Kirby Knowle is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

Hambleton District Hambleton is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in North Yorkshire, England. The administrative centre is Northallerton, and the district includes the outlying towns and villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

, England, on the border of the

North Yorkshire Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and A ...

and near Upsall, about 4 miles north-east of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the population of the civil parish was estimated at 60 in 2014. In the 2011 census the population of Kirby Knowle was included with Cowesby parish and not counted separately.

History

The village is mentioned 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' as ''Chirchebi'' in the ''Yalestre'' hundred. The lands were in the possession of ''Orm, son of Gamal'', but passed to ''Hugh , son of Baldric'' after the Norman invasion. The lands became the possession of

Robert de Mowbray Robert de Mowbray (died 1125), a Norman, was Earl of Northumbria from 1086 until 1095. Robert joined the 1088 rebellion against King William II on behalf of Robert Curthose, but was pardoned and later led the army that killed Malcolm III of Sc ...

who granted tenancy to Baldwin le Wake and then to the Upsall family, eventually passing to the Lascelles family. The Lascelles built a castle here in the 13th century which burnt down in 1568. During this time the manor was in the hands of the Constable family. The Constables were Catholics and were dispossessed of the manor after the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

. A mile to the west of the village is Kirby Knowle Castle, a 17th-century house altered in the 19th century. An earlier house on the site belonged to Joseph Constable. He was a Catholic recusant and was arrested in the house on 6 March 1597 after a search was made of secret hiding places and underground passages.

Governance

The village is within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. It lies within the Whitestonecliffe ward of Hambleton District Council and Thirsk electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council. The parish shares a grouped parish council, known as Hillside Parish Council, with the civil parishes of Boltby, Cowesby, Felixkirk and Upsall.

Geography

The nearest settlements are Upsall to the west; Felixkirk to the south; Boltby to the south-east and Cowesby to the north. The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 114. The 2001 UK Census recorded the population as 68 of which 59 were over the age of sixteen years and of these 35 were in employment. There were 33 dwellings of which 24 were detached.

Religion

There is a church in the village dedicated to St Wilfrid. It is a Grade II listed building, rebuilt in 1873 on the site of the original.

References

External links

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