Askham Bryan Parish information from Bulmers' 1890.

ASKHAM BRYAN:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890.

Wapentake of the Ainsty of York - Rural Deanery of Ainsty - Archdeaconry of York or West Riding - Diocese of York.

This parish is situated outside the western boundary of the municipal borough of York, and comprises 1,920 acres of land and about 300 inhabitants. The principal proprietors are Harry Croft, Esq. (lord of the manor); Rev. J. D. J. Preston, Freemantle Rectory, Southampton; Major 0. E. Preston, J.P., Askham Bryan; Jackson Barstow; Rev. George Trundle, Petergate, York; Dorothy Wilson's trust.; W. W. P. Consett, Esq.; and the Rev. James Shepherd. The township is valued, for rating purposes, at £2,893. The soil is chiefly sand and gravel, and the surface flat and uninteresting.

Askham Bryan and Askham Richard were formerly one manor, which, in the time of Edward the Confessor, belonged to Edwin, earl of Mercia. Edwin's lands were confiscated by the Conqueror and divided among some of the Norman adventurers. Soon after the Conquest this manor came into the possession of Roger de Mowbray, and, when that nobleman was about to join the crusades, he gave all the manor and town of Askham, with the advowson of the church, to his friend, William de Tykhill. Later, the manor was divided into moieties, one of which was held by Bryan Fitzalan, from whom it received the name of Askham Bryan. In the reign of Edward III. one moiety of the lordship belonged to the noble family of Grey, of Rotherfield, in Oxfordshire, the last heir, male, of which left it to his daughter and heiress, Joan, who conveyed it in marriage to Sir John Deincourt. Sir John Deveden, Knight, was returned as lord of the manor in the reign of Richard III. Little is known of the further descent in those far-off times.

The village, sometimes called East, or Great, Askham, is situated four miles W.S.W. of York. The nearest railway station is at Copmanthorpe. The Church (St. Lawrence in the Diocesan Calendar, though usually ascribed to St. Nicholas, or St. Michael) appears, from the style of its architecture, to have been erected in the 11th century, and is a plain oblong building, comprising a nave and south porch. The latter has a circular-headed doorway, with a series of chevron and counter-chevron mouldings, resting on ornamented columns. In the east end are three round-headed windows, filled up; and above the centre one is the visica pisces. The benefice is a vicarage, in the gift and incumbency of the Rev. James Shepherd, A.K.C., and worth £170. All the tithes, with the exception of those of Marsh farm, payable to St. John's parish, Old Bridge End, York, have been commuted for land.

There is a chapel in the village belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists - a plain brick building, erected in 1836.

The school is attended by 45 children. It is a neat brick building, erected some years ago, and is supported by a voluntary rate and school fees. Near the church are two almshouses, built in 1862, by the trustees of the late John Barstow, Esq., for the deserving poor of Askham Bryan. The occupants pay five shillings a year, as an acknowledgment, and also keep them in repair.

Askham Hall, the property of the Rev. J. D. J. Preston, and residence of Col. Henry Holden, is situated about the centre of the village, but is not of any historical interest.

The poor receive the interest of several benefactions, amounting to £20, which is distributed in January and July.

[Description(s) from Bulmer's History and Directory of North Yorkshire (1890)]

Directories

• Transcript of the entry for the Post Office, professions and trades in Bulmer's Directory of 1890.

Scan, OCR and html by Colin Hinson. Checking and correction by Peter Nelson.