YORKSHIRE, an English county of more than double the extent of any other of the divisions of the united kingdom that are so denominated. It is not more distinguished by its extent than by the numerous and extensive sources of national wealth which, with the various branches of commerce and manufactures conducted by its inhabitants, contribute to the general prosperity of the empire.
Yorkshire is in its greatest length from north to south about 86, and its extreme breadth from east to west about 95 miles. Its surface is calculated to be 5960 square miles, or 3,814,400 statute acres. According to the returns under the late Property-tax, the average rent of the land, including the tithes, was 16s. 10d. per acre. This county is bounded on the east by the German Ocean; on the north by the counties of Durham and Westmoreland; on the west by the latter county and Lancashire; and on the south by Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire. The river Tees on the north, and the Humber on the south, are boundaries marked by the hand of nature, and so, in some degree, are the ranges of hills on the western sides; but these last are indefinite, and, like most other divisions of countries, those of Yorkshire are mostly imaginary lines, whose position is chiefly ascertained by local tradition.
This county is divided into three portions called Ridings, denominated from their position East,
North, and West. The southern part of the county is comprehended within the limits of the East Riding. Each of these Ridings is again divided into wapentakes (a name, in the northern equivalent to that of hundred in the southern counties), and into a city and several towns, with their contiguous liberties or dependencies, as will be noticed in the account of the separate Ridings.
In elections for the county the freeholders of the Ridings vote indiscriminately. Hitherto they have returned two members only, but from this time, in consequence of the disfranchisement of the borough of Grampound in Cornwall, and the transfer of the choice of the two members that were returned by it to Yorkshire, the county will return four members to the House of Commons. These, with two each from the city of York, and the boroughs of Aldborough, Beverley, Boroughbridge, Hedon, Hull, Knaresborough, Malton, Northallerton, Pontefract, Richmond, Ripon, Scarborough, and Thirsk, make thirty-two members from Yorkshire. The titles of Peers derived from this county are—Dukes, York, Richmond, and Leeds; Earls, Doncaster (Duke of Buccleuch in Scotland), Scarborough, Pomfret, Beverley, Craven, Mulgrave, and Harewood; and Barons, Hawke, Bolton, Ribblesdale, and Prudhoe.
The whole population of Yorkshire, according to the census of 1821, consisted of 1,173,187 persons, of whom 580,456 were males, and 592,731 females.
Yorkshire. The number of families were 240,696; of whom 63,830 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 137,011 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft, and 39,818 were not comprised in either of the preceding classes. The West Riding exceeds in population both the others together. Between the years 1811 and 1821, the increase in the population in the East Riding was 14 per cent., in the North Riding 20 per cent., and in the West Riding 23 per cent.
Rivers and Canals. The wealth and fertility of Yorkshire is much promoted by the rivers that in various directions pass through it; and by the several navigable canals, which either unite the different branches of those rivers, or draw from them a supply of water for their immediate use. The Tees forms a boundary to Yorkshire on the side of Durham; but a very small portion of its waters is collected from the former county. In the West Riding, the rivers Ribble and Wenning run to the Irish Sea; they are inconsiderable streams till they enter Lancashire. All the others that have their sources in Yorkshire empty themselves into the German Ocean, in a united river, then denominated the Ouse, through the great estuary, the Humber. The Ouse is composed of the two small rivers, the Swale and the Ure, which unite below Boroughbridge, and soon after receiving the waters of the Nidd, passes by the city of York, to which place it is navigable. It soon after is increased by the reception of the Wharfe on its right bank, and of the Derwent on its left. It then receives the river Aine, whose waters near Snaith have been increased by those of the Calder, and its numerous tributary rivulets; and soon after, on the same bank, the river Don, when its breadth is nearly equal to that of the Thames. The most important canal is the Leeds and Liverpool, which connects together, by internal navigation, the two important ports of Hull and Liverpool; and affords to the manufacturers facilities of exporting their productions from either of those places, as may be most suitable for the various markets to which they are destined. There are several shorter canals which connect the towns with the navigable rivers, or convey from the coal mines their important produce.
