Aldborough, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes  North Riding  Aldborough

Parish History
Aldborough is presently located in North Yorkshire County, although at one time it was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1538.

ALDBOROUGH (St. Andrew), a parish, partly in the wapentake of Hallikeld, N. riding, but chiefly in the Lower division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding, of York; comprising the ancient borough towns of Aldborough and Boroughbridge, and the townships of Minskip, Rocliff, and Upper and Lower Dunsforth, in the W. riding, with part of that of Humberton with Milby, and the whole of Ellenthorpe, in the N. riding; and containing 2473 inhabitants, of whom 615 are in the township of Aldborough, 16½ miles (N. W. by W.) from York, and 205½ (N. N. W.) from London. The town, which is situated upon the southern bank of the river Ure, and upon the line of the northern Watlingstreet, was the celebrated and important Roman station called Isurium Brigantium, and received from the Saxons the name of Eald-burgh, denoting its antiquity even in their time. Its destruction is attributed to the Danes, by whom it was sacked and burnt to the ground, about the year 870. The elective franchise was granted by Philip and Mary, in 1558; but by the Reform act the borough was deprived of the privilege of returning members: the right of election was vested in the inhabitants paying scot and lot, in number about sixty; and the bailiff, who was appointed by the electors, was the returning officer. The town is now only a rural village, beautifully situated. The parish comprises 4600 acres; the scenery is varied, and in some points picturesque.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 19. 5.; net income, £368; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Ripon. The tithes of the township of Aldborough were commuted for land and a money payment, by an inclosure act, in 1808. The church, supposed to have been built out of the ruins of Isurium, has several antique monuments, and on the outside a figure of Mercury, 2½ feet in length. At Boroughbridge, Dunsforth, and Rocliff, are other incumbencies. There is a place of worship for Independents. The foundations of the walls of the ancient city, which included a quadrilateral area of 2500 yards, may still be traced. Near the centre are vestiges of a mount called the Borough Hill, removed in 1783, and believed, from the remains then discovered, to have been the site of a Roman temple; and about a hundred paces from the south wall is a semicircular outwork, named Stud forth, 200 feet long, with a slope of 30 feet, forming a lofty terrace, on the south side of the town. Many Roman remains, consisting of tessellated pavements, military weapons, coins, &amp;c, have at various times been discovered, and are preserved in the pleasuregrounds of Aldborough Lodge, where are remains of a Roman encampment. In the village is a beautiful tessellated pavement, under a wood covering.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848)

Resources

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.

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.

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.