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LOWER
WHARFEDALE.

BEING A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE

HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES AND SCENERY

OF THE PICTURESQUE

VALLEY OF THE WHARFE.

FROM CAWOOD TO ARTIIINGTON.

HARRY SPEIGHT,

AUTHOE OF **UpPKR WhARPRDALR '* ; ** NiDDRnOAI.R AMD THR OaRDRX OP THR NiOD'*;

**B0MANT1G BlCIIMOKDBHIRR " ;

"Cravrx and North-Wrht Yorkbhirr H10H1.AND8," Etc.

ILLUSTRATED.

» ) ■

LONDON ".

* •

« ' »

ELLIOT STOCK. 62. PATERNOSTER ROW. EC

1902.

Entered at Stationers' Hall.

254753

Printed by
G. F. Sewell, 52, Godwin Street, Bradford.

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> • ••• ••

PREFACE.

HE following contribution to the history of a very
notable part of Yorkshire, fulfils an obligation —
explained in the Preface to the companion volume on
Upper Wharfcdale — to continue the story of the
remaining portion of the picturesque Wharfe valley.
Starting at historic Cawood, with its memories of Cardinal Wolsey,
I have investigated the records of every place from the junction of
the river with the Ouse near Cawood, upwards along both banks, a
distance of 25 miles, to the attractive domains of Harewood and
Arthington. The latter, now a separate ecclesiastical parish taken
from Adel, adjoins the old parish of Otley, where my previous work
commenced. The district thus dealt with embraces an area of nearly
two hundred square miles, and comprises some twenty ancient
parishes of varying extent.

Being in remote times, as it still is, accessible by navigation from
the ancient city of York, the district possesses many indications of
having been cleared and settled at a very early period, and the
story of Celt, Roman, Saxon, Dane, and Norman, I have endeavoured
to trace succinctly on the evidences of coeval remains and relics,
many of which are illustrated by special engravings. These early
settlements, and the general fertility of the lands thus appropriated,
have operated in no small degree in obtaining for the district that
value and importance it acquired in later times.

Quaint Thomas Fuller, writing in the days of Charles I. and the
Commonwealth, furnishes a high opinion of the rich and charming
vale of the Lower Wharfe and surrounding parts, and is moreover
singularly exact in support of his praises. He tells us that when
King Henry the Eighth, in 1541, made his progress to York,
(journeying from Hatfield by the Doncaster road to Pontefract and
thence (su page 38) to Cawood), Dr. Tunstall, Bishop of Durham,
then attending on him, " shewed the King a valley which the
Bishop avowed to be one of the richest that ever he found in all his
travels through Europe. Within ten miles of Haselwood, the seat
of the Vavasours," he proceeds to say, "there were 165 manor-houses
of lords, knights, and gentlemen of the best quality ; 275 several
woods, whereof some of them contain five hundred acres ; 32 parks
and 2 chases of deer ; 120 rivers and brooks, whereof five be
navigable, well stored with salmon and other fish ; 76 water mills for
the grinding of corn on the aforesaid rivers ; 25 cole-mines, which

yield abundance of fuell for the whole county ; 3 forges for the
making of iron, and stone enough for the same. And within the
same limits as much sport and pleasure for hunting, hawking, fishing,
and fowling, as in any place of England besides."

These commendations surely prove the district to possess a more
than ordinary importance and one worthy of particular record. The
historic battle-grounds of Towton, Marston, and Bramham Moor all
lie within the area of the Lower Wharfe, Ouse and Nidd, described
by the venerable authority I have quoted. Much of this territory,
indeed, is bound up with those great national struggles, which with
short intervals of rest, continued from the 14th to the 17th centuries,
the consequences whereof, affected in no small measure, the land-
ownerships and other interests of the district. The old towns of
Tadcaster — a place always of^ importance in warlike times — and
Wetherby, were closely associated with those crises which culminated
in the disasters of the Pilgrimage of Grace and Rising in the North,
as well as with those later conspiracies of the Jacobites in the earlier
half of the i8th century. Within the same area also lie all the old
homes of the Fairfaxes, — those redoubtable veterans in arms who
had not a little to do in directing the affairs of England during the
gravest epoch of her history. Their old houses at Walton, Steeton,
Nun Appleton, Newton Kyme, as well as in Virginia, will be found
described and illustrated in this work. I have also appended a
pedigree of the family brought down to the present time through the
kind communications of the present noble representative of the house
of Fairfax in America. Other old manor-houses and the (presumed)
castles at Ryther, Bolton Percy, Tadcaster, Easedyke, Thorp Arch,
and Wetherby, I have also specially described, and have stated, I
believe, all that can be learnt in record and tradition concerning
these ancient strongholds. Reminiscences of many famous families
gather round most of these old manor places. The Percies of
Tadcaster and Bolton Percy, the Rythers of Ryther, the Stapletons
of Wighill, the Stanhopes of Grimston, the Whartons of Healaugh,
the Oglethorpes of Bramham, the Gascoignes and Wentworths of
Harewood, and other families of more than local renown have been
dealt with in some detail, and in several instances the records are
accompanied with original pedigrees.

It is, indeed, not a little remarkable, that a district in point of area
comparatively small, should have been the home-land of so many
distinguished families. I have to regret not being able to add to this
interest some account of another illustrious family, which had close
ties with the neighbourhood of Wighill, but my discoveries were
made after that section of the work was printed. The Rev. George
Walker, who became in 1661, rector of Kilmore and Chancellor of

Armagh, in Ireland, was for many years vicar of Wighill, and at least
one of his children was a native of that parish. This family formed
alliances with other prominent Wharfedale families. A son of the
same vicar of Wighill, also a clergyman named George Walker, was
the heroic defender of Derry during the terrible and protracted siege
of 1689. His majestic monument now graces the Royal Bastion
in that historic city. Walker may be justly described as the
champion of the laws, religion, and liberties of this kingdom, and
no man from the time of the Fairfaxes has done more to advance
those principles of national freedom and religious toleration which
have contributed not a little to build up the English Constitution of
our own time.

Possibly, too, other important discoveries await the patient
investigator of the historic district which I have, however feebly,
portrayed in this work. But, singular as it may appear, little or
nothing has hitherto been done to elucidate its past life and hidden
records. Out of the score parishes dealt with, only two have had
anything approaching a succinct history written, and of these two —
Cawood and Harewood, — much of a supplementary character is now
for the first time recorded. Sir Clements Markham has wptten very
fully ai;id ably on the Fairfaxes, but apart from the circumstances
connected with the Kves of the great Lord Fairfax, and of the sea-
faring Admiral Robert Fairfax, no succinct history of their home
parishes has hitherto been produced. It is not a little surprising, too,
that so imp>ortant a place as Tadcaster, with its twenty centuries of
settled life, going back to an age even before the advent of the
Romans, as discoveries prove, should have found no historian. The
hundred pages, therefore, devoted to an elucidation of the records of
this ancient and important parish, will, it is hoped, not be misplaced.

I need hardly observe that the preparation of so full and consecutive
a history of each parish dealt with has been no light undertaking.
Moreover, owing to the wealth of unexplored material the work has
extended much beyond the limits intended. I have, in fact, added
more than one hundred pages above what was stipulated in the
Prospectus the work would contain. The parish -chest, with its
venerable archives, is always a rich storehouse of information, and
so far as Lower Wharfedale is concerned it is a mine of interest not*
hitherto searched. But in these old registers and precious town-
books, many a worthy or forgotten name, or incident in the past life
of a place, is often found buried in undeserved oblivion. Who, for
example, if we may trust the old books at Bolton Percy, dare assert
the existence in a wild state in Yorkshire, down to almost within
living recollection, of that rare and curious quadruped, the European
beaver ? It is believed to have been extinct in this country for

centuries (see page ii8), though living specimens are recorded to have
been taken in Northern Europe as lately as 1845.

It is not, however, from local sources alone that a large amount of
new and interesting information has been collected, but numerous
documents, charters, and other papers bearing upon the district have
been obtained from London, Wakefield, and York. Many valuable
manuscripts have also been forwarded to me from various quarters,
including several unpublished pedigrees of prominent Yorkshire
families, while some others I have compiled, notably of the early
lords of Harewood and of the great Barony of Skipton-in-Craven,
will, I hope, be found a useful reference.

Every portion of the area dealt with has been carefully explored
by me, and every notable building, ecclesiastical as well as domestic,
has been described from my own personal observations. Many of
the churches of ancient origin, as at Ryther, Bolton Percy, Tadcaster,
Newton Kyme, Bardsey, Thorp Arch, and Harewood, are particularly
noteworthy, and in several instances there can be little doubt they
stand upon pre-Christian foundations. Most of them are also
remarkable for their contained antiquities, which include mimerous
stone altars (as at Ryther) and some valuable early sculptured
crosses (as at Collingham and Kirkby Wharfe).

To the courtesy of the clergy, gentry, and others resident in the
district embraced, I am indebted for an inspection of old parish -
books and other useful papers, often illustrative of bygone customs
and events. It is superfluous to mention names, of the clergy
particularly, where everyone has been kind enough to grant me this
privilege, and also in many instances to supply me with special
information afterwards. Moreover, to the Rt. Rev. Dr. Crosthwaite,
Bishop of Beverley, I am indebted for his kindness in revising the
proofs of the chapters on his ancient and interesting parish of
Bolton Percy. Also to several of the local clergy, now deceased,
notably the Rev. R. H. Cooke, M.A., vicar of Healaugh, and the Rev.
James Isaacson, M.A., vicar of Church Fenton, I owe the preservation
of many useful facts, otherwise lost. To the Rev. Canon Wilton,
M.A., formerly vicar of Kirkby Wharfe, and now rector of
Londesbo rough, I am much indebted for his always instructive
communications and loan of papers ; likewise the Rev. Algernon C.
Dudley Ryder, M.A., rector of Trowbridge, who has taken a very
kindly interest in my work, and supplied me with many useful notes
on the ancient family of Ryther of Ryther ; also the Rev. George
Beilby, M.A., vicar of Haselbury-Plucknett, Crewkerne, has done
the same concerning the Beilbys of Micklethwaite Grange.

Several of the chapters have undergone revision by the local
landowners, and it is necessary to observe that in these, as in all

other places, where special reference has been made to such landowners
or to persons now living, the comments have been made without their
sanction. It usually happened that when the proofs were returned
such notices were either cancelled or so much modified as to be
valueless for the purposes of a local history, and I have therefore
ventured to restore them on my own responsibility.

Much historical information, together with the loan of various rare
books and documents, has reached me from various quarters. To
the accomplished researches of the Rt. Hon. Lord Hawkesbury,
F.S.A., I am again indebted for many notes on matters genealogical
and heraldic. To the learned President of the Royal Geographical
Society, Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., I owe the elucidation of
many points relative to the Fairfax family, with whose history no
one is more conversant. My thanks, for various other information,
are likewise due to many other friends and correspondents, particularly
the following : the late Mr. John E. F. Chambers, of Alfreton, an
interested and ever-obliging antiquary : Mr. Joseph Foster, Hon.
M.A. (Oxon), for the Fairfax pedigree ; Mr. Cadwallader J. Bates,
historian, of Northumberland, for notes on the house of Percy ;
Mr. T. B. Whytehead, Chapter Clerk, York ; Mrs. E. Paver-Crow,
Ornhams Hall ; Mrs. Tempest, B rough ton Hall ; Miss A. Bellhouse,
Roundhay ; Messrs. Wm. Murray Tuke, Saffron Walden ; Wm. C.
Maude, Bournemouth ; Wm. F. Atkinson, Ilkley ; George F. Jones,
F.R.I.B.A., Malton ; Wm. Greenwood, Jersey ; Chas. A. Goodricke,
Croydon ; Dr. J. H. Whitham, Boston Spa ; Wm. Galium, B.A., Tad-
caster ; Dr. Hargreaves, Wetherby ; S. Slater Whitfield, Wetherby ;
F. W. Dalby, Collingham ; Ben. Spencer and James C. Eastburn,
Bradford. To Mr. John Hopkinson, F.R.Met.S., F.L.S., &c., I am
again obliged for the carefully -prepared table on local Rainfall.

Among the large number of illustrations included in the book
many rare and valuable ones will be found, engraved from the only
known originals. In accordance with my usual method, I have
indicated on pages 19 to 21 the sources from which they have been
derived. The Frontispiece to the Large Paper edition of the work,
I should add, has been specially prepared and printed by Messrs.
Armitage & Ibbetson, of Bradford. All the other plates, as well as
the book, have been printed by Mr. G. F. Sewell, Bradford, and the
quality of this work must be left to speak for itself.

For the large and influential patronage accorded in the publication
of the work I desire to express my thanks. I have added the
subscribers' names, as usual, at the end of the volume.

HARRY SPEIGHT.

Bingley, Yorkshire,

SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS.

