Ampleforth, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes   North Riding  Ampleforth



Parish History
Ampleforth St Hilda is an Ancient Parish in the county of Yorkshire. Other places in the parish include: Ampleforth Birdforth, St Peter Ampleforth, Ampleforth St Peter, and Ampleforth Oswaldkirk.

AMPLEFORTH (St. Hilda), a parish, in the union of Helmsley, partly in the wapentake of Birdforth, and partly in that of Ryedale, N. riding of York; containing 446 inhabitants, of whom 207 are in the township of Ampleforth, 4½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Helmsley. This parish, anciently Ampleford, comprises by measurement 2270 acres. The village, which is long, and pleasantly situated, extends into the three hamlets of Ampleforth St. Peter, Ampleforth-Birdforth, and Oswaldkirk-Quarter; it lies at the base of the hill which runs up to Hamilton, and on the south commands a beautiful view of the valley of De Mobray, embracing on the south-east Gilling Castle, and on the south-west Newborough Park, which give to the vicinity a rich and diversified appearance. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 6. 5½.; net income, £261; patron, the Archbishop of York. By an inclosure act in 1806, 199 acres were allotted in lieu of the vicarial tithes of the parish, and of all tithes for the township of Ampleforth. The church is an ancient structure, with a Norman doorway beautifully carved and flowered. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. At Oswaldkirk-Quarter is Ampleforth College, a Roman Catholic establishment, founded in 1802 by the members of the College of Dieulouard, near Pont à Mousson, in Lorraine, whose property was confiscated in the French revolution; the students, about fifty in number, are instructed in the ancient and modern languages, mathematics, &amp;c. The establishment has been several times enlarged; it is situated in the midst of extensive pleasure-grounds, and commands some beautiful views of the surrounding country. Half a mile north of the village are the remains of a Roman camp; near which was discovered in March 1808, by the Rev. Robert Nixon, a barrow formed by a large circle of stones about ten feet in diameter, in which an urn and several ancient coins were found.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 53-58. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50755 Date accessed: 29 April 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 1560.

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
Helmsley 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.