Place:Stokesley Rural, North Riding of Yorkshire, England

Stokesley Rural District was an administrative division of the North Riding of Yorkshire based on the town of Stokesley. Since the municipal reorganization of 1974, most of the area covered by Stokesley Rural District has been located in the Hambleton administrative district of North Yorkshire, England. Some of the northern parishes, however, have been transferred to the unitary authorities of Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, or Stockton-on-Tees.

Civil Parishes

Research Tips

• Original historical documents relating to the Teesside area that existed 1974-1996 are held at the Teesside Archives, Exchange House, 6 Marton Road, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 1DB, England
• Original historical documents relating to the North Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire are held at the North Yorkshire County Record Office, Malpas Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL7 8TB
• Family history societies covering the area include the Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham Family History Society (for the Cleveland and Teesside area), with Ryedale Family History Group and the Family History Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society (based in Leeds) for parts of Yorkshire further afield. A more complete list may be found under the Federation of Family History Societies.
• For information on the sources of original historical documents relating to the southern parts of County Durham, see GENUKI's introductory page for Durham and the Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham Family History Society. The latter will be more up-to-date than the former, but one must sign up to a forum (no charge) to get information.
• A History of the County of Yorkshire from British History Online (Victoria County Histories), Volume 2: the eastern part of the North Riding including Middlesbrough, Scarborough and Whitby; published in 1923.

This is by far the most complete history of the parishes of the county to be found online. The chapters are ordered by the divisions of the county called wapentakes, but each chapter is linked to the volume's content page.

• 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.

These are 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. 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 North 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 North Riding divisions in 1888 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Map of North Riding divisions in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
• The above two 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.