Stalling Busk is one of three settlements around Semer Water in the former Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire in the small dale of Raydale just off from Wensleydale, England.[1] The village lies to the immediate south of the lake, at 1,080 feet (330 m) above sea level.[2][3] The name of the settlement derives from a combination of Old French (estalon) and Old Norse (buskr), which means the stallion's bush.[4] The village was also known as Stallen Busk, and is commonly referred to by locals as just Busk.[5] Although the village is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, archaeological evidence points to the area being inhabited during the Iron and Bronze ages.[6]
As well as the Grade II listedSt Matthew's Church,[7] Stalling Busk has the ruined Old St Matthew's Church, that is also Grade II listed,[8] which can be found on a short walk towards Semer Water. In St Matthew's Church graveyard, is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial plot.[9] The village itself only consists of 17 buildings, with one of those being the church.[10]
Historically the village was part of the Ancient Parish of Aysgarth, part of the wapentake of Hang West, in the North Riding of Yorkshire.[11] By 1742, Stalling Busk had been made into its own civil parish with the other settlements in Raydale within its parish boundaries.[12] In 1974, it was moved into the Bainbridge civil parish, in the newer county of North Yorkshire.[13][14] It is represented at Westminster as part of the Richmond Constituency.[15]
^Muir, Richard (1998). "Village Evolution in the Yorkshire Dales". Northern History. 34 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1179/007817298790178402.
^Appleton, Mike (2023). A–Zof the Yorkshire Dales. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. p. 76. ISBN978-1-3981-1263-6.
^Speight, Harry (1897). Romantic Richmondshire : Being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valleys of the Swale and Yore. London: Elliot Stock. p. 478. OCLC7241488.
^Guide No. 6: North Yorkshire Gazetteer of Townships and Parishes. Northallerton: North Yorkshire County Council. 2021 [1986]. pp. 5, 6, 10, 28. ISBN978-0-906035-29-0.
^"Election Maps". ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2024.