Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for THIRSK

THIRSK, a town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in N. R. Yorkshire. The town stands on the river Codbeck, in Mowbray vale, at the terminus of a brief branch of the Northeastern railway, 23 miles NW by N of York; had a castle of the Mowbrays, built about 980, and taken down by order of Henry II.; sent two members to parliament once in the time of Edward VI., and always from the time of Edward VI. till 1832; was reduced, by the reform act of 1832, to the right of sending only one; is a polling place; consists of two parts, called old and new, separated by the river; presents a very irregular yet picturesque appearance; and has a head post-office,‡ a r. station with telegraph, three banking offices, four chief inns, a market house, a large later English church, three dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel of 1867, a British-school, a girls' school of industry, a dispensary, a workhouse, and charities £39. A weekly market is held on Monday; fairs are held on Shrove-Monday, 5 April, 4 Aug., 28th Oct., and the Tuesday after 11 Dec.; and malting, brewing, linen-weaving, and the manufacture of leather and saddlery are carried on. The borough boundaries include all T. parish, and two other townships. Electors, in 1833, 254: in 1863, 441. Pop. in 1861, 5,350. Houses, 1,205.

The township comprises 2,947 acres. Real property, £11,401; of which £170 are in gasworks. Pop. 2,956. Houses, 657.—The parish contains also the townships or chapelries of Sowerby, Carlton-Miniott, and Sandhutton; and comprises 8,365 acres. Pop., 4,815. Houses, 1,085. The head living is a p. curacy in the diocese of York. Value, £300.* Patron, the Archbishop of York. -The sub-district includes 4 townships of other parishes, and comprises 14,169 acres. Pop., 5,743. Houses, 1,291. -The district comprehends also Topcliffe, Pickhill, Sutton, and Knayton sub-districts; and comprises 62,444 acres. Poor rates, in 1863, £4,246. Pop. in 1851, 12,760; in 1861, 12,299. Houses, 2,692. Marriages in 1863, 95; births, 419,-of which 45 were illegitimate; deaths, 227,-of which 74 were at ages under 5 years, and 16 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 905; births, 3,843; deaths, 2,317. The places of worship, in 1851, were 24 of the Church of England, with 5,016 sittings; 3 of Independents, with 870 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 245 s.; 24 of Wesleyans, with 3,484 s.; 4 of Primitive Methodists, with 444 s.; 3 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 172 s.; and 1 of Roman Catholics, with 90 s. The schools were 17 public day-schools, with 959 scholars; 37 private day-schools, with 775 s.; and 29 Sunday-schools, with 1,653 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Thirsk CP/AP       Thirsk SubD       Thirsk RegD/PLU       Yorkshire AncC
Place: Thirsk

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