Baldersby, North Yorkshire

Baldersby is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about 6mi west of Thirsk and 5mi north-east of Ripon on the A61. The parish includes the village of Baldersby St James, 1mi south east of the village of Baldersby, but not Baldersby Park, which is in the parish of Rainton with Newby. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 253, increasing to 285 at the 2011 census.Baldersby has a Post Office, a farm shop, an Anglican Mission Room, and a cricket ground with a pavilion and children's play area. The nearest primary school is Baldersby St. James C of E Primary School in nearby Baldersby St James.The Roman road Dere Street forms the western boundary of the parish, now followed by the A1(M) motorway. Baldersby Gate Interchange, Junction 50 of the A1(M), connects the A61 to the A1(M) in the south of the parish.EtymologyThe name Baldersby may be derived from that of the Norse god, Balder, though more probably it is from a personal name Baldhere (-by = homestead) and indicates that the area of the village may once have been a Viking settlement. The village appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Baldrebi and in the early 13th century as Baldeby.