Welcome to the Ampleforth Parish Council web site

Ampleforth Parish Council is made up of five councillors, which is the maximum number allowed for the parish. Meetings are usually held on the first Thursday of every month (apart from August) at 7.15pm at the Village Hall. 

Ampleforth is an attractive village in the Ryedale District of North Yorkshire, about 23 miles north of York and 4 miles south of Helmsley.  The main street of the village forms the southern boundary of the North York Moors National Park, with the northern area in the park, and the south outside. The population of Ampleforth Parish, according to the 2011 Census is 1,345 – with 760 in 342 households and 585 in Ampleforth College.  The only major local employer is Ampleforth College, which is situated within the parish, with farming, tourism and support services, the main occupations.

Historically, the village has existed since Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book.  Most recently, we had the discovery of three bronzes and a plumb bob in the hoard dated from the later 2nd century AD. The hoard offers a rare insight into a religious ceremony in rural Roman Yorkshire which culminated in the burial of these objects as an offering to the gods.

Geographically, the village is situated along the southern slopes of the Hambleton Hills, along the spring line, which has always assured a good source of water.  The slopes run down to the Coxwold-Gilling Gap, a valley about six miles long and one and a quarter mile wide, which separates the Hambleton and Howardian Hills.  The river Holbeck, a tributary of the river Rye, runs through the valley.

For electoral and administrative purposes, the parish of Ampleforth is part of Ampleforth Ward, along with other parishes: Coulton, Oldstead, Byland with Wass, Gilling East, Scackleton, Cawton and Grimstone.  Ampleforth Ward is part of Ryedale District Council, a district of North Yorkshire County Council.  In April 2023, the new North Yorkshire Council will take over providing public services for every resident, household and community in the county.  This new organisation will replace the county council and seven district/borough councils, which currently operate. Ampleforth Parish Council’s role remains unchanged by the reorganisation.

Ampleforth is in the parliamentary constituency of Thirsk and Malton.

Ampleforth is a vibrant, working village.