Place:High Hoyland, 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 High Hoyland is a village and civil parish which, since 1974, has been located in the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough of South Yorkshire, England. It is located on the border with West Yorkshire. It lies to the west of Kexbrough. At the 2001 UK census it had a population of 142, reducing to 128 at the 2011 UK census. There are many Hoylands in Barnsley Metropolitan Borough - there is the ancient parish of Hoyland itself south east of Barnsley on the road to Sheffield, which includes the former hamlets and civil parishes of Hoyland Common, Upper Hoyland and Hoyland Nether ("nether" being old English for "lower"). Hoyland Swaine is located on the opposite side of the wide valley, and at almost 1000 feet above sea level, has a wilder and bleaker feel than High Hoyland. The word Hoyland is derived from Norse, and at its simplest means "farm on a hill". Despite there being countless farms on hills around England, the majority of the Hoylands are concentrated in Barnsley. For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article High Hoyland. High Hoyland was originally an ancient parish in the Staincross Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1866 the status of civil parish was introduced and this was taken on by most ancient parishes and also by their subsidiary townships if they were of any size at all. In 1866 both High Hoyland and its townships of Cumberworth and West Clayton became civil parishes. In 1894 they each became part of the Penistone Rural District of the West Riding.

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

"HOYLAND (HIGH), a village, a township, and a [registration] subdistrict in Wortley [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Huddersfield [registration] district, [West Riding of] Yorkshire. The village stands on an eminence, 2¾ miles WNW of Darton [railway] station, and 5½ NW of Barnsley; and is a picturesque place.

"The township comprises 836 acres. Real property: £1,133; of which £21 are in mines. Population: 224. Houses: 46.

"The parish contains also, in Wortley [registration] district, the township of West Clayton, which has a post office under Huddersfield; and, in Huddersfield [registration] district, the larger part of the township of Cumberworth. Acres: inclusive of all Cumberworth, 2,864. Real property, inclusive of all [Cumberworth]: £10,360; of which £211 are in mines. Population, inclusive of only the [High Hoyland] part of [Cumberworth]: 3,357. Houses: 679. The property is divided among a few. The manor of [High Hoyland] belongs to W. B. Beaumont, Esq.; and that of West Clayton, to the Earl of Scarborough. There are several worsted mills; and the manufacture of fancy woollens and vestings, and the spinning of twine and flax, are carried on. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ripon. Value: £455. Patron: W. B. Beaumont, Esq. The church is good. The [perpetual] curacy of Sciscott is a separate benefice. There are four dissenting chapels, and charities £20."

"The sub-district contains the two Wortley townships of [High Hoyland] parish, and a further township of Penistone parish. Acres: 4,804. Population: 3,569. Houses: 745."

Research Tips

• Barnsley Archive and Local Studies Department includes archives for the whole of the area now in Barnsley Metropolitan Borough

Address: Town Hall, Church Street, Barnsley, England S70 2TA

Telephone: +44(0)1226 773 950

Email: archives@barnsley.gov.uk

• 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.