Fearby
village in North Yorkshire, England, UK
Fearby is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located in the valley of the River Burn 2 miles (3 km) west of Masham. Nearby settlements include Healey, High Ellington and Swinton. The population of the parish was estimated at 130 in 2013.
History
The village is first mentioned, as Federbi, in the Domesday Book which records a population of eight villagers and one smallholder. The toponym is of uncertain derivation. The element -by is of Old Norse origin, meaning "village", and the name could mean either "four villages" or "feather village".
Fearby was historically a township in the large ancient parish of Masham in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It became part of the new ecclesiastical parish of Healey in 1849. The civil parish of Fearby was formed in 1866.
The public source identifies “Fearby” as village in North Yorkshire, England, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Fearby, village and North.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Fearby”, the useful work is to connect “village in North Yorkshire, England, UK” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5439418. Authority coordinates are 54.217, -1.700. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013, 1849 and 1866.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Fearby”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Fearby primary sources, Fearby archive and Fearby research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fearby”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Fearby” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.