Fearby is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located in the valley of the River Burn 2 miles (3 km) west of Masham. Nearby settlements include Healey, High Ellington and Swinton. The population of the parish was estimated at 130 in 2013.[1]

Fearby
Cottages overlooking the village green at Fearby
Fearby is located in North Yorkshire
Fearby
Fearby
Location within North Yorkshire
Population130 
OS grid referenceSE195812
Civil parish
  • Fearby
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townRIPON
Postcode districtHG4
Dialling code01765
PoliceNorth Yorkshire
FireNorth Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
54°13′30″N 1°42′00″W / 54.225°N 1.7°W / 54.225; -1.7

History edit

The village is first mentioned, as Federbi, in the Domesday Book which records a population of eight villagers and one smallholder.[2] The toponym is of uncertain derivation. The element -by is of Old Norse origin, meaning "village", and the name could mean either "four villages" or "feather village".[3]

Fearby was historically a township in the large ancient parish of Masham in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It became part of the new ecclesiastical parish of Healey in 1849.[4] The civil parish of Fearby was formed in 1866.[5]

Governance edit

Until 1974 Fearby was part of Masham Rural District (before 1934 Masham Urban District) in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is now part of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. It lies within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The parish now shares a grouped parish council, known as Fearby, Healey and District Parish Council, with Colsterdale, Ellingstring, Healey and Ilton cum Pott.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Population Estimates". North Yorkshire County Council. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2016. In the 2011 Census the population of the parish was included with the parish of Ellington High and Low, and not separately counted.
  2. ^ Open Domesday website
  3. ^ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Fearby", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press
  4. ^ Page, William, ed. (1914). "Parishes: Masham". A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Fearby Tn/CP through time". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  6. ^ "The Parish". Fearby Healey and District Parish Council. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

External links edit

  Media related to Fearby at Wikimedia Commons