South Kilvington, Yorkshire Genealogy

Guide to South Kilvington, Yorkshire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
South Kilvington St Wilfrid is an Ancient Parish in the county of Yorkshire. Other places in the parish include: Thornborough, Thornbrough, Upsall near Thirsk, Upsall, and Upsail.

The church of ST. WILFRID consists of a chancel measuring internally 28 ft. 4 in. by 17 ft. 11 in., nave 44 ft. 1 in. by 17 ft. 7 in. and south porch.

A small round-headed window in the south wall points to the 12thcentury origin of the fabric, but this window is the only detail remaining of the date, unless the rear arch of the south-west window is earlier than its monial. The earlier of the other windows date from about 1260, when the chancel was probably rebuilt. The porch is comparatively modern.

The 13th-century east window is of three trefoil-ed lights, over which are three qua-trefoils but no containing arch. The two windows in the south wall are contemporary, and are each of two trefoil-ed lights (the middle foil quite small) with a qua-trefoil over. The window in the north wall is a modern copy of these. The piscina in the south wall has apparently been retooled and may be as early as the windows, though the basin is modern; the head was probably trefoil-ed. The chancel arch has been rebuilt. The lower parts of the jambs are modern, the upper parts are old, and apparently the old bases of the semi-octagonal responds have been raised. The capitals are of a coarse section and probably of 15th-century date. The two-centered drop arch is of two chamfered orders.

The only window in the north wall of the nave and the first of those in the south are similar to those of the chancel. The second window from the east in the south wall of the nave is the 12th-century light already mentioned. The jambs and head have a continuous internal splay. The south doorway has jambs of a sunk quarter-round order, like those of the windows, and a two-centered drop arch. East of it is a holy water stoup with a large projecting basin and a plain ogee head. The south-west window has a wood frame dividing it into two ogee-headed lights, and a plastered half-round rear arch difficult to date. The north doorway has a round head and is molded with a sunk quarter-round. The west window is of two trefoiled lights under a square head; it was probably inserted in the 15th century, but the head looks like a modern restoration. In the west wall near the south angle outside is a shallow trefoiled niche.

Over the roof at the west end is a plain wood bellturret with a pyramidal roof; it contains two bells, one with no inscription and the other, which is cracked, is inscribed 'Jesus be our speed 1695, E.G., C.W.,' but with no maker's mark; both are of the same note. The south porch is modern or of the late 18th century; all the walls are cemented outside and plastered inside. The roofs have flat plaster ceilings.

The font dates from the latter part of the 15th century; it is of grey marble and is octagonal in plan with concave sides. On the base are squares inscribed 'Dñs Thom[a]s le Scrōp et Elizabeth uxor ejus,' referring to Thomas Lord Scrope, who married Elizabeth Nevill and died in 1494. On the sides of the bowl are shields with Scrope heraldry.

There is a large amount of modern carved furniture in the church, including a very large organ; much of the carving was done by the present rector, the Rev. W. T. Kingsley, who has held the living since 1859. Two old pieces of paneled work have been adapted in a chair in the chancel. At the west end are still remaining some 18th-century box pews, and at the east end is a large late 17th-century square pew. In the east window tracery is some old stained glass, including a shield with the arms of Upsall and Mauleverer. There are a few other fragments, chiefly of canopy work, in the north window of the chancel and in the west window. In the chancel are the fragments of a 13th-century cross.

The plate includes a silver cup, bearing the Newcastle mark of 1760, a silver paten, bearing the Newcastle mark of 1814, presented by the Rev. John Green, rector, and a brass almsdish of Nuremberg manufacture.

The registers begin in 1572.

The churchyard is partly bounded by a yew hedge.

From A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2 (1923), pp. 40-43. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.u/report.aspx?compid=64606&amp;strquery=South Kilvington Date accessed: 14 May 2011

KILVINGTON, SOUTH (St. Wilfrid), a parish, in the poor-law union of Thirsk, wapentake of Birdforth, N. riding of York; comprising the townships of South Kilvington, Thornbrough, and Upsall; and containing 402 inhabitants, of whom 277 are in the township of South Kilvington, l¼ mile (N.) from Thirsk.

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
South Kilvington parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the North Yorkshire County Record Office.

Poor Law Unions
Thirsk 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