Coordinates: 53°49′54″N 1°03′34″W / 53.831726°N 1.059307°W
| Riccall | |
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  Riccall
Riccall shown within North Yorkshire |
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| OS grid reference | |
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| District | Selby |
| Shire county | North Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | YORK |
| Postcode district | YO19 |
| Police | North Yorkshire |
| Fire | North Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| European Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire | |
Riccall is a village and civil parish situated in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, 3.5 miles north of Selby and 9 miles to the south of York. According to the 2001 census the parish had a total population of 2,317.
The village has a primary school, post office, Costcutter store, hairdresser, butcher, a tavern and inn, Italian and Indian restaurants and the Regen Centre, an award-winning conference, events and community facility. Villagers are kept up to date with local news via bimonthly editions of Riccall News.
Riccall is the starting point of the 10k cycle the Solar System route which follows the York - Selby cycle track finishing in Dringhouses, York. The cycle track used to form the old route of the East Coast Main Line via Selby, and Riccall station served the village until 1964.
History
The settlement of Riccall lies in an area known as the Humberhead Levels. This is an area which at the end of the last ice age circa 10,000 years ago lied underneath the very large lake Humber. This gives the area its characteristic light sandy soils.
Homo sapiens first arrived in Great Britain around 12,000 years ago as the earth was warming before the beginning of the Holocene era. When they first arrived in the area is open to conjecture however there is evidence that the Humberhead Levels have been settled for several thousand years with the drier northern area where Riccall is situated most definitely settled before the Roman era.
The village was most definitely the site of an Anglo-Saxon settlement with evidence of a church from this time on the site of the current St Mary’s. The early settlers most likely chose the site due to the geographical factors of the area forming a slightly raised plateau above an area prone to flooding and of course, it being near a large river (the Ouse).
Riccall was the site of the base camp of Harald Hardråda in 1066. He landed on the banks of the Ouse after sailing up the Humber estuary and set up camp at Riccall before the victory in the Battle of Fulford. However this was to be his last taste of victory, as his army was defeated shortly afterwards by the forces of King Harold Godwinson of England at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, in which Hardråda himself perished. However, this battle distracted Harold from the defense of the south coast which led to a successful Norman invasion. The event was remembered by the naming of one of Riccall's streets after Olaf (the streets now just a footpath) who was in charge of looking after the camp in Haralds absence and of the naming of the ancient burial mounds in the area Danes hills. There is now a small information panel, approximately where they moored giving a brief description of the event at the bottom of landing lane.
About 40 years after the Norman invasion the current St Mary’s was built using stone quarried from the magnesian limestone ridge which lies approximately 8 miles to the west. The church is admired for its beautifully carved Romanesque arched doorway (the old south door) and its 12th century three stage tower which has Norman double window openings.
Economy
The village was home to UK Coal's Riccall Mine which was part of the Selby Coalfield. The colliery which was situated within the former boundaries of Riccall Common, closed in 2004 and is now a business park.
External links
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