CHAPTER I., Life and Aspects at Ancient Cawood ... 25

Importance of Cawood — Where Wharfe joins Ouse — Aspects of the town— The
new bridge— Character of surrounding country — Local geology — Carrs and
marshes — Name of Cawood — Ancient woodlands— The manor at the Con-
quest— Tenure in bondage, some of its effects — Local customs — Manor-house
of the Archbishops of York— Royal visitors at Cawood — Ancient inns —
"Hostilers" of the 14th century -Great banquets at the Castle -Life at
Cawocxi past and present.

CHAPTER n., Cawood and Wolsey 35

Wolsey appointed to the See of York — His arrival at Cawood — Repair of the
castle — High state life at the castle — The coming crisis — The Cardinal's
arrest at Cawood — His farewell and grief at his departure — Great concourse
of spectators —The journey to Pontefract and Leicester — The Cardinal's
death— Decline of Cawood — The castle after the Reformation — Local feeling
— Arrival of Archbishop Grindal — Visit of Queen Elizabeth to Cawood —
The Civil War — Cawood Castle dismantled, and its old glory departed.

CHAPTER HI., Cawood Castle, Church, and Town ... 41

Description of tne Castle— Cawood Park — Site of church liable to inundations —
Early history — Description of the church -Ixjcal families — Ancient markets
and river-traffic — Old custom — Old system of rating — Keesberry Hall — First
mention of Cawood — Present aspects of the town — The new light-railway —
Former importance and population of VVistow — Its ancient church.

CHAPTER IV., Some Cawood Charities 58

Hitherto unpublished records — Bequests of Archbishops Mountaigne and Harsnett
— Inquisitions at Cawood in 1648 — References to old field-names, pinfold,
stocks, rood-stile, &c. — Abuse of the trusts — Enquiry at York Castle — Past
and present value of the charities — School endowments, &c.

CHAPTER v., About Ryther 62

Effluence of the Wharfe— Wild flowers^Situation of Ryther — An ancient settle-
ment— Meaning of Ryther — Early history — Large extent of woodland — Local
possessions of the canons of Bolton — Ancient knight-service — The family of
Ryther — Its great military distinction — Free-warren at Ryther — The reverses
at Bannockbum — Compulsory knighthood — John de Ryther, "hero of a
hundred fights " — Ryther nuns — Later history and pedigree of Ryther — The
Earls of Harrowby — The castle — Aspects of Ryther — Local charities^— The
Wesleyans — The township of Lead.

CHAPTER VI., Ryther Church 77

Unique collection of stone altars — Preservation of relics — Popularity of St.
William, Archbishop of York — His portrait in the church — Architectural
description of the fabric — The ancient monuments — The Robinson brasses —
Restorations of the church — Grant to Appleton Nunnery — Taxation of the
living — The registers — List of rectors.

CHAPTER VH., Church Fenton: Its Aspects and

Historical Records ... ... ... ... ... 80

landscape effects — Wild flowers — Apple-land — The autumn-crocus — Name of
Fenton — History of the manor — Ancient landowners — Old field-names—
Wapentake courts — Ancient charters — Population in 1378 — An unpublished
inquisition — The Civil War — The Jacobite rebellion — A diabolical murder.

CHAPTER VIII., The Church, Village, and Old

Families of Church Fenton 97

Antiquity of the church — Its dedication — Description of the church, and archi-
tectural details — Singular position of holy-water stoup— Prebendary of
Fenton — The vicars — Old families— Old houses — Remains of ancient cross.

CHAPTER IX., Bolton Percy : its History and Old

X A M ll_.lbo ... ••• ... ... ... ... ... X OS

Picturesque aspects — The vine and rosemary — Old houses — Evidences of the Ice
Age — Many Boltons in Yorkshire and consequent confusion — The manor of
Bolton Percy — Methods of land cultivation at the Conquest — The soke of
Healaugh an important heritage — The pre-Conquest church — The Percies
and their Yorkshire castles — Successive owners of Bolton Percy — Peculiar
anomaly in the ownership of the church and manor — Grant of free- warren —
Plague and murrain — Effects at Bolton Percy — Population in 1378 — The Lords
Beaumont — Sale of the manor to the Fairfaxes — The Duke of Buckingham
aud Mary Fairfax married at Bolton Percy — Sale of the manor to the Milners
— Old families — The Wickhams — Some notable connections with Bolton
Percy — Manor of Hornington — The Kendalls.

CHAPTER X. Bolton Percy : Old Customs and

X2/ V l£Nlv> ••• ... ... ... ... ... ... 110

Village life in the olden times — The parish accounts — Lord Fairfax and King
James IL — Perambulation of boundaries — Wandering beggars — A woman
of Bolton Percy publicly whipped — Local wild animals — Sparrow-shooting —
A remarkably late occurrence of the beaver at Bolton Percy — Suitable
habitats of the beaver — A Book of Briefs — Some old church restorations —
The church of St. 01ave*s, York — The Ripponden flood — Horse-races at
Bolton Percy — Carriage of letters — Bequests to the poor — Brockett Hall and
the Brocketts — Bolton Lodge and its tenants — Old inn.

CHAPTER XI., The Castle, Church, and Rectors of

Bolton Percy 121

License to erect a castle at Bolton Percy — Was the castle ever built ? — The castle
at Spoflforth — The 15th century manor-house at Bolton Percy — Its site and
aspects — Traditions of Robin Hood — Historical records of the church —
Description of the church — Pagan and Christian ritual — Burial of Ferdinando.
Lord Fairfax — Chantry in the church — Barker family — Local customs — A
curious dispute about the Hall pew — Local recusancy — The old church bells
— Burials in woollen — Old tithe-barn — The rectory — The old rectors — Torre's
omissions — Recent rectors.

CHAPTER XII., Appleton Roebuck and Nun Appleton 139

Importamce of Appleton in Saxon times — Relics of pre-historic occupation —
Early history — The foundation of Appleton Nunnery — The monastic fish-
pond— The Cistercian system — The origin of first-fruits— Rushes and rush-
lights— The Fauconberg family — The right to dower— Civilization in the
15th century — General demoralization — Monastic relaxation— Charges against
the Nuns of Appleton — Stringent regulations — The story of the wooing of
Isabel Thwaites by William Fairfax — An unfounded romance —Their marriage
at Bolton Percy — A notable alliance— Suppression of the Nunnery — Fairfaxes
opposed to the Dissolution — Public unrest, and tyranny of the " reformers "
— Execution of the aged Countess of Salisbury — Grant of site, &c., of Nun
Appleton — Erection of the Hall, the home of the great Lord Fairfax— Sale
of the estate to the Milners — Purchase by Mr. (now Sir) Angus Holden —
Pedigree of Holden — The Markham Family — Description of the mansion—
An attractive neighbourhood — Local natural history — The village of Appleton .

CHAPTER XIIL, Colton, Steeton, and the Fairfaxes 155

Prehistoric evidences at Woolas — Name of Colton — Manorial history and some
results of subinfeudation — The creation of new manors — The old Hall at
Colton — Local aspects — ^The new church— Old beliefs and customs — Incense
and flowers — History of Steeton — Local landowners — Accession of the
Fairfaxes to Steeton — Sir Guy Fairfax built Steeton Hall — Antiquity of chapel
— A confusion of Steetons — Alliance of Fairfax with Coates' family of Craven
— Steeton Hall made a farm-house — Description of the Hall — Interesting
inventory of effects at the Hall in 1558 — Chimneys a novelty — The chapel,
its ancient arms, and Fairfax associations — The chapel removed.

CHAPTER XIV., BiLBRouGH 165

Situation of Bilbrough — A supposed Roman look-out post — Prehistoric tumuli —
Recent excavations at Bilbrough Hill — A large tumulus— Antiquity of the
church, and its position near the Roman camp — History of the manor — Local
families — Purchase of the manor by the Fairfaxes — Its subsequent sale and
purchase by Admiral Fairfax in 17 16— The old manor-house — The Fairfaxes
resident in the neighbourhood over seven centuries — Pedigree of the Fairfaxes
— The York and Ainsty Hunt — The American Fairfaxes -Their old home in
Virginia — The late Lord Fairfax — Old family portraits at Bilbrough — The
church and its re-erection in 1844 — The Nortons — The great Ix)rd Fairfax
buried in the Norton Chapel — Local memorials — The churchyard — Dedica-
tion of the church— Its endowments and the Parliamentary report — The
village of Bilbrough, and surrounding scenery.

II
CHAPTER XV., KiRKBY Wharfe 177

Geological aspects — Curious phenomena — Architectural qualities of the Magnesian
Limestone — Ancient settlements — Flint relics found at Kirkby Wharfe —
Discovery of a Roman inscribed tablet — Local sculptured crosses in the
church —Kirkby Wharfe a Danish settlement— Historical records — Old
families— Picturesque situation of the church — Description of the church —
The churchyard— Registers — The vicars — Biographical notices — The vicarage
houses ~ Rural aspects of the village — Old customs.

CHAPTER XVI., Grimston Park 193

Ancient cultivation— Meaning of Grimston— Grim in the A. -S. dedication stone
at York — The manor of Grimston — The manor-house— Local families— The
Stanhopes and Gascoignes — Purchase of the manor by Lord Howden — Local
field names— Duke of Wellington at Grimston — Sale of Grimston to Lord
Londesborough. and afterwards to John Fielden, Esq. — Description of the
mansion — A remarkable collection of relics— The park and gardens— Former
population of Grimston — Schools — Bella Hall estate.

CHAPTER XVn., Ulleskelf 203

A place without a history ! — Importance of Ulleskelf in pre-Norman times —
Gallows at Ulleskelf — Some important discoveries — Meaning of Ulleskelf —
The manor with church — Historical records— Baptisms at Ulleskelf —
Population in 1378 — Local men in the wars — Old families — Village aspects
— An ancient homestead — A great fire— Disappearance of the old church
— Erection of the new church — Wesleyan Chapel and National School.

CHAPTER XVni., Round about Towton ... ... 210

North Mil ford — The ancient family of Ledes— Custom of garsome — Milford Hall
— Manor of Towton— Baron Hawke — Towton Hall — The great Battle of
Towton — The site of the battle — The burial trenches — Lord Dacre's tomb —
Horse and warrior interred together — Local discoveries — Some relics : a
Towton battle-axe — The Towton roses, a foolish belief— The 15th century
memorial chapel.

CHAPTER XIX., About Saxton and Aberkord 218

Scarthingwell Hall— Catholic chapel — Village of Saxton — A wayside cross — The
Cock Beck — Lead Hall and church — Peculiar endowment of the church —
Around Aberford — A wealth of wild-flowers — Roman road —Name of Aberford
— Charter for a market— The church — Its unusual dedication — Murder of a
vicar — Aberford on a main highroad — Local plagues — Registers of the
church — Eflfects of plagues. &c. — Abstracts from register^ — Tithe-bara —
Local pin trade — " Sammy Hick " — Table of former occupations at Aberford
— Pinfold and ducking-stool — The bridge — Aberford longevity — Barwick-in-
Elmet — Old hall — Lotherton — Sturton Grange — Becca Hall— Old inn —
Supposed Roman bridge.

CHAPTER XX., Tadcaster in Pre-Norman Times ... 229

Prehistoric Tadcaster — A British station — British footways — Situation of the early
church — The Calatum of Ptolemy — Celtic origin of the Roman Calcaria —
Discovery of skeleton and stone weapon — St. Hei v and Tadcaster — Kelcbar als.
Kelbar — Newton Kyme not Calcaria— Was " Tatha " in 1066 Tadcaster ? —
Name of Tadcaster — Tadcaster on Ermyn Street— Position and extent of
Roman camp — "Castle Hill" — Roman finds— A remarkable bronze ringed
celt found at Tadcaster — Other discoveries— The ** Street of Tombs'* — Roman
interments — Details of direction of the Roman road through Tadcaster —
Notes on occupation of district by Saxon and Dane— Tadcaster a Danish mint
— The castle mounds — Evidences of a stone-built castle.

CHAPTER XXI., Tadcaster: Records of Eight Cen-

lURIES* X ARa X. ... ... •*• .*• *•• ... 239

Tadcaster a royal residence before the Conquest -The castle of King Olaf —
William the Conqueror at Tadcaster — His capture of York— Tadcaster spared
from devastation— Its rapid development — Domesday testimony — System of
cultivation — No church at the Conquest — Manor of Malchetone - Large
grants to Percy — Early records of the Percies — Percy pedigree— King John
at Tadcaster— York Minster built of Tadcaster stone— Charter for market
and fair in 1270— Grant of free warren in 1295 -Antiquity of local quarries
— Leased by the monasteries- Early toll at Tadcaster Bridge— Local enquiry
in 1258 — Mills, manor-house, and public oven — Bond-tenants, <S:c.

