HAWNBY, a township and a parish in Helmsley district, N. R. Yorkshire. The township lies on the river Rye, 6 miles NW of Helmsley, and 10 NE of Thirsk r. station; and has a post-office under York. Acres, 7,070. Real property, £992. Pop., 295. Houses, 76. The parish contains also the townships of Smilesworth, Daletown, Bilsdale, West-Side, and Arden-with-Ardenside. Acres, 24,312. Real property, £5,297. Pop., 746. Houses, 161. The property is divided among a few. Much of the land is moor and part of the Hambleton Hills. The living is a rectory in the diocese of York. Value, £200.* Patron, R. Tennant, Esq. The church was recently in disrepair. There are a Wesleyan chapel and a national school.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))