and Ryedale, the archdeaconry of East Riding, comprising the deaneries of Harthill (Hull), Buckrose, Dickering and Holderness; and the archdeaconry of Richmond, comprising the deaneries of Richmond, Catterick, Boroughbridge and Lonsdale. In 1541 the deaneries of Richmond were transferred to Henry VIII.'s new diocese of Chester. Ripon was created an episcopal see by act of parliament in 1836, and the deaneries of Craven and Pontefract were formed into the archdeaconry of Craven within its jurisdiction, together with the archdeaconry of Richmond. The archdeaconry of Sheffield was created in 1884 to include the deaneries of Sheffield, Rotherham, Ecclesfield and Wath. In 18S8 the area of the diocese of Ripon was reduced by the creation of the see of Wakefield, including the archdeaconry of Halifax with the deaneries of Birstall, Dewsbury, Halifax, Silkstone and Wakefield, and the archdeaconry and deanery of Huddersfield. The diocese of Ripon now includes in this county the archdeaconries of Craven with three deaneries, Richmond with three deaneries and Ripon with seven deaneries. The diocese of York includes the archdeaconries of York with six deaneries, Sheiffeld with four deaneries, East Riding with thirteen deaneries and Cleveland with nine deaneries.
The great woollen industry of Yorkshire originated soon after the Conquest, and the further development of this and other characteristic industries may be traced in the articles on the various industrial centres. The time of the American War marked the gradual absorption by Yorkshire of the clothing trade from the E. counties. Coal appears to have been used in Yorkshire by the Romans, and was dug at Leeds in the 13th century. The early fame of Sheffield as the centre of the cutlery and iron trade is demonstrated by the line in Chaucer, “a Sheffield whitel bore he in his hose.” In the 13th century a forge is mentioned at Rosedale, and the canons of Gisburn had four “fabricae” in blast in Glaisdale in Cleveland. In the 16th century limestone was dug in many parts of Elmet, and Huddlestone, Hesselwood and Tadcaster had famous quarries, Pontefract was famous for its liquorice, Aberford for its pins, Whitby for its jet. Alum was dug at Guisborough, Sandsend, Dunsley and Whitby in the 17th century, and a statute of 1659 forbade the importation of alum from abroad, in order to encourage its cultivation in this country. Bolton market was an important distributive centre for cotton materials in the 17th century, and in 1787 there were eleven cotton mills in the county.
Parliamentary Representation.—The county of York was represented by two knights in the parliament of 1295, and the boroughs of Beverley, Hedon, Malton, Pickering, Pontefract, Ripon, Scarborough, Thirsk, Tickhill, Yarm and York each by two burgesses. Northallerton acquired representation in 1298, Boroughbridge in 1300, Kingston-on-Hull and Ravensburgh in 1304. In most of the boroughs the privilege of representation was allowed to lapse, and from 1328 until 1547 only York, Scarborough and Kingston-on-Hull returned members. Hedon, Thirsk, Ripon and Beverley regained the franchise in the 16th century, and Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Aldborough and Richmond also returned members. Pontefract was represented in 1623, New Malton and Northallerton in 1640. In 1826 two additional knights were returned for the shire of York, and 14 boroughs were represented. Under the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned 6 members in 3 divisions—2 for each riding; Aldborough, Boroughbridge and Hedon were disfranchised; Northallerton and Thirsk lost 1 member each; Bradford, Halifax, Leeds and Sheffield acquired representation by 2 members each, and Wakefield and Whitby by 1 member each. Under the act of 1858 the representation of the West Riding division was increased to 6 members in 3 divisions; Dewsbury and Middlesbrough were enfranchised, returning 1 member each; Leeds now returned 3 members; Knaresborough, Malton, Richmond and Ripon lost 1 member each. Beverley was disfranchised in 1870. (For arrangements under the act of 1885 see § Administration.)
