These villages sprung up on the landed estates of the gentry, mostly from the 18th century onwards when large numbers of staff were needed to work in the houses, gardens, parkland and estate businesses. Workers were given tenancies on their cottages and in some case commercial premises such as shops. In Yorkshire, many of these villages are still overwhelmingly owned by the family at the ‘great house’, such as the Worsleys of Hovingham Hall. Others are part of an estate where the house has been sold off or demolished but the surrounding land and farms remain in the family or a trust, such as Wentworth near Rotherham, which is managed separately to Wentworth Woodhouse. Others are no longer owned by any estate, but retain their historic features and are still well-preserved.
9. Hickleton
Hickleton, near Doncaster, is a secondary estate owned by the Earls of Halifax, whose main seat is at Garrowby in the East Riding. The family were prominent in politics and public life throughout the 20th century. They sold the hall's contents in 1947 and leased it to a girls' school and later a Sue Ryder care home. The Woods were so powerful they also owned Temple Newsam in Leeds and the Heslington Hall estate in York at various times. The family retains land in Hickleton. Photo: Jonathan Gawthorpe
10. Hovingham
Hovingham, near York, has been owned by the same family for centuries - the Worsley baronets of Hovingham Hall. They built the primary school, which is currently threatened with closure, and also own some of the commercial buildings in the village. The cottages are mostly small, but properties with as many as nine bedrooms are let out. Photo: Gary Longbottom
11. Egton
Egton is part of the Mulgrave Estate - one of the country's foremost shooting estates, centred around the Marquis of Normanby's Mulgrave Castle near Whitby. Much of the estate land is on the popular coast, and there are a number of tenanted properties scattered around Lythe, Sandsend, Egton, Goldsborough, Kettleness and East & West Barnby. Businesses such as Sandsend Stores are estate-owned. Photo: Emma Dodsworth
12. South Dalton
South Dalton, near Beverley, is the estate village for Dalton Hall, owned by Lord Hotham and still in the family today. The estate owns numerous cottages, some dating back to the early 1700s, many of which are let to staff. The Michelin-starred pub The Pipe and Glass is also in the estate's hands. Photo: Emma Nichols