hundred and fifty to nine hundred feet. Within Yorkshire, this narrow sea boundary is a tract called the Eastern Moorlands, about thirty miles from east to west, and fifteen from north to south. It is apparently a barren country, penetrated with some beautiful and fertile valleys, which are, indeed, narrow, but the hills that rise on both sides of them are cultivated nearly to the top. Rosebury-Topping, a mountain, whose summit is 1480 feet above the level of the sea, overlooks the beautiful vale of Cleveland, and the other parts of the western division of this riding, especially the rich and picturesque districts in the vicinity of Boroughbridge and Richmond. The western moorlands are superior in fertility to the eastern. Some of the dales in this district are celebrated for their beauty and fertility, particularly Wensley Dale, Swale Dale, and some of the smaller sheltered spots.
The cultivation varies so much, that it is difficult to give even an outline of the different practices. The greater portion of the land is in pasture. In Cleveland and Rye Dale the best wheats are grown; the average produce is somewhat more than twenty-three bushels to an acre. Barley is not much grown, nor rye, except on poor and sandy soils. Oats are extensively cultivated, and great crops are produced in Rye Dale, and some other of the dales; they are chiefly consumed in the manufacturing districts, where they form the food of the greater part of the labourers. In many parts of this riding, a mixture of wheat and rye is sown; this corn is commonly known by the name of meslin, and is made into flour, from which the bread of almost the whole district is composed. The breeding and fattening cattle, and the operations of the dairy, are of more importance to this riding than the growth of corn. The cows are generally of the short horned kind, and they are of small size, but clean made, and fine in the bone. The average weight of the oxen, when fat, is about forty stone. The sheep are still mostly of the old large coarse-boned race, but improvements are proceeding by the gradual mixture of the Dishley and Northumberland breeds. The fine wool clipped in this district is mostly consumed in the domestic manufactures of hosiery, in the knitting of which the females are very generally occupied.
The whole of Yorkshire has been long celebrated for its attention to the breeds of horses, but the chief seat for rearing them is in the North Riding. The horses of Cleveland, being clean made, strong, and active, are well calculated for draft; those of the vale of York, by the introduction of the racing blood, are fitter for the saddle. The dales of the eastern moorlands rear many horses of a smaller but useful breed.
The mineral productions of this division of York-shire are not of great account. To the west of Richmond some lead mines are advantageously worked. Iron and copper have been formerly raised; the former metal is still produced near Whitby and Scarborough, but the mines of the latter are abandoned. Coal is found in various parts of the riding, but the quantity is small and the quality bad; and hence the chief supply of fuel is obtained from Durham. The most valuable mineral production is alum,
North Riding. The North Riding of Yorkshire is divided into ten wapentakes, two liberties, and the towns of Richmond, Scarborough, and Whitby. The population, in 1821, amounted to 183,381; of whom 90,153 were males, and 93,228 females: the whole number of families were 38,731; of whom 16,737 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 11,570 in trade or manufactures, and 10,424 were included in neither of those classes. The largest places, and their population, are the following: Whitby, 12,331; Scarborough, 8533; Northallerton, 4431; Malton, 4005; Pickering, 3555; Richmond, 3546, and Thirsk, 2533. The extent of the Riding has been estimated by Mr Tuke to be 2048 square miles, or 1,311,187 acres, of which 442,565 are uncultivated; the remainder comprises the inclosed lands, open fields, woods, and roads. It is believed, that of the part returned as uncultivated, more than one half might be converted into arable or pasture land.
Face of the Country. The land on the sea shore is generally lofty, and the cliffs precipitous, varying in height from one
Yorkshire. which is collected and prepared in large quantities at different works on the northern shore of the riding.
Commerce. The manufacturing industry of the district is productive of some very good linens, of rather a coarse quality, of some knit hosiery, and of gloves, made in and around York. The building of ships is an extensive branch of industry, and is carried on upon a large scale at Whitby, and in a smaller degree at other places. On the same part of the coast, the herring fishery gives employment to some thousands of the inhabitants. The town of Scarborough is much frequented in the summer months for the sake of sea-bathing, as well as for some mineral springs which have been discovered in the neighbourhood. Redcar, a small town in the north-east corner of the county, has lately become a place for sea-bathing, and has considerably increased in consequence of it.