CHAPTER XXII., Tadcaster : Records of Eight Cen-

1 URIbo* f^ARi XI**** ... .•• ••• ... ... 247

Local effects of the battle of Bannockburn — Invasion of Scots— Destruction at
Tadcaster in 13 18— Depreciation of the church living - A calamitous era —
The Black Death and its ravages— Social and economic comparisons with
Tadcaster — Fourteenth century taxation — Local taxpayers — Trade and
progress stifled —Vicar of Tadcaster succumbs to the Black Death — Terrible
mortality— No Parliament — Scarcity of labourers — The status of Tadcaster
in 1378 — Local breweries and hostilers — Tadcaster and the war in 1408 — A
local attainder —Wars of the Roses— Scene on Tadcaster Bridge — Edward IV.
at Tadcaster - Progress of Princess Margaret through Tadcaster — The
Catholic rebellions of 1538 and 1569— The Tadcaster gallows— The Duke of
Somerset and the Reformation —The manor of Tadcaster —Tadcaster in the
peerage— The Civil War -Lord Fairfax at Tadcaster— Local evidences of the
battle at Tadcaster —Plague in 1645— Annihilation of feudalism — Progress of
Tadcaster— Local Protestantism —The rating of Tadcaster in 1690— The
Stuart rebellion— Importance of Tadcaster in coaching times — Local inns.

CHAPTER XXIII., The Parish Church, Tadcaster ... 265

Roman Christianity— The church a foundation of the Percies— Supposed manor-
house chapel — Discovery of a piscina — Local chapels and oratories— Dedica-
tion of the church— Chantry of St. John the Baptist at Bridge end— Situation
of the church and liability to inundations of the Wharfe — A memorable flood
— Historical records of the church — Tadcaster in the Vatican archives — A
curious indictment — Ordination of the vicarage— An unpublished record —

CHAPTER XXIII.. continued.

A 13th and 14th century contrast — The tax of the Ninths — The Black Death
— A local jury — Some peculiar emoluments of the early vicars — The 17th
century : a scene in the church — Its present appearance — Some archaeological
features — The chantry -chapels — Their foundation and history — List of
chaplains — Local family memorials — The registers — List of vicars, with
biographical notices — The old churchyard.

CHAPTER XXIV., Tadcaster Nonconformist and other

Institutions ... . ... ... ... ... 281

The Grammar School — Its origin in Saxon times — Originally held in the church
Re-founded by Bishop Oglethorpe -The Bishop's will— Some schoolmasters
and pupils — The Hospital or "Bead Houses" — An ancient cross-slab —
Chapel of St. John the Baptist — The old Friends' Meeting House — Quaker
persecution — George Fox at Tadcaster — Some local Meeting Houses — The
Presbyterians — Morley Hall — Oliver Heywood at Tadcaster — Local Congre-
gationalism— John Wesley and Benjamin Ingham at Tadcaster — The
Inghamites — Wesleyans — Reform Methodists — Primitive Methodists —
Romam Catholics — Town Hall — Eight Schools in the town — The oldest
Sunday School in England — Present Schools — Tadcaster Union.

CHAPTER XXV., Tadcaster Old Families 290

The Percies and De Tadcasters — Baron and Viscount Tadcaster — Some local
families deriving their names from local trades and places — Two Tadcaster
merchants — The Normanvilles, Hardys, and Barkers — Will of John Barker,
1680 — The Tukes and Battys — A local pedigree — The Marshalls — The Fosters
of Smaws — Hartleys, Sheriffs of York — Family of Morley and " Morley
Hall " — The Bellhousesand Woods — An unpublished pedigree — Other local
families — Siddells and Moorhouses — Family of Potter — An Archbishop of
Canterbury — Families of Shann. Smith, Bromet, &c. — Local celebrities.

CHAPTER XXVL, The Town, Trade, and Old Inns of

X ADCAs 1 EK .-• ... ... .*• ••. ••* ... 2QQ

The parish of Tadcaster and Parliamentary Divisions — The Bridge, originally of
Timber — Its re-erection in stone — The bill of costs — Families of Etty and
Cockshott — Alterations about the Market Place — Former aspects — The old
Market Cross — Gunpowder Plot celebrations — The coaching days — Old inns
The Ark amd its history — Other pre- Reformation inns — Some proceedings
in chancery — Ancient inn-signs — Local survival of Roman inn custom —
Queen Elizabeth and the " Savage " — Armorial signs — Warburton at the
Roebiuk — Some local innkeepers — Tadcaster an ancient post-town — The old
post-office — The first mention of Tadcaster post-office — The old " running-
post" — Royal messengers — Horsemen and archers guard the King's treasure
through Tadcaster — Local amcient breweries — The assize of ale — Local
industries — The manufacture and dyeing of cloth — The markets and fairs —
Decline of Tadcaster — Opening of local railways — Revival of brewing and
malting trades — The Smith family — Tadcaster water — "Popple-wells" —
Local Longevity — Events, customs, and traditions — John Wilkes and Tad-
caster.

H
CHAPTER XXVIL, Around Tadcaster .. ... ... 311

Pleasant scenery — Wealth of vegetable life — The nightingale, a visitor — The road
to Oxton — Ouston and Oxton — The old Hall — Local families — Wild flowers
— Smaws Hall — A notable quarry — Meaning of Smaws — Its ancient families
— About Stutton — Geological aspects — Thevesdale — Antiquity of Stutton corn-
mill — Local families and celebrities— A famous painter — A monumental work
— History of Toulston — Ancient inn at Toulston — Local families — The
Fairfaxes — Sale of Toulston — The old Hall — Toulston Lodge — Present and
former aspects — Its owners— George IV. at Toulston — Recent extension and
improvements of the mansion — Some old yews.

CHAPTER XXVHL, Tadcaster v. Newton Kyme : A

Great Boundary Dispute 321

Protracted dispute — Purchase of Toulston in 1640 — Reputed encroachments by
Sir Robert Barwick — Toulston warren-house — The Fairfaxes at Toulston —
The Earl of Northumberland's claim — An action for trespass — Reputed
boundaries of Toulston manor — Toulston coney-warren — Evidence of 28
witnesses — Riding the bounds — Some old boundary-marks — Sir Thos. Fairfax
rides the bounds — Trial at the Assizes — Enclosure of the common in 1790 —
The dispute revived — Rev. Henry Wray and his tithes — The case put to
arbitration — Settlement of the dispute.

CHAPTER XXIX., About VVighill ... 329

Pleasant approaches to Wighill — Antiquity of Easedyke — An ancient peel-tower
— Hay Dike — Plan of Easedyke — A separate manor — Feudal reservations —
Importance of Wighill before the Conquest — Its character and population in
Saxon times — Old field-names — Manor of Hagenby — Meaning of Wighill —
Conjectured murder of an Earl of Northumbria at Wighill— Moat House —
Early history of Wighill— Knights Templars at Wighill — The Stapleton
family — Some interesting records — The Stapletons hold Wighill for nearly
450 years — Its sale to the Wilsons — The Hawke family — Ancient aspects of
Wighill — Curious customs — The church — Its History and architectural
description — Recent vicars — The Rev. Dr. Hiley's Memortes 0/ Half-a-Century.

CHAPTER XXX, Healaugh : St. Heiv's Monastery ... 345

Numerous local dedications to St. Helen — Local continuance of Celtic monasti-
cism — St. Heiu settles at Tadcaster in 649 — Annexation of Elmete by King
Edwin — His acceptance of Christianity in 627 — St. Heiu's monastery
supposed to have been established at Healaugh — St. Hilda's ancestry-
Meaning of Healaugh — Supposed memorial of St. Heiu at Healaugh — A
curious discovery — Comparison with other early memorials — The early
dioceses and growth of monasticism.

CHAPTER XXXL, Healaugh : Its History, Church, and

"Bible Lands" ... ... ... .. ... ... 349

CHAPTER XXXI.. continued.

Philip, fourth Lord Wharton — His great Bible Charity— Wrongful diversion
of the trust — Memorial of the Rev. Bryan Dale — Rearrangement of the
charity — The present trustees— Sale of the "Bible Lands" — Purchase of
Healaugh by the Brooksbank family —Picturesque aspects — The old "castle."

CHAPTER XXXII., Healaugh Priory 359

An alien Priory - The present manor-house erected from the conventual buildings
An Early-English Chapel — Early records of the Priory— Timber used in its
erection brought from Idle — Appropriation of Healaugh Church— Local
families — The 15th century vicarage — The Dissolution and sale of the estate.

CHAPTER XXXIIL, Newton Kyme 363

Picturesque aspects — The old castle — "Black Tom's" well -Early history —
Family of De Kyme— Reputed descent of Robin Hood from the lords of
Kyme — Family of Talbois— Local families in the 14th century — The manor
obtained by the Fairfaxes in 1602— Their long residence at Newton Kyme —
Admiral Robert Fairfax— Records of the church — The rectors —Description
of the church — The church-plate —The old churchyard — Descent of the
manor— The Hall rebuilt — The avenue in the park — Former aspects of the
Hall — The arms of Queen Elizabeth, and autograph at Newton Kyme.

CHAPTER XXXIV., Oglethorpe 376

Antiquity of Oglethorpe - Parcel of the lordship of Bramham and Newton Kyme
— Ancient family of Oglethorpe— The 12th century homestead — Some notable
scions of the family — Bishop Owen Oglethorpe— He built Headley Hall —
The Brandesby family— Pedigree of Bishop Oglethorpe —The family property
— The founder of Georgia— General Oglethorpe's antecedents — Arms of
Oglethorpe —Oglethorpe acquired by the Fairfaxes— Oglethorpe Hall two
centuries ago — Recent history.

CHAPTER XXXV., Round about Walton 384

Roman road — Discovery of Roman relics— St. Helen and Christianity —
St. Helen's Church at York— St. Helen's Well and Chapel on the Wharfe-
A local shrine— Dedications to St. Helen in Wharfedale— Moat House and
Nevison — Walton i the first home of the Fairfaxes — Walton Old Hall—
Remarkable mounds— Walton during the Civil War— Mill Hill — Aspects of
the village— Early history — Records of the church — Old custom— Some i6th
century families— The last Fairfaxes of Walton — Vicars of Walton—
Description of the church — Ancient bells —A curious symbol - Restoration of
the chuirch — Parish School — Opening of a local tumulus— Thorp Arch
School and the Hileys.

CHAPTER XXXVI., Synningthwaite Priory 397

A Cistercian Nunnery — Existing remains — Early history - Local possessions-
Other properties - Some interments within the Priory— Grant at Dissolution
— Later history — Family of Synningthwaite.

i6
CHAPTER XXXVII., Around Bramham 400

The Bramham Moor grit-rocks — Special stone for York Minster — Early occupation
of district — Local discoveries — Domesday testimony — A church and priest in
1083 — The soke — Manor-house at Clifford — Count of Mortain — His portrait
on the Bayeux tapestry — Bramham subfeud to the Fossard family — Curious
grant — Early history — A valuable property of Nostell Priory — The Winn
family — Lord Headley— Antiquity of the church — Some architectural features
— The vicars — Bramham Park — The famous Bramham Moor Hunt — The late
Mr. George Lane-Fox — His geniality and popularity — A magnificent
testimonial — His death and funeral — Recognition by the Prince oif Wales —
Bowclifife House — The Battle of Bramham Moor — A pleasant country — Some
notable mansions — Bramham College.

CHAPTER XXXVIII., Boston Spa 411

Beautiful scenery — Local longevity — Rise and growth of the Spa — The famous
mineral spring — Aspects and attractions of the Spa — The first house — The
church, past and present — Other places of worship — Boston included in
Clififord — An ancient township — The bridge over Wharfe — Recent alterations
and new houses — St. Kitts and the Atkinson family — Pedigree of Atkinson —
Boston Lodge — Chestnut Grove — The Wickham family — Wharfedale House
— Samuel Waddington, poet — Rev. Wm. Bownas. B.A., and John Emmett,
F.L.S. — Clifford — Its notable Roman Catholic, church — Hoffman's statue of
the Virgin — St. John's Institute for the Deaf and Dumb.

CHAPTER XXXIX., Thorp Arch 421

Antiquity of the settlement — Domesday testimony — The Arches family — Descent
of the manor — Fourteenth century trades— Local woollen industry — The old
' corn-mill Historical records — The Gossip family — Picturesque aspects —
The " old castle " — Thorp Arch Hall — Manor-house— Records of the church
The vicars — Description of the church — Pre-Norman relics — The churchyard
— The parish registers.

CHAPTER XL., Wetherby ... 429

Importance of Wetherby — A famous coaching town — Highways filled with cattle
— Old inns — An ancient settlement — Local discoveries— Castle Garth —
Antiquity of the bridge— A royal messenger at Wetherby — A remarkable
ring — Early history— Grant of market to the Knights Templars — Ancient
trades -Local woollen industry — Antiquity of Wetherby Chapel— Chapel at
FoUyfoot — Local records — The chapel rebuilt — Discovery of human remains
— Sale of the town by the Duke of Devonshire — Manorial rights — Local
trades — Recent building operations— Former aspects and old customs.

