Great Smeaton

Great Smeaton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on elevated ground near the River Wiske, which is a tributary of the River Swale. The name Great Smeaton is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word Smideton meaning the smiths farm. The parish population at the 2011 census was 187.

Map of Great Smeaton, Northallerton, UK

The A167 (Darlington Road) passes through the village, which is about halfway between Darlington and Northallerton. It once stood on the route of the Great North Road between London and Edinburgh. Great Smeaton was an important coaching stage; one of the original four inns still remain, the Black Bull; the Bay Horse having recently closed. Those that have gone were the Golden Lion at Entercommon and the Blacksmiths Arms in the village, which also traded as the Post Office in the 1840s. It seems to have ceased trading as an inn prior to 1857.

Great Smeaton is listed in the Domesday Book. Many armies have passed through the village over the years, including that of William the Conqueror on his way north.

The Church of St. Eloy's is the only church in Britain named after this saint and stands on the site of an 11th-century Saxon church.

Smeaton Manor is an Arts & Crafts style house by Philip Webb.

Great Smeaton, like many other villages, has suffered from rural decline over the last few decades. It has lost amenities such as the village shop, the butcher's shop, the blacksmiths, the post office and the Working Men's Club and Reading Room (established in 1880). Amenities that remain include the pubs and the church, Great Smeaton Community Primary School, the village hall and a saddlery shop. The village also has basic amenities such as a post box and a public telephone box.

Since 1972, the parish council has covered the parishes of Little Smeaton, Great Smeaton and Hornby.