Bellerby
OS grid reference:- SE 114 928
The pretty North Yorkshire village of Bellerby is situated is 1.5 miles from the market town of Leyburn and lies seven miles to the south-west of the historic market town of Richmond
The village stands at the end of panoramic Wensleydale, it is positioned just to the east of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and lies in a dip amongst low hills. Above the village are fields while moorlands lie to the north and west. The area around Bellerby offers some great walking opportunities.
Bellerby is a historic settlement which was first mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1806 where it was recorded as Belgebi. In 1066 it was owned by Thor. Following the Norman Conquest, the Lord of the Manor as recorded in 1086 was Enisant Musard, while its Tenant-in-chief in 1086 was Count Alan of Brittany.
It is recorded that the population of Bellerby and the nearby village of Skeltoncote sent a petition to the Pope Sixtus IV in Rome in 1474 requesting him to sponsor the use of a chapel in Bellerby for Mass and the appointment by the Rector of Spennithorne of a priest to serve the Chapel, and provided him with a home in the village.
Becks are a feature of the village. Bellerby Beck rises from a spring half way up Moor Road, some of the output of the spring is used by the water authority to feed water to a local reservoir. Mill Beck, which is diverted from Bellerby Beck, flows through the higher part of the village across the village green before rushing down past the old Mill to unite with Bellerby Beck and continue towards the east. Mill Beck is in fact the Mill race for the now residential Mill.
The village has a small and historic Anglican church and a Methodist chapel, a shop, post office, tea shop, village hall and one pub, the Cross Keys. The Cross Keys serves delicious, great value pub food and offers en-suite accommodation.
The Cross Keys is a dog friendly pub, they having access to the bar area, beer garden and paddock. Bellerby Open Gardens is a regular fund raising event for local good causes, with many of the residents having opened their gardens for a number of years.
The village church of St. John the Evangelist was consecrated on 24th March, 1874. The church has stained glass windows depicting the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. It is thought that this is the third building to occupy the site, the first of which was built pre 1801. Mr. J. Jones of Leyburn was the architect and builder of the present church. The pews and furniture are of pitch pine and the octagonal font of carved freestone, the windows are of cathedral glass with coloured margins. The east window depicts the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.