CHAPTER XLI., Micklethwaite and Wetherby Grange 436

The Drovers' inn — Grant of Micklethwaite to Kirkstall Abbey — The grant
rescinded, and again restored at a fee- farm rent— History from the Dissolution
— The Paver and Beilby families -Old names of the Grange— Sale of the
estate by Lord Wenlock — The Browns of Liverpool — Purchase of Mickle-
thwaite by the Gunter family — Col. Sir Robert Gunter, Bart., M.P. — New
water-works— The Wetherby shorthorns— A notable herd — Some remarkable
prices.

17
CHAPTER XLIL, Collingham ... ... 443

" Dalton Parlours" — A Roman villa — Local finds— Apsidal buildings— Roman
Christianity— Evidences of local coins, &c. — An early Saxon settlement —
The story of King Oswin— His 7th century memorial-cross at Collingham —
Site of monastery — A Norman cross -Early history of Collingham— The
church— Its appropriation in 1258— Description of the fabric— Restoration
in 1898 — Further discoveries — Local memorials— The churchyard, a burial
site since the 7th century.

CHAPTER XLIIL, Bardsey ... .* 451

An ancient settlement — The Castle Hill— Discoveries on the site— Fgrmerly an
island— The name of Bardsey — Do w^s/te^ evidence - Early history— Monastic
property — Later history — Appropriation of the church — Description of the
church — Some curious features — The tower: comparison with St. Mary's
church. Bishophill. York— Memorials in the church — Antiquity of the
registers --Local families— Congreve, the dramatist, a native of Bardsey —
The old Town Books.

CHAPTER XLIV., About East Keswick and Wike ... 459

A sunny site — Early history of the manor — Local monastic possessions— The old
Hall— Places of worship — The Society of Friends— Local pastimes— Good
roads— Wike school — A famous find of ancient coins.

CHAPTER XLV., Harewood 463

Rural charm of Harewood — An illustrious record — Antiquity of Harewood —
Meaning of the name — Harewood a Danish mint — Domesday evidence — A
large parish — Grant to the Romilles— Descent of the manor — Market-charter

— The Rythers and Redmans— Pedigree of Redman — The Gascoigne family

— Gawthorpe Hall— Chief Justice Gascoigne — Subsequent owners of Hare-
wood—The Lascelles family— Harewood House— Royal visits.

CHAPTER XLVL, The Castle, Church, and Village

OF Harewood ... ... ... ... ... ... 474

Origin of the Castle — License to fortify it — Arms of Aldburgh and Balliol —
Description of the castle— Its last occupants — Its destruction by Cromwell
erroneous— The parish church — Its dedication — Historical records of the
church — Omissions in Torre's list of vicars — The Rev. Richard Hale. M.A.

— Description of the church— Its unique collection of effigied monuments —
Ancient armorial bearings in the church — The late Lord Harewood -The
village.

CHAPTER XLVn., Around Weeton 483

Weardley — Rawdon Hill — Harewood Bridge— The old Ship inn — Township of
Dunkeswick— Rougemont — Helthwaite Hill and the Maude family — Pedigree
of Maude. Barons de Montalt — Weeton— Old families— Name of Weeton —
Touhouse in Harewood Park — Weeton church — Almscliff Crags.

CHAPTER XLVIIL, About Arthington

487

A charming landscape — An early settlement — Domesday record — The Count of
Mortain- Paganel family, and their local benefactions to the monasteries —
Descent of the manors of Adel and Arthington — Holy Trinity Priory, York
— Mediaeval hospitality— Rise of freeholders — Local family of Arthington —
Nunnery at Arthington — Its local possessions — The Creskeld family —
Pedigree of Arthington — Arms of Arthington— Worsley family connections —
Purchase of Arthington by the Sheepshanks — Arthington Hall and Church —
Site of the Nunnery granted to Cranmer — The Nunnery buildings— Plan
and description of the establishment - Local remains— The Nunnery house
and local families.

CHAPTER XLIX., Creskeld

499

Antiquity of Creskeld— Meaning of the name— Family of Creskeld— The De
Bingleys at Creskeld— Notes from the Wentworth MSS.— Local possessions
of Kirkstall Abbey— The Goldsborough family— Early ironworks at Creskeld
- The manor at the Dissolution— A family dispute — Destruction of Golds-
borough Hall— Sale of Creskeld, &c.. to the Wentworths — Bond-tenants
and old customs— The Atkinson family— Conveyance of Creskeld to the
Thornhills— Its purchase by William Rhodes— The Rhodes and Darwin
families — Pedigree of Rhodes— Mr. Francis Darwin, J. P. — Antiquity of
Creskeld manor-house - The present Hall and Chapel — The Park.

INDEX OF PEDIGREES.

Ryder, of Harrowby
HoLDEN, OF Nun Appleton
Fairfax, of Bolton Percy, &c. ..
Percy, of Tadcaster, &c.
Batty and Tuke, of Tadcaster, &c.
Bellhouse, of Leeds, Tadcaster, &c.
Stapleton, of Wighill . .
Saxon Kings of Northumbria
Bishop Oglethorpe
Oglethorpe, of Oglethorpe
Atkinson, of Thorp Arch
Early Lords of Harewood
Redman, of Levens and Harewood
Mawde or Maude, of Helthwaite
Arthington, of Arthington
Rhodes, of Menston and Bramhope

Pages

72-73
152
169
242

293

297

335
346

381

3«2

416-17

462

470-1

485

493-5

507

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FULL PAGE VIEWS.

In the Large Paper Edition only.

Engraved for this work from the original
supplied by
Harewood House and Park a Century ago,

drawn by J. M. W. Turner, R.A. . . Frontispiece

In Both Editions

Cawood two Centuries Ago

Progress of Cardinal Wolsey . .

Cawood Castle Gateway, east front

Cawood Castle Gateway

Cawood Church

Monument to Archbishop Mountaigne

Ryther Church before Restoration

Church Fenton Church

Old Cottages, Bolton Percy . .

Bolton Percy Church

Interior of Bolton Percy Church

Ancient Tithe Bam, Bolton Percy

Rt. Rev. R. J. Crosthwaite. D.D., Bishop

of Beverley
Nun Appleton Hail . .
Sir Angus Holden, Bart., M.P.
Rt. Hon. John, Eleventh Lx>rd Fairfax
Kirkby Wharfe

Ancient Cross, Kirkby Wharfe Church
Kirkby Wharfe Church
Grimston Park

Rt. Hon. Albert, Lord Londesborough
John Fielden, Esq. . .
Ulleskelf

Bronze Celts found near Ulleskelf
Castle Hill and Prehistoric Mounds,

Tadcaster . .
Tadcaster Church
Toulston Lodge

Pedigree of Stapleton, of Wighill
Healaugh Church

Norman Doorway, Healaugh Church
The old Manor Farm, Healaugh

Full Page Views.

Face

Geo. F. Jones, F.R.I B.A., Malton

Rev. A. T. Field, M.A., Ryther .
George F. Jonss, Malton
George Hepworth, Brighouse
J. Norton Dickons, Bradford

Do.
George Hepworth, Brighouse

Debenham &- Co., York . .

Sir Angus Holden, Bart., M.P. .

Elliott <?- Fry, London . .

Rt. Hon. Lord Fairfax. .

Debenham &> Co., York . .

Do.
Duncan ^ Leunn, York. . . .

George F. Jones, Malton
Earl of Londesborough . .
A . Bassano, London
Debenham 6- Co , York. .
J. Norton Dickons, Bradford

J. H. Hull, M.P.S., Tadcaster .
George F. Jones, Malton
H. H. Riley-Smith, J. P., Tadcastir
Miss Stapylton, London . .
Duncan <?- Lewin , York . .

Do.
Mtss Cooke, Healaugh , .

page

25
35
41
43
45
50

105

121

125
135

137

139

151
171

177

179

188

193
197

199

203

204

229
265

3"
335
349
353
359

Remains of Castle, Newton Kyme

Newton Kyme Church

Norman Doorway, Synningthwaite

Robert, Count of Mortain, a.d. 1086 ..

George Lane- Fox, Esq.*

The Bridge, Boston Spa and Thorp Arch,

about thirty years ago
Thorp Arch Church in 1840 . .
Col. Sir Robert Gunter, Bart., M.P. ..
Plan of Roman Villa near ColUngham . .
Ancient Crosses, CoUingham Church . .
Arms formerly in the Church and Castle

at Harewood
Francis Darwin, Esq.
Creskeld Hall

George Hep worth, Brtghouse

Do.
Duncan &* Leuin, York. .
G. Bell &> Sons, London
Percy Boumas, Boston Spa

Do.
William F. Atkinson, Ilkley
W. D. Brigham, Scarbro'
F. W. Dalby, Compton.,
Dr. J. H. Whitham, Boston Spa

Whyte, Inverness
Francis Darunn, Creskeld

363

370

397
401

407

411
421
440

444
448

463

499
508

OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cardinal Wolsey

Interior of Cawood Church . .

Seal of Archbishop Kemp

Arms of Ryder, of Harrowby. .

Altar-tomb in Ryther Church . .

Tomb of Sir William Ryther in Ryther

Church
Ryther Church after the Restoration in

loQo . . • . . .

Rev. William Sibthorpe Cole, M.A
Female Effigy in Church Fenton Church
East End of Church Fenton Church .
Base of Cross, Church Fenton
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.
Sedilia and Piscina, Bolton Percy

Church
Lord Fairfax's Chair. .
Steeton Hall

Greenaway Court, Virginia
The old Church, Bilbrough
The First Earl of Londesborough
Towton Hall two centuries ago
Battle-axe from Towton Field . .

Becca Hall, near Aberford
Remarkable Ringed Celt found near

Tadcaster . .
Roman Christian Lamp, formerly at

Grimston Park
Tadcaster Bridge
Tadcaster Church before 1875
Cross-slab at Tadcaster
Old Sunday School, Tadcaster
The ' • Ark , ' ' Tadcaster

Rev. B. E. Wake, M.A., Cawood,

Rev A. G. Dudley Ryder, MA. .
Rev. A. T. Field, M.A., Ryther .

Do.

Do.
Rev. E. Maule Cole, M.A., Wettmng

George F. Jones, Malton

Mr. Wright, Bilbrough . .

Rev. Canon Wilton, M.A.

The British Museum

Hts'Grace the Duke 0) Northumber

land
Percy Boumas, Boston Spa

Miss Bellhouse, Roundhay

38
48

57
72

80
81

83
86

99
100

103

112

127

153

160
171

173
198

212

216
227

234

238

245
272

284

288

302

Smaws Hall two centuries ago

Toulston Lodge in 1828

Charles, Tenth Lord Fairfax

Plan of Easedyke

Wighill Hall a century ago

Plan of Wighill

Norman Doorway, Wighill Church

Tomb of Robt. Stapleton, Wighill Church

The St. Heiu Stone found at Healaugh .

Seal of Appleton Nunnery

The old Tithe Barn, Newton Kyme

Admiral Robert Fairfax

The Rectory, Newton Kyme . .

Consecration Cross, Newton Kyme

Newton Kyme Hall . .

Avenue in the Park, Newton Kyme

Newton Kyme Hall in 17 18 . .

Queen Elizabeth's Autograph. .

Oglethorpe Hall two centuries ago

Arms of Fairfax and Vere at Bilbrough

Church
The Old Hall, Walton
Old Cottage. Walton . .
Walton Church before the Restoration .
Fylfot on Church-bell at Walton
Thorp Arch Grange . .
Synningthwaite Priory Farm . .
Boston Spa Church in 1870 . .
The Rev. Wm. Atkinson . .

Tomb-slab in Thorp Arch Church
Wetherby Grange

Ancient Stone Sideboard, Harewood .
Rev. Richard Hale, M.A., Vicar of

Harewood
Tomb of Lord Chief Justice Gascoigne,

Harewood
The old Shtp Inn, Harewood Bridge
Seal of Arthington Priory

British Museum

H. H. Riley-Smith, J. P., Tadcaster

Rt. Hon. Lord Fair/ax

Miss Stapylton^ London

Do.

Do.
Yorks. Archal. Journal

George Hepworth , Brighouse

George Hepworth, Brighouu

George Hepworth, Brighouse

Do.
British Museum

British Museum

William Green, Bingley. .

Percy Bownas, Boston Spa

Do.

Percy Bownas, Boston Spa
Duncan &> Lewin, York. .
Percy Bownas, Boston Spa
Wm. F. Atkinson, Ilkley

Miss Gunter, Wetherby Grange

James C. Eastburn, Bradford

314

317
318

330

337

339

341

343

347
362

365

367

369

370

371

373

375

375
381

383
387
389
391
392

393
398

413

415
427

439
476

478

480

484
498

THE RAINFALL OF LOWER WHARFEDALE.

By John Hopkinson, F.R.Met.Soc, Assoc. Inst.C.E., &c.

(Specially compiled for this work.)

