'Firby' is a
toponym and
family name found throughout the
Anglosphere. It is from the
Old English name ''Fredebi'', its
Middle English spelling was Fritheby, since
Gallicised into
Early Modern English as Firby, although numerous spellings (Furby, Furbee, Ferby and Furbay) have existed since
Modern English. Related English families are
Fitzhugh of
Ravensworth and
FitzRandolph of
Middleham, both of whom also descend from
Bretons since the
Harrying of the North and were integral to foundations in the
Honour of Richmond.
United Kingdom
Firby is 685 acres and a
Liberty of Richmondshire, in the
Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, also part of the
Diocese of Middlesbrough. Some places within Firby are:
★ Firby
Hall. The worth of Firby at the time of
Domesday Book's compilation was 13 shillings, compared to its earlier worth under
Edwin, Earl of Mercia as 10 shillings. Fritheby was part of
Alain Le Roux's ''Honour of Richmond'' that was divided to the Middleham estate of Ribald, before becoming the inheritance of the FitzAlans/FitzBrians of
Bedale. From them, the family of
Miles Stapleton inherited it, inviting their
Scargill relatives to live there
[1]. "
Papist" Mr. George
Metcalfe resided here and opposed the quartering of
David Leslie, Lord Newark's
Covenanters during the Civil War.
[2] Harry Rouse, Esq. lived at Firby Hall, being J.P. and Deputy-Lieutenant for the
North Riding of Yorkshire.
★ Firby
Grange is a former
glebe of
Jervaulx Abbey, sometime workplace for
Friar Alan
[3] of the
Cistercians and their
Hospitaller associates.
★ Christ's
Hospital (an Anglican almshouse founded in 1608 by John Clapham, a Chancery clerk for Queen Elizabeth's
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley--whose son and heir
Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter held possession of neighboring
Snape, part of the larger Middleham estate. This property passed to the paternal family of
Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron, whom owned the manor of
Well. From Milbanks, the hospital passed onto
Ropners of
Thorpe Perrow. Firbys from here in the
20th century relocated to Firby Close in
Stockton-on-Tees and Firby Close in
Hartlepool, within what was known as
Cleveland, England. Two S.S. Firby ships were built in Stockton-on-Tees. One of the ships was a casualty of a
Nazi-Germany U-boat under commander Herman Schultz, while the second ship was scrapped in the latter half of that century. Their shipping association in
West Hartlepool was promoted by the Ropner family
[4] of Thorpe Perrow
[5], which lies about a mile SW from Firby in the parish of Well.
★ Low and High Ash Banks, Mile House and Manley Farms. There is also Firby
Beck, connected to Bedale Beck in the north.
There is a Firby Road at Gallowfield's Trading Estate in
Richmond, North Riding of Yorkshire.
There is a Firby Lane in
Ripon. (c.f.
Richmond, West Riding of Yorkshire)
There is a hamlet named Firby in
Fawkham,
Kent. (c.f.
Richmond, Surrey)
As can easily be surmised, English toponymy regarding Richmond and Firby have rather close parallels; both are settlements in the North and West Ridings of York, as well as having a presence in the London area.
Sir Leonard Firby was considered a "delinquent".
[6]
Bill Firby was an early 21st Century
Labour Party (UK) Councillor for Deerness Valley in
County Durham.
Canada
Bayham, Ontario in
Canada has a Firby Cemetery now allotted to the local Methodist congregation and the family came with
Thomas Talbot (Upper Canada). Captain William Firby commanded the ''Landsdowne'' on the Great Lakes border. There is a Furby House Books in
Port Hope, Ontario. Furby Street Community Garden is in
Winnipeg, Manitoba upon
Red River Colony. Firby Court in
Coquitlam, British Columbia is due to
Fort Vancouver.
Australia
Firby Street in
Cloverdale, Western Australia dates back to the
Swan River Colony.
United States
Darby-Firby Neighborhood Corporation is in
Yorktown, Virginia. Firby Road was founded by one of the
First Families of Virginia. Furbee School and Furbee Cemetery in
Marion County, West Virginia; Furbee Ridge and Furbee Run in
Wetzel County, West Virginia; Furbay Cemetery in
Harrison County, Ohio were all once part of
York County, Virginia and may have been settled because of the
Ohio Company.
Others
Another and less important township of Firby is west of Westow civil parish, Buckrose wapentake, in the
East Riding of Yorkshire. Today, this place is administered within
Ryedale in the
North York Moors. The Yorkshire footpath, Centenary Way, passes through from south to north in the
pasture. The
North Eastern Railway (UK) parallels the
River Derwent, Yorkshire along the north. Huttons Ambo (named after the township northeast of here) Angling Club is hosted at the hall. Some names of places within Firby include: Firby Hall, Firby Wood, Coldwell Plantation, Jeffery Bog Plantation and St. Mary's Vicar House.
There are two
Newfoundland outports on the
Grand Banks, called Furby's Cove in Hermitage and Furby's Harbour in Burgeo. They have probably been there since the
Georgian era.
External links
★
photos of Firby, Richmondshire
★ http://community-2.webtv.net/hferebee/FEREBEEFAMILY/
★ http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/multi_place_page.jsp?st=Firby
★ http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/entry_page.jsp?text_id=1656230&word=Firby
★
GenUKi page covering Firby (East Riding)
★
GenUKi page covering Firby (North Riding)
★ http://www.ancestry.com/search/SurnamePage.aspx?sourcecode=13304&html=b&fn=&ln=furby&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
★ http://members.ispwest.com/ronsmith/furby/fur_intro.htm
★ http://www.elginogs.ca/cemeteries/bayham/firby.htm
★ http://www.firbyauctions.com/
★ http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~firby/
★ http://www.ruralroutes.com/1066.html
★ http://www.scmetcalfe.btinternet.co.uk/pages/2prince.htm
★ http://www.donalfagan.com/html/firby.html
★ http://uboat.net/men/schultze.htm
★ http://www.westbroadway.mb.ca/s12.html
★ http://www.yorkcounty.gov/comser/housing/specialprojects.html
★ http://www.riponcity.info/community/disability.php#firby
★ http://www.7parkstreet.co.uk/pract5.htm
★ http://www.joeappleyardsportingartist.f2s.com/ag6/ag143.jpg
★ http://www.yhld.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Regexec.htm
★ http://www.australiabigbook.com/1666/5.html
★ http://www.halinet.on.ca/GreatLakes/Documents/HGL2/default.asp?ID=s382
★ http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/ins/epncurrent/php/detailpop.php?placeno=6038
★ http://linkstothepast.com/marine/captainsF.html
★ http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/scmetcalfe/pages/2prince.htm
★ http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ancestorsearchresults.asp?last_name=Firby&standardize=N
★ http://www.execulink.com/~firby/index.html
★ http://www.cynthiasplace.net/ukscotland/yorkshire/yorkshire.htm