Bingley, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes   West Riding  Bingley

Parish History
BINGLEY (All Saints), a parish and market-town, in the union of Keighley, Upper division of the wapentake of Skyrack, W. riding of York; containing 11,850 inhabitants, of whom 10,157 are in the town (including Micklethwaite), 37 miles (W. S. W.) from York, and 202 (N. N. W.) from London. This place is one of the thirtytwo lordships granted by the Conqueror to Erneis de Berun, from whose descendants it was conveyed to the Paganells and the Gants, and afterwards to the Cantilupe family, from whom it was purchased by Robert Benson, Baron Bingley, and ambassador to the court of Vienna, in the reign of Anne. The manor subsequently passed, by marriage with the heiress of Baron Bingley, to George Fox, Esq., who assumed the surname of Lane, and was created Baron Bingley in 1762; and on the death of the second baron in 1773, it came to the ancestor of George Lane Fox, Esq., the present lord. The town is situated on the sides and summit of a gentle eminence: it is bounded on the west by the river Aire, and on the east by the Leeds and Liverpool canal; and consists chiefly of one long street, on the road from Keighley to Bradford, in the manufactures of which latter place it largely participates. The houses are built of stone, with which the neighbourhood abounds; the streets are lighted with gas, from works erected in 1837, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water. The air is salubrious; and the environs, which are richly wooded, abound with pleasingly varied scenery. The worsted and cotton manufactures, for which there are several large establishments, are carried on in the town, which has been gradually increasing for the last twenty years in population and extent: the manufacture of paper is carried on at Morton, where are also a cottonmill and four worsted-mills; and there is likewise a considerable trade in malt. The Leeds and Bradford Extension railway passes under part of the town by a tunnel of masonry, about 150 yards long. The market, originally granted to the Gant family in the reign of John, is on Tuesday; and fairs for horned-cattle are held on the 25th of January and of August, and for horses on the two following days in August. Pettysessions are held every month. The parish, including the townships of East and West Morton, comprises 13,000 acres, of which number nearly 10,000 are in Bingley with Micklethwaite; the soil is generally fertile, and in good cultivation. A considerable portion of the township of Bingley belongs to the Ferrand family, whose ancestor came over to England with William the Conqueror, and whose descendants have ever since continued at this place. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Crown; impropriator, the Rev. W. Penny: the great tithes have been commuted for £410, and the small for £300. The church is a spacious and venerable structure with a square embattled tower, in the later English style, and, having suffered much dilapidation, was restored in the reign of Henry VIII.; it contains several monuments to the Ferrand and Busfield families. Two church districts, named respectively. Morton and Cullingworth, have been endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: each of the livings is in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Ripon, alternately. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans. The free grammar school was founded in the reign of Henry VIII., and endowed with land and tenements producing at present £260 per annum, subject to certain payments to the poor: the premises comprise a large schoolroom, and a house and garden for the master. Mrs. Sarah Rhodes, in 1784, gave five cottages, which she endowed as almshouses for five aged widows, who receive £3 per annum each. Thomas Busfeild, Esq., in 1767, bequeathed the interest on £800; and there are also several bequests for distribution in bread and clothes among the poor, and for other charitable uses. John Nicholson, the Airedale poet, was buried here in May, 1843.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 244-248. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50800 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 1577.

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
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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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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