Scruton
Yorkshire



Scruton's Avenue of Limes
Photo: Graeme Nicholson

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 approximately 650 comprising mostly retired people and families of school and working age.

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Photo:  Anthony Wood

There was no war memorial until Scruton Parish Council and St Radegund's Church Council joined forces to commemorate Scruton's designation as a Thankful Village by installing an engraved board. The inscription acknowledges the gratitude of the village for the safe return home of all its servicemen in the First World War which, along with Peace in Europe, was marked by the installation of a clock in the church tower. Janet Crampton, who researched the status of Scruton's claim to be a Thankful Village and initiated the mounting of a fitting memorial, commented that "The project has brought several interests together in the village and the new plaque serves not only to record the village's relief that all its service men came home safely after the First World War but also provides a memorial for the two Scruton men who lost their lives in the Second World War. It is especially fitting that this plaque has been put up and blessed by the vicar of Scruton at the Remembrance Day Service in 2005."

Return to the "Thankful Villages" article