Ulleskelf

Ulleskelf
Railway Bridge over River Wharfe at Ulleskelf
Ulleskelf is located in North Yorkshire
Ulleskelf
Ulleskelf
Location within North Yorkshire
Population980 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSE518401
Civil parish
  • Ulleskelf
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTADCASTER
Postcode districtLS24
PoliceNorth Yorkshire
FireNorth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°51′18″N 1°12′46″W / 53.85488°N 1.21267°W / 53.85488; -1.21267

Ulleskelf /ˈʌləˌskɛlf/ is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, four miles from Tadcaster on the River Wharfe.

Its name comes from the Scandinavian personal name Úlfr, while skelf may be an Old English word meaning "a flat area" (a cognate of shelf),[2] although it could be from the Old Scandinavian equivalent, 'skialf'[3] as in several other English place names, e.g. Hunshelf, Wadshelf.[3] In this geographical context 'skelf' would mean 'bank' (of the river). The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book as Oleschel and Oleslec.[4][2]

The village was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.[5]

It is served by Ulleskelf railway station, operated by Northern. It has one public house (the Ulleskelf Arms) and one shop (Post Office/general store). The 2011 UK Census recorded the population of the parish as 980.[1] Ulleskelf village hall was previously the Church of England) church of St Saviour.[6] The Methodist church is still in use. "Mind Games", an episode of TV detective series A Touch of Frost, was filmed in the village in 2008.[7]

  1. ^ a b UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Ulleskelf Parish (E04007778)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Mills, A. D. (2011). Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199609086.
  3. ^ a b Ekwall (1960). Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names. p. 409.
  4. ^ Speight, Harry (1902). Lower Wharfedale. Being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valley of the Wharfe, from Cawood to Arthington. London: E Stock. pp. 204–205. OCLC 7225986.
  5. ^ "History of Ulleskelf, in Selby and Yorkshire | Map and description". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Ulleskelf: St Saviour – CHR Church". facultyonline.churchofengland.org. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  7. ^ Chrystal, Paul; Sunderland, Mark (15 November 2010). Tadcaster Through Time (illustrated ed.). Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445631271. Retrieved 12 September 2021.