Sherburn-in-Elmet

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Sherburn-in-Elmet is a village close to Selby, North Yorkshire. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient kingdom of Elmet, the others being Barwick-in-Elmet and Scholes-in-Elmet.

The village is of ancient establishment, possibly with roman origins and was part of the wapantake of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The field adjoining All Saints' Church is the site of the palace of kings of Elmet, which was given (with the manor of Cawood) by Athelstan to the Archbishops of York on his conversion to Christianity in or around the 10th century.

The church itself is unusually large for a village parish church and dates from around 1120, with Norman pillars and a later-built large tower housing a ring of 8 bells. It was built on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The Battle of Towton was fought nearby in 1461 and local legend tells that King Edward IV used the church tower as a point for surveying the battle lines. The church is now home to the church cat, Jess, who moved in in early 2006 and has become a favourite with the congregation. Selby Times article.

Sherburn-in-Elmet is often referred to locally as simply 'Sherburn'. It is notable as a regular meeting place for motorcycle riders, most abundantly on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The roads leading into Sherburn-in-Elmet are known nationally for the varied and pleasurable rides they offer when atop a motorcycle. Meets take place at the 'Milk Bar', which recently moved to a bigger site in the nearby village of Newthorpe.

The village is now home to a major industrial site attracting large businesses such as Eddie Stobart Ltd as well as the large Gascoigne wood mine which was part of the Selby coalfield project.

Presently home to an airfield and popular aeroclub, Sherburn's links with the air industry go back to World War II when the Blackburn Aircraft Company built the Swordfish in the village. By the time production ended in 1945, 1,699 such aircraft had been built in Sherburn. The airfield also saw the first flight of L.E. Baynes's famous prototype glider, the Baynes Bat.

The village is served by a train station with services to York, Hull and Sheffield with a second station in nearby South Milford providing services to Leeds and Hull, while there are regular bus services to Leeds, Selby, Pontefract and Tadcaster.

Sherburn boast two primary schools ( Hungate and Athelstan ) and a High school which has recently gained the status of a specialist science school. It has three supermarkets including [SPAR], [TESCO] Express and [COOP].