The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. It also lies within the Sheriff Hutton & Derwent electoral ward of North Yorkshire Council.[3]
From 1974 to 2023 the village was part of the Ryedale district.
Geography
The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 204.[4] According to the 2001 UK Census the population was 291, of which 207 were over the age of sixteen and of those, 127 were in employment. There were 104 dwellings, of which 54 were detached.[5] By the time of the 2011 census the population had increased to 325.[6]
The nearest settlements are Upper Helmsley 0.9 miles (1.4 km) to the north; Warthill 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to the west; Low Catton 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to the south-east and Stamford Bridge 1.3 miles (2.1 km) to the east.[7] The village stands alongside the A166 that forms part of the boundary between North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. The road used to be a turnpike.[4] The village has an elevation of 100 feet (30 m) at its highest point. The soil is sandy on top of beds of Keuper Marls and Bunter Sandstone.[8]
^ abcdBulmer's Topography, History and Directory (Private and Commercial) of North Yorkshire 1890. S&N Publishing. 1890. p. 705. ISBN1-86150-299-0.
^"2001 UK Census". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
^"Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2015.