A Brief Guide to the History of the Village
Newton-Le-Willows is a village situated in Lower Wensleydale off the A684 between Bedale and Leyburn. Available records show a settlement here before the Norman Conquest and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1008).
Through Land ownership the village has ancient connections with Richmond, Middleham and latterly Jervaulx Abbey under the ownership of the Marquess of Aylesbury, the influence of whom led to significant changes to the predominantly agricultural way of life.
With the introduction of a village school, the arrival of the railway and its associated industries, and the building of Aysgarth School, the growth and independence of Newton-Le-Willows was secured.
At various times in its more recent history, the village has had a Post Office, grocer's, butcher's, blacksmith's, a cobbler, a foundry, a public house, a hotel, and a railway station. As one resident told us, you could buy everything from coal to school uniforms, without leaving the village.
Today, as in many rural communities, these facilities no longer exist. Community life centres on the Village Hall where varied activities take place throughout the year.