Birdforth is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 13. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 Census. Details are included in the civil parish of Long Marston, North Yorkshire. The village is on the

A19 road The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in ...

, about six miles south of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

History

Birdforth was also the name of one of the

wapentakes A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

, or subdivisions, of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, which covered the area around the village. A school was built in 1875, but closed in 1961.

Governance

The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of Hambleton, it is now administered by the unitary

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

Geography

The nearest settlements to the village are

Hutton Sessay Hutton Sessay is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. In 2013 the population of the civil parish was estimated at 100. In recent censuses the population of Hutton Sessay has been included with Sessay parish and ...

to the north-west; Carlton Husthwaite to the north-east and Thormanby to the south. Birdforth Beck, which flows at the south end of the village, is part of the tributary system of the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley throu ...

. The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 42.

Religion

St Mary's Church, Birdforth is a

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Norman church; it was partly rebuilt in 1585, but is no longer in use.

References

Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire {{NorthYorkshire-geo-stub

History

Governance

Geography

Religion

See also

References