Felixkirk is a 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

Hambleton District Hambleton is a local government district in North Yorkshire, England. The administrative centre is Northallerton, and the district includes the outlying towns and villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley, and Easingwold. The dist ...

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. The village is situated about three miles north-east of

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological fin ...

. The population of the civil parish was estimated at 100 in 2014.

History

The village is named after its church, itself dedicated to

St Felix Felix is a given name that stems from Latin (genitive ) and means "happy" or "lucky". Its other form is Felicity. In German, Dutch, Czech, Slovenian, Romanian and Scandinavian languages the form "Felix" is the same as English. In French, Hun ...

, a Burgundian who travelled with St Paulinus converting

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

in England to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

during the

seventh century The 7th century is the period from 601 (DCI) through 700 ( DCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by Muhammad starting in 622. After Muh ...

. It may have not been known by its current name at the time of the

Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

as it does not appear in this form in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. Instead it is referenced as ''Fridebi'' with the manor lands shared between ''Gamal, son of Kalri'' and ''Ligulf'', subsequently passing after invasion to ''Hugh, son of Baldric'', who made ''Gerard of Boltby'' lord of the manor. There are competing etymologies for ''Fridebi''. It is the same as the old place name of nearby Firby sometimes taken to mean ''Peaceful Place'' from ''fred'', a Danish word for ''peace''. Alternatively, like other

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

with Danish derived names it might mean ''Freda's dwelling'' where the personal name Freda also means ''Peace''. Nearby hill, Mount St John, was the location of a preceptory of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

built in the 11th century. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the preceptory buildings were handed to the Archbishop of York. In 1720, the buildings were pulled down and a new

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

built. Still known as Mount St John, it is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building.

Governance

The village is within the Thirsk and Malton UK Parliament constituency. It lies within the Whitestonecliffe ward of Hambleton District Council and Thirsk electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council. The parish shares a grouped parish council, known as Hillside Parish Council, with the civil parishes of

Boltby Boltby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the edge of the North York Moors National Park at , and about north-east of Thirsk. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 143 ...

Cowesby Cowesby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. Part of the village including The Cowesby Hall Estate is within the North York Moors National Park and about north of Thirsk. The population of the c ...

Kirby Knowle Kirby Knowle is a village and civil parish in Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North Yorkshire Moors and near Upsall, about 4 miles north-east of Thirsk. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, ...

and

Upsall Upsall is a hamlet in and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately four miles north-east of Thirsk. Upsall is part of the Upsall and Roxby estates owned by the Turton family. The populat ...

Geography

The village is at an elevation of above sea level at its highest point. The nearest settlements are

Thirlby Thirlby is a village and civil parish in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of about 120 in 2003, measured at 134 at the 2011 Census, Thirlby is situated approximately east of Thirsk. Unlike its near neighbo ...

to the east;

Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the A170 at the foot of Sutton Bank, about three miles ...

to the south-east;

to the north;

to the north-east and Thirsk to the south-west. According to the 1881 UK Census, the population was 113. The 2001 UK Census recorded the population as 104, of which 85 were over the age of sixteen. Of those, 56 were in employment. The village contains 45 dwellings of which 24 are detached properties. A

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ke ...

at Howe Hill in the parish is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. There are two Grade II* listed buildings (St Felix church and Mount St John) in the village and five Grade II listed structures.

Education

Primary education is provided at nearby Thirsk Community,

South Kilvington South Kilvington is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated just off the A19, about one mile north of Thirsk. History The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' as ''Cheluitun' ...

CE Primary and

Knayton Knayton is a small village in Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It is located north of Thirsk just off the A19. It is linked with the hamlet of Brawith, approximately 1 mile away. ThDog and Gunpublic house faces the village green ...

CE Primary Schools. These schools are within the catchment area of Thirsk School for secondary education.

Religion

Felixkirk, The Church of st Felix - geograph

The village church is dedicated to

and was substantially rebuilt in 1860 by William Hey Dykes, who is responsible for the unusual rounded

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. It is a

building.

References

{{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire