Place:Addingham, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Addingham (formerly Haddincham c.972, Odingehem 1086) is a village and civil parish since 1974 in the English county of West Yorkshire. It is situated near the A65 road, 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Skipton, 3 miles (5 km) west of Ilkley, 19 miles (31 km) northwest of Bradford and around 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Leeds. It is located in the valley of the River Wharfe and is only 1 mile (2 km) from the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The name is thought to mean "homestead associated with a man called Adda",^[1] although in the Domesday Book, the village was referred to as "Ediham", which may have referred to Earl Edwin of Bolton Abbey. The 2001 UK census numbered Addingham's population at 3,599, increasing to 3,730 at the 2011 UK census.

The earliest of the existing houses were built in the 17th century when the village was a farming community, but the real growth began in the late 18th century and early 19th century when the textile industry arrived and five working mills, plus other loomshops and weaving sheds, were established, and the village developed into a busy industrial community. The village grew up around three centres; Church Street in the east; The Green, about a mile away in the west; and The Old School in between. This is thought to be one of the reasons the village used to be known as "Long Addingham".

Since the decline of the textile industry during the 20th century, the village has now become largely a commuter and retirement community.

The Parish Council was formed in 1894, when the village became part of the Skipton Rural District. In 1974, as part of the Local Government Act of 1972, the village was absorbed into Bradford Metropolitan District Council in West Yorkshire.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Addingham was originally an ecclesiastical parish in either the Claro or the Staincliffe Wapentake. (sources differ) It included the township of Beamsley.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Addingham.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Addingham from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"ADDINGHAM, a township, a parish, and a [registration] subdistrict, in Skipton [registration] district, [West Riding of] Yorkshire. The township adjoins the river Wharfe, 4 miles NNW of Kildwick and Crosshills [railway] station, and 6 ESE of Skipton; and has a post office under Leeds. It formerly carried on much industry in cotton, worsted, and woollen factories; but began to suffer great reverses about 1835. Fairs are held on 22 March, 16 April, and 3 Oct. Acres: 4,293. Population in 1831: 2,179; in 1861: 1,859. Houses: 420.

"The parish includes also part of the township of Beamsley. Acres: 5,472. Real property: £7,478. Population: 1,938. Houses: 440. The property is much sub-divided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ripon. Value: £360 Patron: Mrs. M. Cunliffe. The church is Norman, was restored in 1858, and stands in a beautiful situation. There are three dissenting chapels, a national school, and charities £13."

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.