GENUKI: Wensley

The Ancient Parish of WENSLEY

[Transcribed information mainly from the early 1820s]
"WENSLEY, a parish in the wapentake of Hang West, and liberty of Richmondshire; 1½ mile W. of Leyburn. Wensleydale, the valley which derives its name from this village, is of considerable width, lying between two ranges of hills, is adorned with several villages, and watered by the river Ure. The situation of Wensley is delightful; sheltered by a long ridge of hills, alternately wood and rock to the north, and gently elevated above the bank of the Ure, it overlooks a plain of high fertility, beyond which an irregular and pleasing tract of cultivated grounds, woods and pastures, ascends before the eye and terminates in the bold and purple form of Penhill to the south: upward the landscape is at once soft and magnificent, and the opening of Bishopdale, where it falls into the vale of Ure, affords, by its depth and mountain character, a fine contrast to the luxuriant groves and meadows of the latter." (There is further information for Wensley).

Information on the following places in this Parish is contained on a supplementary page.

Bolton Hall
Castle Bank
Castle Bolton
East Bolton
Elm House
Gayle Bank

Leyburn
Preston Under Scar
Redmire
Scarth Nick
Swinithwaite
West Bolton

Bibliography

A book about the Wensleydale Railway by Tony Eaton is available.

Census

Please see Christine Amsden's Census pages for the following Census transcriptions:
- Castle Bolton: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901
- Leyburn: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901
- Preston under Scar: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901
- Redmire: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901
- Wensley: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1891, 1901

Churches

Here are photographs of Churches in the parish:
- Holy Trinity Church, Wensley.
  - Internal view looking down the nave
  - Two of the fonts
  - Remains of the third font
- St. Mathew's Church, Leyburn (view 1).
  - Internal view looking down the nave
  - The font
- St. Matthew's Church, Leyburn (view 2).
- The Methodist Church, Leyburn. (The Church's website is here.)
- The Wensleydale Evangelical Church, Leyburn, ex Congregational church, was Community Centre in 2001.
- St. Oswald's Church, Castle Bolton.
  - Internal view looking down the nave
  - looking up the nave towards the west window
  - The font
- St. Oswald's Church, Castle Bolton.
- The Methodist Church, Castle Bolton.
- St. Margaret's Mission Chapel, Preston under Scar.
  - Internal view looking down the nave
  - The font
- St. Mary's Church, Redmire.
  - Internal view looking down the nave
  - The font
and 3 views of Holy Trinity churchyard, Wensley:
- view 1.
- view 2.
- view 3.

Church History

A transcript of Leyburn Congregational Church History
Transcript of the entry for Wensley in the "Collections relative to Churches and Chapels".
Transcript of the entry for Castle Bolton in the "Collections relative to Churches and Chapels".
Transcript of the entry for Redmire in the "Collections relative to Churches and Chapels".
The a short history of the Church in St. Margaret's Church, Preston under Scar.

Church Records

The whereabouts and dates of the Registers etc. for the Chapelry of Bolton cum Redmire.
The whereabouts and dates of the Registers etc. for the Parish of Wensley.
The list of Vicars in St. Mary's Church, Redmire.
The list of Rectors in Holy Trinity Church, Wensley.
The list of the Incumbents of Castle Bolton in St. Oswald's Church.

Description and Travel

Here are photographs of Wensley:
- Cottages and the green, Wensley (view 1).
- Cottages and the green, Wensley (view 2).

Directories

Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades" in the Baines's Directory of 1823, of the North Riding.
Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades" in the Pigot's 1834 Directory, Yorkshire section.
Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades" in the Bulmers Directory of 1890. of the North Riding.

Gazetteers

There is further information about this parish from the Pigot's 1829 Directory, Yorkshire section.
There is further information about this parish from the Pigot's 1834 Directory, Yorkshire section.
There is further information about this parish from the National Gazetteer 1868, Yorkshire extracts.
There is further information about this parish from the Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1835, Yorkshire extracts.
There is further information about this parish from the Stephen Whatley's Gazetteer 1750, Yorkshire extracts.
There is further information about this parish from the Bulmer's 1890 History and Directory of the North Riding.

Maps

For a detailed map of this parish see this parish boundaries map.
For a more detailed map of the parishes in the riding please see the Yorkshire parish maps page.
For a more detailed map of the county please see the Yorkshire map page.
Here is a map showing the wapentakes for the county.

Memorial Inscriptions

The World War I Memorial Plaque in St. Mathew's Church, Leyburn.
The World War II Memorial Plaque in St. Mathew's Church, Leyburn.
The World War II Memorial plaque in St. Mary's Church, Redmire.
The Memorial Chapel Plaque in Holy Trinity Church, Wensley.
The World War I Memorial Plaque in Holy Trinity Church, Wensley.
The World War II Memorial Plaque in Holy Trinity Church, Wensley.
The World War I Memorial Plaque in St. Oswald's Church, Castle Bolton.
The World War I Memorial Plaque in St. Oswald's Church, Castle Bolton.
The WWI Roll of Honour in the Church at Leyburn.

Probate Records

Dave Stringer-Calvert's partial extraction of Redmire and Castle Bolton wills in the Richmondshire Wills Index.

Societies

This parish is covered by the following Society:
- Cleveland FHS

Taxation

The Redmire Land Tax Returns 1759-1837 have been transcribed by Dave Stringer-Calvert.

This page is copyright. Do not copy any part of this page or website other than for personal use or as given in the conditions of use.
If you have any suggestions for links to other sites that may be useful to other researchers, please use this User Links page
Web-page generated by "DB2html" data-base extraction software ©Colin Hinson 2024