In discussing the rainfall of Upper Wharfedale* it was shown that it gradually
decreases from the head of the valley downwards. This decrease is continued
into and through Lower Wharfedale, the rainfall at Wetherby being only two-
fifths that at Amcliffe, and less than four-fifths that at Leathley. The mean fall
at sixteen stations for the whole of the valley of the Wharfe for the twelve years
1886—97 was 3488 inches. Dividing the twelve stations into four groups of four
stations each the result is as follows : Mean rainfall from Amcliffe to Bumsall.
43- 12 inches; from Harden to Ilkley, 3623 inches; from Blubberhouses to
Leathley (the Washburn valley), 3326 inches; and from Arthington to Wetherby,
2691 inches. The mean height of the twelve rain-gauges above the sea is 673
feet, and of each group in the above order, 1121, 831, 482, and 258 feet.

The following table gives the mean amd extreme rainfall at six stations in
Lower Wharfedale for the 14 years 1886-99.

Height

above

Mean.

Min.

Max.

Station.

Authority.

lea-level.

ins.

Lindley Wood. N.,

Leathley

T. Hewson. C.E.f

320

3086

22-6l

3569

s.,

• »

1 i

312

3079

22 72

36- 12

Arthington

• •

139

28-41

1930

3539

Eccup, S., Adel

• •

• 1

390

2734

1978

3245

II *^'t »i

• •

1 1

375

2744

1972

3361

Ribston Hall, Wetherby. .

J. McClelland t

130

24- 10

1777

31-59

Mean .. .. .. .. 2816

Two of these stations — Arthington and Wetherby — have a record for at least
25 years, and the Eccup record can also be carried back to cover that time by
taking a former gauge at Eccup nearest to the east gauge and continuing its record
with that of this gauge. The mean annual rainfall for the 25 years at Arthington,
Eccup, and Wetherby. thus determined, was—

ms.

tflS.

tttS.

tns.

1875

2865

1880

3298

1885

2569

1890

2412

1895

2938

1876

3361

1881

3271

1886

3220

I89I

2688

1896

26- 16

1877

36-51

1882

3404

1887

1893

1892

2853

1897

2693

1878

3440

1883

3040

1888

2744

1893

2345

1898

2650

1879

2732
32 10

1884
80-84

2457
3094

1889
85-89

2488

1894
90-94

3102
2720

1899
95-99

26- 65

75-79

2583

2732

Mean for the whole period, 28*68 inches.

The rainfall at Eccup can be carried back for another quarter of a century,
and the following is the result for each decade of the half-century ending 1899 :
1850-59, 2598 ins. ; 1860-69, 2683 ins. ; 1870-79, 3i'26 ins.; 1880-89, 2874 ^^s. ;
1890-99, 27*49 ins. For the first 25 years the mean fall was 2664 ins., for the
second 25 years, 2908 ins., and for the whole 50 years, 2786 ins.

* Upper Wharjedalc, pages 19—21.

t Previous to 1886, E. Filliter, C.E. J Previous to 1898, Mr. Jones.

In the following table is given the mean and extreme monthly rainfall at
Ribston Hall. Wetherby, for the 30 years 1870-99.

Mean

Min.

Max.

Mean

Min.

Max.

ins.

tns.

ins.

January

1-89

•12

4-22

July

261

657

February .

I 63

366

August

259

•79

496

March

. 191

4'3i

September . .

253

•69

647

April

. 199

•49

516

October

318

•58

683

May . .

. 1-91

•04

508

November ..

233

•67

476

June. .

238

•15

523

December . .

219

•31

5-8i

Year: Mean. 27*04 ins. ; Min., 16-91 ins. (1893) ; Max.. 42-76 ins. (1872).

It may be of interest to compare the rainfall of Lower Wharfedale with that
of some other Yorkshire dales. For this purpose the ten years 1890-99 will be
taken. During this period the rainfall in this part of Yorkshire was about half
an inch more than it was during the 14 years 1886-99. The following tables give
the mean annual rainfall for these ten years at four representative stations in
each of the three catchment-basins on the north-east and in each of the three on
the south-west of Wharfedale, and that at lour stations in the upper part, and at
four in the lower part of this dale, with the height of each station above mean
sea-level.

Swale.

Height.

Ins.

Richmond

430

3043

Bedale

170

25*21

Northallerton

242

2446

Baldersby . .

lOI

24*92

Ure.

Aysgarth Vicarage

648

3717

Leybum . .

420

3253

Masham Moor

693

3688

Mickley

225

29*51

NiDD.

Ramsgill . .

450

44-17

Pateley Bridge . .

410

40-35

Harrogate (Stray)

380

29*20

Knaresborough . .

170

2507

Upper Wharfe.

Amclifie Vicarage

734

61-66

Grimwith Reservoir

890

44-44

Barden Reservoir

746

42-49

Ilkley

600

35-13

Aire.

Height. Ins

Malham Tarn . . 1296 58*44

Silsden Reservoir 560 30*46

Bingley .. .. 572 2693

Weetwood Reservoir 328 26-08

Calder.

Hebden Bridge . . 479 46*19

Halifax (Bermerside) 500 33*14

Mirfield (Cote Wall) 200 27*73

Wakefield Prison 96 24*86

Don.

Dunford Bridge Res. 1 1 1 1 4800

Sheffield (Ranmoor) 610 33*42

Rotherham . . 184 23*01

Doncaster.. .. 190 23*94

Lower Wharfe.

Leathley, N. .. 320 31*67

Arthington .. 139 29*46

Eccup, S. . . . . 390 2786

Wetherby . . . . 130 23*94

These figures give a mean annual rainfall of 3166 inches for the three valleys
north-east of Wharfedale, of 33*52 inches for the three valleys south-west of it,
and of 32*59 inches for the whole, against 4593 inches for Upper Wharfedale,
2823 inches for Lower Wharfedale, and 36*58 inches for the whole of the valley
of the Wharfe. The chief cause of this diversity is difference of elevation, as
may be gathered from a cursory examination of the figures. It is also shown in

the fact that the average height of the twelve gauges in the three valleys north-
east of Wharfedale is 385 feet, and that of the twelve in the three valleys on the
south-west, 510 feet ; but it is still more apparent if the stations be grouped in
accordance with their height above the sea irrespective of the river-valleys.
This may be shown thus :

8 stations, 96-190 ft , average height, 148 ft., mean rainfall, 2505 ins.
8 „ 200-410 ft, ,, 312 ft., ,, 2961 ins.

8 ,. 420-600 ft., ,, 501 ft., ., 34-62 ins.

8 .. 610-1296 ft., ., 841ft., ,, 4531 ins.

Neither in this account of the rainfall of Lower Wharfedale nor in
the former one of that of Upper Wharfedale has any mention been
made of heavy falls of rain in short periods. A record of the heaviest
downpour which is known to have occurred in the valley of the
Wharfe in a day and in an hour may, therefore, be of some interest.

On the 1 2th of July, 1900, there fell at Cherry Bank, Ilkley, 5-40
inches of rain, being 11*9 per cent^ of the year's fall of 45.33 inches.
At Brook Street, Ilkley, where the day's fall was 4-50 inches, there
fell in an hour and a quarter, between 2 p.m. and 3.15 p.m., 3.75
inches of rain, being at the rate of 3 inches per hour, " an intensity"*
Dr. R. H. Mill states in British Rainfall, 1900, " never before recorded
in this country as having been maintained for so long a time.." The
centre of the storm was on Rombalds Moor, about midway between
the Rivers Aire and Wharfe, the next heaviest fall to that at Ilkley
being 4*50 inches at Gilstead Filters, Bingley, in the valley of the
Aire ; and fortunately the resulting surface-water was about equally
shared by these two rivers. Nevertheless, the result at Ilkley and
other places in the neighbourhood, was disastrous, the damage at
Ilkley being estimated at ;^ioo,ooo. The force of the water carried
down boulders weighing several tons, piling them on the roads to the
depth of four feet, and its erosive action changed a great part of the
course of the short valley of Spicey Gill.

The heaviest fall of rain recorded anywhere in the British Isles in
any one day during the 35 years ending 1900, was 8*03 inches, at
Seathwaite in Cumberland, on the 12th November, 1897. The
average annual rainfall there is 135 inches, and in that year it reached
144 inches, the day's fall being 5-6 per cent, of the year's fall. The
greatest day percentage on record is at Angerton Hall, Morpeth,
Northumberland, where 670 inches fell on the 29th of September,
1898, being i8'i per cent, of the year's fall of 36*97 inches. The
total amount of rain which fell on the day of the great Ilkley flood
is not, therefore, so extraordinary as its intensity for a short period,
which it may be hoped will long remain the record for this country.

LOWER WHARFEDALE

CHAPTER I.

Life and Aspects at Ancient Cawood.

Importance of Cawood — Where Wharfe joins Ouse — Aspects of the town — The
new bridge— Character of surrounding country — Local geology — Carrs and
marshes — Name of Cawood — Ancient woodlands — The manor at the Con-
quest— Tenure in bondage, some of its efifects — Tx)cal customs — Manor-house
of the Archbishops of York — Royal visitors at Cawood — Ancient inns —
"Hostilers" of the 14th century —Great banquets at the Castle — Life at
Cawood past and present.

N RIVALLED as is Yorkshire in scenes of historic and
legendary lore, as also in picturesque beauty, there are
few places within it that excel in interest the long life-
story and outward charm of the pleasant old town of
Cawood. As the abiding -place from time to time of
many of our English monarchs, and as the country-seat for a long
period of the Archbishops of York, and other high State dignitaries,
not the least conspicuous of whom was the great Cardinal Wolsey, —
the crisis of whose life dates from his arrest at Cawood, — events of
importance cluster round this now quiet haven, which memory will
not willingly let die.

A few hundred yards above the town, the Wharfe, after its sixty
miles* journey from the mountains of Langstrothdale, enters the tidal
waters of Ouse, — the river being tidal to a little above its junction
with the Wharfe, some ten miles from the city of York. At Cawood
the Ouse is a bright and lively stream, forming an elbow having a
sharp curvature from east to north, which gives character and
picturesqueness to the situation of the town. Viewed from the river-
side the red-tiled roofs of many buildings, with the dark brick walls
and remains of the fine old Castle, stand out in pleasing contrast
with the conspicuous white stone structure of the ancient Parish
Church upon its banks. The prefatory engraving presents a view

of the town as it was early in the i8th century. The houses, indeed,
must have possessed more than ordinary comforts and attractions
even in the i6th century, for Leland speaks of Cawood as " a preati
village " ; the local tenants of the wealthy Archbishops in those times
evidently having been well and neatly housed and cared for.

The main thoroughfare runs parallel with the Ouse, and in place of
the old ferry there is now a handsome iron bridge connecting the
East and West Ridings and the town of Cawood with the York
side of the Ouse at Kelfield, This bridge is built on the swivel
principle, with two open spans of considerable width, so that vessels
can pass through it without lowering their sails or casting off their
towing-ropes. Painted white and looking elegant and light, it forms
a pleasing object, especially when the stream is enlivened with craft,
or snow-white ducks are seen gliding in the bright sunlight on the
blue waters beneath it.-^' The bridge was built from plans furnished
by Mr, Robert Hodgson, engineer to the North Eastern Railway
Company, and was opened to the public on Wednesday, July 31st,
1872.

Round about there lies a rich agricultural country, while between
Cawood and Selby, some five miles, there are many hundreds of
acres appropriated to the growing of celery and other market produce.
Here and there one may see a well-stocked apple-orchard, and posied
lanes and fields abounding in season with cowslips and primroses.
The great wood called Bishop's Wood, which no doubt helped to
give Cawood its name, is about a mile distant, and is partly in
Wistow parish. Many uncommon wild plants are to be found here-
abouts, as well as other things of fascinating interest to the naturalist.
Forty years ago Mr. Wm. Nelson, M.C.S., discovered the very rare
water violet (Hottonia palustfis) in this locality, a plant which I have
long known to grow in an old water-course in the Aire valley,
between Bingley and Marley, but lately destroyed through the
extension of the sewage works in that neighbourhood by the
Corporation of Keighley.

Geologically the country around Cawood possesses too, an interest
especially to the student of glacial phenomena. No solid rock is
exposed at the surface nearer than the edge of the Wolds or the
little isolated hills of Trias near Selby. But, says Mr. Kendall, the
drift deposits are of exceptional, if not of unique interest. Two
great sub-parallel ridges of boulder-clay, sand, and gravel, extend
in crescentic form from the neighbourhood of Stamford Bridge

• It was across the Ouse at Cawood that Dick Turpin swam on Black Bess, on
his famous ride from London to York. The name of Turpin was not uncommon
in this district two centuries ago.

respectively through York and Escrick round to Bilbrough. These
have been recognised as successive terminal moraines of a great
glacier that occupied the vale of York. Sections at various places
have yielded characteristic erratics such as Shap granite, the quartz-
porphyry of Threlkeld near Keswick, the Carrock Fell diorite, and
Scottish granites, which indicate, probably, the remote sources from
which the ice emanated.