Antiquities. The most striking remains of antiquity in the riding are Scarborough Castle, and those of the abbeys of Rievaulx, Byland, and Whitby.
Gentlemen's Seats. Among a vast number of seats of noblemen and gentlemen, some of the most conspicuous and celebrated are—Bishopsthorpe, Archbishop of York; Castle Howard, Lord Carlisle; Duncombe Park, C. S. Duncombe, Esq.; Hornby Castle, Duke of Leeds; Kirkleatham Hall, Sir Charles Turner, Bart.; Marske Hall, Honourable L. Dundas; Mulgrave Castle, Earl Mulgrave; Newby Park, Lord Grantham; Brompton, Sir George Cayley, Bart.; Rokeby, J. B. S. Morriss, Esq.; Gershamp, Earl of Darlington; and Aske, Lord Dundas.
East Riding. The East Riding of Yorkshire is divided into six wapentakes, city of York, Liberty of York, and a district called the Ainsty of York, the borough of Beverley, and the town and county of Kingston-upon-Hull. The population in 1821 amounted to 190,449 persons, of whom 92,761 were males, and 97,688 females. The whole number of families was 40,499; of whom 15,480 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 16,637 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft, and 8382 not comprised in either of the preceding classes. The largest places, and their population, was as follows: York city, 20,787; Kingston-upon-Hull, the borough, 28,591, the country part, 2834, and the adjacent parish of Sulcoates, 10,449; making together 41,874. Beverley has, in the town and liberties, 7503 inhabitants, and Howden 4443; none of the other places contain so many as 2000 persons.
Face of the Country. This division of Yorkshire is not marked with any strong or peculiarly striking features, though, in some few parts, the scenery is good, and, including the sea views, the prospects near the coast rather pleasing. The whole extent of this riding is estimated to be about 920,000 acres, being the smallest of the three. The riding may be divided into three parts, as far as regards its productive powers. The first is a tract of level land, extending from the river Humber to nearly the northern boundary of the district. This is in part a rich soil, and, including Holderness, contains some of the best feeding land in this island. The next division is the Wolds, running from north to south, parallel to the former. They are a range of chalky hills, elevated above the
level country about 600 feet. The soil is rather a light and chalky loam, in some places mixed with gravel, in others with clay. The extent is from 300,000 to 400,000 acres. Thirty years ago, a very small portion of these wolds was cultivated; but of late years much of it has been inclosed and converted into corn land. The want of good roads is still felt in this part of the country, though the materials for making such roads are abundant and near at hand. The third natural division of the East Riding extends from the western foot of the wolds to the boundaries of the North and West Ridings. This tract, commonly called the Levels, is every where flat and unpicturesque. The soil is various, but, in general, of a clayey nature; from Gilberdyke to Howden it is very heavy, and though the country is well covered with villages and hamlets, it is extremely dirty, disagreeable, and difficult to travel over.
No part of England shows more proofs of recent agricultural improvements than this riding of Yorkshire; the wolds have been, by paring and burning, changed from sheep pasture into corn-bearing land. In the low lands, also, great improvements have been made; extensive tracts, formerly flooded a great part of the year, and scarcely producing any thing but rushes, have been drained, and are covered with such crops of grain, that the value of the land has been increased in a most extraordinary degree. The wolds, in their former state, were very well adapted for breeding horses; but in their present improved state, are more profitable as affording pasture for sheep, and as growing corn. The warrens for rabbits were formerly very numerous and extensive, but are now, for the most part, more productive by being covered with herbage of a better quality. The farms, especially on the wolds, and in the southern parts of Holderness, are generally large, renting from £200 to £2000 per annum. The climate of the East Riding varies considerably. Near the coast, the air is cold, and frequently charged with dense fogs. On the wolds, the cold is more severe, and the snow lies longer; but to the westward of the hills, the air is warm, moist, and tends to produce agues. There are no mines in this riding, nor any manufactures, except it be the spinning of flax, which is performed by the ancient method, and is carried on by all the females in the farming houses at their leisure time. The foreign and internal commerce of the riding is wholly carried on through the port of Hull, a place which has thriven during the last forty years as much as any portion of the kingdom. During that period, its population has been more than doubled, and its mercantile shipping and other property been increased far beyond that ratio.
