Eryholme

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| coordinates = {{coord|54|28|28|N|1|30|20|W|display=inline,title}}

| official_name = Eryholme

| population = 80

| static_image = St. Mary's Church Eryholme - geograph.org.uk - 93078.jpg

| static_image_caption = St Mary the Virgin church, Eryholme

| civil_parish = Eryholme

| unitary_england = North Yorkshire

| lieutenancy_england = North Yorkshire

| region = Yorkshire and the Humber

| constituency_westminster = Richmond and Northallerton

| post_town = DARLINGTON

| postcode_district = DL2

| postcode_area = DL

| dial_code = 01325

| os_grid_reference = NZ321083

}}

Eryholme is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. As the population remained less than 100 in the 2011 census, information is included with that of Dalton-on-Tees.{{NOMIS2011|id=1170217137|title=Dalton-on-Tees Parish|accessdate=27 September 2018}}

The village is situated on the south bank of the River Tees, opposite Hurworth, {{convert|4.5|mi}} south-east of Darlington.{{cite map|title =Darlington & Richmond|map =304|date =2015|scale =1:25,000 |series =Explorer |publisher =Ordnance Survey|isbn = 9780319245569 }} From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Richmondshire, it is now administered by the unitary North Yorkshire Council.

In this part of the Tees Valley the river forms many loops called 'holmes'. The word 'holm' is of Viking origin and means "island formed by a river".{{cite book |last1=Ekwall |first1=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names |date=1960 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |oclc=1228215388 |page=246 |edition=4}} Eryholme's name is, however, a corruption of its original name 'Erghum'. This name means shieling - a shelter for livestock, which comes from the Old Irish word 'airgh'.{{cite book|last1=Ekwall|first1=Eilert|title=The Concise Oxford dictionary of English Place-names|date=1960|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|page=168|edition=4|oclc=400936}} This word was introduced into Yorkshire place names by Norwegian Vikings who had lived in Ireland for a number of generations and adopted many Irish words.

File:Old brickworks, Eryholme.jpg

File:Christ and the sacred heart, c. 1200 AD, Eryholme.jpg

St Mary's Church is a grade II* listed plain sandstone building, originally built c.1200 and modified in the 13th, 14th and 16th centuries. Set inside the east wall of the porch is a small, ancient carving of a human figure. A distinct heart outline in the chest proves the identity of Christ. The notion of the sacred heart proliferated in the 13th century. This date is also consistent with the splayed tunic. Pevsner{{Cite book|last=Pevsner|first=Nikolaus|title=The Buildings of England Yorkshire The North Riding|publisher=Penguin|year=1966|location=Harmondsworth|pages=159|language=en}} suggested it was Anglo-Danish but the sacred heart excludes this. It represents a time of burgeoning new religious philosophies from the Cistercian leader St Bernard of Clairvaux and the local Saint Godric{{Cite journal|last=Martin|first=Stephen|title=St Godric and the lost leper hospital of Darlington|url=https://hekint.org/2021/07/09/st-godric-and-the-lost-leper-hospital-of-darlington/|journal=Hektoen International Journal of Medical Humanities |date=Summer 2021 }} of Finchale, who was in contact with the Cistercians and active in the Tees Valley.{{Cite book|last=Dunelmensis|first=Reginald|title=Libellus de vita et miraculis S. Godrici, heremitae de Finchale|publisher=J B Nichols and Son|year=1847|location=archive.org|language=la, en}} The registers at the church date from 1565.{{NHLE| num = 1131336|desc= CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN |accessdate = 6 December 2013}}

There are the remains of a Victorian era brick and tile works in the village.{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Eryholme Parish information from Bulmers' 1890.|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Eryholme/Eryholme90.html|website=www.genuki.org.uk|accessdate=9 February 2017}} There used to be a railway station called Eryholme but it was located at Dalton-on-Tees, some {{convert|3|km|order=flip}} south-west of the village. Passenger services ceased in 1911 but were restarted during the Second World War for personnel serving at the nearby RAF Croft.{{cite web|title=Disused Stations: Eryholme Station|url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/e/eryholme/|website=www.disused-stations.org.uk|accessdate=9 February 2017}}

The chief activity is farming, the farms forming part of the Neasham estate owned by the Wrightson family. The village was famous for the breeding of shorthorn cattle and a cow sold to the Colling brothers became part of the original stock from which were bred the Durham Ox and Comet.{{cite web|url= http://www.eastrichmondteamministry.com/Eryholme.htm|title= Eryholme|publisher= East Richmond Team Ministry|accessdate= 6 December 2013|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130829140328/http://eastrichmondteamministry.com/Eryholme.htm|archivedate= 29 August 2013|df= dmy-all}}