Coverham, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  North Riding  Coverham

Parish History
Coverham Holy Trinity is an Ancient Parish in the county of Yorkshire.Other places in the parish include: Bird Riding, Ashgill, Blackrake, Braidley, Brecongill, Caldbergh, Caldbergh with East Scrafton, Caldbridge, Carlton, Carlton Highdale, Carlton Town, Cotiscue, Coverhead, East Scrafton, Flensop, Gammersgill, Hindlethwaite, Little Scrafton, Little and West Scrafton, Melmerby, Melmerby near Coverham, Pickill, Swineside, Tupgill, West Close, West Scrafton, Woodale, Agglethorpe, Agglethorpe with Coverham, Arkleside, and Bird-ridding.

COVERHAM (Holy Trinity), a parish, in the unionof Leyburn, wapentake of Hang-West, N. riding ofYork, 12 miles (W.) from Bedale, and 1½ (S. W.) fromMiddleham; containing 1254 inhabitants. This placewas distinguished for its abbey, which was foundedat Swainby, in the parish of Pickhall, near the southernpoint of Richmondshire, prior to 1189, by Helewisia,daughter and heiress of Ranulph de Glanville, lord chiefjustice of England, and was removed hither in 1214 bythe son of that lady, Ralph Fitz-Robert, lord of Middleham. The institution was of considerable celebrity,and received various endowments from families of rank,possessing, among other lands, nearly the whole of thevalley of Coverham; at the Dissolution its revenue wasreturned at £207. 14. 8. The situation of the priorywas highly appropriate for the purposes of the foundation,and from the spot is obtained a view of the outline ofWhernside and Penhill, which is very majestic, but itdoes not appear that the buildings were ever magnificent;the remains, situated on the north side of the Cover,consist principally of some shattered arches of the nave,and the gateway, a very picturesque structure.

The parish extends over a space of forty superficial miles, and is divided into the High dale and Low dale.The former contains 12,480 acres, and includes the townships of Gammersgill, Swineside, Arkleside, Blackrake, Bradley, Coverhead, Pickle, and Woodale, with the village of Horsehouse, which gives name to a chapelry that consists of the preceding townships. The latter comprises 9640 acres, and includes, besides Caldbridge,East Scrafton, Carlton, Melmerby, and West Scrafton,the hamlet of Coverham Abbey, in the vicinity of which stand the ancient church and mill of the monks, and which, with Agglethorpe Hall and its dependencies,forms the township of Coverham, with 1090 acres of rich land. The river Cover, which confers its name upon the district, is a rapid stream abounding with trout; the dale through which it runs is supposed to have been the birthplace of Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, born in Yorkshire in 1488, and who, in 1535, published the first edition of the Bible ever printed in English. Both coal and lead are found in the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with the tithes of Arkleside,Blackrake, Coverhead, Pickle, Swineside, and Woodale,and in the patronage of the Tomlinson family; net income, £180. The tithes of Coverham township have been commuted for £84. The church, which is thought to have been built in the 12th century, is a neat edifice,consisting of a nave, chancel, and south aisle, with a tower, and contains in the windows some remains of painted glass of great beauty. In the churchyard, which comprises less than two acres, is a spot where neither the church can be seen nor the bells heard, which is occasioned by a very sudden descent on the south-east side,towards the bottom in which the abbey stands, while the noise of the stream propelling the mill-wheel, shuts out the sound of the bells.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 702-710. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50900 Date accessed: 09 May 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1707. Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Leyburn Poor Law Union, Yorkshire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Yorkshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.