Such was the response to the competition for a logo for the newsletter that the councillors decided to incorporate one of those entries into another new publication. Rachel Stubbs' entry was selected as the logo for the front cover of the updated Town Council publication “Kirkbymoorside History Trails”. Rachel was invited to work alongside our graphic designer, Derek Thrippleton, from DT Design, through all the stages required to turn her picture into a piece of graphic art ready for publication. And here is the resulting cover.

This booklet is designed to give the visitor an otherwise hidden insight into the history of our charming market town by leading you along a series of short walks. Each trail has a map and a series of photgrpahs showing the sites of interest and giving a little detail of their past. For the more adventurous there is also a longer trail which will take you out into the surrounding countryside and through the charming villages, passing by the Ryedale Folk Museum, and bringing you back into town. The booklet is available from the local bookshop, the Community Office and also direct from the Town Council Office. If you wish to purchase the booklet by post then please contact the Town Clerk.

The name Kirkbymoorside suggests one of the key reasons for the settlement’s establishment, that being the shelter offered by the southern slopes of the moors into which the town nestles. The Ancient Britons left behind flint and stone axes, and traces of their Celtic language in the street names of Tinley Garth (garden) and Howe End (a ’howe’ being a burial mound). Anglo-Saxon and Viking artefacts include a silver coin dating from around 790, found within the grounds of the parish church of All Saints.

With William the Conqueror came the ’Harrying of the North’; Saxon landowners gave way to his supporters and in Kirkbymoorside Torbrant was replaced by Hugh Fitzbaldric and then Robert de Stuteville. The Stuteville family built a moated wooden castle on Vivers Hill behind the church with commanding views of the town and beyond. The town grew in importance and prospered under the Wake family to whom it passed in the 13th Century and in 1254 the Wednesday Market, which still thrives today, was established along with an annual fair.

In the 14th century the Black Death hit Kirkbymoorside and soon the wooden castle was in decay and a loss of order within the town followed. This changed after 1408 when the Nevilles, an illustrious family, took over. They built a fortified manor house or "castle" to the north of the town with a well stocked deer park. Sadly only a frgment of this house remains in present day Manor Vale, but the Meville coat of arms can be seen on some of the roof bosses in the parish church. The Neville family remained Catholic after the English Reformation and took part in the doomed Rising of the North' in 1569. Charles Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, made his escape in thick snow toScotland, aided, so it is said, by a blacksmith from Castlegate, who reversed his horse’s shoes. NevilleCastle quickly declined and nearby High Hall became the new manor house. Kirkbymoorside continued to develop as a market town serving an agricultural community. By 1660 there was a grammar school in the building which now houses the library and a Quaker presence was established in West End. Lords of the Manor were often absentee, although one, the notorious George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham did not escape Kirkby. He was brought back to the town after catching a chill whilst fox-hunting nearby and died in Buckingham house, which bears a plaque to his name. His remains were taken back to London, although his entrails were buried in the local churchyard.

The largest building, in the middle of the town is the Toll Booth and War Memorial Hall. The Toll Booth was built about 1730 with stone taken from the ruined NevilleCastle. The Market Hall housed shops at street level, the next level a courtroom and the third a number of workshops. There were stone steps leading from the Market Place down into a vaulted cellar that served as the town prison or ‘hoppit’. In 1871 a fire gutted the building and it was rebuilt in 1872. The townspeople obtained the now two-storey building in 1919 by public subscription to honour local men who served and died in the Great War. Memorial plaques are erected to those that served and died in the two world wars. It has been used as a cinema and dance hall. Joe Ffoord was able to provide the town with a regular supply of water with his skillfully engineered system of open rills. The biggest change, however, was the enclosure of the open fields farmed in common. This new system favoured the bigger farmers whilst the others faced hardship, especially when the new cotton factories of Lancashire reduced the work put out to cottage spinners. So, in 1834, Parliament decided that any help given to the ’deserving poor’ should be within a workhouse and in 1850 Kirkby’s first was established in Tinley Garth, with a police station comprising of a house and prison, being built nearby in the following year.

The Methodists and the Independents both had chapels and were joined by the Primitive Methodists in 1861. The Victorian vogue for the Gothic made its mark with the extensive redesigning of All Saints Church by the celebrated architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott. By the 1881 census Kirkby¹ had a population of 2377. There were two printers, two chemists, a baker, a cooper, six blacksmiths, several boot and shoe makers, a butcher and cattle dealer, a grocer, six joiners and a solicitor, not to mention eight inns and three refreshment rooms.

For those wishing to discover more of the history of our town, the “Kirkbymoorside’s History Trail” booklet is available from the Town Council Office and other selected outlets

A very warm welcome to this our Official Town Council Website. We hope it provides a useful insight into some of the facilities and services that are on hand in Kirkbymoorside.

If you are a visitor and have not yet ventured off the A170 we do hope it will provide some incentive and encouragement to see at first hand the market town that we take such pride in. We believe our town to be quite a unique haven in an environment of increasing pressures and speed, and we look forward to sharing it with you.

Look on the Community Information page for the latest events in and around the town and check out the publications page for the latest edition of our town newsletter "The Moorsider". Why not visit the town in its winter glory and experience the beauty of the North Yorkshire Moors, all within a few miles of the town.

This site is maintained by the Kirkbymoorside Town Council and any queries or requests regarding information held on the website should be directed to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Our Town Today

Kirkbymoorside, or Chirchebi as it was called in the Doomsday Book, this busy market town offers a wide range of facilities and services from guest houses and restaurants to family businesses and specialist commercial companies. The Wednesday market started in 1254 is still in business today with a variety of individual stalls lining the cobbled streets and is one of the few private markets left. Kirkbymoorside is full of history and the streets reflect the various phases of the town’s development. You will find the ancient coaching inns of the Black Swan with its carved porch and the 13th Century crook built George & Dragon Inn sat alongside the Yorkshire Penny Bank and the Georgian facades of the market place. A popular trading post for the coaching routes between York and Scarborough and across the moors, Kirkbymoorside once boasted a pub on every corner! Today you will find not only the original pubs, but cafes and restaurants catering for all tastes and a wonderful selection of shops. The In Bloom group is very active and every summer the streets as a blaze of colour with tubs and hanging baskets adorning the lamp-posts and verges.

It is the final resting place for one of history’s most infamous rogues George Villiers 2nd Duke of Buckingham. He was a favourite of Charles II and is described in history as a man with a passion for wine, women and intrigue! No stranger to political scandal, he was one of the CABAL Govt who exerted real influence over the policies made by the parliament and is said to have plotted with others in one of the rooms near to the Black Swan Inn. His scandalous love life is also well recorded. He had many lovers and introduced King Charles to Nell Gwynne. 

However, Kirkbymoorside is also within a key religious area. The beautiful and isolated dales and valleys are ideal for spirituality and religious communities and it is no surprise that within a few miles you can find St Gregory’s Minster at Kirkdale, St Cedd’s Monastery at Lastingham, as well as the well known Rievaulx, Byland and Ampleforth Abbeys. Within the town you will find a Methodist chapel, St Chad’s Catholic Church and All Saints Parish Church, as well as the Friends Meeting House which dates from 1690.

The religious life of Kirkbymoorside is still strong and very much in harmony with the churches working together especially over the festive period. come along at Christmas and you will witness the Walk to Bethelehem around the town - complete with donkey. So come along and rediscover a hidden gem on the edge of the moors.

For more on the history of Kirkbymoorside click here.