Place:Denton, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

The following description of Denton (#9 on the map) from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72 is provided by the website A Vision of Britain Through Time (University of Portmouth Department of Geography). "DENTON, a township-chapelry in Otley parish, [West Riding of] Yorkshire: on the river Wharfe, 4 miles NW of Otley [railway] station, and 7½ NE of Keighley. Post town, Otley. Acres: 3,100. Real property: £2,979. Population: 170. Houses: 29. Denton Park was formerly the seat of the Fairfaxes; was the birth-place of Fairfax, the parliamentary general, and Fairfax, the translator of Tasso; and is now the seat of Sir J. T. S. Ibbetson, Bart. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ripon. Value: £100. Patron: M. Wyvill, jun., Esq." the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia Denton is now a civil parish and a hamlet in the Harrogate District of North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population of this civil parish was less than 100. Details are combined with those of the neighbouring civil parish of Middleton (by Ilkley) (#19). It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Ilkley itself which is now in West Yorkshire. Denton Hall is located in the hamlet. The area around Denton is notable as being the birthplace of several members of the Fairfax family; Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1560–1640) who built the estate up at Denton; Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1584–1648); Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1612–1671) an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief preceding Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War.

Denton was originally a chapelry in the ancient parish of Otley in the Claro Wapentake, one of the early subdivisions of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It became a civil parish in 1866. From 1894 until 1974 it was part of the Wharfedale Rural District.

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, all urban and rural districts across England were abolished and counties were reorganized into metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts. Some administrative council borders were redrawn. Denton joined the non-metropolitan Harrogate District of North Yorkshire.

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.