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The Romans, the Scots and William the Conqueror all saw the strategic importance of Northallerton, the county town of North Yorkshire. The Romans are credited with building a military station to the west of the town. The Scots wanted to enlarge their kingdom and William the Conqueror had the town almost totally destroyed as he sought to create a firewall against rebellion from the north.

Today one of the few remaining symbols of those times is seen hanging from The Standard pub at the north end of High Street. Its sign depicts the Battle of the Standard, sometimes known as the Battle of Northallerton on August 22, 1138. On Cowton Moor the Scottish army led by King David I of Scotland was defeated by the English forces in the name of King Stephen. Over 12,000 men lost their lives. Things have calmed down since. and the town now has a population of just under 16,000.

Established as a market town in 1200 by royal charter, today it has a population of just under 16,000 and prides itself on having one of the busiest shopping thoroughfares of any Yorkshire town. It also maintains a thriving livestock market where cattle and sheep are traded.

The original cattle market was by All Saints Church, but sheep were sold on High Street until the early part of the 20th century. When the railway arrived a new mart was built close to the station and this was later moved to its present premises at Applegarth Court.

The handsome High Street and its old coaching inns offers a mix of long-established, local independent retail businesses. There’s Barkers of Northallerton’s department store, the excellent Lewis & Cooper foods and fine wines, electrical retailers Maxwell of Northallerton and The Golden Lion Hotel. National and regional names include Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Morrisons, Edinburgh Woolen Mill, Waterstones, WH Smith and Argos. There’s a plethora of pubs, cafes, banks and charity shops.

Interesting arcades, fascinating snickets, plus the town hall on an island in the middle of the High Street, mark Northallerton out as one of the more distinctive market town experiences. Barkers Arcade on Market Row, Central Arcade and Garthway Arcade provide an array of smaller outlets from fashion to jewellery, travel agents to florists, musical instruments to hair stylists.

Residential areas lie largely to the east, west and south of the town; the northern end is where light industry is based, mainly on Standard Way Industrial Park.

Northallerton serves the wider district of Hambleton, a largely rural area with farming a major employer. The industrial park includes a mill and several agricultural-based companies.

The town is also the major administrative centre for the area, with North Yorkshire County Council based at the County Hall and Hambleton District Council at the Civic Centre. The nearby airbase, RAF Leeming, is another major source of employment and income.

The town lost its sole cinema, the Lyric back in 1995. This is now the New Life Baptist Church. But there are moves afoot to bring regular cinema screenings back to the town at Hambleton Forum. This is the main events centre in Northallerton and hosts regional and local theatre shows as well as films. It is a community set-up run by the District Council but is in the process of moving towards community management. It is hoped the 400-seater venue will become a big hit with all of the community providing blockbuster movies, musical theatre, drama and Northallerton Silver Band concerts.

Another historical link with the town’s past is Friarage Hospital opposite the Forum. There was a Carmelite priory built here in 1354, demolished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. The site later became a workhouse in 1857. The hospital is now a small district general hospital with 277 beds and has recently undergone a £21m redevelopment.

Charles I is perhaps the town’s most famous visitor. He stayed in Porch House in High Street, opposite All Saints Church, before the Civil War in 1640. He was later held prisoner here under open arrest for nine days in 1647. The house now offers five-star bed and breakfast accommodation.

Two of the town’s most renowned modern-day sons are professional football brothers Michael and Andy Dawson of Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City respectively. Both started their career with Northallerton Town FC.

Landscape photographer Joe Cornish moved to North Yorkshire in 1993 and opened his own gallery in the town when he acquired Register House in 2004. The London-Edinburgh railway line cuts across to the west of the town and serves as a reminder of Northallerton’s continuing strategic importance today. But you could let a plane take the strain, instead. At the Standard pub they have a more recent claim to fame. It is the only pub in England to have a jet parked in its beer garden. It is a Provost, a trainer aircraft used by the RAF from 1955 to 1993. It is co-owned by a group of enthusiasts who have been renovating it since July 2005.

FACTS AND FIGURES

* It’s 16 miles to Darlington, 21 mlles to Teesside, 15 to Richmond and 10 to Thirsk

County town of North Yorkshire since 1974

* Situated in the Vale of Mowbray

* 100 females for every 91.9 males

* Population: 15,741 (UK Census 2001), 98.5 per cent are UK-born.

* Facilities include: Hambleton Leisure Centre; Hambleton Forum; Northallerton College (previously Grammar School); Allertonshire High School; Northallerton Town FC; Romanby Golf Club; Northallerton Auction Mart; HM Prison Northallerton; All Saints Parish Church.