Barwick in Elmett, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes   West Riding  Barwick in Elmet

Parish History
BARWICK-IN-ELMET (All Saints), a parish, in the Lower division of the wapentake of Skyrack, W. riding of York, 7 miles (N. E. by E.) from Leeds; containing 2275 inhabitants, of whom 1836 are in Barwick township. This place was the seat of Edwin, King of Northumbria, and had its name from a castle of great magnitude and strength, founded by that monarch on an eminence called Hall-Tower Hill, and the walls of which inclosed an area of upwards of thirteen acres. On the banks of Grimsdike rivulet, which flows on the west, was fought in 655 the great battle between the Northumbrians and Mercians, when Penda and many of his vassal princes were slain. The parish comprises by measurement 8325 acres, whereof 1440 are in the township of Roundhay, and the remainder in Barwick township, which includes Barnbow, Kiddal-with-Potterton, and Morwick-with-Scholes: the substratum consists for a great part of coal and limestone. The Leeds and Selby railway passes through. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £33. 12. 6., and in the patronage of the Duchy of Lancaster, with a net income of £1200: the church is a handsome structure, in the later English style. At Roundhay is a district church. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school, endowed with £14 per annum, is conducted at Barwick; and at Stanks is a school supported by the rector, the schoolroom of which, built in 1839, is licensed for public worship.

From: Lewis, Samuel A.,  A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 164-168. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50783 Date accessed: 24 August 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 1653.

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.

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.