Hackforth

Hackforth is a small village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, about north of Bedale. Nearby settlements include Langthorne and Crakehall.

History

Hackforth was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as being in the hundred of "Land of Count Alan" and the county of Yorkshire, the population was estimated at 6 households.
In 1870-72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial [Gazetteer of England and Wales] described Tunstall as:

"a township in Hornby parish, N. R. Yorkshire; 4¼ miles NNW of Bedale. Acres, 1, 264. Real property, £1, 957. Pop., 1 67. Houses, 28. The property belongs to the Duke of Leeds. Bishop Tunstall was a native."

As mentioned in the gazetteer, Hackforth was the birthplace of Cuthbert Tunstall, who served as the Prince-Bishop of Durham on two occasions between the years of 1530 and 1559, during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward [VI of England|Edward VI], Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Governance

Until 2023, Hackforth was part of the Richmond parliamentary constituency. It was removed and added to the expanded Thirsk and Malton Constituency, in part due to areas from that constituency being created into a new seat of Wetherby and Easingwold. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

Community and culture

The village is served by a primary school, Hackforth and Hornby CofE, with a capacity for 42 pupils. Hackforth has a public house, The Greyhound, and a village hall built in 1936 which has also been used as a live music venue since 2013, hosting acts such as The Dunwells.