Place:Weston, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

Weston (#25 on the map) was originally an ancient parish in Claro Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire. In 1866 the status of civil parish was introduced and this status and its benefits were taken on by most ancient parishes and also by their subsidiary townships if they were of any size at all. In 1866 both Weston and its township of Askwith (#4) became civil parishes. In 1894 they each became civil parishes in the Wharfedale Rural District of the West Riding. Since 1974 Weston has been in North Yorkshire, specifically within the Harrogate District. A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Weston from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72: "WESTON, a township and a parish in Otley [registration] district, [West Riding of] Yorkshire. The township lies on the river Wharfe, 2 miles WNW of Otley [railway] station. Acres: 1,372. Real property: £1,940. Population: 112. Houses: 19. "The parish includes Askwith township, and comprises 4,552 acres. Post town: Otley. Population: 450. Houses: 95. The manor is divided among three; and [Weston] Hall is the seat of Dawson, Esq. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ripon. Value: £104. Patron: W. V. Carter, Esq. The church is Norman and early English." The village is 1.2 miles (2 km) northwest of Otley and near the River Wharfe which forms the boundary between North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. In the UK census of 2011 it had a population of 209. For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Weston, North Yorkshire.

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.