. London: University of London. OCLC878120.
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