Leyburn, North Riding of Yorkshire
Historical Description
Leyburn, a union, a market-town, and a township in the N.R. Yorkshire. The town stands on the N side of Wensleydale, on a branch line which joins the M.R. at Hawes Junction, 22½ miles distant. It is 9 miles SSW of Richmond, and is connected with Middleham by a bridge over the river Yore. It consists chiefly of two spacious streets or oblong squares of well-built houses, is situated amid beautiful scenery, offers facilities to tourists for exploring the picturesque country around it, is a seat of petty sessions and county courts and a polling place, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.), a railway station, two banks, several inns, a town-hall, gasworks erected in 1855, a church. Congregational, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic chapels, and a dispensary. The town-hall was built in 1856, at a cost of about £3000, and is a large and heavy yet good edifice. A handsome county police station was erected in 1877. A weekly market is held on Friday, and fairs for cattle and sheep on the second Friday of Feb., May, Oct., and Dec. " Leyburn Shawl," on the W side of the town, is a high natural terrace, about a mile long, affords a delightful walk, was much improved in 1846, and commands extensive and romantic views. The township is in Wensley parish, and comprises 2515 acres, of which 15 are water; population, 982. The manor belongs to Lord Bolton. The living is annexed to the rectory of Wensley in the diocese of Ripon; joint net value, £567, with residence. Patron, Lord Bolton. The church of St Matthew, a chapel of ease to Wensley parish, is a building in the Decorated style, and consists of chancel, nave, north aisle, and an embattled western tower. The workhouse stands near the railway station, was erected in 1877, and has accommodation for 100 inmates.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Yorkshire | |
Civil parish | Wensley | |
Riding | North | |
Wapentake | Hang-West |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in conjunction with various Archives, Local Studies, and Family History Societies have the following parish records online for Leyburn:
Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
---|---|---|---|
1863-1915 | 1872-1930 |
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Leyburn from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for the North Riding of Yorkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Leyburn are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following North Riding newspapers online: