Ravensworth

Ravensworth is a village and civil parish in the Holmedale valley, within the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 4.5mi north-west from Richmond and 10mi from Darlington. The parish has a population of 255, according to the 2011 Census.Ravensworth was historically situated in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and has been a part of North Yorkshire since 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972. The village has ancient origins dating back to the time of Viking settlement. The village contains the remains of the 14th century Grade I listed Ravensworth Castle, the ancestral home of the FitzHugh family. After the cessation of the FitzHugh line the castle was abandoned, and it began to be dismantled from the middle of the 16th century. although the gatehouse remains almost wholly intact. There are a number of listed buildings situated around the village green, mostly dating from the eighteenth century, many of which were constructed using raw materials from the castle.Today, Ravensworth is primarily a commuter village, and the historically important agricultural sector now employs only a small number of people. Stone mining was once important to the local economy, and although that industry had died out by the twentieth century, a sandstone quarry was recently opened outside the village. The village is served by a primary school, a public house and a chapel, and contains a large village green.