Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/914

Rh YORKSHIRE. 902 YORKSHIRE. Sheffield, Knaresborough, Helmsley, Pontefract, Scar- borough, Great Sandall, Bolton and Skipton castles, and the battles of Beverley, Selby, and Marston Moor. After the Restoration an insurrection was attempted in the West Riding by old parliamentary soldiers and others disaffected to the government. At the commencement of the present century its population was 859,133, and by the middle of the century it had more than doubled, being 1,718,266 in 1851, and 2,033,610 in 1861. The proportions are thus distributed over the four divi- sions : North Riding... West Biding. . . E.ist Kiding ... City Total Area in square miles. 2,100 2,669 1,201 5,974 Area in acres. 1,350,121 1,709,307 768,419 2,720 3,830,567 Population in 1801. 158,927 672,163 111,192 16,846 Population iu 1851. 859,133 1,797,995 Population in 1861. 245,154 1,507,796 240,227 40,433 2,033,610 From this table it appears that the gross area of the county is more than one-tenth that of England and Wales, and more than one-ninth that of England alone ; that the area of the West Riding exceeds that of any other English count}', with the exception of Lincolnshire and Devonshire, while that of the North Riding is nearly equal to Norfolk, the fourth of the English counties in superficial extent. Indeed, the ridings are for many purposes shires by themselves, having their own lords- lieutenant, militia, members of parliament, coroners, registrars, and justices of the peace, and in the popula- tion returns, and other statistical documents, are treated as distinct counties ; but there is only one sheriff for the whole of Yorkshire, which thus, for assize purposes, forms one shire. The ainsty of the city and shire of York was formerly a district independent of the ridings, but by virtue of an Act (5 and 6 William IV., cap. 76) it now constitutes a wapentake in the West Riding for civil purposes, and for county elections is included in the North Kiding, though its ecclesiastical jurisdiction remains unchanged. The North Riding is divided into the wapentakes of Allsrtonshire, Birdforth, Bulmer, East Gilling,West Gilling, Hallikeld, East Hang, West Hang, Pickering Lythe, Ryedale, and the liberties of Langbaurgh and Whitby Strand ; the West Riding into the wapen- takes of Agbrigg, Barkstone Ash, Claro, Morley, Osgold- cross, Skyrack, Staincliff- with -Ewcross, Staincross, Strafforth-with-Tickhill, and the liberty of Ripon and ainsty of the city of York ; the East Riding into the wapentakes of Buckrose, Dickering, HarthiD, Holder- ness, Howdenshire, and Ouse and Derwent. These 29 wapentakes, which are similar to the hundreds of the other English counties, are farther divided into 623 parishes, and these again into townships and ecclesias- tical districts. The most populous parishes are Leeds, Bradford, .Halifax, Sheffield, Hull, Huddersfield, and Almondbury, and the largest townships are Dent, com- prising 23,200 acres, and Sedbergh, 21,402 acres. There are about 45 market towns, many of them large and populous, including the cities of Ripon and York the latter the capital and assize town ; other important towns are Aldborough, Almondbury, Bainbridge, Barnsley, Barwick, Bawtry, Bedale, Beverley, North Bierley, Bingley, Boroughbridge, Bradford, Bridlington, Carlto'n, Dewsbury, Doncas.ter, Great Driffield, Easingwold, Goole, Gnisborough, Halifax, Harrogate, Helmsley, Hcmsworth, Howden, Huddersfield, Hull, Keighley, Kirkby Moorside, Knaresborough, Leeds, Leyburn, New Malton,Northallerton, Great Ouseburn, Pateley Bridge, Patrington, Penistone, Pickering, Pocklington, Ponte- fract, Great Preston, Reeth, Richmond, Rotherham, Saddleworth, Scarborough, Sedbergh, Selby, Settle, Sheffield, Skipton, Skirlaugh, Stokesley, Tadcaster, Thirsk, Thorne, Wakefield, Whitby, and Wortley. Be- sides these, there are about 2,500 villages and hamlets. Yorkshire is in the Northern Circuit and North Mili- tary district, and constitutes the dioceses of York and Ripon, both in the province of York. Previous to L passing of the Reform Act of 1832, Yorkshire