Extensive docks have been constructed for the reception of vessels, and for affording facilities in the landing and storing their cargoes. Around these docks a new town has arisen, on what was formerly a swamp, which surpasses the ancient part in cheerfulness and beauty. The foreign trade of Hull consists in the importation from Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, of naval stores, and the other productions of those countries, and in the exportation to them of the manufactured goods produced in the counties of York, Lancaster, Derby, Cheshire, and Nottingham,
Yorkshire. with which the town is connected by means of ca-
nal and river navigation. The same description of
trade is carried on betwixt Hull and the ports of
Holland and Germany, as exists betwixt it and the
towns on the Baltic Sea. Although these are the
most ancient and the most natural sources of the
commerce of Hull, yet it is by no means confined to
them. Considerable trade is carried on with the
United States of America, with the West Indies,
with the ports of the Mediterranean, with Spain
and Portugal, and recently with South Ame-
rica. The building and equipping of ships is a
source of great employment, and some ships as large
as of 74 guns have been built here during the war.
Many vessels belonging to Hull ship-owners are to
be hired for freight, and may be found in almost
every part of the globe. The whale-fishery has,
from the first years of the discovery of Greenland,
been pursued by the inhabitants of Hull; but with
pre-eminent success ever since the year 1766, when
an individual merchant of that town gave an impulse
to that branch of industry by which its prosperity
has been much promoted. The internal trade
through Hull is of great extent; the calculation of
the amount of the goods passed through it to and
from the interior, by means of the rivers and canals,
makes it upwards of £15,000,000 Sterling annually.
The fishing for herrings is carried on, though to
a small extent, in some of the coast towns of this
riding.
The most interesting objects in this division of
Yorkshire are, the natural caves at Flamborough
Head; York Minster; Howden Church; Kirkham
Priory; Bridlington Priory, and Trinity Church in
Hull.
The most distinguished seats of noblemen and
gentlemen are, Wressle Castle, Lord Egremont;
Birdsall, Lord Middleton; Boynton, Sir William
Strickland; Cave Castle, H. B. Barnard, Esq.;
Burton Constable, Francis Constable, Esq.; Ferri-
by, Sir H. Etherington; Hotham, R. C. Burton,
Esq.; Ragwell, D. Sykes, Esq.; Sledmere, Sir M.
M. Sykes, Bart.; Woodhouse, Robert Denison, Esq.;
Melburn, Sir Henry Vavasour, Bart., and Scampson,
Sir William St Quintin, Bart.
The West Riding of Yorkshire is by far the most
important, whether as regards its extent, population,
activity, or wealth. It is divided into nine wapen-
takes, and into a small district denominated the
Ainsty of York. The population in 1821 amount-
ed to 799,357 persons; of whom 397,542 were males,
and 401,815 females. The whole number of fami-
lies was 161,466; of whom 31,613 were chiefly em-
ployed in agriculture, 108,841 in trade, manufac-
tures, or handicraft, and 21,012 were not comprised
in either of the preceding classes. The great in-
crease of inhabitants in the West Riding of York-
shire has chiefly arisen from the various manufac-
tures which have been established there in conse-
quence of the cheapness of fuel, and of the nume-
rous rivers, whose streams are calculated to turn
powerful machinery. It has hence followed, that
the greater numbers of the people are in townships
and parishes rather than in what can properly be
called towns. Many of these parishes are continued
streets of buildings, but more of them are scattered
clumps of houses, each known by some design-
ating name. The population of the towns and
parishes of more than 5000 souls are as follows:—
Halifax town, 12,628; the whole parish which, in
1811, contained 73,415 persons, had increased, in
1821, to 92,850; Leeds town and liberty, 83,796;
Sheffield town, 42,157; but the parish, 52,105;
Bradford town, 13,064; but the parish, 62,954,
though, in 1811, only 36,358; Huddersfield parish,
24,220; Almondbury, 23,979; Wakefield, 22,307;
Kirk-Heaton, 21,870; Birstall, 21,217; Dewesbury,
16,261; Calverley, 14,134; Kirk-Burton, 13,695;
Ripon, 13,096; Ecclesfield, 12,496; Rotherham,
9633; Otley, 9358; Keighley, 9223; Doncaster,
9117; Pontefract, 8824; Guisley, 8409; Barnsley,
8284; Bingley, 7375; Rothwell, 6253; Thornhill,
5458; Skipton, 5479; Knaresborough, 5283, and
Mirfield, 5041.
