{{Short description|Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England}} {{for|the small town in the midwestern United States|South Milford, Indiana}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Use British English|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox UK place | country = England | static_image_name = South Milford Village - geograph.org.uk - 104990.jpg | static_image_caption = Village street | coordinates = {{coord|53|46|38|N|1|15|00|W|display=inline,title}} | official_name = South Milford | population = 2,368 | population_ref = (2011 census)<ref name="NOMIS">{{NOMIS2011|id=E04007768|title=South Milford Parish|access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref> | unitary_england = North Yorkshire | lieutenancy_england = North Yorkshire | region = Yorkshire and the Humber | constituency_westminster = Selby | post_town = LEEDS | postcode_district = LS25 | postcode_area = LS | dial_code = 01977 | os_grid_reference = SE 495 315 | type = Village | civil_parish = South Milford }}
'''South Milford''' is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. The civil parish includes the hamlet of '''Lumby''', located south-west of the main village.
The village was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of South Milford, in Selby and West Riding {{!}} Map and description|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/13716|access-date=25 November 2020|website=www.visionofbritain.org.uk}}</ref>
Traditionally an agricultural village, the population has recently boomed due to housing development. South Milford is now generally considered a commuter village for nearby towns and cities because of the local motorway network, including the A1(M), M1 and M62. Still, South Milford maintains links with the local farming community.
== History == Milford is first recorded in 963 as ''on niy senford'', which means ''Mylenforda'', or mill on the ford. The name derives from Anglo-Saxon, and though it predates the Domesday Book, it is not explicitly mentioned, though North Milford near Kirkby Wharfe is.<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=326 |edition=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=South Milford :: Survey of English Place-Names |url=http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/West+Riding+of+Yorkshire/Sherburn+in+Elmet/5328827cb47fc40c8100624a-South+Milford |website=epns.nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Joseph Horsfall |title=Yorkshire place names, as recorded in the Yorkshire Domesday book, 1086 |date=1901 |publisher=Harrison & Sons |location=Bingley |page=107|oclc=1158569249}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rahtz |first1=Philip |last2=Bullough |first2=Donald |title=The parts of an Anglo-Saxon mill |journal=Anglo-Saxon England |date=1977 |volume=6 |page=23 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/S0263675100000922 |issn=0263-6751}}</ref>
The mill was located in the north of the parish on Mill Dike, the body of water which separates South Milford from Sherburn.{{sfn|Bogg|1904|p=209}} The watercourse runs from Micklefield to Sherburn and eventually falls into the Ouse at Cawood.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mill Dike from Source to Bishop Dike {{!}} Catchment Data Explorer {{!}} Catchment Data Explorer |url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/WaterBody/GB104027063640 |website=environment.data.gov.uk |access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref>
thumb|left|South Milford railway station South Milford is served by South Milford railway station, part of the Leeds and Selby Railway - a line that runs west/east across the north of the village. It has been in operation since 1834 and provides a service between {{rws|Leeds}}, {{rws|Selby}} and {{rws|Hull}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Body |first1=Geoffrey |title=Railways of the Eastern Region |date=1985 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |location=Wellingborough |isbn=0850597129 |page=106}}</ref> South Milford lies at the convergence of several lines, and was an important staging post in coal traffic between the pits and the power stations in the Aire Valley.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chapman |first1=Stephen |title=Selby & Goole |date=2002 |publisher=Bellcode Books |location=Todmorden |isbn=1-871233-14-3|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Monk-Steel |first1=David |title=Merry-go-round : on the rails |date=2011 |publisher=Historical Model Railway Society |location=Ripley |isbn=978-0-902835-30-6 |page=74}}</ref> Another station, Milford Junction, was located on lines running north/south, but this closed in 1904, being replaced by {{rws|Monk Fryston}}, which closed in 1959.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoole |first1=K. |title=Railway stations of the North East |date=1985 |publisher=David and Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-8527-5 |page=177}}</ref>
===Steeton Hall=== {{main|Steeton Hall}} thumb|left|A view of Steeton Hall Gateway Steeton Hall Gateway is a listed ancient monument and is protected by English Heritage. It is situated about {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} west of South Milford. The gateway originally served a large hall, which was demolished and replaced by a house, which has since been converted into several dwellings. The gateway dates from the 15th century, and is one of four such structures which marked the corners of the estate. It has two arched passages, the large one in the centre to allow horsemen and carriages through and the smaller one to the left for footmen.
There are a spiral staircase which leads into a large room above the arch and a number of shields and coats of arms surrounding the structure.
Steeton Hall Gateway has been described as a "fair and stately structure in the brave days of old".{{sfn|Bogg|1904|p=207}}
== Governance == South Milford was historically in the wapentake of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Genuki: In 1822, the following places were in the Parish of Sherburn In Elmet:, Yorkshire (West Riding) |url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/SherburnInElmet/more |website=genuki.org.uk |access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref> The village was in the parish of Sherburn which lies to the north, but in 1859 was made its own ecclesiastical parish with lands from Sherburn-in-Elmet and Monk Fryston.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of West Riding of Yorkshire, 1881. [Part 2: Places L-Y] |date=1881 |publisher=Kelly's |location=London |page=863|oclc=1131686669}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=W. H. |title=Yorkshire Surveys and Other Eleventh-Century Documents in the York Gospels |journal=The English Historical Review |date=January 1912 |volume=27 |issue=105 |page=16 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |issn=0013-8266}}</ref> In 1974 the area was moving from the West Riding into North Yorkshire. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the Selby District, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Joe |title=Final farewell as Selby councillors hold last ever meeting |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23407290.selby-district-councillors-say-farewell-last-ever-meeting/ |access-date=26 June 2023 |work=York Press |date=23 March 2023}}</ref> The area is represented at Parliament as part of the Selby UK Parliament constituency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/?x=450135&y=431055&z=7&bnd1=CPC&bnd2=WMC&labels=on |website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |quote=On the left of the screen is the "Boundary" tab; click this and activate either civil parishes or Westminster Constituencies (or both), however, only two functions can be active at any one time. |access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref>
The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 2,368, and in 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated that it had increased to 2,700.<ref name="NOMIS"/><ref name="NYCC">{{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= 26 June 2023|page=18 |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>
== Notable people == *Joseph Hirst, architect, born in the village.<ref>{{cite ODNB|first=Neave|last=David|title=Hirst, Joseph Henry|id=109625|date=23 September 2004}}</ref>
==See also== *Listed buildings in South Milford
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Sources === *{{cite book |last1=Bogg |first1=Edmund |title=The old kingdom of Elmet, the land twixt Aire and Wharfe |date=1904 |publisher=Sampson |location=York|oclc=1049966966}}
==External links== {{Commons category|South Milford}} *[http://www.southmilford.org South Milford Parish Council website] *[http://www.southmilford.org.uk South Milford Cricket Club] *[http://www.smwi.co.uk South Milford Women's Institute] *[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/steeton-hall-gateway/ Page at English Heritage]
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Category:South Milford Category:Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Category:Villages in North Yorkshire