Recent articles

Hampsthwaite Housing
Local planning authorities need to regularly identify and update their supply of sites for housing development as part of their adopted local plan. North Yorkshire Council is currently drawing up a new county wide local plan and a new consultation (Issues and Options) is about to begin.
VE-Day80 8 - 10 May 2025
Our Memorial Hall was built to honour the fallen in two world wars and give thanks to those who returned. It is appropriate therefore that we play our full part in the national celebrations and village activities are planned for May 8th VE-Day and Saturday May 10th 2025
Jane Ridsdale
JANE RIDSDALEAged 33 years, born at Hampsthwaite, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, her height is 31 ½ inches.She is remarkably chearfull & enjoys very good health.Published July 1st 1807 by Jane Ridstale, at Harrogate where purchasers of this Print will have the opportunity of seeing and conversing with her
The Execution of Hannah Whitley
Arsenic Poisoning in Hampsthwaite - The Execution of Hannah Whitley In 1789, Hannah Whitley of Hampsthwaite used a pie as the delivery medium for a fatal dose of arsenic, with the poison concentrated in the crust. She claimed She had been coerced into the act of poisoning by her employer, a local linen weaver named Horseman, who was involved in an on-going feud with the intended victim.
Joshua Tetley
Joshua Tetley was the founder of Tetley’s Brewery in Leeds, and he retired with his wife Hannah to Hollins Hall on the outskirts of Hampsthwaite (Hollins Hall Retirement Village).
Blind Peter Barker
Remembering Hampsthwaite’s Blind Joiner - an article by Shaun WilsonLike the market town of Knaresborough, who had ‘Blind Jack’ – John Metcalf, the road builder of Yorkshire in the eighteenth century, the small rural village of Hampsthwaite had it’s blind hero also, almost a century later – Peter Barker who became known as ‘The Blind Joiner of Hampsthwaite.’ Though there are some similarities between John Metcalf and Peter Barker’s lives, these are purely co-incidental and each fulfilled a life, character and career in their own right.
Hampsthwaite Open Gardens
Hampsthwaite Open Gardens - Sat 29th June 12.30am - 5.00pm - Entry £5.00 (accompanied under 15's FREE) Tickets on the day from Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall Plant sales - many named varieties of plants Delicious homemade refreshments Afternoon tea and cakes served from 12.30pm at the Memorial Hall
Scrubbers and Stones
SCRUBBERS & STONES - Sat 29th June 10.30am - 2.30pm - Entry FREE! Explore the Memorials at St Thomas a'Becket Memorials Treasure Trail - for children if all ages Self-Service / Self-Checkout BBQ from 12 noon (inc. veg option) Food £2, Drink £1, Donations? - yes please! Hot & Cold Drinks Laptop & Screen to show Mapping Hampsthwaite’s Past Use a Bucket & Brush to help reveal Inscriptions on the older memorials . . . or just Sit & Enjoy CORPUS CHRISTI BRASS BAND . . . from 11.30am . . . followed by Afternoon Tea & Cakes at the Memorial Hall!
Genealogy Websites
Free genealogy websites will help you start your family history research at no cost as listed by the 'Who Do You Think You Are' magazine.
Kitchen Refurbishment
Memorial Hall kitchen is now completely, and expertly, refurbished by Neil,Batty Builders Ltd as a result of a grant awarded by the National Lottery's 'Reaching Communities' fund.See also the equivalent

Wilks

Wilks Name Meaning
English (Yorkshire Lancashire and West Midlands): variant of Wilkes
Wilkes Name Meaning
English (West Midlands): either a variant of Wilk with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s or from the Middle English personal name Wilcus an uncommon pet form of a personal name in Wil-. The suffix is a double diminutive -k + -us the latter being used with Old English female names (compare Aldous ). So Wilcus may also be a pet form of an Old English female name such as Wilburg. Alternatively it may have been used with Norman personal names of either gender for example as a pet form of William . If Wilcus became an inherited surname it would quickly have become merged with Wilkes. Wilcus may also have been absorbed into Wildgoose . Dutch and North German: patronymic from the personal name Wilke a pet form of Will.
Source:
Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
Similar surnames:
Wilkes, Wicks, Wilk, Dilks, Wills, Wilms, Milks, Wilds, Wiles, Weeks
From: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/learn/facts

Plot No. 3009

James Wilks 1752 - 1828
Margaret Wilks 1756 - 1843

Plot No. 3067

Elizabeth Wilks #### - 1759

James Wilks Plot 3009

Elizabeth Wilks Plot 3067

Inscription

Sacred To The Memory
Of
James Wilks Of The Township Of
Felliscliffe Who Departed This
Life Dec 28th 1828 Aged 76 Years
Also Of Margaret Relict Of The Above
James Wilks Who Departed This
Life July 19th 1843 Aged 87 Years

TEXT 3

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Church Records

Calverley Info

Additional Information

Click on image to see article on church history

Plot No.	Name	Burial Date	Age
##	J###	###	##
##	J###	###	##

Calverley Info comprises an excellent and comprehensive collection of historical and genealogical information pertaining to Nidderdale in Yorkshire. Burial Records may be accessed using the links below and may be searched by holding down Ctrl and pressing F then typing in the Surname to be searched for.

The many other Records contained in Calverley Info may also be Searched similarly and, for a more general enquiry, the Calverley Info has its own Vital Records Database Search [Link]

Other Hampsthwaite Links