For many miles around these moraines the soil is composed of
sandy clay and gravel, the product of the melting glaciers. This
warpy clay is admirably suited for the growth ot vegetables, and as
stated above there are large areas entirely given over to market
gardening. To the east of Cawood, between the Ouse and Derwent,
the deposits are found to attain a thickness in many places of fully
IOC feet. At Cawood a boring was made at Smith's mill in 1852,
which revealed the following section : Sand, 3 feet ; clay, etc.,
57 feet ; quicksand, 30 feet ; red sand, 4 feet ; grey soft sandstone,
240 feet. The grey sandstone in this section, says Mr. Davis,
evidently bears a close relation to the thick bed of sandstone met
with in boring operations for the Selby Waterworks at 75 feet from
the surface, and this is further confirmed by the fact that when the
Selby well was made, which is five miles south, a large portion of
the water was drawn from the one at Cawood.

In former times, before the land was drained, the country bordering
upon the Ouse was much subject to inundations, and still-existing
names of carrs, marshes and ings, testify to the prevalence of wet,
low-lying places. An Act passed in 1 776 for dividing and enclosing
the common-fields within the parishes of Cawood and Wistow,
speaks of ** ings, marshes, carrs, commons, and other waste lands
and grounds," which gives us an idea of the former character of
the old unenclosed lands. Blackie {vide ** Place Names," page 37)
thinks that the name Cawood means " wood enclosure," from the
Cymric-Celtic cae (enclosure). But " wood " is not Celtic, and such a
combination of alien words is opposed to the principles of etymological
construction. 1 believe the whole name to be Danish or Norse from
Kjarr, low, swampy ground, and mode, wood. Locally the name is
pronounced ** car- wood," or when spoken by the native rapidly it
sounds like the compound ** cow-ud." Polite folk, however, speak of
the place as ** Kay-wood. ""^^ The district, moreover, was anciently
much more thickly wooded than it is at present, and old Leland, who

• There is a Cawood in the hundred of Lonsdale^ but it is not mentioned in
Domesday, and the earliest reference to it appears to be in a grant by Roger de
Begon to the Priory of Thetford, of the wood called Catnueda (township of
Arkholme-with-Cawood). Dugdale, vol. v., n. 6, page 150.

^ ferried over the Ouse into Cawood in the time of Henry Eighth,
tells us that from there he went to Sherburne. All the way he
travelled beside the old dike or canal called Bishop's Water, was he
says, ** wel wooddid." Likewise we gather from a manuscript of
the time of Edward I., entitled Iste liber compotns et compilatus fuit dc
diversus inquisitimiihus ex officio captis temp, regis Edwardi Jilii refits
Henrici, that John de Cawood then held two carucates of land in
Cawood by the serjeantry of keeping the forest (of Langwith in the

. parish of Wheldrake) between Ouse and Derwent, but this " forest "
did not necessarily mean woodland, though local circumstances lead
us to infer that originally it was.-^'

Although forming valuable hereditary demesne long before the
Conquest, Cawood is not mentioned in the great Norman inquest of
1083-6. It had been granted with Otley and Wistow by King
Athelstan to the See of York as a thank-offering for his victory over
the Danes and Scots at Brunanburh in 937.! Nothing is known of
its previous ownership, but it is tolerably certain, from what we do
know of the subsequent nature of the tenures, that the estate had
been farmed under the Danes by tenants-in-bondage, subject in all
probability to the same Metropolitan. Although the conquest by
Athelstan changed the government it did not subvert the customs of
the manor. Such customs by villeinage tenure no doubt originated
under the tyrannical laws of the Danes. At this time every tenant
was bound, when called upon, to answer who was his lord or master.
But with the decline of feudalism and the gradual extension of civil
liberty, many abler bond-tenants received their enfranchisement
through the wise and considerate administration of the Archbishops.
This change was taking place at Cawood as early as the 13th century,
at a time even when the tendency in many manors was to strengthen
rather than to relax the bonds of feudalism ; bonds that held the
tenants to the soil upon which they were born and reared, and from
which they could not be removed except by the lord's leave. Such
tenants were subject to sale or transfer by their lords, even with
their families and goods. All they could shew or prove with respect
to their inheritance or the title to their holdings, was the customs of
the manor and their admissions to them on the court- rolls ; such
entries being styled tenure by copy of court-roll, and the tenants
themselves were afterwards known as copyholders.

• Although much of the old forest had been enclosed in the 17th and i8th
centuries, there were still several thousand acres lying waste in the middle of the
18th century. As early as the reign of John, about 80 acres had been enclosed
within the bounds of the forest by Richard de Malebisse, but I do not find that
the boundaries or exact extent of the forest are anywhere defined

t See the author's Upper Wharfedale, pages 36-7.

After the Reformation tenure in villeinage rapidly declined,
although it was not actually abolished by statute until the reign of
Charles II. ; the copyholds however being reserved. Sir Thomas
Smith, who was secretary to King Edward VI., tells us that in his
time there was not a villein in gross (that is attached to the person
of the lord) throughout the kingdom,' and that the few villeins
regardant (those attached to the manor or soil) that then remained,
were such only as had belonged to certain of the monasteries and
ecclesiastical corporations. It is thus quaintly explained : " The holy
fathers, monks and friars," he observes, " had in their confessions,
and specially in their extreme and deadly sickness, convinced the
laity how dangerous a practice it was, for one Christian man to hold
another in bondage ; so that temporal men by little and little, by
reason of that terror in their consciences, were glad to manumit all
their villeins. But the said holy Fathers, with the Abbots and
Priors did not in like sort by theirs, for they also had a scruple in
conscience to empoverish and despoil the Church so much, as to
manumit such as were bond to their churches, or to the manors
which the Church had gotten, and so kept their villeins still."
These villeins were, however, on well-ordered manors not badly off.
Though bound to perform menial services for their lord, such as
leading turf and manure, making his hay, maintaining his fences, &c.,
they held their estates at a low rental, and were often able to resist
advances by virtue of simple immemorial usage and custom. Thus
they acquired a position and degree of comfort often superior to the
freemen on an estate. Their holdings, however, were still subject
to the same burdens by way of fines, heriots, or mean services,
though some of these lapsed by desuetude. Sometimes they were
commuted for a small pecuniary quit-rent. At Cawood some small
services were long retained by the Archbishops from their tenants.
Even in our own time it was customary for certain tenants to
forward annually a load of faggots by water from Cawood to
Bishopthorpe.

An interesting instance of services due to the Archbishops of York
by the copyholders of the manor of Wistow is contained in a schedule
dated 1711. From this we learn that " for every head of a whole
oxgang the tenant pays yearly two hens between Michaelmas and
Shrovetide, for each of which the lord allows i^d. ; he has likewise
to lead two loads of wood from any part of the woods to Cawood
Castle, for each of which the lord allows one penny. But these
services are only due when the lord keepeth house in this country."
This boon -service was in vogue long after the abolition of tenure-in-
bondage, nor is it yet quite extinct in Wharfedale ; and it is also

interesting to observe that the price allowed for tat hens in 171 1
must have been based on some ancient rate, when say in the 14th
century, hens were valued at i^d. each, and fresh eggs were sold at
twenty-four for a penny. '*''

The Archiepiscopal manor-house at Cawood was no doubt originally
erected some time after the grant by Athelstan, but it was not raised
to the dignity of a castle until the reign of Henry III. In 1271
Archbishop Gififard obtained royal licence to raise and crenellate his
manor-seat at Cawood, by which leave the house was practically
rebuilt on a much larger and grander scale ; being fortified after the
manner of a castle. The King and his retinue had been at Cawood
some years previously and no doubt some inconveniences had been
experienced on that occasion, through the limited accommodation of
the building. Henry had a special fondness for the district, having
been married with great pomp in the noble minster at York in 1251,
and several despatches exist signed by him at Cawood.

The elevation of the rustic manor into a stately and strong castle
added considerably to the importance of Cawood, and the old
Archiepiscopal residence at Sherbum henceforward became less
frequented, and was finally abandoned by the middle of the 14th
century. As a consequence we find Cawood a frequent stopping-
place of English monarchs and other notable personages journeying
north and south by way of York. The place was still, however,
chiefly looked upon more as a holiday resort of the Archbishops,
and Holinshed remarks quaintly: ** At Cawood is a castell belonging
to the Archbishop of Yorke, where he useth oft to lie when he
refresheth himself with change of aire and shift of habitation, for
the avoiding of such infection as may otherwise ingender by his
long abode in one place, for want of due purgation and airing of his
house." This old Elizabethan writer makes proper reference to the
desirabihty of shifting residence during the terrible plagues that
were so often rife in the Middle Ages. He tells us that in 1485 " a
new kind of sickness " broke out, " so sharp and deadly that the like
was never heard of in any man's remembrance,'* and "that scarce one
in a hundred that sickened did escape with life." Davies also tells
us that at this time only three aldermen and seven of the " twenty-
four " were present at the York Council to oppose the march of the
Earl of Richmond towards London, the others being without the
city " for the plague that reigneth."f The same sickness occurred

* A statute of Edward II. fixed the price of a fat hen, or two chickens, at i^d.,
a fat goose at 2^6., and 24 eggs not more than id.

f Extracts from the Records at York, page 215.

again in 1500 and there was "a great death.'"*' Large numbers
"would appear to have perished in and about York, amongst the
stricken being the aged Archbishop Rotherham, who removed to
Cawood and there died of the plague May 29th, 1500.

In 1299 King Edward I. stayed here on his way to Scotland,
intending to quell the turbulent Scotch after their defeat under the
gallant Sir William Wallace in the year previous.! While at
Cawood he summoned his young Queen to come to him, but on her
journey hither she was brought to bed at Brotherton by the birth of
a prince, who became known as Thomas of Brotherton. The Queen
on her recovery came to Cawood, and for several years was a regular
visitor at the increasingly famous old town ; the most lavish
provision being made by Archbishop Corbrigge for the royal dame's
comfort and entertainment. In 1302 he obtained a grant of free
warren within the manor, so that the game, both in quantity and
quality, would be much improved. There was a constant intercourse
kept up at this time between Cawood and York, and much passing
to and fro of distinguished visitors. The Parliaments frequently
assembled at York, and for seven years (1298 — 1304) the Courts of
Exchequer and King's Bench were continued in the same city.

In the time of Archbishop Greenfield the castle at Cawood appears
to have undergone some further enlargement and improvement.
Mountain, in his history of Selby, says that the brickwork of the
castle was added about the year 1 306, at the expense of Archbishop
Greenfield. But he gives no authority for the statement. The
register of this period shews that in 131 1 money was expended in
the construction of a study in the Archbishop's rooms at the castle.
Here in 1315 the Archbishop died, and from that time, following
the destructive ravages of the Scots after Bannockburn, nothing
seems to have been done even in the smallest way of repairs for
fully thirty years subsequently. The district had been plundered of
its wealth, land went out of cultivation, and that terrible malady
known as the Black Death carried off many of those whom poverty
had left to its miserable grip.

During the reign of the first Edward, the town was in the very
zenith of its glory. But for the next seventy years following the
king's death in 1307, misery, poverty and reduced population was
the mark of its sad fate. Both Edward II. and his Queen sought
refuge within the strong walls of Cawood after the reverse of
Bannockburn, and in 13 19 the Court of King's Bench was again

• Arnold's Chronuk.

t See the Author's Upper Wharfedale, page 105.

held in York. From the evidence of the Poll Tax of 1378 we may
form some idea of the importance and population of Cawood in the
previous time of its prosperity. Even then it ranked amongst the
principal towns in the north. In 1378 there were 70 married couples
living in the town, and nearly all of these would, no doubt, have
families. At anyrate the rolls state that there were 27 single persons
above the age of 16, over and above the married folk. The principal
taxpayer, rated at 6s. 8d., was John de Cawood, gent., while there
were no fewer than seven innkeepers or hostilers, whose names were
John Barber, Robert Dannock, John Alanson, William and John de
Rome, John Brewer, and Richard Anlaby, each of whom paid 6d.
tax, while the rest of the inhabitants paid 4d. Singularly no other
trade or calling is mentioned, not even a ship-carpenter, shewing
that the Ouse traffic and trade generally must have greatly declined
in the course of the century's disasters. It was not, indeed, till
1385, when the Chapter of York took a long lease of the Huddleston
quarries that matters began to mend at Cawood. One may, how-
ever, conclude that in spite of bad trade and poverty, there was a
considerable amount of drinking going on, seeing that there were
seven ** hostilers " in the town. But an " hostel " at that time was
not as we understand the term now, nor were ** hostilers" innkeepers
pure and simple. They were the men of credit and of recognised
position in those days, who not only entertained travellers, but were
responsible for their good conduct, and if they were merchants or
traders for their honourable dealings as well. In 1285 a statute was
passed that no man should lodge in the " suburbs *' of a place
without his "hoste" should answer for him. In 1357 it was enacted
that when fishers should sell their merchandise at Yarmouth, they
should have their ** hostelers " with them. In 1403 the law was
that in every city where stranger merchants repaired, sufficient
** hostes " should be assigned to them, and that the said merchants
should dwell with their ** hostes." Again in 1439 it was enacted
that the chief officer of every borough, whither any merchant alien
should repair, should assign to every such alien an host or surveyor,
who should survey all his buyings and sellings, and register them in
a book and certify them into the exchequer, and should have 2d, in
the pound for all merchandise by him bought or sold."-' So that we
see the Cawood ** hostilers " of the 14th century and the period
following, when it was a busy port and trading-place, would be
something more than mere purveyors of meat and drink. It may
also be noted that the Archbishop's manor of Wistow had, in 1378,

* Sec Records 0/ the Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, published by
the Surtees Society (1895), Vol. 93, page xxxi.

almost as large a population as Cawood. There were in Wistow
65 married couples and 28 single adults. These included a cosur or
** botcher '* (mender of clothes), who paid 3s. 4d., a merchant who
paid 1 2d., and a carpenter who paid 6d. ; the rest paid 4d.

