Of Crayke

Cuthbert, a monk and later Bishop of Lindisfarne (c. 634-687), was so greatly admired by Ecgfrid, King of Northumbria, that in 685 he gave him the vill of Creca, and all surrounding country within a circuit of three miles, to use as a resting place on his frequent journeys to York. St. Cuthbert is said to have founded a monastery here, which continued for 200 years. The monk historian Simeon of Durham wrote in c. 1100 of a party of monks from Lindisfarne, fleeing with St. Cuthbert’s bodily remains from Viking invaders, being given hospitality for 4 months in 883 by Abbot Geve at the Crayke monastery. At that time Crayke was hidden deep in the ancient forest of Galtres, reported to be so dense that a squirrel could make its way from the foot of Crayke hill to the York City wall without leaving the trees.

Excavations have revealed evidence suggesting Viking destruction of a pre-Norman church in Crayke, and a Danish earl named Ihured controlled the village in 990. However, by the time of Domesday, 1086, it had reverted to the Saxon Bishops of Durham. Legends of the Danish occupation abound, one of the most colourful of which involves the Scandinavian King Ragnar Lodbrog who, when taken in battle by the Saxon King Ella of Northumbria, was put to death most cruelly by being suspended in a snake pit in the dungeons of the old castle at Crayke. The foundation of Crayke castle is of uncertain date, though some antiquarians assign it to the 12th century. The present structure formed the ‘great chamber’ of an earlier, larger Norman castle, and was built in the 15th Century. King Edward III is reported to have lodged at Crayke Castle in 1345, and King John (in 1209, 1210 and 1211), Henry III (1227), Edward I (1292) and Edward II (1316) all stayed here. The Bishops of Durham maintained a deer park around the castle up to the time of King James I (1603-1625), but by the early 16th century the castle had largely fallen into a state of ruin, only the newer parts remaining standing. The finding of cannon balls in a nearby field provide a clue that the castle may have featured in the civil war. The old castle was ordered by Parliament to be destroyed in 1646, and the Manor of Crayke was sold by Parliament in 1648 to William Allanson (Lord Mayor of York, 1633).

The subsequently restored great chamber reverted with the Manor to the Bishop Princess of Durham c. 1667, and was sold finally to private ownership in 1827.

The present Crayke Church has been dated to 1490, and the registers commence in 1558.  A new north aisle was added and the roof rebuilt in 1863.  The living was a rich one, worth £900 to the rector in 1850.  William Ralph Inge, son of the curate, who became a distinguished and scholarly Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, was born in Crayke cottage in 1860.  Typical Sunday Church attendance at that time was 300.

Because of its association with the Bishops, Crayke remained part of the county of Durham as late as 1844.  The local inhabitants’ claim for exemption from North Riding taxes then was finally defeated in court, so that we now have only this hostelry – THE DURHAM OX – to ease our burden and remind us of the past. 

John Brown  1976