Antiquities.—Of ancient castles Yorkshire retains many interesting examples. The fine ruins at Knaresborough, Pickering, Pontefract, Richmond, Scarborough and Skipton are described under their respective headings. Barden Tower, picturesquely situated in upper Wharfedale, was built by Henry de Clifford (d. 1523), called the “shepherd lord” from the story that he was brought up as a shepherd. He was a student of astronomy and astrology. Bolton Castle, which rises majestically above Wensleydale, was pronounced by Leland “the fairest in Richmondshire.” It is a square building with towers at the corners, erected in the reign of Richard II. by Richard Scrope, chancellor of England. It was occupied by Queen Mary while under the charge of Lord Scrope, was besieged during the civil wars, and rendered untenable in 1647. Of Bowes Castle, in the North Riding near Barnard Castle, there remains only the square keep, supposed to have been built by Alan Niger, 1st earl of Richmond, in the 12th century, but the site was occupied by the Romans. Cawood Castle, on the Ouse near Selby, retains its gateway tower erected in the reign of Henry VI. The castle, said to have been founded by Æthelstan in 620, was the palace of the archbishops of York, and Wolsey resided in it. Conisborough Castle stands by the Don between Rotherham and Doncaster. Its origin is uncertain, but dates probably from Saxon times. The keep and portions of the walls remain, and the ruin possesses additional interest from its treatment in Scott's Ivanhoe. The ruins of Danby Castle, which is supposed to have been built shortly after the Conquest by Robert de Bruce or Brus, are of various dates. Harewood Castle in lower Wharfedale was founded soon after the Conquest, but contains no portions earlier than the reign of Edward III. The keep of Helmsley Castle was built late in the 12th century probably by Robert de Ros, surnamed Fursan, the earthworks are apparently of much earlier date. There are picturesque remains of the quadrangular fortress of Middleham in Wensleydale, built in the 12th century by Robert FitzRanulph, afterwards possessed by the Nevilles, and rendered untenable by order of parliament in 1647. Mulgrave Castle, near the modern residence of the same name in the Whitby district, is said to have been founded two centuries before the Conquest by a Saxon giant named Wade or Wadda. Parts are clearly Norman, but some of the masonry suggests an earlier date. The castle was dismantled after the civil wars. There are slight remain, of the 15th century, of Ravensworth Castle, near Richmond. This was probably an early foundation of the family of Fitz Hugh. Sheriff Hutton Castle, between York and Malton, was the foundation of Bertram de Bulmer in the reign of Stephen, the remains are of the early part of the 15th century, when the property passed to the Nevilles. Spofforth Castle, near Harrogate, was erected by Henry de Percy in 1309. Its ruins range from the period of foundation to the 15th century. Of Tickhill Castle, near Doncaster, built or enlarged by Roger de Bush in the 11th century, there are foundations of the keep and fragments of the walls. Of Whorlton Castle in Cleveland, the Perpendicular gatehouse is very fine. One side remains of the great quadrangular fortress of Wressell, E. of Selby, built by Thomas Percy, earl of Worcester, in the reign of Richard II. Some of the mansions in the county incorporate remains of ancient strongholds, such as those at Gilling, under the Hambleton Hills in the North Riding, Ripley near Harrogate, and Skelton in Cleveland. Medieval mansions are numerous, a noteworthy example being the Elizabethan hall of Burton Agnes, in the N. of Holderness.
In ecclesiastical architecture Yorkshire is extraordinarily rich. At the time of the Dissolution there were 28 abbeys, 26 priories. 23 nunneries, 30 friaries, 13 cells, 4 commanderies of Knights Hospitallers and 4 preceptories of Knights Templars. The principal monastic ruins are described under separate headings and elsewhere. These are Bolton Abbey (properly Priory), a foundation of Augustinian canons; Fountains Abbey, a Cistercian foundation, the finest and most complete of the ruined abbeys in England; the Cistercian abbey of Kirkstall near Leeds (q.v.); the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx, and the Benedictine abbey of St Mary, at York. For the plans and buildings of Fountains, Kirkstall and St Mary's, York, see Abbey. Separate reference is also made to the ruins of Jervaulx (Cistercian) and Coverham (Premonstratensian) in Wensleydale, and to the remains at Bridlington, Guisborough, Malton, Whitby, Easby near Richmond, Kirkham near Malton, Monk Bretton near Barnsley, and Mount Grace near Northallerton. There are fine though scanty remains of Byland Abbey, of Early English date, between Thirsk and Malton; the abbey was founded for Cistercian monks in the 12th century, and was previously established at Old Byland near Rievaulx. There was a house of Premonstratensians at Egglestone above the Tees near Barnard Castle. Other ruins are the Cistercian foundations of the 12th century at Meaux in Holderness, Roche, E. of Rotherham, and Sawley in Ribblesdale, the Benedictine nunneries of Marrick in upper Swaledale, and Rosedale under the high moors of the N.E., and the Gilbertine house of Watton in Holderness, of the 12th century, converted into a dwelling.
Descriptions are given in the articles on the respective cities and towns of the cathedral or minster at York, and of the numerous churches in that city, of the cathedral churches at Ripon and Wakefield, of the minster and the church of St Mary at Beverley, and of the fine parish churches at Bradford, Bridlington (the old priory church), Hedon, Hull, Rotherham, Selby (abbey church), Sheffield and Thirsk. In Holderness are the splendid churches of Howden and Patrington, both in the main Decorated, and the fine late Norman building at Kirkburn. A very perfect though small example of a Norman church is seen at Birkin on the Aire below Pontefract. At Nun Monkton near York is a beautiful Early English church, formerly belonging to a Benedictine nunnery. Goodmanham in the S. Wolds is the scene, in all probability, of the conversion by Paulinus of Edwin of Northumbria in 625, who was afterwards baptized at York. At Kirkdale near Kirkby Moorside in the N. Riding is a singular example of an inscribed sundial of pre-Conquest date. At Lastingham in the same district is a very fine and early Norman crypt.
See Victoria County History, Yorkshire; T. Allen, History of the County of York (3 vols., London, 1828—31); T. Baines, Yorkshire Past and Present, including an account of the woollen trade
