8. THE PILGRIM FATHERS INN

The datestone on the gable facing the road, now covered by rendering, bears the date 1771, showing that the inn was built to cater for travellers on the 1766 turnpike road. The original name of the inn was The Saracen’s Head. In 1969, following alterations, the name was changed to the present one. The inn was enlarged to its present size in 1985. Until 1906, the main door faced the road. The publican once combined his duties with operating a small farm unit, the barn of which still remains.

11. ST. WILFRID’S CHURCH

The parish church is dedicated to St. Wilfrid, an early Archbishop of York, who died in 709. The earliest reference to the church occurs in 1177-8 when, as a chapel of ease of Sutton (cum Lound) it was appropriated to the chapel of St. Mary and the Holy Angels at York. No trace of the early church can be discerned in the fabric of the church today. Architecturally, two phases of construction can be recognised. The tower with its Perpendicular style west window dates from the early 15th century, while the south aisle, with its Tudor style windows, is about a century later. The church was restored in 1864 following a long period of neglect, and the roof, pews, pulpit and Perpendicular style east window are of that date. In 1889, the east window was glazed with stained glass. Relics of the medieval church are few - four bench ends and fragments of a screen with carved vine motif.

5. SCROOBY MANOR HOUSE

This site, enclosing an area of about 6½ acres within a moat, was formerly occupied by the medieval manor house or palace of the Archbishops of York, who stayed and entertained here during tours of their extensive see.

The earliest reference to a building here occurs in 1207, when King John ordered French wine to be sent to Scrooby for the use of his half-brother, then the Archbishop. In 1212 King John himself stayed here. Throughout the middle ages, references are found to successive Archbishops visiting Scrooby and signing ecclesiastical documents here. In 1503, Margaret, the eldest daughter of Henry VII stayed at the manor house on her way to Scotland to become the second wife of King James IV. In the early 16th century considerable building took place, and it is likely that the earliest brick buildings, fragments of which can be seen incorporated into Manor Farm, date from that time. In 1530, Cardinal Wolsey, the great statesman of Henry VIII’s court, stayed at Scrooby throughout September while in disgrace. John Leland, King Henry VII’s historian, visited Scrooby in c. 1538 and described the manor house as follows:-…’the second was a great Manor Palace, standing withyn a Mote, and (be)longing to tharchbishop of York, buildid yn to (two) Courtes, where of the first is very ample, and al builded of Tymbre, saving the Front of the Haule, that is of  Bricke, to the wich ascenditur per gradus lapideos (one ascends by means of stone steps). The ynner Courte Building, as far as I markid, was of Tymber Buildings, and was not in cumpace past the four parts of the utter (outer) Courte’. In 1541, Henry VIII stayed at Scrooby overnight and held a Privy Council here. William Brewster Snr. was appointed Receiver and Bailiff of the Archbishop’s estate at Scrooby in 1575, and the terms of his appointment suggest that he should occupy all or part of the manor house which, by that time, was getting past its prime and no longer attracting regular visits from its owner. Some thirteen years later, Brewster was appointed to the additional position of ‘Master of the Queen’s Postes’, responsible for the safe accommodation of crown messengers journeying along the main road from London to Scotland. In 1590, Brewster Snr. died, and was succeeded by his son, William Junior. In 1606-7, Brewster held meetings of the Scrooby Separatist Church here. In 1636-7, most of the by then dilapidated manor house and its outbuildings were demolished following a demolition order granted by Charles I. (The gatehouse and some outbuildings had been pulled down in 1558). Part of one wing of the manor house survived, and in c. 1750 was renovated as a farmhouse for the Archbishop’s tenant. It is that building which can be seen today.

9. THE OLD VICARAGE

This two-bayed timber-framed house was built to accommodate a resident curate, probably in the 1590’s.Originally the house was timber-framed to within one foot of the ground, and rested on a low stone sill wall. The framing was infilled with wattle and daub while the exterior was covered with willow laths and plastered over. The whole building was then lime-washed. The roof was originally thatched. The building possessed a hall with fireplace, and parlour, with a chamber above, reached by ladder. The thatch needed repair in 1730-1. Substantial rebuilding took place in the 1750’s, when the ground floor was replaced by brick, a brick lean-to addition was built on the south side, with a cellar beneath, and the thatch was replaced by pantiles. From 1753, it ceased to be used as a curate’s house and a succession of parish clerks and sextons inhabited the property for more than a century. Late in the 19th century, the crippled daughter of the parish clerk held a dame school here. By 1912, the then owner, the 7th Viscountess Galway, had changed the name to Brewster’s Cottage, one ground floor room had been adapted as a small museum, and the completely unsubstantiated link with William Brewster had been established. The house by this time had been enlarged with single story additions to the western elevation. Tenants occupied the house until the early 1960’s, when its run down state attracted a closing order preventing further occupation. In 1970-1, the house was restored and enlarged, and became a private dwelling.

In the garden is a mulberry tree, the only example in the village.

4. MILL HOUSE

This brick-built house with its range of outbuildings was constructed as a residence for the miller in about 1750 by the agent to the Archbishop of York’s tenant of the manor, Sir Myles Stapylton. The miller since the mid 17th century had sometimes lived in the Manor House, and at other times in the inn premises known as the Cross Keys which once stood at the Low Road/Manor Road corner, adjacent to Low Farm.

Mill House has triangular patterns called tumbling to the brickwork of its gable ends. The bay windows are of 19th century date.

SCROOBY TOP HOUSE

Between Scrooby and Ranskill, exactly one mile south of Scrooby, stands Scrooby Top House, an important posting house in coaching days. In about 1780, Thomas Fisher, the proprietor of the Swan Inn, the principal posting-house in Bawtry, decided to transfer his business to Scrooby Top in order to be able to counter the competition from the Old Bell Inn at Barnby Moor. Scrooby Top House was known as Scrooby Inn, and remained a licenced house until 1821, when it became a private house. By 1871, Viscount Galway’s tenant was farming 360 acres. The imposing 3-storied ivy-covered house still retains the air of the coaching era, and some of the once commodious ancillary buildings still remain. In 1806, Thomas Fisher charged 15d (6p) per mile for a pair of horses, 2s 3d (11p) for a team of four, and 6d (2½p) for a saddle horse. In the early 19th century, the Rockingham coach, which ran between London and Leeds, changed horses here. When it was an inn, meetings of the Archbishop of York’s manorial court for Scrooby were held at Scrooby Top.

3. HOLMEFIELD FARM

The farmhouse is a typical brick dwelling of c. 1740 with raised gables and a pantile roof. The datestone inscribed I. TORR 1741, now in the gable end of the barn, was probably originally in the southern gable end of the farmhouse and thus dates the house. The barn adjacent to the house was originally timber-framed and still contains some elements of the original roof. The Torr family were long established in Scrooby, and members of the family became early Quakers in the later 17th century.

6. LOW FARM

This imposing late 18th century three-bay brick farmhouse faces south overlooking the Croft. The house has an extensive range of cellars, and an attic storey lit from the gable end. The gable ends have tumbled decoration similar to Mill House. To the rear of the farmhouse lies a complex of brick barns and dovecote enclosing the former foldyard. The farm was once part of  the Scrooby Estate of the Viscounts Galway, and when the 8th Viscount attempted to sell the farm in 1931 it was advertised as being a good sheep and potato farm with an area in excess of 207 acres. The house is now a private residence.