returned ; members to parliament, but the number was increased 1 that Act to 37 viz., 6 for the county, and 32 for boroughs. Besides the legally recognised partition the county into ridings and wapentakes, the names several of the ancient feudal divisions are still retaini for various purposes, although no such places appe marked on our maps. The more generally ackno* ledged are Cleveland, in the North Riding, lying between the estuary of the Tees and Whitby Haven, giving name to an archdeaconry ; Craven, occupying the north-western portion of the West Riding, gives name to an archdeaconry and a deanery in the diocese of Ripon ; Hallamshire, in the West Riding, is men- tioned in Domesday survey as " Hallum, with its 16 hamlets," and is said by Leland to have comprised the parishes of Sheffield, Ecclesfield, Hunsworth, and the chapelry of Bradfield, to which may probably be added the parish of Attercliffe, all which manors are at the present day held by the Duke of Norfolk, and are within the jurisdiction of the bailiff of Hallamshire ; Holder- ness, extending from Bridlington Bay to Spurn Head, E. of the river Hull, still forms a wapentake in the East Riding, and gives name to a seigniory, a liberty, and a manor ; while Richmondshire, occupying the whole western portion of the North Riding, was erected into an earldom by William the Conqueror, and still gives name to an archdeaconry and a deanery in the diocese of Ripon. Within the county were formerly the royal forests of Galtries, Hardwick, Arkelgarthdale, Knares- borough, Pickering, Wharfedale, Swynden, Okeden, Harlow, Fullwith, Coverdale, and the chase of Hatfield, all which have been alienated from the crown and dis- afforested. The surface of the county generally rises rapidly from the shore towards the interior, to about the height of 400 feet, at which level is a considerable extent of fertile soil ; more inland, the hills become loftier, till they reach the eastern moorlands, near the borders of which some of the heights command exten- sive prospects, particularly Roseberry Topping. North- ward of these mountains is the vale of Cleveland, bounded on the N. by the Tees ; but the most striking feature in the configuration of the surface is the great valley drained by the Ouse and its affluents, generally known as the Vale of York, and lying chiefly between the eastern and western moorlands. This valley stretches from near the Tees, in the northern part of the county to the estuary of the Humber, in the S., having a general direction from N. to S.S.E., and forming the northern slope of the most extensive valley in England that of the Ouse and Trent. The high land on the eastern boundary of this valley presents a bold coast lino to the German Ocean, and extends inland often to the distance of 20 or 30 miles, including Barnaby Moor, which has an elevation of 784 feet, Burleigh Moor, and the Guisborough hills. A small depression in the high moors opening to the sea at Whitby carries off the drainage of the small valley of the Esk, which runs between the Guisborough hills and the elevated Egton moors, which lie S. of it. From this point a wild and mountainous district, known as the East Moorlands, extends for about 30 miles in length from E. to W., and 16 miles in breadth from N. to S., being nearly parallel with the coast, occasionally interspersed with sheltered valleys. After passing Northallerton, the range of moorlands extends eastward, forming the North York- shire moors, which in some places rise to an elevation of above 1,000 feet, and are entirely devoid of trees. Among the most elevated points of this mountainous region are the trigonometrical stations of Bolton Head, 1,485 feet above the sea-level ; Loosehoe Hill, 1,404 feet ; Black Hambleton, 1,246 feet, and the Roseberry Top- ping. Lying a little to the W. is Ryedale, which takes its name from the river running through it, and gra- dually widens out into a spacious plain adjoining the East and West Marishes. The valley of the Derwent, in the same district, stretches from the sea-coast near Scarborough to the valley of the Ouse, separates the