The West Riding is about 95 miles in length
from east to west, and about 48 in its greatest
breadth from north to south. The square extent
is estimated at 2500 miles, or 1,568,000 statute
acres. The face of the country furnishes scenes
strikingly contrasted. The eastern portion stretched
along the banks of the Ouse is generally a flat,
moist, and marshy district, in some parts fruitful,
but in all uninteresting to the tourist. The middle
part, as far as Sheffield, Bradford, and Otley, is an
undulating country, finely varied, and rising gra-
dually till it reaches the most western portion, which is
very rugged and mountainous. Beyond Sheffield
black moors are the only objects, till Blackstone
Ledge is reached, on the confines of Lancashire. The
western part of Craven presents heaps of rocks and
mountains in the most picturesque forms and situa-
tions. Among these Pennygant, Wharnside, and
Ingleborough, the most conspicuous, may be con-
sidered some of the loftiest mountains in England.
According to the Trigonometrical Survey of Colonel
Mudge, the height of Wharnside is 2263 feet, of
Pennygant, 2270, and of Ingleborough, 2361.
Amidst the hilly and mountainous tracts of this rid-
ing are many romantic and some sequestered val-
lies, presenting the most beautiful scenery. The
most extensive of these are Netherdale, watered by
the Nid; Wharfdale, and the vale of Aire; but ma-
ny of the smaller vales vie with them in picturesque
beauty; and, being generally inclosed, well wooded,
and thickly studded with villages and houses, pre-
sent, from the surrounding eminences, most en-
chanting prospects; combining often in the same
view the most sublime and the most lively of rural
scenery. The roads from Knaresborough or Ripon
to Pateley Bridge; from Tadcaster to Otley and
Skipton; from Leeds, by Bradford and Keighley,
to Skipton; from Bradford to Halifax, and from Ha-
lifax, by Dewesbury, to Wakefield, unfold some of
the finest scenery that can be seen in this island.
The climate of this riding is very much varied; in
the eastern part near the Ouse it is warm and moist;
in the middle district the air is sharp, clear, and ge-
nerally considered healthy; in the western parts the
climate is cold, tempestuous, and rainy. The moun-
tains of Craven and the moors near Blackstone
Ledge are the most foggy, rainy, and stormy dis-
Yorkshire. tricts in England, though the climate is considered to be salubrious to those of sound constitutions, and the inhabitants have a robust and healthy appearance.
Agriculture and its Productions. A very great portion of the land of this riding is possessed by small proprietors, although some few noblemen have extensive tracts of land. Most of the occupancies are rather small; none are large; the greater part are less than fifty acres. A great part is kept exclusively in grass, and used for the dairy, or for fattening cattle. On the arable lands a greater quantity of wheat is raised than of any other grain. It is mostly of the red kind, and is sown after fallow or turnips, but sometimes on a clover ley. Rye is not cultivated to any great extent. Barley is raised in much less quantities than wheat. Oats are cultivated to a great extent, but little attention is paid to procuring the best seed, though oatmeal forms the chief part of the food of the inhabitants, especially in the more western parts of the riding. Pease are not much raised, nor beans, except on the moorish soils near the Ouse. The turnip husbandry is not so extensively practised as good farming requires, and where it is pursued, it is generally executed in a slovenly and imperfect manner. Great crops of potatoes are raised in the part of the riding below the junction of the river Aire with the Ouse. In the same part of the country much flax is grown, the preparation of the land for which employs the labour of many hands, as does the dressing and preparing the article for market. Rape for making oil, and woad for the dyers, are both cultivated in this riding, but not to any great extent. The waste lands in the West Riding were estimated about twenty-five years ago at 400,000 acres, of which 250,000 were considered capable of profitable improvement, and the rest fit for no other purpose but that of planting. Since that period much marsh land has been drained, many commons inclosed, and some bleak hills planted with Scotch firs and larches. Vast improvement has been made on some large tracts of land by the operation locally called warping. It is performed by permitting the river, at the highest of the tide, to overflow the land. The rich mud with which the turbid rivers abound is deposited on the surface, and each return of tide increases the earth thus deposited, so that a depth of alluvial soil of fourteen inches has been raised by this means on a field which previously was scarcely of any value. The lands thus improved are so enriched, that they will yield abundant crops for several successive years without any manure. The horned cattle, sheep, and horses of the West Riding have no distinguishing characteristics, but vary in kind as in the other two ridings. There is not here the same care exercised in improving the breed of horses as in the other two divisions of Yorkshire.
