Stillington: The historic Yorkshire village with an overwhelming sense of community

Estate agents’ particulars list a nursery and primary school, a village stores and post office, a GP surgery, an Anglican and a Methodist church, two pubs serving food, an Indian restaurant and a theatre, wedding and music venue in short-term abeyance.

Although the village no longer hosts the shoemakers, blacksmiths, millers, butchers and saddle-makers it had in the 19th century, it continues to boast a "vintage emporium”, a fish and chips takeaway, a hairdressers salon, a sports and social club as well as a village hall overlooking an immaculate green.

While Stillington is certainly no commuter village, aside from light traffic and farm vehicles trundling past, it’s both pretty and pretty peaceful walking alongside the white painted wooden railings segregating dozens of properties with no on-street parking from a wide, freshly mowed verge on Main Street on an early autumnal weekday afternoon.

However, stepping into the historic The White Bear inn there’s a surprisingly crowd of locals in the bar. Is it usually as busy at this time of day, I ask. “It’ll be worse tomorrow” says the barmaid, before, with a knowing smile, correcting herself “better I mean”.

Originally a house, few alterations have been made to The White Bear since it became a popular stop for Leeds and Helmsley-bound stagecoaches in the 1700s.

A little too popular by some accounts. In the early 19th century, its landlord testified how the vicar, the Reverend William Oddie, would arrive at the pub at 5am and “drink spirituous liquors until he became intoxicated”, fell asleep and then drank more.

He was suspended from leading services for three years at St Nicholas Church, which stands in the heart of the village on the opposite side of the street, after churchwardens told a court how he drunk the communion wine during eucharist, a service which is celebrated every third Sunday in the month.

Much of the grade II* listed building dates from the Victorian era, while other changes were made following the Black Death sweeping through the area in the 14th century, but above the main entrance there’s a small statue of the patron saint of everyone from sailors to repentant thieves, dating back to the original Norman building.

Over its chancel step stands a rare Royal Coat of Arms, dating to 1739, created to show a mark of loyalty to George II, just six years before Tristram Shandy author Laurence Sterne, father of the stream-of-consciousness style novel, became the vicar.

Historians have said while dining at Stillington Hall he gave a reading from the novel and, in a fit of pique, threw the manuscript onto the fire.

The hot-tempered clergyman is said to have been deeply unpopular amongst his parishioners and came close to drowning while skating on the village pond when no one came to his aid.

Overlooked by the church, flanked by numerous historic properties, some bearing their original owners’ Initials in metal on their gable ends, is the village’s store and post office.

The shop has become a £300,000 turnover concern since being saved by a concerted community campaign which saw hundreds of residents buy £500 bonds and others donate a collective £10,000, in the business, more than two decades ago.

This selflessness is evident among the former residents of the row of cottages which includes the shop was the family of First World War soldier Thomas Scaife, who was mentioned in Field-Marshal John French's dispatches for acts of bravery.

Stllington’s local historians have discovered how he single-handedly laid a telephone line between one of the trenches and headquarters under very heavy fire.

The village has both a Good Neighbours Scheme, which “exists to support the spontaneous generosity and good neighbour attitude which is a feature of the village” and a charity to help residents “in conditions of need, hardship or distress”.

Unsurprisingly, “a strong sense of community” was the conclusion Ofsted inspectors came to during an inspection of the primary school on the opposite side of the road earlier this year.

In September 2019 the school’s governing body began consultation on proposing to close the school following an inadequate rating from Ofsted.

However, unlike many small rural schools which struggle to survive following such a blow, Stllington Primary, which with a pupil roll of just 32 is among the region’s smallest, is continuing on an upwards trajectory, after federating with schools in nearby Foston and Terrington last year.

Residents again point to how active the community is when asked to account for the continuing success of the village’s impressive sports and social club, set in impressive and well maintained grounds on the southern edge of the village.

Here there’s a bar, open seven days a week, and opportunities to play a wide range of sports, such as squash and bowls, the latter of which has a dedicated clubhouse which hosts a range of activities.

If one popular community hub wasn’t sufficient, Stillington also has a village hall, which plays hosts an array of clubs to combat loneliness, for gardening, table tennis, bridge and local history and the Women’s Institute, as well the stage for village events.

Again, this is all made possible by the community creating a charitable volunteer-run organisation for the benefit of residents.

Although Stillington’s name is Saxon in origin and evidence of nearby Iron Age settlements have recently been unearthed, the farming community on which it has built has survived through thick and thin, and judging by its resilience and spirit, will continue to thrive for many generations to come.