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Coordinates: 53°52'55?N 0°48'05?W? / ?53.882044, -0.80126
Bielby is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated about four miles south of Pocklington.
According to the 2001 UK census, Bielby parish had a population of 281.[1]
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, Dept 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. [1]
About 1,000 years ago, after the Danes invaded as far east as Kiev, it is believed that a mercenary with the Danes (possibly from Biele-rus [2] the land of White Russia, just north-west of Kiev) was given charge of a small farm to raise ducks and geese for the Pocklington estate as a reward for his service with the Danish conquerors (although he probably was not Danish). If so, then the name Bielby means 'White farm' or the 'farm of the man from the land of white'. An interesting fact from the late twentieth century that may lend credence to the Belarusian link theory is that the national publications of Belarus used to spell the name of their nation Bielarus in all western European languages until just recently. Biele means 'white' in Russian.
The Danes and their 'mercenaries' set up Jarvik as their ruling headquarters in England. Jarvik eventually became York as the pronunciation was modified slowly over time. The discovery in the 1970s of an archaeological treasure of information depicting this era of York's history is organized at the Jorvik Viking Centre in York.
The village of Bielby was a duck and goose farm for the Pocklington Estate. The nearby hay farm grew into Hayton. The nearby grist mill grew into Millington. And Mr. Beli managed to secure an improved water supply for his farm, called Bieli's farm, or Beli's farm (pronounced with a strong ee sound). The village has been called Beli's Farm, Bielby, Beilby and a variety of other names; then finally Bielby. Until recently, residents named Bielby lived in the village. The last Bielby was an Alice Bielby who formerly taught in the village school during the middle 20th century. Some residents of Bielby were unable to recollect when she either moved or passed away; it was sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. There are no known Bielbys left in the village. There are people bearing the name Bielby or Beilby living across England, Canada, the USA, Australia and elsewhere. Some Bielbys who spread throughout England became famous for their glass-blowing skill. The Bielby goblets boast the highest auction prices of any King's goblets sold in markets in recent history. Rev. Beilby Porteus was a well-known preacher and author who was Bishop of London from 1787 until his death in 1809.
There are roads named Bielby in Lawrenceville, Indiana (USA), in Chapel Hill (near Brisbane) Australia, and in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire (England).
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).
Bielby has an Anglican Church (St. Giles), which dates back more than 900 years. The Methodist revival which swept England and America 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. Some of the Bielbys in Canada and America have known forefathers who were Methodist (see the John Bielby family and descendants from Lake City, Michigan, in 1900, and his grandfather, Richard Milson Bielby, a noted Holiness Church member in Huntsville, Ontario during the last half of the 19th century). Traces of Methodist influence from England into America via the Bielbys exist primarily in Canada. Other than St. Giles Church, the old Methodist Church-which is now a home, and a small pub Bielby is mostly residential, with a few newer homes. Geese are still raised on the edge of the village. The Pocklington Canal still provides a splendid water supply for such purposes. A Beck also runs close to Bielby and used to drive an old flour Mill, but from time to time it can flood, as it did in June 2007, overflowing the streets of Bielby up to the doorsteps of some homes.
Much of the information in this article was gathered from two booklets that an Anglican priest wrote, and from visiting the village and interviewing residents or observation. A copy of the Bielby histories may be purchased in St Giles Church.
[edit] Parish church
The parish church of St Giles has recently been restored. All the grey plaster has been taken off and the underside of it has been restored to its former glory. Under the plaster there is an amazing sandstone wall. Two arches on the outside and a pillar on the inside have been uncovered, including a skeleton on the wall inside.
[edit] References
(Source: Wikipedia) |