Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for LEYBURN

LEYBURN, a village, a township, a sub-district, and a district in N. R. Yorkshire. The village stands on the N side of Wensleydale, at the terminus of the Northallerton and Leyburn railway, 7½ miles SSW of Richmond; consists chiefly of one spacious street or oblong 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 office‡ under Bedale, a railway station, a banking office, five chief inns, a town hall, gas-works, a chapel of ease, a Wesleyan chapel, a Roman Catholic chapel, national and Roman Catholic schools, a subscription library, a dispensary, and charities £32. The town hall was built in 1856, at a cost of £2,000; and is a large and heavy yet good edifice. 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 18 46; and commands extensive and romantic views. The township is in Wensley parish, and comprises 2,407 acres. Real property, £5,234. Pop., 886. Houses, 169. The manor belongs to Lord Bolton. The district workhouse stands a short way from the village; is an old building; and, at the census of 1861, had 38 ininates.—The sub-district contains the parishes of Wensley, Fingliall, Thornton-Steward, Haukswell, and Spennithorne, and four townships of Patrick-Brompton parish, three of Thornton-Watlass, one of Hornby, and one of Bedale. Acres, 41,847. Pop., 5,875. Houses, 1,187.—The district comprehends also the sub-district of Middleman, containing the parishes of Middleham, Coverhiam, East Witton, and West Witton, and four townships of Masham. Acres of the district, 84,918. Poorrates in 1863, £4,015. Pop. in 1851,10,057; in 1861, 10,105. Houses, 2,101. Marriages in 1863,72; births, 299,-of which 31 were illegitimate; deaths, 184,-of which 54 were at ages under 5 years, and 9 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60,589; births, 2,986; deaths, 1,667. The places of worship, in 1851, were 19 of the Church of England, with 3,331 sittings; 4 of Independents, with 520 s.; 24 of Wesleyans, with 2,560 s.; 10 of Primitive Methodists, with 430 s.; and 1 of Roman Catholics, with 300 s. The schools were 20 public day schools, with 780 scholars; 23 private day schools, with 458 s.; 25 Sunday schools, with 1,213 s.; and 1 evening school for adults, with 2 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village, a township, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Leyburn Tn/CP       Yorkshire AncC
Place: Leyburn

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