Felixkirk 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. The village is situated about three miles north-east 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 ...

. The population of the civil parish was estimated at 100 in 2014.

History

The village is named after its church, itself dedicated to

St Felix Felix is a masculine given name that originates from the Latin word (genitive ), meaning "happy" or "lucky". The feminine forms are Felicia or Felicity. The name was popularized by early Christian saints and Roman emperors. In modern usa ...

, a Burgundian who travelled with St Paulinus converting

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

in England to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

during the

seventh century The 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622. ...

. It may have not been known by its current name at the time of the

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, French, Flemish, and Breton troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquero ...

as it does not appear in this form in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. Instead it is referenced as ''Fridebi'' with the manor lands shared between ''Gamal, son of Kalri'' and ''Ligulf'', subsequently passing after invasion to ''Hugh, son of Baldric'', who made ''Gerard of Boltby'' lord of the manor. There are competing etymologies for ''Fridebi''. It is the same as the old place name of nearby Firby sometimes taken to mean ''Peaceful Place'' from ''fred'', a Danish word for ''peace''. Alternatively, like other

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

with Danish derived names it might mean ''Freda's dwelling'' where the personal name Freda also means ''Peace''. Nearby hill, Mount St John, was the location of a preceptory of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

built in the 11th century. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the preceptory buildings were handed to the Archbishop of York. In 1720, the buildings were pulled down and a new

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

was built. Still known as Mount St John, it 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 ...

building.

Governance

The village is 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 ...

. The parish shares a

grouped parish council A parish council is a civil local authority found in England, which is the lowest tier of local government. Parish councils are elected corporate bodies, with variable tax raising powers, and they carry out beneficial public activities in geogr ...

, known as Hillside Parish Council, with the civil parishes of

Boltby Boltby is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the edge of the North York Moors National Park at , and about north-east of Thirsk. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 143. There are ...

Cowesby Cowesby is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Part of the village including The Cowesby Hall Estate is within the North York Moors, North York Moors National Park and about north of Thirsk. The population of ...

Kirby Knowle Kirby Knowle is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North Yorkshire Moors and near Upsall, about four miles northeast of Thirsk. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the Nort ...

and

Upsall Upsall is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately four miles north-east of Thirsk. Upsall is part of the Upsall and Roxby estates owned by the Turton family. The popu ...

Geography

The village is at an elevation of above sea level at its highest point. The nearest settlements are

Thirlby Thirlby is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of about 120 in 2003, measured at 134 at the 2011 Census, Thirlby is situated approximately east of Thirsk. Governance The village lies wit ...

to the east;

Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the A170 at the foot of Sutton Bank, about three miles east of Thirsk. History ...

to the south-east;

to the north;

to the north-east and Thirsk to the south-west. According to the 1881 UK Census, the population was 113. The 2001 UK Census recorded the population as 104, of which 85 were over the age of sixteen. Of those, 56 were in employment. The village contains 45 dwellings of which 24 are detached properties. A

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

at Howe Hill in the parish is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. There are two Grade II* listed buildings (St Felix church and Mount St John) in the village and five Grade II listed structures.

Education

Primary education is provided at nearby Thirsk Community,

South Kilvington South Kilvington is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated just off the A19 road, A19, about one mile north of Thirsk. History The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cheluitun'' in the ''Yar ...

CE Primary and

Knayton Knayton is a small village in North Yorkshire, England. It is located north of Thirsk just off the A19. It is linked with the hamlet of Brawith, approximately away to the west. History The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as havi ...

CE Primary Schools. These schools are within the catchment area of Thirsk School for secondary education.

Religion

The village church is dedicated to

and was substantially rebuilt in 1860 by William Hey Dykes, who is responsible for the unusual rounded

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. It is a