Speeton

Village in North Yorkshire, England

Human settlement in England

Reighton

Unitary authority

North Yorkshire

Ceremonial county

North Yorkshire

Region

Yorkshire and the Humber

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townFILEYPostcode districtYO14Dialling code01723PoliceNorth YorkshireFire North Yorkshire AmbulanceYorkshire UK Parliament

Thirsk and Malton

List of places: UK; England; Yorkshire

54°09′17″N 0°14′17″W / 54.154587°N 0.238049°W / 54.154587; -0.238049

Speeton is a village in the civil parish of Reighton, in North Yorkshire, England. It lies near the edge of the coastal cliffs midway between Filey and Bridlington. It is North Yorkshire's easternmost settlement, but historically lay in the East Riding of Yorkshire until local government re-organisation in 1974. It was part of the Borough of Scarborough from 1974 until 2023.

Speeton was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of Bridlington,^[1] in 1866 Speeton became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Reighton.^[2] In 1931 the parish had a population of 165.^[3]

Speeton railway station on the Yorkshire Coast Line from Hull to Scarborough served the village until it closed on 5 January 1970.^[4]

A local geological feature, the Speeton Clay Formation (approximately 130 million years old), was the source of an especially interesting fossil of a hermit crab.^[5]

Second World War

The Second World War defences constructed around Speeton have been documented by William Foot. They included a large number of pillboxes. Many of the remaining defences have been subject to coastal erosion.

St Leonard's Church

The church of St Leonard's at Speeton is one of the smallest parish churches in Yorkshire and was erected in the early Norman period, probably on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The church was Grade II* listed in June 1966.^[6]

References

^ "History of Speeton, in Scarborough and East Riding". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
^ "Relationships and changes Speeton CP/Ch through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
^ "Population statistics Speeton CP/Ch through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
^ Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
^ René H. Fraaije (January 2003). "The oldest in situ hermit crab from the Lower Cretaceous of Speeton, UK". Palaeontology. 46 (1): 53–57. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00286.
^ Historic England. "Church of St Leonard (1148130)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 October 2017.

William, Foot (2006). Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ... the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940. Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 1-902771-53-2.
"St Leonards Church, Speeton". Retrieved 9 September 2007.