Place:Bolton Percy, 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

Bolton Percy is now a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 305 in 115 households, reducing marginally to 304 at the 2011 census. The village is about four miles east of Tadcaster.

The village lies on the road between Appleton Roebuck and Tadcaster to the west of the main East Coast railway line and east of the Trans Pennine railway line. The soil is strong loam that rests on clay.

Since 1974 Bolton Percy has been part of the Appleton Roebuck Ward of Selby District Council. Its own parish council covers the nearby villages of Colton and Steeton. Prior to the nationwide municipal re-organization of 1974, Bolton Percy was part of Tadcaster Rural District Council; and prior to 1894 it was one of the parishes in the Ainsty, the rural area to the west and south of the City of York.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Following the Norman Conquest, when William de Malet served as the county's first High Sheriff, the village of Bolton Percy was held by Malet himself. Later the lordship of the manor fell to the Percy family, as noted by Kirkby's Inquest of 1284. It was at this time that the name of Percy was added to the village's name.

The lordship of the manor passed to the Vesci family, who resided in South Yorkshire near Roche Abbey. In 1290 John, Lord Vesci, contributed towards the marriage of King Edward I's eldest daughter, as was mandated by Lord Vesci's holding of knights fees on his manor of Bolton Percy. The lordship of Bolton Percy next passed to their relatives the Beaumonts on the death of the de Vesci heir. Later the lordship of Bolton Percy passed to the Fairfax family, who were associated with the village for several centuries and whose family memorials can be found in the village church.

The Old Rectory is a Grade II listed William and Mary house, dating from 1698. It was formerly the residence of the Archdeacon of York, and more recently the Bishop of Selby; it is now a private residence.

The village used to have a station on the Dearne Valley Line running from York to Sheffield via Pontefract Baghill and Moorthorpe. The station was closed in 1965.

Research Tips

• GENUKIl on Bolton Percy. The GENUKI page gives numerous references to local bodies providing genealogical assistance.
• The FamilySearch wiki on the ecclesiastical parish of Bolton Percy provides a list of useful resources for the local area.
• A Vision of Britain through Time on Bolton Percy.
• A Vision of Britain through Time provides links to maps of the West Riding, produced by the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey, illustrating the boundaries between the civil parishes and the rural districts at various dates. The location of individual settlements within the parishes is also shown. These maps all expand to a very large scale.

• Ordnance Survey West Riding 1888. The "Sanitary Districts (which preceded the rural districts) for the whole of the West Riding.
• Ordnance Survey West Riding North 1900 and Ordnance Survey West Riding South 1900. The rural and urban districts, not long after their introduction. NOTE: In 2022 the map of the southern section is not available through the Vision of Britain website. It is unknown if this omission is accidental or if the copy used by the university has been damaged in some way.
• Yorkshire West Riding South and Yorkshire West Riding North revised_1944. These two maps illustrate the urban and rural districts of the whole of the West Riding after the revisions of 1935.
• A further useful map on A Vision of Britain through Time is a boundary map dated 1917. This shows all the boundaries of villages, townships and parishes in the Holmfirth area.