“THE tiny village of Langthorne, near Bedale, is dying,” announced The Northern Echo in 1964. “Year by year, more of the 21 houses in the village are condemned and families move out. Already, 10 houses are under closing orders.”

The Northern Echo: From The Northern Echo of October 20, 1964

From The Northern Echo of October 20, 1964

There were no nameboards at the entrance to the village, no signposts pointing to it; the village pub, The Crown, was closed and condemned; there was no main sewerage and 95 per cent of houses still had earth closets.

Most of the houses, said 68-year-old Fred Pocklington, were “tumbling down”, and garage owner Ronald Murfin said: “If the council cannot do anything to help the village, you might as well call it dead and all that is left is to bury it.”

The Northern Echo: Some of the condemned cottages in Langthorne in 1964

Some of the Langthorne cottages due for demolition in the 1960s

Happily, nearly 60 years after that apocalyptic report, little Langthorne is still with us and is thriving to such an extent that its history has been written by former D&S correspondent, Chris McGee, in a booklet.

And such is the interest in Langthorne that the first print run of the booklet is practically gone, but it can still be read online, at langthornevillage.com

Langthorne – there was once a notably tall thorn bush there to give it its name – is a farming community which also provided labour for the nearby Hornby Castle.

The Northern Echo: Langthorne Hall, which was built in 1719

Langthorne Hall, which was built in 1719

It has its own manor house, Langthorne Hall, which was built in 1719 for magistrate Thomas Raper, and it has two former places of worship eyeing each other across the street.

The Northern Echo: Langthorne Methodist Chapel before it closed in the 1980s

The Langthorne Methodist chapel

The Primitive Methodists opened the first, in 1846, and the Anglican vicar of Crakehall, the Reverend Thomas Milville Raven, was so concerned by their growing influence that he personally paid for the £3,000 construction of St Mary Magdalene Church opposite in 1877. He maintained it at his own cost and when he died in 1896, he was buried there, along with his beloved dog (let’s hope the dog died coincidentally at the same time as its master, rather than anything else).

The Northern Echo: St Mary Magdalene Church at Langthorne in 1982 when it was for sale. Top, some of the condemned cottages in Langthorne in 1964

St Mary Magdalene Church at Langthorne in 1982 when it was for sale

Both venues closed in the 1980s as the nature of rural life changed. By then, the condemned houses had been cleared and the village was connected to the mains sewerage system, the installation of the pipe shutting the road for a month.

And they’ve even got nameplates and signposts nowadays.

Chris concludes: “During the pandemic, everyone in Langthorne has known that, if they needed something, help was just a knock on a door or a telephone call away.

“We, and most, if not all, residents, find it to be just that sort of place and I hope it always will be!”

People are being encouraged to contribute more historical information to the website so that when the booklet can be improved ready for the second print run.