Eskdaleside, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  North Riding  Eskdaleside

Parish History
Eskdaleside is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Yorkshire, created in 1735 from Whitby, Yorkshire Ancient Parish.

ESKDALE-SIDE, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Whitby, liberty of Whitby-Strand, N. ridingof York, 5½ miles (S. W.) from Whitby; containing519 inhabitants. This chapelry is beautifully situated,extending for five miles along the south bank of the river Esk, and comprising 2500 acres, of which about 1500 are good arable and pasture land, and the remainder uninclosed moor producing only heath. The surface rises gradually from the Esk to an elevation of 1600 feet,forming one of the highest points of the eastern moors in the county, and inclosing one of the most lovelyvalleys in the kingdom, through which the Esk pursues its rapid and winding course. There are some large quarries of freestone in operation, and a great abundance of alum rock, which was formerly extensively worked:a considerable bed of stone, containing about forty five per cent. of iron, was discovered a few years since,at the western extremity of the township, and the ore,now extensively wrought, is sent to Newcastle to be smelted. The Whitby and Pickering railway passes through the chapelry for more than five miles. The living is a perpetual curacy, with that of Ugglebarnby annexed, and in the patronage of the Rev. William Walker, with a net income of £329; appropriator, the Archbishop of York. The chapel, founded by Roger,abbot of Whitby, about the year 1260, having become ruinous, a very elegant structure was erected on a more commodious site, in 1767, at the expense of Robert Bower, Esq., and his wife and sister, who likewise built a parsonage-house. A second church has been erected at the western extremity of the chapelry, chiefly through the exertions of H. Belcher, Esq., of Whitby. There are numerous springs, most of them containing alum andiron. In the reign of John a small priory was founded here. The place is celebrated for the singular ceremony of the Penny Whittle hedge.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 181-186. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50950 Date accessed: 06 May 2011.

See also the Church of St John the Evangelist Sleights, Yorkshire

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 date.

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.

Poor Law Unions
Whitby 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.