Stokesley, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  North Riding  Stokesley

Parish History
Stokesley St Peter is an Ancient parish in the north Riding of Yorkshire.

STOKESLEY (St. Peter), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Busby, Easby, and Newby, 2734 inhabitants, of whom 2310 are in Stokesley township, 41 miles (N. by W.) from York, and 242 (N. by W.) from London. This place anciently belonged to the family of Fitz-Richard, one of whom, in the reign of Henry III., obtained from that monarch the grant of a weekly market, and of an annual fair to be held on the eve of the translation of St. Thomas the Martyr. The manor is now the property of Lieut.-Col. Robert Hildyard, but a large portion of the land belongs to others. The town is pleasantly situated on the road from Northallerton to Whitby, nearly in the centre of the fertile vale of Cleveland, and consists of one spacious street, extending from east to west, along the north bank of the river Leven. The houses are chiefly modern, and of handsome appearance. Till lately, the inhabitants were partly employed in the linen manufacture, which was carried on to a considerable extent, and in the spinning of yarn and the manufacture of patent thread, for which an extensive mill was erected in 1823; this mill has been lately taken down, and the site converted into a garden. The market is on Saturday: fairs for cattle are held on the Saturdays immediately before Palm and Trinity Sundays, and on every alternate Saturday between those periods; statute-fairs are held on the Saturdays next preceding May-day and Martinmas. Petty-sessions are held here for the division, on the second and fourth Saturdays in every month; and the town has been made a polling-place for the North riding of the county. The powers of the county debt-court of Stokesley, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Stokesley and Guisborough.

The parish comprises about 5960 acres, of which 1744a. lr. 28p., are in Stokesley township. The lands are rich, and generally level, forming an extensive plain adorned with thriving plantations, and enlivened by the winding streams of the Leven and Tame, which abound with trout of excellent quality. The manor-house, the residence of Lieut.-Col. Hildyard, is a handsome mansion pleasantly situated near the church. The living is a rectory, with the curacy of Westerdale; it is valued in the king's books at £30. 6. 10½., and is in the patronage of the Archbishop of York. The tithes of Stokesley have been commuted for £956, and the glebe comprises 76 acres; the rector's tithes in Westerdale have been commuted for £250, and the glebe comprises 11 acres. The church was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1771. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 224-229. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51309 Date accessed: 27 April 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.

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.

Poor Law Unions
Stokesley 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

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.