Crayke is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, about east of Easingwold. Etymology The name Crayke is of Brittonic origin, derived from the neo-Brittonic Cumbric crẹ:g, meaning "a crag" or "prominent rock" (Welsh craig). This derivation may refer to the topography associated with the Northumbrian monastery at Crayke. History There is evidence that there has been a settlement here since the times of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The village is named in the Domesday Book as Crec, part of the Yarlestre hundred and noted as belonging to the Bishop of Durham. The parish was formerly a detached part of County Durham (until 1844), due to its connection with St Cuthbert and the Diocese of Durham, which owned Crayke Castle. The seventh-century king Egfrid granted Crayke to the church in 685 to be used by Cuthbert on his visits to York, to which end Cuthbert founded a monastery here. Cuthbert died in 687AD. The monk Aediluulf wrote a poem Carmen de Abbatibus between 803 and 821 about the history of his monastery, and some scholars propose that the monastery, which was in the circle of Lindisfarne, was in Crayke. (For instance, Michael Lapidge in Anglo-Latin Literature 600–899, Hambledon Press, London 1996) According to the chronicler Symeon, the Northumbrian King Aelle appropriated Crayke and used it as his headquarters during the unsuccessful campaign against the Danes in 867. He also reports that when the congregation of St Cuthbert was wandering homeless during the seven-year period 875–882 the monks remained four months at Crayke. In Norman times the Bishops of Durham constructed a castle over the monastic cemetery, though no traces now remain. Links with Cuthbert and the bishopric of Durham are recognised in the dedication of the 1436 Anglican church to St Cuthbert, and the naming of the pub as the Durham Ox, (an allusion to the foundation myth of Durham). Governance The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency having previously been in the Vale of York UK Parliament constituency. It is part of the Stillington electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council. It is also within the Stillington ward of Hambleton District Council. The Parish Council is made of seven councillors including the Chair. Geography The village is at an elevation of at its highest point. The nearest settlements are Easingwold to the south-west; Stillington to the south-east; Brandsby to