The toponym is first recorded as Deltone in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is derived from the Old Englishdæl "valley" and tūn "settlement", so means "valley settlement". Dalton had 10.2 households in 1066 which is quite a small amount in comparison to other parishes according to the Domesday book. The total tax assessed is 5.2 geld units, which is quite large for a parish. The Lord in 1066 was called Bernwulf and the value to the lord was £4. The Lord as well as tenant-in-chief in 1086 was William of Percy and the value was £5. Dalton had 15 ploughlands, one mill, one church and four furlongs worth of woodland. In 1086 Dalton was a of Topcliffe, and by the 15th century was known as a manor. Until the 19th century it remained a township of the large ancient parish of Topcliffe in the wapentake of Birdforth in the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1866 it became a separate civil parish. In 1870, John Marius Wilson recorded: In 1890 Dalton was made up of 2,649 acres of land and 177 acres were covered in plantations. Some of it was elevated moorland and the rest was fertile land. A small ‘chapel of ease’ was created here in 1839 in which a service used to be held every second Sunday morning of the month, and every evening on all the other Sundays. In 1855 the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was created which was described as “a very small and plain building”. During the Second World War, RAF Dalton was used as an airfield by RAF Bomber Command. It was home to No.102 Squadron in November 1941. In 1943 it was allocated to No.6 Group Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1974 Dalton became part of the new county of North Yorkshire.
In 1881 the dominant occupation was in agriculture with 40 males in that profession. In 2011 this had changed to 32 males becoming Managers, Directors and Senior Officials in Dalton. In 1881 the main profession for females was domestic services or offices, by 2011 this had changed to 16 women being Managers and Senior professionals.
Housing
The average price of a property in North Yorkshire is £193,666. In the postcode region YO7 the average for all properties is £224,608. In 1881 there were 67 houses, by 1951 this had increased to 104 and then 10 years later, in 1961 decreased to 83. Between 1881 and 1901 there were six houses vacant and none being reconstructed, this means that many houses must have been built by 1951.
Education
Currently, there are ten schools with a three-mile radius of Dalton, such as Topcliffe-pre school playgroup which is 1.7 miles away. According to the 2009 Ofsted report, the ‘Overall effectiveness’ was given a score of 2. Primary schools include Cundall Manor Preparatory School, Sessay Church of England Volantary Controlled Primary School and Queen Mary’s School.
