Kirkby Malzeardis a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Harrogate district

Harrogate (borough)

Harrogate is a local government district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate but it also includes surrounding towns and villages...

 of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

In recent years a creamery in the village was acquired by the Wensleydale Creamery, and Wensleydale cheese is now made there.

History

Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, the village was mentioned in Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 as Chirchebi (meaning "church village"). The suffix Malzeard (another place-name, meaning "bad clearing" in Norman French) was added by the early 12th century. In medieval times the honour of Kirkby Malzeard included large areas to the west of the village in upper Nidderdale

Nidderdale

Nidderdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south through the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.The only town in the dale is...

, and the parish came to include several township

Township (England)

In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...

s:

• Azerley
  Azerley
  Azerley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about north-west of Ripon. The population in the 2001 census was 355....
  
  
• Fountains Earth
• Grewelthorpe
  Grewelthorpe
  Grewelthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England situated three miles south of Masham and six miles north of Ripon...
  
  
• Hartwith cum Winsley
  Hartwith cum Winsley
  Hartwith cum Winsley is a civil parish in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire, England. Historically it was a township in the ancient parish of Kirkby Malzeard, a detached part of that parish....
  
   (a detached part)
• Laverton
  Laverton, North Yorkshire
  Laverton is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. A beck flows through the village and it is about 7 miles west of Ripon.-External links:...
  
  
• Stonebeck Down
  Stonebeck Down
  Stonebeck Down is a civil parish in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire, England. Historically it was a township in the ancient parish of Kirkby Malzeard.The main settlements in the parish are the village of Ramsgill and the hamlets of Stean and Heathfield....
  
  
• Stonebeck Up
  Stonebeck Up
  Stonebeck Up is a civil parish in Harrogate district, North Yorkshire, England. Historically it was a township in the ancient parish of Kirkby Malzeard.The only village in the parish is Middlesmoor.The parish occupies the highest part of Nidderdale...
  
  

The townships became separate civil parishes in the 19th century.

The writer and historian William Grainge

William Grainge

William Grainge was an English antiquarian and poet, a historian of Yorkshire. Born into a farming family in Kirkby Malzeard, he later set up a bookshop in nearby Harrogate and published numerous books on local history and topography....

was born to a farming family in the village.

External links

• Village web site