Fairburn is a small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and civil parish in the Selby

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....

 district 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. Situated approximately 10 miles (16 km) to the east of Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, lying close to the A1(M) motorway and 4 miles (6 km) from the M62 motorway

M62 motorway

The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...

.

Geology

The village sits on the eastern edge of a narrow ridge of southern magnesium limestone which runs from near Worksop

Worksop

Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated to be 39,800...

 in the south to near Richmond

Richmond, North Yorkshire

Richmond is a market town and civil parish on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre...

 in the north. The geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 gives rise to a particularly flower-rich limestone grassland which still exists in areas unsuitable for cultivation, whilst alluvial soils

Alluvium

Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...

 and clays are found in the river-valley bottoms. This outcrop of limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 has been used to construct many of the older houses in the village.

Fairburn Ings nature reserve

Close to the village is
RSPB Fairburn Ings

RSPB Fairburn Ings

Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve is a flagship RSPB nature reserve in the county of West Yorkshire, England; established in 1968. It is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in conjunction with the local council....

, a nature reserve with a visitor centre. The word "ing" is of Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 origin and means "damp or marshy land", a reference to the area being flooded regularly by the River Aire

River Aire

The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England of length . Part of the river is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation....

.
Fairburn Ings lies over the border in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

.

External links

• Brief History of Fairburn Fairburn was in this parish