Birkin is recorded in the
Domesday Book as 'Birchinge'. This and the present name suggest that, when the village was first established, it was in an area heavily laden with
birch trees. The village's
St Mary's Church, built around 1150, is a Grade I
listed building. The village is also notable as the birthplace of the 19th-century political philosopher
Thomas Hill Green (b. 1836.) The 2016
Tour de Yorkshire passed through Birkin in its second stage (
Otley to
Doncaster). Birkin has two lakes east of the village that are used for public fishing. It also has a tea room.
St Mary's Church St Mary's Church, situated at the southern end of Birkin, dates from around 1150. Descriptions of the church refer to a number of monuments. One is a
cartouche for the Thornton family: During the 17th century, several successive generations of this family were
rectors of the church. Another is an 18th-century wall monument dedicated to the wife of one of the rectors. It includes an inscription by Poet Laureate
William Whitehead. In the 1830s, the father of the political philosopher
Thomas Hill Green was the rector of the church. In 2008, it was reported that the church had been damaged after the roof was targeted by
lead thieves. ==See also==