Warsill is a settlement and civil parish in the Harrogate district, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It consists of a few scattered farms 5 miles (8 km) south west of Ripon. In 1961 the population of the parish was 42.[1] The population was estimated at 70 in 2015.[2]
The toponym, first recorded in 1132 as Warthsala, probably derives from the Old Englishweard sæl, meaning "watch castle".[5] In the Middle Ages there was a grange of Fountains Abbey here, later the home of Stephen Proctor.[6] Warsill Hall Farmhouse, a 17th-century Grade II listed building, now stands on its site.[7]
The Abbey Grange at Warsill included a dairy farm, providing milk and cheese to the Abbey, and there were also sheep, with wethers kept over winter. In 1526, Peter and Agnes Smyth, employed as the keepers of Warsill, had a plough for arable.[8]
^"Population Estimates". North Yorkshire County Council. 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2017. In the 2011 census the population of the parish was included with Hartwith cum Winsley and not counted separately.
