Stamford Bridge Village, Facts and Figures

The village of Stamford Bridge is situated on the boundary of North and East Yorkshire, about eight miles east of the City of York. It originated as an Anglo-Saxon settlement at the site of a ford on the River Derwent where several Roman roads converged. A bridge was constructed over the river and this was mentioned in accounts of 1066 when King Harold defeated Earl Tostig and Harold Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, before marching to Hastings where he suffered defeat. Until the second half of the twentieth century Stamford Bridge was a small village supporting the local farming community. The population was relatively static over centuries. In 1377 62 people paid poll tax; in 1801 the population was 170; in 1861 417; in 1901 395, rising to 577 in 1951 partly due to a slight enlargement in the civil boundaries. By 1971 there were 1206 inhabitants, since when there has been considerable growth to 3099 in 1991, and a 9.5% increase to 3394 in 2001. The age profile taken from the Diocese of York data for 2001 shows that 23% of the total population of the parish was under 19 years and 23% over 60 years. There is very little racial diversity with only 1.04% of the inhabitants being non-white. Consequently 84.6% of the population claimed to be Christians, 11.5% had no religion and 7% no-response. There were only 3 Jews, 3 Muslims and 8 Sikhs in the parish. 65% of the inhabitants were living as a married couple, 8.9% co-habiting and the remaining 26% living in single person households. 52% of the total population were in full-time or part-time employment, 4.6% were either unemployed or long-term off sick, 11.6% retired and 2.9% full-time students