The name Briggswath is first recorded in 1230 as Briggwath, meaning bridge-ford as it is next to an old bridge which crossed the River Esk over to Sleights.

[6] Historically, the village was in the civil parish of Aislaby and part of the wapentake of Whitby Strand.

[7] It is now in the civil parish of Eskdaleside cum Ugglebarnby, and is represented at Parliament as part of the Scarborough and Whitby constituency.

It was worked between 1856 and 1859, producing on average 3,500 tonnes (3,900 tons) of iron ore each year.

[12][13][14][15] The Wesleyan chapel in the village was first built in 1820 (though the present structure dates from 1905), and includes a roll of ten local men who died in the First World War.