Why visit Riccall
Townapedia lists 5 parks and trails, 7 places to eat, 5 places to stay and 2 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Cawood Bridge, Selby toll bridge and Skipwith Common.
Weather in Riccall
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Riccall
Riccall is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, lying 3.5 miles (6 km) to the north of Selby and 9 miles (14 km) south of York. Riccall is noted for being the place where Harold Hardrada's force of invaders landed in 1066, just before the Battle of Stamford Bridge. In the Second World War, an RAF base was built East of the village, and between the late 1970s and the early 2000s, coal was mined from beneath the village as Riccall Mine, part of the Selby Coalfield.
From the Wikipedia article Riccall (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Riccall
Things to do2
Parks, trails and playgrounds5
Skipwith Common
Park · 2.5 mi
Nature reserve in North Yorkshire, England
Restaurants and cafes7
Where to stay5
History
Homo sapiens first arrived in Great Britain around 12,000 years ago as the earth was warming before the beginning of the Holocene era. It is not known when Man first arrived in the area, however there is evidence that the Humberhead Levels have been settled for several thousand years, and that the drier northern area where Riccall is situated was settled before the Roman era being host to Iron Age burial sites.
The village was the site of an Anglo-Saxon settlement and there is evidence of a Saxon church on the site of the current St Mary's Church. The early settlers most likely chose the site because of two geographical factors: the area forms a slightly raised plateau above a flood plain, and it is near the Ouse.
Read more of the history
Riccall was the site of the base camp of Harald Hardrada in 1066. He landed on the banks of the Ouse after sailing up the Humber Estuary and set up camp at Riccall before his 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 with the false parlay and preceding battle at Stamford Bridge, with many of his troops back at the base camp the battle was short and Hardrada himself died. This battle had a knock-on effect as it distracted Harold from the defence of the south coast and left the land open to Norman invasion. The event is commemorated in one of Riccall's streets, now a footpath, named after Olaf who looked after the camp in Harald's absence, and in Danes Hills, so named for its tumuli. There is now a small information panel about the event at the bottom of Landing Lane, approximately where the Danes moored.
The settlement is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Richale, having a manor, 27 villagers, ploughlands and meadowlands. The population places it within the top 40% of listings in the whole of the Domesday Book. The name was recorded in the Domesday Book as Richale, then as Richenhale in 1190, as Rikinhal in 1230, and Rycall in 1539. The first part is from a personal name (Rica) and the suffix halh, meaning a nook of land.
Sometime in the latter half of the twelfth century, the current St Mary's was built using stone quarried from the Magnesian Limestone ridge which lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) to the west. The old south door of the church has a carved Romanesque arch, and its 12th-century three-stage tower has Norman double window openings.
Land to the north-east of the village was requisitioned in 1940 for a new airfield, and construction began in 1941. RAF Riccall was used by 76 and 78 Squadrons of the RAF and two Heavy conversion units. It was used for flying between 1942 and 1945, thereafter it was used as an ammunition store until final closure in 1957.
Between 1983 and 2004 the village was home to UK Coal's Riccall Mine which was part of the Selby Coalfield. The colliery, located south-east of Riccall, closed in 2004. The site of the colliery was re-developed as a business park.
From the History section of Riccall on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Riccall
Joshua RoutledgeBritish inventorPhoto: Unidentified painter, Public domain
Born in Riccall, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Churches and places of worship9
Shopping1
Schools, colleges and libraries1
Map of Riccall
30 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 25 miles away.
- Selby 3 mi south, about 6 min by car
- Wheldrake 6 mi northeast, about 9 min by car
- Church Fenton 7 mi west, about 11 min by car
- York 9 mi north, about 14 min by car
- South Milford 9 mi southwest, about 14 min by car
- Monk Fryston 9 mi southwest, about 14 min by car
- Byram 11 mi southwest, about 18 min by car
- Goole 12 mi southeast, about 19 min by car
- Knottingley 12 mi southwest, about 19 min by car
- Haxby 13 mi north, about 20 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Riccall
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Riccall 006, SMJ, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Riccall 5, Reedy, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Riccall 4, Reedy, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Red House, Riccall, Warofdreams, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Riccall House, Warofdreams, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Riccall 3, Reedy, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Stables at Red House, Riccall, Warofdreams, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Riccall War Memorial, Warofdreams, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Escrick Church, Dashwortley at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Path autumn skipwith common nature reserve woods 2, Benjamin Shaw, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ricall 001, Gordon Kneale Brooke, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Ricall 002, Gordon Kneale Brooke, CC BY-SA 2.0
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