Thornton-Steward (St. Oswald)
THORNTON-STEWARD (St. Oswald), a parish, in the union of Leyburn, wapentake of Hang-West, N. riding of York, 6 miles (W.) from Bedale; containing 268 inhabitants. It comprises by admeasurement 2040 acres, about two-thirds of which are grass; the soil is for the most part porous and dry. The village is situated on the banks of the Ure, a little below its junction with the Cover, and at the outlet of the two beautiful valleys of Wensleydale and Coverdale. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 11½.; net income, £234; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Chester. The great tithes have been commuted for £135, and the vicarial for £164; the appropriate glebe contains 8¼. and the vicarial 54 acres. The church is an old, simple building, with an open belfry. A small school, erected in 1815 at the expense of George Horn, Esq., has an endowment of £10 per annum. Some curious ancient coffins of massive stone were found a few years since.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.