The
beautiful elegant spire St Leonard’s Church rises out of the
trees that surround it giving the busy commuter who passes by on
the A164 a glimpse of the ornate building whos walls and windows
are richly carved.
The church was rebuilt in the 19th
Century by John Pearson and was paid for by James Hall who resided
at Scorborough Hall at that time as "a thank you offering for
many blessings". The tower of made up of five pinnacles and
is lavishly decorated inside with coloured floor tiles, double
columns of marble separate the chancel and the nave. There is
beautifully carved stonework everywhere from the font to the clock
face.
The Manor House stood near to St Leonard’s in
the 17th Century complete with a moat and was occupied
by Sir John Hotham, the first baronet. He was renowned as the
Governor of Hull who closed the city gates on Charles I and
refused to let Royal’s enter even when the King himself
appeared. It later transpired that he had been plotting with the
Royalists to surrender Hull and as a consequence was beheaded at
The Tower of London in 1645. His fortified Manor house was ravaged
by the roundheads and subsequently destroyed. Only traces of the
moat are visible today and it is dry. A stately looking property
stands near to the site of the original house today but is much
more in the cottage style than that of a Manor House.
Horses
and cattle graze in paddocks in this quiet little village which is
made up of a few houses and farms dotted along a no through road
which is little more that a track.
Tranquillity seems to
ascend once you turn off the main road into the village and with
beautiful properties to see this really is a little village
steeped in history.
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