Skelton
Major Settlement in the Parish of Skelton
Historical Forms
- Sheltone c.1160 YCh
- Schelton' 1186 P 1279 Ass
- Scelton' 1192,1199 P c.1200 Coll.Top.etGen. 1249 Ipm 1295 Rental 1332 SR
- Skelton 1271 Ipm
- Skilton 1582 FF
Etymology
There are at least six places of this name in Yorkshire, three in the North Riding, two in the West and one in the East. Smith (PN NRY 16–17) shows that they need not all have the same source. He suggests that in some of them the first element is a Scandinavianised form of OE scylf. If the first form above is trustworthy, it establishes this derivation for the present Skelton. An alternative explanation, from a river-name Skell , is inapplicable here. The meaning of scylf in place-names varies between one example and another, but 'shelf' or 'ledge' seems to be the most common. In this case the word probably refers to the stretch of country between the 700 and 800 foot contour lines in which the village stands. The second element is tūn .