Castle Levington, 1848

LEAVINGTON, CASTLE, a township, in the parish of Kirk-Leavington, union of Stockton, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 2¾ miles (S.E. by E.) from Yarm; containing 46 inhabitants. The manor and estate, which, at the time when the Domesday survey was taken, were demesne of the crown, continued in the possession of the successive sovereigns till the reign of Edward I., when they were granted to the Meinells, who held the lands till the time of Edward III., since which the property has passed through various families. The township is on the western side of the river Leven, and comprises 1,006a. 17p., of which 532 acres are arable, 389 meadow and pasture, 77 wood, and 6 road and waste. On a large and steep eminence, of conical form, rising from the river side, and now called Castle Hill, was anciently a castle, the residence of the Meinell family. The hill, on the west, south, and south-west, is guarded from the adjoining fields by a deep trench; the sides on the east, south-east, and north, are almost perpendicular, and rise about 200 yards above the river: the crown of the hill is a plain, measuring 40 paces in diameter, and defended by a breastwork of earth of considerable height, with an opening or entrance on the south. The tithes, which belong to the Archbishop of York, have been commuted for a rent-charge of £54. Here are the Druidical remains of Ravenscarr.