Birkin, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes   West Riding  Birkin

Parish History
BIRKIN (St. Mary), a parish, in the Lower division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash, W. riding of York; comprising the townships of Birkin, West Haddlesey, Chapel Haddlesey, Temple-Hurst, and HurstCourtney; and containing 921 inhabitants, of whom 169 are in the township of Birkin, 4 miles (N. E. by E.) from Ferry-Bridge. The parish is intersected by the Selby canal, and bounded on the south by the river Aire. It is nine miles long, and comprises 5890 acres, of which about 3355 are arable, 2000 pasture, and 45 woodland; the soil varies in quality, part being light, and adapted to the growth of barley and turnips, and part being of a stronger nature, and well suited for wheat and beans. The surface is varied, the scenery pleasingly diversified, and the air salubrious. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £36; net income, £1008; patron, the Rev. Thomas Hill. The church, erected in the 12th century, is a very curious and perfect specimen of Norman architecture, and contains a chancel particularly worthy of notice: there is an inscription by Whitehead, the poet laureate, commemorating Elizabeth Wright, wife of a former rector. A chapel of ease was erected, in 1836, at Chapel Haddlesey, upon the site of one which, being very dilapidated and insufficient for the accommodation of the parishioners there, was pulled down. The Wesleyan Methodists have small places of worship at Chapel Haddlesey and Temple-Hurst.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 255-263. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50802 Date accessed: 31 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 1649.

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.