Bielby
| Bielby | |
| Yorkshire East Riding | |
|---|---|
 St Giles Church, Bielby | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE788435 |
| Location: | 53°52’55"N, -0°48’5"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 258 (2011) |
| Post town: | York |
| Postcode: | YO42 |
| Dialling code: | 01759 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
East Yorkshire |
Bielby is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, about four miles south of Pocklington.
The 2011 census recorded Bielby parish as a place of 258 souls.
History
About two miles north-east of Bielby, on the edge of Hayton, lie the ruins of an ancient Roman military fortress, an important archaeological site. The University of Durham Deptartment of Archaeology led an excavation between 1995 and 1998 with assistance from local residents and University of Leeds students. A well, a bath-house and many other parts of the Roman fortress have been identified.
The name Bielby, spelled Belebi in the Domesday Book, derives from the Old Scandinavian personal name Beli, and means "Beli's farmstead or village."[1] The total rent collected from tenants in Bielby dropped from 1066 to 1086 from £56 to £8. By the 11th century Bielebi (Bielby) had almost 10 residents.
One home in Bielby is proudly named Bielbyville. Most homes in Bielby have a name plate sign displayed either on the front exterior wall or in the yard (even though the homes are modest in size). Another House at the end of the village is Manor Cottage where many a farmers worked on land next to the house (although since 2009 been empty).
Churches
Bielby has a church of the Church of England, St Giles, which dates back more than 900 years.
The Methodist revival which swept England in the 18th century still has a visible presence in Bielby, although the old Methodist Church building in the village is now a private residence.
The parish church of St Giles has recently been restored. Plaster has been removed and sandstone walls restored. Two arches on the outside of the church, and a pillar and skeleton on an inside wall, have been uncovered. Removal of the external rendering has uncovered a history of the church, with pillars and arches now visible that would have been part of a larger structure. Inside, an ancient blue-coloured painting was revealed, showing the legs of St Christopher. The plasterwork had deteriorated to such an extent that when efforts were made to protect it, it crumbled off the wall in fragments. The box pews are among the best-preserved in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The church is a Grade II* listed building.[2]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bielby) |
- Bielby in the Domesday Book
References
- ↑ Mills, Anthony David: 'A Dictionary of British Place-Names' (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9
- ↑ National Heritage List 1084123: Church of St Giles (Grade II* listing)
- Gazetteer — A–Z of Towns Villages and Hamlets. East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 2006. p. 3.