Burrill with Cowling is a civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, including the villages of Burrill and Cowling. It is only a 5-minute walk between the 2 small villages and lies west of Bedale by 1 mile. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 104 with 50 households in total. It is a small parish surrounded by sparsely populated countryside, containing mainly detached and semi-detached houses. The closest city is Ripon which is located away while being approximately 4 hours away from London. Burrill with Cowling is most accessible by the A1, which runs 3.1 miles east of Burrill with Cowling with the nearest railway station being 15 miles away in Northallerton. In 1870/72. John Marius Wilson described Burrill with Cowling as:
Demographics
According to the 2011 census Burrill with Cowling is a small parish with a population of 104 and only 50 households. The average age of the population is 47.6 showing a mainly working age population in the parish, coupled with the highest percentage of the population being in the 45–59 age range. The second biggest age group is 60+ which contains 32 people, which mirrors the ageing population in the country, with the smallest age group being 15- to 19-year-olds at only 3 people out of 104 in the whole of Burrill with Cowling. Although the population has fluctuated slightly, there has been little change since 1881, where the population was 100 compared with 104 as of 2011.
Economy and industry
In the 1800s Burrill with Cowling's main industry was agriculture, with 25 people out of the total population working in the farming trade in 1881. Agriculture is still the main industry as it accounts for 16.1% of all industry with manufacturing being the second largest employer with 8 people employed while the two smallest industrial sectors are 'Financial and Insurance Activities' and 'Information and Communication' both with 1.6% of the total number of employed. As of 2011 there were 84 people of working age with 60 of these being economically active, 2 being students and a further 14 being retired.
Listed buildings
Burrill with Cowling is home to a handful of listed buildings; Ivy Cottage, Manor House and most notably Cowling Hall. Cowling Hall is a Grade I listed building located on Cowling Lane, Burrill, DL8 1RR. The Hall is currently owned by the village and is run by a group of volunteers whilst being entirely self-funded with the hall being opened on 1 December 2012 to be used by various members of the community for classes, youth clubs and social groups. It was in 1985 that the land the Hall now stands on was purchased with the aim to build 'The Cowling Liberal Club and Institute' which contained a Reading Room and Library and was used for political and social gatherings, it went through many changes since opening – mainly housing the 'Cowling Women's' Liberal Association'. In 1939 membership of the club was declining therefore to keep the Hall open it was offered to the Cowling Parish Council as a free gift and was opened as the Cowling Village Institute, but since 1971 it has been renamed as Cowling Village Hall.
Housing
From 2011 there has been a total of 50 unshared households in Burrill with Cowling, with 64% of these being a detached house or bungalow and a further 30% being semi-detached. The average number of people to one household is 2.1 persons, while the average number of rooms to a house is 7.3 and bedrooms is 3.4. The average house price in Hambleton is £237,659 only about £1,000 below the national average for the UK but still approximately £80,000 more than the region it lies in – Yorks and Humber which has an average of £157,157.
Geography and climate
Burrill with Cowling is situated in the North of England in the county North Yorkshire and is located between two national parks – Yorkshire Dales National Park and North York Moors National Park. The nearest city is Middlesbrough yet it is also in close proximity to the city ofYork. The topography in the North East is shown to have west to east sloping land with rivers flowing eastwards, mainly from sources in the Pennines which are part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The average climate for Burrill with Cowling is approximately 9.7 °C which is slightly lower than the UK average temperature of 10.4 °C.
