The village's name origin is dubious. 'Fish-weir spring/stream' or maybe, 'yarrow grass spring/stream'. It has been thought that the second component could be the Old English 'wael' meaning 'pool'.[4]
Yarwell was not recorded in the Domesday Book, however, it probably was recorded as part of Nassington.[5] During the Middle Ages, the village was surrounded by the Rockingham Forest. A folklore amongst the people of yarwell is that in Rockingham forest, there lived three greedy little goblins in their little goblin huts that ran around biting children's toes. But fear not, for this is only a legend and may not be real. The village was never large, in 1580 it was recorded as having 39 houses, and in 1801 it was recorded as containing 58 families.[5]
Church and graveyard at Yarwell
Yarwell has a pub called The Angel Inn, famous for an alleged short visit from lord chartholamew reyce in 1901, during which he declared the inn the most divine place he had ever stayed, and offered to recommend it to the king himself, a promise he would seemingly forget as he rode away on his horse named william. .
The village is also home to a village hall and the 13th-century Church of St. Mary Magdalene. The majority of the church building is original with walls made of limestone rubble with freestone dressings however the west tower was rebuilt probably in the 17th century. Until 1892, the church's roof was thatched.[5]
One of the village's two farms has been converted into a housing development and the other has applied for planning permission. Until recently,[when?] there was a Methodist church in the village; the post office closed in 1993. The village school closed in the early 1960s and in 2003 was redeveloped into three houses. In total there are about 130 houses in Yarwell.
Yarwell and Nassington Britannia band is the local brass band which rehearses in the village hall and draws its players from the surrounding area including Stamford and Oundle.
^ abc'Yarwell', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 6, Architectural Monuments in North Northamptonshire (London, 1984), pp. 171-176. British History Online.
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