Downholme
OS grid reference:- SE 111 978
The pretty village of Downholme is situated around 4 miles (6 km) to the west of the market town of Richmond and lies close to the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The village's name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word dun meaning hill, the suffix of -holme, comes from the Anglo-Saxon word holegn maning holly and appears to have been added at a later date. Downholme is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Dune" and was then held by Alan, Count of Brittany. The lordship of the manor was granted by the Count to Gospatric, son of Arnketil around the time of the Norman Conquest.
The manor later came into the ownership of Thomas de Richeburg before passing to the Leyburn family around 1184. Over the following years they granted the manor to the abbey of St Agatha at Easby. The abbey granted the manor lands to the Cleasby family by the middle of the thirteenth century. Around 1314, the Cleasby's in turn passed the manor on to the Scrope family of Bolton Castle.
The village inn, the Bolton Arms has comfortable lounge and fully stocked bar, and offers a tempting range of bar snacks. There is also a separate restaurant, serving an excellent menu of home-cooked food lunchtimes and evenings. The inn also offers Bed & Breakfast accommodation. C
Behind the Bolton Arms stand the ruins of Downholme Hall. Church Gill, which has a small waterfall, runs north through the village to join the nearby River Swale. There is evidence of a Bronze Age hill fort on How Hill directly west of the village
St Michael & All Angels Church
Downholme's village church of St Michael & All Angels, a Grade II listed building, dates from about 1180. The church stands solitary some distance from the village and lies on the road from Richmond to Leyburn.
The church was rebuilt during the fourteenth century and restored during the nineteenth century. The building contains a George III coat of arms dated 1784, signed by the Richmond artist Robert Coatsworth.
