Bolton Percy is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Selby district

Selby (district)

Selby is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby and provides services to an area which includes Tadcaster and a host of villages....

 of North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 305. The village is about four miles east of Tadcaster

Tadcaster

Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...

.

History

During the first years after the Norman Conquest, when William de Malet served as the county's first High Sheriff, the village of Bolton Percy was held by Malet himself. At that time, and for some subsequent years, the village was quite well-to-do, as manifest in the village's ancient church, one of the most elaborate in the ainsty of York. Later the lordship of the manor fell to the powerful Percy family, as was noted by Kirkby's Inquest of 1284, and the name of this Norman family became the manorial affix to Bolton.
The lordship of the manor next came to the Vesci family, powerful in South Yorkshire near Roche Abbey

Roche Abbey

Roche Abbey is a now-ruined abbey located near Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated in a valley alongside Maltby Beck and King's Wood.-Early history:...

, and in 1290 John Lord Vesci contributed towards the marriage of King Edward I's eldest daughter, as was mandated by Lord Vesci's holding of knights fees on his manor of Bolton Percy. The lordship of Bolton Percy next passed to their relatives the Beaumonts on the death of a de Vesci heir. Still later the lordship of Bolton Percy passed to the Fairfax family, who were intimately identified with the village for several centuries and whose family memorials grace the village church.