Editing Fairburn, North Yorkshire

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name        = St James Church Fairburn.jpg
| static_image_caption     = St James' Church, Fairburn
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.7458|-1.2865|display=inline,title}}
| unitary_england          = [[North Yorkshire (district)|North Yorkshire]]
| lieutenancy_england      = [[North Yorkshire]]
| official_name            = Fairburn
| population               = 819
| population_ref           = ([[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]])<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E04007738|title=Fairburn Parish |accessdate=3 October 2020}}</ref>
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = [[Selby (UK Parliament constituency)|Selby]]
| post_town                = CASTLEFORD
| postcode_district        = WF11
| postcode_area            = WF
| dial_code                = 01977
| os_grid_reference        = SE471279
}}
'''Fairburn''' is a small village and [[civil parish]] in [[North Yorkshire]], England.

Situated approximately 10&nbsp;miles&nbsp;(16&nbsp;km) east of Leeds, the village lies close to the [[A1(M) motorway]] and the [[M62 motorway]] and until 2005, when the A1(M) motorway was opened, Fairburn was divided in two by the old [[A1 road (Great Britain)|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.

==Overview==
[[File:The Wagon and Horses Public House - geograph.org.uk - 433945.jpg|thumb|left|The Wagon & Horses]]
The village sits on the eastern edge of a narrow ridge of southern magnesian limestone which runs from near [[Worksop]] in the south to near [[Richmond, North Yorkshire|Richmond]] in the north. The [[geology]] gives rise to a particularly flower-rich limestone grassland which still exists in areas unsuitable for cultivation, whilst [[alluvium|alluvial soils]] and clays are found in the river valley bottoms. This outcrop of [[limestone]] was used to construct many of the older houses in the village.

===Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve===
Adjacent to the village is [[Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve|Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve]], {{convert|1000|acre|ha}}, with a Visitor Centre.

== History ==
The name of Fairburn was first attested around 1030, as ''Faren-burne''. This name comes from the [[Old English]] words ''fearn'' ('fern') and ''burna'' ('spring, stream'), and thus meant 'spring characterised by ferns'.<ref>Harry Parkin, ''Your City's Place-Names: Leeds'', English Place-Name Society City-Names Series, 3 (Nottingham: English Place-Names Society, 2017), p. 45.</ref>

Fairburn was historically a [[Township (England)|township]] in the ancient parish of [[Ledsham, West Yorkshire|Ledsham]] in the [[wapentake]] of [[Barkston Ash Wapentake|Barkston Ash]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]].<ref>{{Genuki|county=WRY|Ledsham}}</ref> The township became a separate civil parish in 1866.<ref name=vob>{{cite vob|name=Fairburn Ch/CP/Tn | url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10420957#tab02 | accessdate=1 January 2024}}</ref> From 1974 to 2023 it was part of the district of [[Selby District|Selby]], it is now administered by the unitary [[North Yorkshire Council]].

==Notable residents==
[[William Jessop]], 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 Jessop|Josias]] was baptised there on 26 October. They left to move to [[Newark-on-Trent|Newark]] two or three years later, and Josias went on to become a civil engineer in his own right.<ref>{{harvnb |Skempton |2002 |p=362}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{Cite book 
  |first=Sir Alec|last=Skempton 
  |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Vol 1: 1500 to 1830 
  |publisher=Thomas Telford 
  |year=2002 
  |isbn=0-7277-2939-X
  |display-authors=etal}}
{{Refend}}

===References===
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fairburn, North Yorkshire}}
*[http://web.onetel.net.uk/~gedburnell/fairburnindex.htm Brief History of Fairburn]
* {{cite web | url = http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Ledsham/index.html | title = The Ancient Parish of Ledsham| publisher = [[GENUKI]] | access-date=29 October 2007}} Fairburn was in this parish

{{Portal bar|Yorkshire|England|United Kingdom}}
{{North Yorkshire|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Civil parishes in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Villages in North Yorkshire]]