Minerals. In this division of Yorkshire the mines produce great quantities of coal, ironstone, and lead, and vast quarries of limestone. The coal and limestone, indeed, appear to be almost inexhaustible. The limestone district commences on the tract between Doncaster and Tadcaster, and extends to the western limits of the county. The coal mines are most numerous between Leeds and Wakefield, and in the neighbourhood of Bradford, Barnsley, and Sheffield,
although there are many in other parts of the riding. Yorkshire. Iron is found in the greatest quantities near Bradford, and often in the same mine with coal. The best strata of coals are those found under the seams of iron, at a depth of from 220 to 240 feet below the surface. The chief mines of lead are at Grassington, a manor belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, about ten miles to the westward of Pateley Bridge.
The great branches of industry which have so rapidly peopled, and so vastly enriched the West Riding of Yorkshire, are the several manufactures that have been established in every part of it. Scarcely a hamlet or even a house is to be found wherein some part of one or other of the occupations of manufacture, or of those subservient to it, are not seen in different stages of progress. The iron and other hardware goods are produced at Sheffield, Rotherham, and all the villages in the vicinity of those towns. A little to the northward the large towns of Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield, and the overfowing villages of Almondbury, Kirk-Heaton, Birstall, Dewesbury, with many other places, are devoted to the production of woollen, worsted, cotton, and some linen goods. To name every description of these goods which are perfected in this district, would be to enumerate the whole catalogue of British manufacture. The manufactures have enriched, to an almost incredible extent, the soil in the vicinity of the towns in which they have been expanding, and increased the population in a corresponding ratio. Whilst in the period from 1811 to 1821 the population in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which is an agricultural country, has increased 14 per cent.; in the West Riding, as has been before noticed, in the same period it has increased 23 per cent.
The most remarkable remains of antiquity in this riding are Selby Abbey, Knaresborough Castle, Fountain's Abbey, Skipton Castle, Bolton Priory, Kirkstall Abbey, Conisbrough Castle, and Roche Abbey.
In proportion to the great extent of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it contains more seats of noblemen and gentlemen of distinguished beauty than any other part of Great Britain. Our limits do not allow of our even noticing one tenth part of them, but the most remarkable are the following: Wentworth House, Lord Fitzwilliam; Harewood, Lord Harewood; Farnley Hall, Walter Fawkes, Esq.; Ripley Castle, Sir William Ingilby; Thundercliff Grange, Lord Effingham; Metheley Park, Lord Mexborough; Gisborne Park, Lord Ribblesdale; Brodsworth, Lord Rendlesham; Sandbeck, Earl Scarborough; Studley Royal, Miss Lawrence; Ribstone Hall, Sir Henry Goodricke, Bart.; Copgrove, Henry Duncombe, Esq.; Bramham Park, James Lane Fox, Esq.; Ledstone Lodge, M. Angelo Taylor, Esq.; Wentworth Castle, Henry Vernon, Esq.; Cusworth Hall, William Wrightson, Esq.; and Campsall, Bacon Frank, Esq.
See Tuke's Agriculture of the North Riding; Rennie, Brown, and Sheriff's West Riding; and Latham's East Riding: Yorkshire Gazetteer by Hargrove; Topographical Dictionary of Yorkshire by Langdale; Parliamentary Population Returns; Bigland's Beauties of England and Wales. (w.w.)