Wensley, North Riding of Yorkshire
Historical Description
Wensley, a village, a township, and a parish in N.R. Yorkshire. The village stands on the river Yore, 1½ mile SW of Leyburn. It gives the name of Wensleydale to the Ure's Valley from its head down to Jervaux Abbey, is a pretty place, and has a station on a branch of the N.E.R., a post office under Leyburn; money order and telegraph office, Leyburn, and a four-arched bridge. It was once a market-town, but was devastated by the plague in the 16th century, and has never recovered its position. The township comprises 2079 acres; population, 261; of the ecclesiastical parish, 1541. The parish includes Leyburn, Preston-under-Scar, Redmire, and Castle Bolton townships. The manor belongs to Lord Bolton. Bolton Hall, the seat of Lord Bolton, and Wensley Hall, the residence of the Orde Powlett family, are chief residences. There are lead mines. The living is a rectory, with Leyburn annexed, in the diocese of Ripon; net value, £640 with residence. Patron, Lord Bolton. The church is a handsome building in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, consisting of a chancel, nave, aisles, N and S porches, and a western pinnacled tower. It was made collegiate in 1399, and contains several memorials and brasses. The vicarage of Castle-Bolton-with-Redmire is a separate benefice. There is a library and reading-room.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Yorkshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Wensley Holy Trinity | |
| Poor Law union | Leyburn | |
| 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 Wensley:
| Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1538-1877 | 1754-1811 | 1538-1876 | 1538-1876 |
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Wensley from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Wensley (Holy Trinity))
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 Wensley are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- 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: