About Scruton
The village of Scruton lies approximately half way between Bedale and Northallerton, the county town of North Yorkshire, on the A684.
Scruton is a small rural community of approximately 180 homes, several of which are scattered outside the core of the village in farms and cottages. The population is currently c.480 comprising mostly retired people and families of school and working age.
The village has very ancient origins, first recorded in the Doomsday book and historians can trace its beginnings to Anglo-Saxon and Viking times when the village ('the tun') was renamed after its Viking lord 'Scurfa'. Over the years Scurfa's Tun became Scurveton and finally Scruton.
Scruton is a Thankful Village, one of only 32 English villages whose young men all returned home from the First World War.
Much of the village belonged to the Gale family, and then passed by marriage to the Coores. In the 1950's, Scruton woodlands and farms, its park and Hall, were sold as part of the winding up of the Coore estate. The old Hall was eventually demolished and, without the centrality of the ancient church of St Radegund, situated on the village green, the village may have lost its heart.
Present day residents of Scruton enjoy Scurfa's legacy of a small tightly-knit and caring community. The village is well-sited for good local junior and secondary schools, easy access to main road and rail links, proximity to the market towns of Bedale, Leyburn, Richmond, Ripon, Masham, Thirsk and Northallerton and within a 30 mile radius of larger business and commercial centres of Teesside, Darlington, Harrogate and York.
Scruton has very many excellent local services. Cath, Tom, Chris and Rachel at The Coore Arms provide good food and drink with truly welcoming hospitality. This is not to be missed.
The village also enjoys a thriving Toddler group, a women's football team, a karate (Wado-ryu) club, regular domino drives and church services.
Within the village we have a cricket pitch and pavillion, a playing field (with a football pitch and children's play area), 10 allotments, and a recently refurbished village hall.
Highlights of the year include the fete, ghost walk, safari supper and harvest walk. These are augmented with other events, run every two or three years, including a scarecrow trail and open gardens.
Property in the village comprises a pleasant mix of old cottages and farms, small cul-de-sac developments of 3 and 4 bedroomed accommodation and a small number of housing association houses and bungalows for families and older residents. Employment in the village includes mixed agriculture with an increasing range of skilled craftsman and artisan businesses, plus increasing numbers of residents whose homes provide their employment base.
 | www.hambleton.gov.uk/scruton Scruton parish website hosted by Hambleton District Council |
 | www.knoxetal.com Interesting collection of photograhs and history of Scruton and Scruton Hall, demolished in 1956. |
| www.nidderdale.fslife.co.uk Pubs and Inns in the Bedale area - good list of local hostelries. |
