Bielby

Bielby is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Pocklington.

According to the 2001 UK census, Bielby parish had a population of 281.

About two miles north-east of Bielby, on the edge of Hayton, lie the ruins of an ancient Roman military fortress, an important archaeological site. The University of Durham, Dept of Archaeology, led an excavation between 1995 and 1998 with assistance from local residents and University of Leeds students. A well, a bath-house and many other parts of the Roman fortress have been identified.

About 1,000 years ago, after the Danes invaded as far east as Kiev, it is believed that a Slavonic mercenary with the Danes (possibly from Biele-rus Belarus the land of White Russia, just north-west of Kiev) was given a small farm as a reward for his service with the Danish conquerors (although he probably was not Danish). If so, then the name Bielby means 'White farm' or the 'farm of the man from the land of white'. An interesting fact from the late twentieth century that may lend credence to the Belarusian link theory is that the national publications of Belarus used to spell the name of their nation Bielarus in all western European languages until just recently. Biele means 'white' in Russian (белый). Debate continues to this day on why the land of Bielarus was called Biele (white) белый. A common theory is that 'Biele' (белый) refers to the scores of Birch trees scattered all over Bielarus. During the 9th century when the Vikings contacted Rus lands as far south as Kiev, the Slavs had solidified their influence and settlements in Bielarus. Thus the Slavs were historically positioned well to provide mercenaries for the Danes. In 860 the Vikings established Kiev. In 865 they set up Jorvik (York).

The Danes and their 'mercenaries' set up Jorvik as their ruling headquarters in England. Jorvik eventually became York as the pronunciation was modified slowly over time. The discovery in the 1970s of an archaeological treasure of information depicting this era of York's history is organized at the Jorvik Viking Centre in York.

The village of Bielby was a duck and goose farm for the Pocklington Estate. The nearby hay farm grew into Hayton. The nearby grist mill grew into Millington. The village has been called Bieli's Farm (with a strong ee sound), Bielby, Beilby and a variety of other names; then finally Bielby. (Source for these names found inside St. Giles Church in two different booklets written years ago by priests who are regional historical writers). Also it is interesting to note the similarity between the Biel (Beel) sound and белый in Russian which means 'white'.

Until recently, residents named Bielby lived in the village. The last Bielby was an Alice Bielby who formerly taught in the village school during the middle 20th century. Some residents of Bielby were unable to recollect when she either moved or died; it was sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. There are no known Bielbys left in the village. There are people bearing the name Bielby or Beilby living across England, Canada, the USA, Australia,New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere. Some Bielbys who spread throughout England became famous for their glass-blowing skill. The Beilby goblets boast the highest auction prices of any King's goblets sold in markets in recent history. Rev. Beilby Porteus was a well-known preacher and author who was Bishop of London from 1787 until his death in 1809.

An interesting alternate theory on the origin of the name Bielby claims Roman roots. This is certainly plausible with the ruins of the Roman fort just 2 miles from Bielby. However, hard evidence lacks to support this theory. Citing a small portion of their article at surnamedb "This interesting and unusual name is locational. Its origins are Norse-Viking pre 9th century, and it derives either from the two villages called "Beelby" in Lincolnshire, and "Bielby" in Yorkshire or from individual farms of the same spelling. The name translates as "Beli's farm", with "Beli" being a popular tribal name originally from the Roman (Latin) "Belli" meaning war or war-like, and the usual Norse term for a farm "bi". Both placenames are first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the spelling of "Belebi", although the surname is much later.

Because the surname roots historically appear only after the Danes entrance into northern England, the conscript warrior theory may bear more support. Especially in light of the name changes the Vikings instituted in other known situations like Jorvik. In Eastern Europe, where the Vikings had just successfully established dominance a few years before their dominance of the Yorkshire region, the Bielarusian region between the ocean and Kiev was at the time a forest of white bark birch trees. Sometimes called the land of white (in Russian/Belarusian language the word 'белый' transliterates into English as 'Biele' with a strong 'bee sound. As there was no organized national government throughout the white forests north of Kiev, the mercenary theory matches precisely the actual known history of the Vikings.

The theory postulates that whatever the village name was before the warrior from the land of white 'Biele' (if there was a village there at all) it was changed as he took possession of the land to bear his name. We have no evidence that 'Bielby' was a village before the Vikings came. Archeological digs could be performed to establish this. Hence Byeli's or Bieli's farm became Beli bi which eventually became Bielibi. The central syllable was dropped and the name became Bielby. This theory is also favored because the Viking settlements through Belarus and their conquering of the region now called East Riding were sequential. If this likely theory is correct, then the Vikings settled Kiev in 860 A.D. then established their version of Jorvik (York) in 865 A.D. and probably handed out rewards to conscript warriors and leaders. Not much land was given out, and the location and size of the village would indicate that the warrior Bieli may not have been a highly significant contributor to the wars. DNA research on residents of the village that bring back Slavic or Viking ancestry would provide direct confirmation of this theory in a powerful way. This would put the establishment of Bielby as it is now known at approximately 865/866 A.D.

There are roads named Bielby in Lawrenceville, Indiana (USA), in Chapel Hill (near Brisbane) Australia, and in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire (England).

One home in Bielby is proudly named Bielbyville. Most homes in Bielby have a name plate sign displayed either on the front exterior wall or in the yard (even though the homes are modest in size).

Bielby has an Anglican church (St. Giles), which dates back more than 900 years to approximately the same time that many of the Viking settlers converted to Christianity in northern England. The age of St. Giles further highlights the Bielarusian/Viking theory. The Methodist revival which swept England and America in the 18th century still has a visible presence in Bielby, although the old Methodist Church building in the village is now a private residence. Some of the Bielbys in Canada and America have known forefathers who were Methodist (see the John Bielby family and descendants from Lake City, Michigan, immigrating from Ontario to Michigain in about 1900. Also his grandfather, Richard Milson Bielby, was a noted Holiness Church member in Huntsville, Ontario during the last half of the 19th century) He is mentioned in Methodist articles from that time period as a significant lay member of their movement. Traces of Methodist influence from England into America via the Bielbys exist primarily in Canada. Other than St. Giles Church, the old Methodist Church-which is now a home, no other religious organizations were represented in Bielby.

In addition to St. Giles, The College Arms (a small pub serving lunch and dinner), Bielby is mostly residential, with a few newer homes. Geese are still raised on the edge of the village. The Pocklington Canal still provides a splendid water supply for such purposes. A Beck also runs close to Bielby and used to drive an old flour Mill, but from time to time it can flood, as it did in June 2007, overflowing the streets of Bielby up to the doorsteps of some homes.

Much of the information in this article was gathered from two booklets that an Anglican priest wrote, and from visiting the village and interviewing residents or observation. A copy of the Bielby histories may be purchased in St Giles Church (confirmed in 2001).

Some Bielby's have their names spelled Beilby or Beelby on different documents. This was many times unintentional. In some cases it was intentional to alleviate regular errors.