Bielby
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bielby is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is about four miles south of Pocklington. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 281.
A couple miles to the east of Bielby lies the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress (for soldiers). It is an important archeological site on the edge of Hayton. A few miles north of Pocklington is a village called Millington.
About 1,000 years ago, we believe a conscript with the Danes (possibly from Biele-rus the ancient land of White Russia) 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. The Danes set up Jarvik as their ruling headquarters for England. Jarvik eventually became York as the pronunciation was modified slowly over time. The discovery in the 1970s of an archeological treasure of information depicting this era of York's history is organized in a museum in York (worth seeing).
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. She either moved or passed away several decades ago. There are no known Bielby's left in the village. There are people bearing the name Bielby or Beilby living across England, Canada, the USA and other nations in the world.
One home in Bielby is proudly labeled, Bielbyville.
Bielby has an Anglican Church (St. Giles) and a local deacon who bears the key to the 900+ year old facility. The Methodist revival which swept England and America a few hundred years ago still has a visible emblem of it's effect in Bielby. The old Methodist Church Building in Bielby is now a private residence. Some of the Bielby's in Canada and America have known forefathers who were Methodist (see the John Bielby family & descendants from Lake City, MI) as late as the 20th Century. Traces of Methodist influence from England into America via the Bielby's exist primarily in Canada. Other than a pub, the village today is mostly residential, with a few newer homes to show some growth. Amazingly, there are still geese being raised on the edge of Bielby. The Pocklington Canal still provides a splendid water supply for such purposes after all these centuries.
Much of the information in this article was gathered from a booklet 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 Anglican Church in Bielby for a few pounds. There are two similar booklets telling the history of Bielby to one degree or another.
There is a group for Bielby's to connect on the internet in Yahoo groups. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bielby/ or Just type in the name Bielby under groups.
Nations with the most descendants bearing the name Bielby in one form or another are probably England, Canada, USA with some Bielby's residing in Australia as well.
