Raskelf is named in the Domesday Book, compiled by Norman commissioners in 1086, entered under the hundred of Bulford in Yorkshire. The survey assessed Raskelf at 0.5 carucates of taxable land.

At the time of the survey, Raskelf supported a recorded population of 7 villagers, 5 smallholders, 5 slaves, working 2 ploughs between them.

Something went badly wrong here between the two surveys. Before 1066, Raskelf was worth 4 shillings; by 1086 that had dropped to 3 shillings – a fall of 25%. Most Yorkshire villages that lost value on this scale were swept up in the Harrying of the North – William’s scorched-earth campaign of 1069–70.

Resources Recorded at Raskelf (1086)

Mills: 1 mill (valued at 3d)
Woodland: 7 swine render

Other Settlements in Bulford

The Meaning of the Name

The origin of the name Raskelf is not securely established from its modern form alone; like many settlement names in the North it likely combines an Old English or Old Norse personal name with a landscape term.

Remarkably, the name has changed little since 1086, when the Domesday scribes wrote it as Raskelf.

Listed Buildings Near Raskelf

Historic England records 4 listed buildings within about a mile of Raskelf. Listing protects structures of special architectural or historic interest, graded I (exceptional), II* (particularly important) and II.

Grade II*

Church of St Mary - 0.45 km

Grade II

Cross Shaft in Churchyard to South of South Aisle of Church of St Mary - 0.44 km
Upper Farm Barn, to South West of House - 0.65 km
Pinfold - 0.8 km

Raskelf Today

Today Raskelf lies within the administrative area of North Yorkshire, and the settlement recorded a population of 568 at the 2021 census. Nine and a half centuries separate that figure from the small rural community the Domesday survey recorded here in 1086.

Read more about modern Raskelf on Wikipedia .