It is not unlikely that Archbishop Neville ** laid much out " on
the castle, as Camden asserts, as the Nevilles were great builders.
But it was well into the 15th century before any very substantial
changes took place in the structural aspects of the Cawood strong-
hold. Then the famous Archbishop Bowet, who died in 1426, built
the great hall, wherein he was a regal entertainer of a constant
stream of guests. He maintained a large household and immense
quantities of comestibles as also of wine and malt liquor, were used
when he was in residence at the castle. Four-score tuns of claret
are recorded as having been annually consumed in his several manor
houses, and assuming other things in proportion, this good-living
prelate must have been the main supporter of the tradespeople of a
large district whenever he went to reside at one or other of his
palaces. Cawood, indeed, became renowned for the liberal and
lavish manner in which its principal house was kept, and many were
the sumptuous feasts served in the great hall. A large body of
liveried yeomen constantly acted as guard, and the strains of trained
minstrels added liveliness to the festivities. When the noble
George Neville was installed to the Archbishopric in 1466, the event
was celebrated by an entertainment, the unstinted character of which
seems almost incredible, despite the contemporary register of its
proportions. Hunting and shooting and slaughtering must have
been carried on briskly for some days before the feast was held. The
private park and woods at Cawood were well stocked with deer and
game of all kinds, for ever since Archbishop Corbrigge had obtained
the King's grant of free warren in 1302, much care had been bestowed
in the development of these preserves.. It is recorded that no fewer
than 500 stags, bucks, and does were killed, cooked, and served up,
in addition to 2000 pigs, 1000 sheep, 2000 geese, 4000 pigeons, 4000
coneys, 2000 chickens, not to mention a hundred and odd oxen and
half-a-dozen wild bulls, while the sea yielded a dozen prime porpoises
and rare seals. What a dish ! Venison pasty is comprehensible
and would doubtless be appreciated, but the palate must have been
singularly vigorous that would dare a dinner of porpoise pie ! •

♦ Porpoise, however, seems to have been considered a " dainty dish fit to set
before a king," and was served on the Royal table with bread crumbs and vinegar
as well as in the castles and houses of the gentry, down to the time of Queen
Elizabeth. A recipe for making ** puddynge oi porpoyse " is preserved among
the Harleian MSS in the British Museum.

Liquor there was in plenty, however, to wash it down. Three
hundred tuns of ale (over 75,000 gallons) and one hundred tuns of
wine, served to stimulate the appetites and digest the abundant solids
consumed by the throng of feasters. The bakers must have had a
busy time, but many hands make light work, and the 300 quarters
of wheat would speedily be converted into thousands of bread -roDs,
tarts, and pasties, with but small chance of growing stale. Besides
these substantial viands there was a corresponding provision of hot
custards, spices, wafers, and various sugared delicacies. It is stated
that nearly 1200 servants were engaged to prepare and serve this
vast feast, and that nobles and clergy and gentry came to Cawood,
many with their retinues, to partake of the great prelate's unbounded
hospitality.* Neither were the poor neglected, for none went empty
away. The great Earl of Warwick, the redoubtable Richard Neville,
" the last of the Barons," who at this time resided at Middleham,
acted as steward on this memorable occasion. He was the
Archbishop's own brother, and thoroughly well versed in the art of
entertaining, for at his own castle at Middleham he constantly kept
a large company, and his hall was daily thronged with guests. Six
oxen were eaten at breakfast every morning, and " every tavern was
full of his meat for who that had any acquaintance in that house he
should have so much sodden and roast as he might carry on a long
dagger."

What a picture Cawood would present on such an occasion as
this ! The noblest in the land entering the old town, and moving
towards the portal of the castle, where numbers of others would be
assembled, all gaily mounted on valuable horses and attended by
servants and footmen each robed in quaint and costly livery. Life
indeed at this day seems tame and dull in our villages, when we
conjure before us such stirring scenes and events, which brought
master and man together in good fellowship in the days of these old
barons. The village fair is but a poor substitute, and even this is
fast dying out, and village life is becoming in most places more and
more monotonous. I have heard a story of an incumbent of one of
our remote dale-parishes appealing to the Bishop of the diocese for
a suggestion as to how best to celebrate a certain local festival. The
Bishop politely and reverentially suggested " a quiet day." The
answer was speedily returned, " My Lord, we have too many quiet
days ; what we want is an earthquake." !

* See Heame's additions to Leland's Collectanea

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CHAPTER 11.

Cawood and Wolsey.

Wolsey appointed to the See of York — His arrival at Cawood — Repair of the
castle — High state life at the castle — ^The coming crisis — The Cardinal's
arrest at Cawood — His farewell and grief at his departure — Great concourse
of spectators — The journey to Pontefract and Leicester^ — The Cardinal's
death — Decline of Cawood — The castle after the Reformation — Local feeling
— Arrival of Archbishop Grindal — Visit of Queen Elizabeth to Cawood —
The Civil War — Cawood Castle dismantled, and its old glory departed.

AWOOD was not suffered to lapse into a state of
quiescence for many years after the splendid generosity
and fame it obtained through the connection of the
Nevilles had subsided. Though the old castle got
somewhat out of repair during that period of abeyance
caused by the protracted absence of the many-officed Cardinal Wolsey
from the See of York, to which he had been appointed in 15 14,
though never installed, yet full amends were made on his coming
here. When he arrived at Cawood, about Michaelmas, 1530,
although broken in spirit and distrustful of the future, he set himself
loyally to restore the breaches and make more than good previous
neglect. A very large number of workmen was almost immediately
engaged to carry out the repairs thoroughly and expeditiously, and
we have the authority of Holinshed, who lived in the next generation,
that in artificers and labourers above 300 persons were at work and
in receipt of daily wages there. Holinshed also remarks that the
Cardinal " had there an honorable and plentifull house for all comers."
Indeed the story and spectacle of his brief sojourn at Cawood
appears before the mind and eye like a stage romance. His arrival
at the gates of the castle was attended with all the pomp and
consequence of one who had but lately been the most influential
man of his time, and supreme head of the Church in England, nay
almost of Europe. Accustomed to gorgeous processions and brilliant
State functions, he had had a thousand marks granted to him from
the Bishopric of Winchester, in order to render his progress north
one befitting the dignity of his person and rank. He had about 500

servants daily about him, according to his checker-roll, many of
them being of noble blood. But at Cawood the flower of his ambition
was already spent and the bared bough now shewed its thorns.

The story of his arrest need not be recited in detail. It was a
national crisis that sounded the knell of the dying Rome in England,
and prepared the way for the Reformation. For a time Cawood, indeed,
was like a little Rome, and the old castle seemed as the Vatican.
There was a perpetual passing to and fro of messengers, and the
town was daily thronged with visitors, not a few of whom were
disconsolate foreigners trusting to the forlorn hope of seeing their
beloved prelate restored to the King's favour. There was, too, a
specious show of rejoicing by all in attendance, and daily great
banquets were given at the Castle. But amidst it all the dread eyes
of the spy were hovering about the walls like bats in the night-time,
and it is even asserted that there were traitors in the house. Wolsey
assumed an air of indifference, nay he is even represented as being
extremely happy in his new abode. But the man who had incurred
the tyrant King's displeasure, and who was in reality an exile from
that great world of flowing honour and devoted responsibility, cannot
but have felt in his forced retirement that there were dark clouds
above his head that might break at any moment. His remorse at
this time is truly represented by the greatest of English poets, in
the well-known soliloquy of Wolsey, beginning with these lines :

" Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness !
This is the state of man : to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope ; to-morrow blossoms.
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him :
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And — when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a ripening— nips his root,
And then he falls, as 1 do."

And yet a moment afterwards, when his servant enters his chamber
and asks, "How does your Grace ? " the Cardinal turns softly to
him, and with wonted smile replies :

'• Why, well ;
Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell.
I know myself now ; and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience."

But it was surely a species of happiness that rippled only on the
surface! Is there not truth in the call: **0! for the wings of humble
liberty ! O ! for the freedom of the peasant ! " " Better to be lowly
born," says the same great moralist, ** than wear a golden sorrow."

At length the crisis came. The Cardinal was to have been enthroned
at York on the Monday of All Hallows, November 7th, but on the
Friday preceding, the Earl of Northumberland unexpectedly arrived
ut the castle and demanded admittance and an audience of the great
prelate. He was conducted to the banqueting-hall where the
Cardinal was ** att his fruites *' with a number of the York clergy and
others. ** I arrest your Grace on a charge of high treason," spoke the
Karl with forced firmness. Immediately every glass was set down
and wine and grape remained untouched. The Cardinal rose and
blandly demanded to know by whose authority the charge was made.
" The King's," was the speedy answer. It was useless parleying.
Every preparation had secretly been made for the arrest and safe
escort of the doomed chief to the south. Never has Cawood known
such a day-and-a-half of excited suspense as that which passed
between the appearance of the King's guard and the departure of
the heart-broken Cardinal Wolsey from the ancient streets of the
fair town. The Earl and his coadjutor, Sir William Walsh, had
hastily summoned many of the local gentry to aid them in the ordeal
of preparing for the journey.

November 6th, the Sabbath, was fixed upon for the departure.
The great concourse of servants had been shut up in the chapel for
fear of a disturbance arising at their master's removal. The Cardinal,
indeed, had won the esteem and even affection of them all, as well as
of those in the town who had no business with him. He demanded
to see all those who had served him, that he might bid them farewell.
They were presently after some ado, brought into the great chamber
of the castle, where the great man spoke words of comfort to them,
praising them for their diligent faithfulness. He then took each by
the hand, and there was not a dry eye among them ! As the afternoon
wore on the company began to separate, and only those servants
were retained who were to attend upon the Cardinal during his
journey. These were his chaplain, two grooms of his chamber, his
barber, and his usher, Mr. Cavendish, who was also his biographer,
and whose touching memorial of the fallen minister's departure from
Cawood is worthy of repetition. A vast crowd from all the towns
and places round about assembled to bid him God-speed. Says his
biographer : '-^

'• My lord's mule and our horses were ready brought into the inner court, where
we mounted, and coming to the gate, which was shut, the porter opened the same

• George Cavendish, the famous Cardinal's secretary and biographer, died in
1561-2. He was elder brother of Sir Wm. Cavendish, the builder of Chatsworth
House, who was one of the commissioners appointed to visit and take the
surrender of divers religious houses. See also Rev. Jos. Hunter's Who xvrote
Cavetidtsh's Life of Wolsey ? (1814).

to let us pass, where was ready a great number of gentlemen with their servants.
such as the Earl assigned to conduct and attend upon his person that nif^bt to
Pomfret, and so forth, so ye shall hear herea/ter. But to tell you of the number
of the people of the country that were assembled at the gates which lamented bis
departing was wondrous, which was about the number of three thousand persons
who at the opening of the gates, after they had a sight of his person, cried all
with a loud voice. " God save your Grace, God save your Grace ! 1'he foul evil
take all them that hath thus taken you from us ! We pmy God that a. very

Gardinal Woi^ev.

vengeance may light upon them ! " Thus they ran crying after him through the
town of Cawood, they loved him so well. For surely they bad a great loss of
him, both the poor and the rich, for the poor had of him great relief, and the rich
lacked his counsel in any business that they had to do. which caused bim to have
such love among them in the country.

Then rode he with his conductors towards Pomfret. and by the way as he rode,
he asked me if I had any familiar acquaintance among the gentlemen that rode
with him. "Yea, sir," said I, "what is your pleasure? ' " Marry," quoth he.

•* I have left a thing behind me which I would fain have." " Sir," said I. " if I
knew what it were, I would send for it out of hand." " Then," said he, " let the
messenger go to my lord of Northumberland, and desire him to send me the red
buckram bag lying in my almonry in my chamber, sealed with my seal."

The bag was duly obtained and brought to the Cardinal after he
was in his chamber at the Abbey of Pontefract, where he lay all
niffht."^ Sad dejected spirit ! Hope, heaven high, which had buoyed
him on had fled, and there lay nothing now before and around him
but the darkness that broods over despair. Never mortal sank lower
in humiliation than this once mighty and stately prelate, whose
p)ower had created the envy of kings and whose ambition had made
a nation bend at his feet. Fitly may we exclaim with Browne —

" Oh, false ambition, —
Thou lying phantom, whither hast thou lured ? "

" Haughty beyond comparison,'' remarks Hallam, *' negligent of the
duties and decorums of his station, profuse as well as rapacious,
obnoxious alike to his own order and to the laity, his fall had been
secretly desired by the nation, and contrived by his adversaries.''

