Gisburn, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  West Riding  Gisburn



Parish History
Gisburn was an Ancient Parish in the county of Yorkshire.

Other places in the parish include: Horton, Horton in Craven, Horton near Gisburn, Middop, Midhope, Nappa, Swinden, Newsome, Paythorne, Rimington, Rimmington, Rimmington with Marton Top, Todber, Howgill, Stopper-lane, Newby and Gazegill, and Newsholme.

The ancient church at the centre of the village is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. It is thought, however, that at one time it also had a dedication to St Andrew, possibly as a deliberate means of avoiding the displeasure of invading Scots. A more likely explanation lies with the one time patrons of the living, the prioress and nuns from Stainfield Nunnery in Lincolnshire, which was itself dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and St Andrew. Indeed, the prioress had a manor house at 'Rayhead' in Gisburn Forest and the Percy family, who founded the nunnery, were very generous to Gisburn Church. The connection with Stainfield, however, was the source of a bitter dispute between the nunnery and the nearby Sawley Abbey.

Early charters give the priest of Gisburn, between 1140 and 1146, as one `Renulf’ and it has been suggested that the foundations of the church date from 1135.

The large cylindrical pillars at the front of the church are of 12th century origin. The date of the other pillars is later, perhaps as late as the 16th century, when it is thought that the church was restored. Part of the archway originated from Sawley Abbey following its destruction at the Dissolution. A further restoration in 1872 involved re-roofing the church, new pews and a new pulpit. Other modifications were also carried out and the work was paid for by a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty, the repayment of which took till until 1925.

Historically Gisburn was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, within the Deanery of Craven, and Wapentake of Staincliffe. It touched the historic county of Lancashire on the south. Today it is in Lancashire, and touches North Yorkshire on the north.

Geographically, Gisburn is a rural area, surrounded by hilly and relatively unpopulated areas, with Bowland Forest to the west, Pendle Hill to the south, and the Yorkshire Dales and Pennines not far to the north and east. The relatively flat Ribble valley runs through the parish with the A59 running parallel. The Roman road from Ribchester to Ilkley once passed through the area also.

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.

Registration Districts:


 * Settle
 * Clitheroe

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.

This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1558.

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.

Parish registers for Gisburn, 1558-1900 Microfilm copy of original records housed in the Lancashire Record Office, Preston, Lancashire.Text in Latin and English. Lancashire Record Office no. PR 3432/1/1 - PR 3432/1/9, PR 3432/1/11 - PR 3432/1/18, PR 3432/4/1 - PR 3432/4/2

Bishop's transcripts for Gisburn, 1600-1865 Microfilm of original records in the Borthwick Institute, York, and the West Yorkshire Archive Service, Sheepscar. Includes entries for Tosside intermixed with Gisburn records for the following years: 1749-1753, 1774-1776, 1787-1788. Includes some Latin.

Poor Law Unions
Clitheroe Poor Law Union, Lancashire

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