Place:Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Watchers
NamePenistone
Alt namesPangestonsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 319
Pengestonsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 319
Pengestonesource: Domesday Book (1985) p 319
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish, Urban district
Coordinates53.518°N 1.626°W
Located inWest Riding of Yorkshire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inSouth Yorkshire, England     (1974 - )
Yorkshire, England    
See alsoStaincross Wapentake, West Riding of Yorkshire, Englandwapentake in which it was located
Barnsley (metropolitan borough), South Yorkshire, Englandadministrative district covering the area since 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Penistone is a market town and civil parish which, since 1974, has been located in the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough of South Yorkshire, England. Penistone had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 UK Census. Prior to 1974 it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) northwest of Sheffield, and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The highest point, Hartcliffe Tower, is 1,194 ft (364 m) above sea level and has views over the Woodhead bypass and the Dark Peak. The surrounding countryside is predominantly rural with farming on rich well-watered soil on mainly gentle slopes rising to the bleak moorland to the west of the town. Dry stone walls, small hamlets and farms surrounded by fields and livestock are synonymous with the area.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Penistone.

Penistone was originally an ancient parish in 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 Penistone and six townships of Denby, Gunthwaite, Hunshelf, Ingbirchworth, Langsett, Oxspring and Thurlstone, all became civil parishes. In 1894 all but Penistone became part of the Penistone Rural District of the West Riding. At the same time Penistone became an Urban District.

In 1938 Penistone was enlarged when it absorbed the neighbouring civil parishes of Hoyland Swaine and Thurlstone.

Since 1974 Penistone has been in South Yorkshire, specifically within the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough.

Image:Barnsley parishes5.png

Research Tips

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.
  • 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.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Penistone. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.