Place:Kildwick, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia Kildwick, or Kildwick-in-Craven, is a village and civil parish of the District of Craven in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Skipton and Keighley and had a population of 191 in at the 2001 UK census, rising slightly to 194 at the 2011 UK census. Kildwick is the point where the major road from Keighley to Skipton crosses the River Aire. end of Wikipedia direct contribution Ancient Kildwick Parish was unusually large. Wilson's Gazetteer, quoted below, states that it covered 22,079 acres circa 1870. This included the township of Kildwick itself plus the townships of Bradleys Both, Cononley, Cowling (in Craven), Farnhill, Glusburn, Silsden, Steeton with Eastburn, Stirton with Thorlby, Sutton in Craven. All these places eventually became civil parishes in their own right. Wikipedia mentions a few other places that may have been hamlets within other townships.

The following description of Kildwick from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72 (provided by A Vision of Britain through Time) shows that industry in the parish was far greater 150 years ago than it is today.

"KILDWICK, a township and a [registration] sub-district in Skipton [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Keighley district, {West Riding of] Yorkshire. The township lies on the river Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool canal, adjacent to the North Midland railway, 4 miles SSE of Skipton; and has a station on the railway, jointly with Cross Hills, and a post office under Leeds. Acres: 873. Real property, £1,351. Population: 170. Houses: 36.

"The sub-district contains also the townships of Cononley, Cowling, Glusburn, Farnhill, Bradleys Both, and Silsden. Acres: 17,717. Population in 1851: 8,763; in 1861: 7,853. Houses: 1,676.

"The parish contains likewise the townships of Sutton and Steeton-with-Eastburn. Acres: 22,079. Real property: £39,378; of which £4,783 are in mines. Population in 1851: 11,712; in 1861: 10,893. Houses: 2,292. The decrease of population was mainly in Cononley, Cowling, and Bradleys Both; and was caused chiefly by the stoppage of lead mines in the first of these townships, and by the decline of hand loom weaving in all the three. Considerable increase of population occurred in Glusburn and Steeton.

"The property is much subdivided. The manor of Kildwick, with Kildwick Hall, belongs to the Wilsons; that of Cowling, to R. B. Wainman, Esq.; and Farnhill Hall, with much of Farnhill township, to G. L. Fox, Esq. Lead mines, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, are in Cononley; quarries are all over the parish; worsted mills are in Cononley, Cowling, Silsden, and Steeton; and other manufacturing works are in Steeton and Sutton. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ripon. Value: £395 Patron: Christ Church, Oxford. The church is very ancient; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, with porch and tower; is popularly known as "the lang kirk of Craven;" and contains an interesting monument of the 14th century to the Knight Templar, Sir Robert De Styveton. The [perpetual] curacies of Cowling and Silsden are separate benefices. Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels are in all the townships; a Baptist chapel is in Sutton; and national schools are in Kildwick, Cononley, Silsden, Cowling, and Sutton. Charities: £56."

At the beginning of the 19th century Kildwick was a parish in the Staincliffe and Ewcross Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. As an ancient parish it included the townships listed above. From 1894 until 1974 it was a civil parish in Skipton Rural District. In the nationwide reorganization of local government of 1974, Kildwick became part of Bradford Metropolitan Borough in West Yorkshire. (Source for this fact not found in 2018, but it must have been part of an older edition of Wikipedia.) Before 2004 it was transferred to the Craven District of North Yorkshire where its current, more rural, status was better placed.

Contributions to WeRelate show that there was a large Quaker population in the parish.

Research Tips

• British History Online (Victoria County Histories) do not cover the West Riding of Yorkshire
• GENUKI has a page on all three ridings of Yorkshire and pages for each of the ecclesiastical parishes in the county. Under each parish there is a list of the settlements within it and brief description of each. The list is based on a gazetteer dated 1835 and there may have been a number of alterations to the parish setup since then. However, it is worthwhile information for the pre civil registration era. GENUKI provides references to other organizations who hold genealogical information for the local area. There is no guarantee that the website has been kept up to date and the submitter is very firm about his copyright. This should not stop anyone from reading the material.
• The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages similar to those provided by GENUKI which may have been prepared at a later date from more recent data. The wiki has a link to English Jurisdictions 1851 which gives the registration district and wapentake for each parish, together with statistics from the 1851 census for the area.
• A Vision of Britain through Time, Yorkshire West Riding, section "Units and Statistics" leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from about 1800 through 1974. There are pages available for all civil parishes, municipal boroughs and other administrative divisions. Descriptions provided are usually based on a gazetteer of 1870-72.

• Map of the West Riding divisions in 1888 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Map of West Riding divisions in 1917 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time. In other counties, the map for 1900 has been used, but it is not coming up in Vision of Britain's list.
• Map of West Riding divisions in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time

• The above three maps indicate the boundaries between parishes, etc., but for a more detailed view of a specific area try a map from this selection. The oldest series are very clear at the third magnification offered. Comparing the map details with the GENUKI details for the same area is well worthwhile.
• Yorkshire has a large number of family history and genealogical societies. A list of the societies will be found on the Yorkshire, England page.
• In March 2018 Ancestry announced that its file entitled "Yorkshire, England: Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1873" has been expanded to include another 94 parishes (across the three ridings) and expected it to be expanded further during the year. The entries are taken from previously printed parish registers.
• Note also the references in Wikipedia to locally produced websites.