Fairburn is a small village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Selby District
Selby District is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby. The Local Authority had a population of 83,449 at the 2011 Census. The southernmost distri ...
of
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, England.
Situated approximately 10 miles (16 km) to the east of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, the village lies close to the
A1(M) motorway
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate controlled-access highway, motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1, a major north–south road which connects Greate ...
and the
M62 motorway
The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...
and until 2005, when the A1(M) motorway was opened, Fairburn was divided in two by the old
A1 and the two sides of the village were connected by just one vehicle bridge and one pedestrian footbridge, both of which have subsequently been removed.
The village was historically part of the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
until 1974.
Overview
![The Wagon and Horses Public House - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/The_Wagon_and_Horses_Public_House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_433945.jpg)
The village sits on the eastern edge of a narrow ridge of southern magnesian limestone which runs from near
Worksop
Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...
in the south to near
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
in the north. The
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
gives rise to a particularly flower rich limestone grassland which still exists in areas unsuitable for cultivation, whilst
alluvial soils and clays are found in the river valley bottoms. This outcrop of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
has been used to construct many of the older houses in the village.
Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve
Adjacent to the village is
Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve, , with a Visitor Centre.
Notable residents
William Jessop
William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life
Jessop was born in Devonport, Devon, the ...
, one of the most prolific engineers of the canal age, was living in Fairburn with his wife Sarah in 1781, as their second son
Josias
Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...
was baptised there on 26 October. They left to move to
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
two or three years later, and Josias went on to become a civil engineer in his own right.
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Brief History of Fairburn* Fairburn was in this parish
{{authority control
Civil parishes in North Yorkshire
Selby District
Villages in North Yorkshire