Place:Giggleswick, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Giggleswick is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the B6480 road, less than 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west from the town of Settle. Giggleswick School is a well-known "public" (independent) school.

A Dictionary of British Place Names contains the entry:

"Giggleswick N. Yorks. Ghigeleswic 1086 (DB). 'Dwelling or (dairy) farm of a man called Gikel or Gichel'. OE or ME pers. name (probably a short form of the biblical name Judichael) + wīc."

end of Wikipedia contribution

At the beginning of the 19th century Giggleswick was a parish in the Staincliffe and Ewcross Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. As an ancient parish it included the townships of Langcliffe, Rathmell, Settle and Stainforth (near Giggleswick). From 1894 until 1974 it was a civil parish in Settle Rural District. Since the nationwide reorganization of municipalities in 1974 it has been in the Craven District of North Yorkshire.

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

"GIGGLESWICK, a village, a township, and a parish in Settle [registration] district, [West Riding of] Yorkshire. The village stands on the river Ribble, near the North Midland railway, 1 mile WNW of Settle; was known at Domesday as "Ghigleswick"; is neatly built; and has a post office under Settle. The township includes the village, contains Settle workhouse, and comprises 4,306 acres. Real property: £7,203; of which £60 are in quarries. Population: 727. Houses: 145.

"The parish contains also the townships of Settle, Longcliffe, Stainforth, and Rathmell. Acres: 18,419. Real property: £26,100. Population in 1851: 3,965; in 1861: 3,187. Houses: 656. The decrease of population was caused by the stoppage of cotton mills and the dispersion of mill hands. The property, in most parts, is subdivided.

"The manor belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. Near the village is a lake, called Giggleswick Tarn, partly natural, partly artificial; and about a mile distant, under a limestone rock, called Giggleswick Scar, is a well of limpid water, which fitfully rises and falls as much as 18 inches, sometimes as often as every six minutes, but commonly not oftener than four or five times a day. The rocks include slate and good building-stone; and rise, in some parts, into picturesque cliffs. Roman coins have been found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ripon. Value: £550. Patrons: J. Coulthurst and W. Hartley, Esqs. The church was built in the time of Henry VIII.; consists of nave, chancel, transept, and porch, with embattled tower: contains several brasses; and is in tolerable condition. The chapelries of Settle, Longcliffe, Stainforth, and Rathmell are separate benefices. A grammar school, at the village, was founded by Edward VI.; has an endowed income of £1,140, with six exhibitions at Christ's College, Cambridge; was conducted, for nearly half a century, by Archdeacon Paley's father; and had the Archdeacon himself for a pupil. There are Methodist chapels, national schools, and a number of small charities."

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.