Place:Firbeck, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Firbeck is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with the county of Nottinghamshire. It lies between Maltby and Oldcotes, off the A634 and B6463 roads. Firbeck had a population of 317 in the UK census of 2001, which had fallen to 299 at the 2011 UK census.

An oval field in the village marks what was once the private racecourse of 18th century racehorse owner Anthony St. Leger, who originated the St. Leger Stakes. The first "St. Leger" race was held on Cantley Common in 1776, but was not so named until over a year later. The race moved to Doncaster Racecourse in 1778. Local legend holds that the race was being run in Firbeck prior to this. Anthony St. Leger lived at Park Hill, an estate to the south of Firbeck. The main house was demolished in 1935, but there are still Grade II listed farm buildings, dating from the 17th century and built of limestone rubble with a roof of pantiles, within the grounds of the estate.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Firbeck. includes further notes regarding local landowners who were residents of the area over generations.

Firbeck was a chapelry in the ancient parish of Laughton en le Morthen until 1484 when it became a ecclesiastical parish itself. The area was part of the Strafforth and Tickhill Wapentake. Firbeck became a civil parish in 1866 and was part of the Kiveton Park Rural District from 1894 until 1974.

Research Tips

• Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service includes all places in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham.

Address: Clifton Park Museum, Clifton Lane, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S65 2AA

Telephone: +44(0)1709 336632

Email: archives@rotherham.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.