Beeford, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  East Riding  Beeford

Parish History
BEEFORD (St. Leonard), a parish, chiefly in the union of Driffield, but partly in the unions of Bridlington and Skirlaugh, N. division of the wapentake of Holderness, E. riding of York; comprising the townships of Beeford and Dunnington, and the chapelry of Lissett; and containing 977 inhabitants, of whom 766 are in the township of Beeford, 8 miles (E. S. E.) from Driffield. This place is of considerable antiquity, it being recorded in Domesday book that there was a church here at the time of that survey; which church was given, within a century after the Conquest, to the priory of Bridlington, by Ernald de Montbegun. The parish is on the road from Hull, through Beverley, to Bridlington and Scarborough, and comprises about 4000 acres; 897 are pasture, 120 woodland, and the remainder arable. The village is long and straggling; and on the road towards Upton are many small garths or inclosures, where houses seem formerly to have existed. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £22, and in the patronage of the Archbishop of York, with a net income of £779: the tithes of Beeford township were commuted for land and a money payment in 1766. The church, which stands nearly in the centre of the village, is a spacious edifice, in a rich style of architecture, and consists of a nave, south aisle, and chancel, with a tower, which is of handsome appearance, and presents a good specimen of the later English. At Lissett is a chapel of ease, dedicated to St. James. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. An experiment has been made here of the allotment system, with about 20 acres of land divided into 68 gardens, and the advantages derived have been very great.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 194-199. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50789 Date accessed: 24 August 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1564.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Yorkshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.