NORTH DUFFIELD -
This article will attempt to piece together the bits of the jigsaw. All or a combination of some of the factors mentioned may help to explain why it was that North Duffield was founded. This is an abbreviated version of the entry in the new book so, if you would like to know more PLEASE purchase the book when it becomes available.
North Duffield is and, in all likelihood, always was an agricultural village. Situated in the South of the Vale of York, an area of fertile soils and mild climate, it is only to be expected that it attracted farmers to work the land.
Perhaps of even more significance is the fact that the village stands on the very edge of the Lower Derwent Valley. With its seasonally inundated flood-
A ferry is documented to exist between Bubwith and North Duffield since at least 13th Century with stock pens to hold livestock awaiting transport across the river from one side to the other. The ferry needed suitable access on both banks so that it could be used all year round.
The English Place Names Society has indicated that North Duffield is a name of Anglian
origin and probably dates to around 900AD. They state that the name may refer to 'open land frequented by doves'. Another view suggests that the 'du' in Duffield is a derivative from
the same root as Durham and Dubrovnic, and the 'Der' in Derwent. This comes from an ancient word for Oak -
In 1066, as everyone knows, William the Conqueror, known affectionately as William the Bastard, landed at Hastings and defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. In 1086, he set about cataloguing all his possession in the Island of Great Britain so that he knew who owned what and who should be paying him taxes. This survey is now well known as the Domesday Book, so called by the inhabitants of this island as they considered it to be like the Day of Judgement.
Significantly for North Duffield, the village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Nort Duffelt'. This is the earliest record so far discovered, of the existence of the village and finally puts the village 'on the map'. So from this we can gather that, before the conquest, William Malet was the overlord, or owner, of land which included North Duffield, presumably through family connected to his English (Saxon) mother.
From this extract, we learn that a castle existed here and clearly must predate the Norman invasion. It is described as being 'destroyed'. Experts have stated that castles of this time were wooden structures set on mottes or mounds. It may be that the castle was destroyed during the 'Harrying of the North' when the Normans punished the North for its rebellion against them by destroying strongholds etc shortly before the Domesday Survey.
The site of the 'castle' is strongly believed to have been situated on the very edge of the floodplain at what is now Hall Farm. What we do know is that a moated manor house was built on the site at some later date and that the building stood on a spur of land jutting out into the floodplain and protected on the inland side by a moat.
Close by and slightly to the north of the fortified manor house is the site of a Chapel of the Knights Hospitallers, dedicated to St. James and mentioned in documents between 1190 and 1280. These Knights of Jerusalem were associated with the Crusades in the Holy Land.
Detail of John Flintofts map 1760(see later)
The Society is lucky to have a copy of the Sale Document of 1839 when the then Lord of the Manor sold off his estate and, whilst he did not own every building in the village, he did own a large proportion. The description of each property is such that our ever-
Finally, although the village green has been part of village life for hundreds of years, the pond, or The Pit as it is referred to on some maps, does not seem to have been so long-
This map predates the first Ordinance Survey maps by almost 90 years so the cartographer, John Flintoft, must have been well-
1852 First Edition Ordinance Survey map