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Bedale, Yorkshire, England. Geographical and Historical information from 1868.

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BEDALE:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1868.

"BEDALE, a parish, and market town, partly in the eastern division of the wapentake of Hang, and partly in the wapentake of Hallikeld, in the North Riding of the county of York, 8 miles to the S.W. of Northallerton, 38 miles by railway from York, and 229 miles by the Great Northern line from London. It is a station on the Northallerton and Leyburn branch of the North-Eastern railway. The town is seated in a beautiful and fertile valley on the banks of a small stream of the same name, a branch of the river Swale, into which it falls near Scruton. The parish comprises the chapelries of Burrill-cum-Cowling and Crakehall, the townships of Aiskew, Firby, and Langthorne, and the hamlet of Rends-Grange, all, except Langthorne, in the wapentake of Hang. The district, which is in a good state of cultivation, abounds in pleasant scenery, and has long been celebrated for its horse-breeding establishments. The town consists chiefly of one street, and the houses are not regularly built. Bedale is the seat of a Poor-law Union, and contains the Union poorhouse. There is a savings-bank. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Ripon, of the value of £2,200 gross, or £1,700 net, in the patronage of H. Beresford-Peirse; Esq., and Lord Beaumont alternately. The church is dedicated to St. Gregory. It is a large edifice in the early English style of architecture, with an embattled tower, and frequently served as a place of retreat during the border wars. It contains an interesting monument to Brien Fitz-Alan, who was governor of Scotland in the 13th century, and is supposed to have founded Bedale Castle, which stood near the church. There are no ruins of the castle; but its site has been traced by the foundations discovered within the grounds of Bedale Hall. The Methodists have a chapel in the town, and there is a Roman Catholic chapel at Aiskew. There are charitable endowments amounting to £247 per annum, consisting chiefly of the revenue of a school, a hospital, and almshouses. The endowments of the free grammar school, founded it is said before the reign of Henry VIII., are now partly applied to the support of the National school. The hospital was established in a 1698, by Dr. Samwaie, for 6 men, and has an income from endowment of about £60. The almshouses, for three women, were founded in 1667. The principal residences are Bedale Hall, the seat of the Beresford-Pierse family, and Bedale Grange. The Bedale hounds are kept at Thorpe Perrow. Tuesday is the market day. Fairs for the sale of horses and cattle are hold on Easter Tuesday, Whit-Tuesday, and the 5th July, and for the sale of cattle, pigs, and leather on the 10th October, and the last Monday but one before Christmas."


"AISKEW, (or Askew), a township in the parish of Bedale, in the wapentake of Hang, in the North Riding of the county of York, 1 mile to the N.E. of Bedale. The Bedale and Leyburn branch of the North Eastern railway crosses this township It contains the hamlet of Little Leeming, and is situated on Leeming Lane and a branch of the river Swale. There is a small free school. The Roman Catholics have a chapel here, and the Baptists have two."


"BURRELL CUM COWLING, a united township in the parish of Bedale, and wapentake of East Hang, in the North Riding of the county of York, near Bedale."


"CRAKEHALL, a township in the parish of Bedale, wapentake of East Hang, in the North Riding of the county of York, 2½ miles N.W. of Bedale, and 9 from Richmond. It has a station on the Northallerton and Leyburn branch of the North-Eastern railway. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Ripon, value £100, in the patronage of the Rector of Bedale. The church, dedicated to St. Gregory, is a stone structure in the Gothic style. The charities amount to £2 per annum. The Wesleyans have a chapel, and there is an endowed National school."


"FIRBY, a township in the parish of Bedale, wapentake of East Hang, North Riding county York, 1 mile S.E. of Bedale, and 9 miles S.W. of Northallerton. Here are almshouses for six men, founded by John Clapham, Esq., in the early part of the 17th century. The property with which they are endowed produces about 254 per annum. The principal residence is Firby Hall."


"LANGTHORNE, a township in the parish of Bedale, wapentake of Hallikeld, North Riding county York, 3½ miles N.W. of Bedale. There is a large brick and tile factory belonging to the Duke of Leeds, who is proprietor of most of the district."


"LITTLE LEEMING, a hamlet in the township of Aiskew, and parish of Bedale, North Riding county York, 1 mile N.E. of Bedale. It is situated on a branch of the river Swale."


"RAND'S GRANGE, a hamlet in the parish of Bedale, wapentake of Hang East, North Riding county York, half a mile N.W. of Bedale. It consists of a farmhouse, and comprises an area of 344 acres."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2013