Askrigg, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  North Riding  Askrigg



Parish History
Askrigg St Oswald is an Ecclesiastical Parish in the county of Yorkshire, created in 1739 from chapelry in Aysgarth, Yorkshire Ancient Parish. Other places in the parish include: Countersett, Nappa, Wraxhall, Woodhall, and Newbigging.

ASKRIGG, a market-town and chapelry, in the parish of Aysgarth, wapentake of Hang-West, N. riding of York, 57 miles (W. N. W.) from York, and 247 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 726 inhabitants. The town is situated on an eminence rising from the northern bank of the river Ure, and upon the road from Richmond to Lancaster; the lands near it are almost entirely occupied as pasture, and the surrounding country exhibits some fine waterfalls and picturesque scenery. It was formerly a place of considerable note, but has fallen into decay; there is a woolcarding mill, and in the neighbourhood are lead-mines, but they are not very productive. The market is on Thursday: fairs are held on May 11th, July 11th and 12th, and Oct. 28th; and there is also a fair for general traffic and recreation on the first Thursday in June. By the act of the 2nd and 3rd of William IV. cap. 64, Askrigg was made a polling-place for the North riding. The township comprises 4741 acres, of which 1948 are common or waste. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £100; patron, the Vicar of Aysgarth. The tithes have been commuted for £84, payable to Trinity College, Cambridge. The chapel is an ancient structure, dedicated to St. Oswald. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. The Yorebridge free grammar school, in the chapelry, was founded for the sons of inhabitants, in 1601, by Anthony Besson, who endowed it with an inn named the Black Swan, in York, and a plot of about two acres and a half of ground called the Intack, producing upwards of £200 per annum, which is paid to the master, who has also a house and garden rent-free. Almshouses were founded, and endowed with £2000 three per cent. consols., in 1807, by Christopher Alderson, for six poor widows of the townships of Askrigg and Low Abbotside, each of whom has £10 per annum.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 96-100. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50766 Date accessed: 10 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 neighboring 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.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non-conformist 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
Bainbridge Gilbert Poor Law Union, Yorkshire

Aysgarth 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.