Coxwold

Coxwold is a village in North Yorkshire, 18 miles north of York where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote A Sentimental Journey

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Coxwold stands on a slight hill. At the bottom is the village smithy and well. Facing a big elm tree is the Fauconberg Arms inn, bearing the arms and motto of Baron Fauconberg. The villagers' cottages are on the slope, and at the top is the church to which Sterne was appointed vicar in 1760. Since 700 AD, Coxwold has had a church on this site at the top of the hill. The present church was built in 1420 AD.

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Nearby is "Shandy Hall", the house where Sterne lived from 1760 to 1768, and playfully named by him. Shandy Hall was originally built in 1430 as a parsonage for the Coxwold village priest. It is a small building, with a mossy stone-covered roof, wide gables, and massive chimney-stacks, originally a timber framed open-hall house considerably altered in the 17th century. The stone tablet above its doorway states that Sterne wrote Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey at Shandy Hall. This is not entirely accurate, for two volumes of Tristram Shandy had already been published in 1759 before Sterne moved to Coxwold.

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North Yorkshire: North Yorkshire is a county within the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. It is divided into the districts of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby....

York: :This article is about the historic English city. For other meanings, see York (disambiguation)....

Laurence Sterne: Laurence Sterne (November 24, 1713 - March 18, 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and clergyman. He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in l...