{{Short description|Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England}} {{distinguish|Raintown (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox UK place | official_name = Rainton | country = England | static_image = Rainton.jpg | static_image_width = 250px | static_image_caption = Rainton | region = Yorkshire and the Humber | unitary_england = North Yorkshire | lieutenancy_england = North Yorkshire | civil_parish = Rainton with Newby | population = 447 | population_ref = (2011 Census)<ref name="NOMIS">{{NOMIS2011|id=E04007407|title=Rainton with Newby Parish|accessdate=22 February 2021}}</ref> | post_town = THIRSK | postcode_district = YO7 | postcode_area = YO | coordinates = {{coord|54.17098|-1.43453|display=inline,title}} }} '''Rainton''' is a village in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated about {{convert|6|mi}} north of Boroughbridge, {{convert|5|mi|0}} north-east of Ripon and {{convert|5|mi|0}} south-west of Thirsk. The area has a village green and a maypole. There are approximately 120 houses in Rainton including six listed buildings, several period farm houses, a smithy and a dovecote. The local vernacular building style is sandstone and cobble construction with slate or pantile roof.
== History == The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as having 30 ploughlands and belonging to Count Alan of Brittany.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rainton {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SE3675/rainton/ |website=opendomesday.org |access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref> The name is thought to have derived from Old English (though it could be Old Norse) of the ''Tūn of Regna's/Rægen's {{Not a typo|peaople}}''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rainton :: Survey of English Place-Names |url=http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/North+Riding+of+Yorkshire/Topcliffe/53286b33b47fc40bc60005da-Rainton |website=epns.nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=22 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ekwall |first1=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |oclc=1228215388 |page=379|edition=4}}</ref>
Rainton was historically in the parish of Topcliffe in the North Riding of Yorkshire, part of the township of Rainton with Newby.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parishes: Topcliffe|work=Victoria County History. A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2|first=William |last=Page|date=1923|pages=70–80|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp70-80|accessdate= 26 March 2016}}</ref> The township became a separate civil parish in 1866,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10465242 |title=Vision of Britain website|accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref> and in 1974 was transferred to the new county of North Yorkshire. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the Borough of Harrogate, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.
Rainton was a largely agricultural village. However, since 2000, it has become a commuter village, largely due to its close proximity to the A1(M). This in turn has led to an increase in property prices which is evidenced by the large number of barn conversions and property renovations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Take a look around this million pound North Yorkshire property |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&t=&sort=_rank_%3AD&page=1&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=rainton%20north%20yorkshire&docref=news/17262A8551FE1FF8 |access-date=22 February 2021 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=24 March 2019}}</ref> Rainton continues to host Christmas parties for local children, lunches for retired people, and other social events including a gardening club.{{sfn|Andrews et al|2016|p=12}}
Rainton is the principal settlement in the civil parish of '''Rainton with Newby'''. Newby, historically known as '''Newby-on-Swale''', is a deserted medieval village,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dmv.hull.ac.uk/dmvDetail.cfm?dbkey=5063&county=true |title=Beresford's Lost Villages|accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref> now occupied by Baldersby Park (also known as Newby Park), the home of Queen Mary's School.<ref>{{cite news |title=Expelled and bankrupt: Amazing story of Yorkshire's Railway King |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/expelled-and-bankrupt-amazing-story-yorkshires-railway-king-1788919 |access-date=22 February 2021 |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=24 October 2016}}</ref>
At the 2001 Census, the population of the parish was 354,<ref>{{NOMIS2001|id=36UD106|title=Rainton with Newby Parish|accessdate=22 February 2021}}</ref> which had risen to 447 by the time of the 2011 Census.<ref name="NOMIS"/> In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated that the population had fallen slightly to 440.<ref>{{cite web |title=2015 Population Estimates Parishes |url=https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fileroot/About%20the%20council/North%20Yorkshire%20statistics/Parish_mid-year_population_estimates_2015.pdf |website=northyorks.gov.uk |access-date=22 February 2021 |page= 13|date=December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604015709/https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fileroot/About%20the%20council/North%20Yorkshire%20statistics/Parish_mid-year_population_estimates_2015.pdf|archive-date=4 June 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Facilities== The local school is based at Baldersby St James.
There are two freehold pubs in the village: ''The Lamb'' and ''The Bay Horse'' which are both traditional village pubs. In 2011, The Lamb diversified into being a village shop as well as a pub.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pub shop opens at Lamb Inn in Rainton near Ripon |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-15692088 |access-date=22 February 2021 |work=BBC News |date=11 November 2011}}</ref>
A recreation field, including a children's park, opened in 2000 after local fundraising. The children's park obtained further funds to provide new equipment for older children, which was completed in 2016.{{sfn|Andrews et al|2016|p=3}} The cricket club has two teams which have a new pavilion, built largely by the hands-on cricket team and villagers themselves.
There is a Methodist chapel in Rainton. The church at nearby Baldersby St James has a 'impressive' steeple.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baldersby St James Conservation Area Appraisal |url=https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/downloads/file/806/conservation-area-baldersby-st-james |website=harrogate.gov.uk |access-date=22 February 2021 |page=12 |format=PDF |date=16 November 2011}}</ref>
thumb|Little Chef Rainton SouthThe village had historically had a service station dating back to 1978. This was initially Station Supreme, however by 1983, the Station Supreme cafes on both sides, along with the southbound filling station, had closed and the cafe buildings were replaced with Happy Eaters. By 1995 the Happy Eater had been converted to a Little Chef.In the late 2000s, plans were announced to upgrade the A1 between Dishforth and Leeming Bar to a motorway. Consequently, this would result in the demise of Rainton Services. In early 2009, the southbound branch was compulsorily purchased and was demolished shortly prior to the first phase of the roadworks. The northbound Little Chef closed in December 2009, along with its accompanying facilities. that was closed in 2009. lthough the building on the southbound side was demolished, the former restaurant's car park and associated minimilk lampposts were surprisingly retained, serving as the only remaining evidence of there ever being a Little Chef at the site. The lamppost was later removed by 2018, while the former car park is now wasteland. In contemporary folklore the site is believed to be haunted, with multiple sightings of the previous Manger, Hazel, seen since the removal of the lamppost in 2018.
==See also== *Listed buildings in Rainton with Newby
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Sources=== *{{cite report|last1=Andrews |first1=Chris |last2=Pallot |first2=Kim |last3=Schofield |first3=Sally |last4=Cornmell |first4=David |last5=Schofield |first5=Nathan |last6=Pallot |first6=Mike |last7=Jones |first7=Oliver |last8=Harwood |first8=Mike |title=Rainton Parish Plan |date=2016|format=PDF|website=rainton.org.uk|url=http://www.rainton.org.uk/pdf/Rainton%20Parish%20Plan%202016.pdf|access-date=22 February 2021|ref={{harvid|Andrews et al|2016}} }}
==External links== {{Commons category|Rainton}} *[http://www.rainton.org.uk Parish council]
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Category:Villages in North Yorkshire