Yet let us give the man his due. No minister of his time did more
to promote education, nor was ever minister more loyal to his
sovereign, or stood by him through all the bitter reproaches of an
overtaxed people. That which lay at the bottom of their disagree-
ment was, in truth, the advancing tide that swept down the
monasteries. Wolsey was for reform ; the King was for sudden and
complete destruction, and never did he rest until the Parliament,
which met shortly before Wolsey's death, had effected the separation
of this coimtry from the supremacy of Rome." The ill-starred
Cardinal, prematurely broken in body and spirit, some three weeks
after leaving Cawood reached the gates of Leicester Abbey, and
addressing the Abbot, said, " Ah, I am come to lay my bones among
you." Truly it was so, for ill and disconsolate he lay down in a
chamber of the great Abbey and in a few days breathed his last.

With the departure of Wolsey, a shadow fell on Cawood which
never wholly brightened. The old castle was no longer the scene of
great business, banqueting and rejoicing. When Henry VHI. was
at Cawood, Sept. 3rd and 4th, 1541, his Privy Council met at the
castle, but the hardened feelings of the bloated monarch would be

* The bag contained three shirts of hair, one of which, in the cold season, he
wore next his body, besides his other shirt, which was of very fine Holland linen.
It was in one of these hair shirts that he lay at Leicester Abbey, where he died,
Nov. 29th, 1530, and was interred there by the light of torches about four o'clock
on the following morning. With him was buried all such vestures and ornaments
as he was professed in when he was consecrated Bishop and Archbishop, as mitre,
crosses, ring, and pall.

little moved by a visit to the place which his fallen minister had
lately made so popular.*"'

Subsequently, during the religious rebellion of 1569, the castle
was the scene of several meetings held for the discussion of public
affairs. When Archbishop Grindal was translated from London to
York, he tells us that he left London on August ist, 1570, and two
days afterwards he was seized with ague, ** arising from fatigue, for
during my residence in London I had not been accustomed to riding
on horseback, on which account I was forced to rest ten days in the
midst of my journey." On August 17th he arrived at Cawood,
** clearly delivered of mine ague," he says, and then he proceeds to
complain of the manner of his reception ** into this shire," which
was not what he had looked for. Sir Thomas Gargrave, with his
son, Mr. Bunie, Mr. Watterton, one of the Savills, and four or five
more gentlemen met him at Doncaster, and the next day he was
accompanied to Cawood by Mr. Aske (of Doncaster), and Mr. H ungate
(of Saxton), and four or five other ** inferior gentlemen." This indiffer-
ence no doubt arose from the circumstance that many of the leading
gentry were still secretly attached to the old faith, and the fate of
Wolsey was still rampant in the local mind. The Archbishop himself
was conscious of this, and plainly remarks that " the greatest part
of our gentlemen are not well affected to godly religion, and among
the people there be many remnants of the old."

Queen Elizabeth visited the Archbishop at Cawood on her way to
York in 1572, and it may have been on this occasion that the old
Bible, which bears her signature, at Newton Kyme, reached the good
Bishop Oglethorpe, who some 14 years before had placed the crown
upon her head at the pageant of her coronation. The Archbishops
continued in residence down to the outbreak of the Civil War, and
two of them. Archbishops Matthew and Mountaigne, both of whom
had been translated from Durham, died at Cawood. The former
expired on March 29th, and the latter, who was the son of a Cawood
yeoman, on Nov. 6th, 1628. See his monument in Cawood Church.

After the Civil War — Cawood having been an important outpost
of the King's forces — the Council of State, by an Order dated 30th
April, 1646, resolved that the several castles of Tickhill, Sheffield,
Knaresborough, Cawood, Sandal, Bolton, Middleham, Homsey,
Mulgrave, and Crake, in the County of York, being inland castles,
be made untenable, " and no garrisons to be kept or maintained in
them." By this Order the old castle was unroofed and dismantled.

• From Cawood the King and his Court ferried across the Ouse and thence
proceeded to Wressel Castle. See the Account of the King's Progress in Yorkshire in
Memoirs of the Archcpological Inst., Meeting held at York, 1846.

Cawood Castlb G»tew»v. East Front.

CHAPTER III.

Cawood Castle, Church, and Town.

Description of the Castle — Cawood Park — Site of church liable to inundations —
Early history — Description of the church — Local families — Ancient markets
and river-traffic — Old custom — Old system of rating — Keesberry Hall — First
mention of Cawood— Present aspects of the town — The new light-railway —
Former importance and population of Wistow — Its ancient church.

[AVING, in the preceding chapters, given an account of
past life and events in connection with the old town
and castle, something must now be said of the existing
pj remains and evidences of their former glory. The
historic castle may be described first.
Of the Archbishops' Castle the most important fragment left is
the great gateway, which has a groined roof and is entered on the
east by a wide depressed arch of a single span, continued to the
west side, where two arches of the same character open upon an
inner court. Above the east arch is a beautiful oriel window of four
bays, each of the four panels at their bases containing a shield of
arms. Two blank shields enclosed within quatrefoils also appear in
the spandrils of the archway, and two shields terminate the hood-
moulding of the arch. Only one of these, however, is now visible,
owing to one side of the arch having been encroached upon by a
modem building, while the one remaining bears three wheat sheaves,
being the arms of Archbishop Kemp (1426 — 1451) who was the
builder of this fine gateway. Archbishop Kemp sprang from a
humble origin in Kent, and rose by his own efforts and industry to
the chief position in the Church. After his York primacy he was
translated to the See of Canterbury, where he died. He appears to
have done more than any other prelate in the rebuilding and
restoration of the Castle, after the long century of national poverty
and depression which preceded. His arms were to be seen every-
where about the buildings both in wood and stone. (See also his
seal illustrated at the end of this chapter.)

The inner or western front of the gateway is likewise characteristic
of the period of its erection, and is represented on the accompanying

engraving. It presents a not imstately appearance, though the
modem surroundings detract not a little from its effect. The
principal window is peculiar in its arrangement above the projecting
stone^ weathering or roof of the arch, which bears eleven panels of
armorial shields. Nos. i, 2, 3, have the three wheat sheaves of
Archbishop Kemp ; 4, has the cross keys and mitre of the Chapter
of York ; 5, the old arms of England and France ; 6, three wheat
sheaves; 7, the old arms of Canterbury; 8, 9, 10, three wheat sheaves;
II, the cross keys and mitre. Some of the shields are badly
weathered, and all are gradually decaying.

On the south side of the gateway is a large brick building (now a
bam), which is generally believed to have orginally served the
purpose of a chapel. It has been a lofty apartment lighted by six
cinquefoil-headed windows arranged along each side at a good
elevation from the ground. Six brick buttresses with stone set-ofis
are raised against the outer walls, between the windows. Some of
the old doorways are now blocked or have been remodelled for the
purposes of a bam. There has been at one time an upper floor,
with a fire-place at the north-west angle. The chapel is not often
mentioned in contemporary deeds, but there can be little doubt it
has existed from the time of rebuilding and embattling the manor-
house in 1271. In the registers of Archbishop Bowet (1408-23) it
is stated that one Fra. Roger Frank is commended to serve in the
chapel of his castle of Cawood.

The castle seems to have extended a considerable distance to the
east, and an old boundary- wall still exists facing the river, with other
remains. The old gardens and orchard, as well as a brick-yard,
attached to the castle, are mentioned as far back as the time of
Henry III., when the castle was originally built. After the
dismantling of the castle in 1646-7, much of the material was used
from time to time for building purposes, and from 1763 to 1766 great
quantities of stone were conveyed to Bishopthorpe and employed in
the erection of the present front and entrance gateway of the
Archiepiscopal palace. A fine pointed window of four lights was
also removed there. Much of the adjoining farmhouse was also built
out of the ruins. Extensive foundations existed down to about 1778,
when they were dug up, and little now is left to bespeak the area
covered by the former building and its appurtenances.

The court-room of the gate-house has a groined ceiling over the
projecting windows, with Tudor ornaments at the intersections and
terminations. The central portion is occupied by a carving of a
pelican vulning herself to feed her young brood, the same being the
arms of Archbishop Piers (1588 — 1594). In this old court-room

C*wooD Castle Gat

prisoners were at one time tried and committed to York, and it is
still used for the court-leets and for the transaction of business
in connection with the See.

The ancient Park at Cawood, previously mentioned as part of the
demesnes of the See, has also been shorn of its olden glory. In the
hey-days of the castle it abounded with the best of game. On the
death of Archbishop Young in 1568, and during the unsettled period
when Mary of Scotland had designs on the English throne (maxiy
of the Wharfedale gentry being concerned in this treason), the
castle was occupied by the great Earl of Sussex, President of the
North. The manor was then temporarily held by the Crown, and
the following unpublished document, being a copy of Her Majesty's
letter to the Lord Treasurer, shews in what manner the Park was
held under the Crown :

To THE Lord Treasurer.

Where by the death of the late Archbushopp of York the park of Rest and
Skerrowe parcell of the Manor of Cawood being part of the temporalties of the
same Archbushopprik are now as we understand in our hands and disposicon ;
and therefore humblie suite is made unto us that we will grante the rule and
oversight of the said two parks of Rest and Scorrowe unto our wel [beloved]
servant, J. Vaughan esq one of our Counsell in the north : we lett you wit [knoDv]
that he shall have othe unto thoversight thereof, and as furder as in us doth lye
do grant the same unto him wherfore we will (if we shall have power to grant
the rule and oversight of the said parks without the preiudice to any others ri^ht
therto) that our said servant shall by your odre be admitted to the government
and oversight of the said parks answering to us for the same such duties as you
wolde have recevid to our use if you had granted the same to any others.

xiij July 1568 at Havering.

Much of the manorial history of Cawood and Wistow is embraced
in that of Otley, which together formed one Liberty and jurisdiction,
the subject being dealt with in my volume on Upper Wharfedale,
As stated on page 48 of that work the Archiepiscopal authority was
surrendered in 1837 *o *^^ Ecclesiastical Commissioners, exactly
900 years from the date of Athelstan's grant of these manors to the
See of York. At the Reformation Cawood ranked third in point of
value among the manors yielding rents to the Archbishops. The
amoimt accruing from Cawood was £^0 13s. 4d. yearly. The
Ecclesiastical Commissioners are now lords of the manor, and the
principal landowners are the trustees of the late Wm. H. Nicholson,
Esq., J.P., and the Prest family. John Lucas Nicholson, Esq., is the
present occupant of the Grange.

The oldest piece of sculptured stone-work now existing at Cawood
is a Transition- Norman doorway at the west end of the nave side
of the Parish Church. It consists of a lofty semi-circular arch, in

two orders, each supported by two slender columns set in the angles
of the doorway ; the shafts having square abaci with plain astragals
and circular tori moulded on square bases. This is all that remains
of an earlier church erected in the time of the indefatigable
Archbishop Roger (i 154 — 1 181), who built the choir of York Minster.
But the situation of the church, like that at Tadcaster, close to the
river, being very unfavourable from its liability to inundation, seems
to bespeak a foundation of high antiquity. In all probability the
site was chosen for the erection of some early Christian or perha{>s
pagan temple, long before the Norman conquest. Its position on the
river bank has always been one of great gravity to the parishioners
of Cawood, particularly in former times. The Fabric Rolls of York
Minster contain the following entry, under date 1510 :

We ye parishyng of Cawod, for defens of ye church of ye water, lyis in gret
cost, and charges w'towt aide and helpe of ye parson, which we think he aght to
beire part of the charges for defens of his chaunsell and dose not.

Again in 151 9 there is this appeal to the Archbishop :*

Plesse it your lordshippe that our Kirk standdes in gret danger oflf ye water off
Owes, and is like for to be lost w't owt helpe of my lord grace, and yt it wold
pless your good lordshepe to instances maister parson, for ye water is as like to
hurt the chauncell as the church.

In 1630 Archbishop Harsnett left money which purchased copy-
hold houses and lands in Cawood, for various purposes, including
the maintenance of the church -staith or embankment. This is still
applied, and inundations as a consequence have been prevented.

Of the origin and early history of the church there are but scant
records. Torre states that a carucate of land in Cawood was held
of the King by the render of a barbed arrow by the heirs of Dautry,
allies of the Percies, who bore the same arms, five fusils in fess, a
coat that is traced to a Flemish source. King Stephen also granted
to the Archbishop in fee and inheritance seven oxgangs of land in
Cawood. It would appear that when the prebend of Wistow was
founded by Archbishop Gray about 121 7, the church at Cawood
was appropriated to the said stall, but no vicarage was ordained.

* It has always been the duty of an incumbent to keep the chancel in repair.
The chancel was for his exclusive use and the public had no rights there. As
early as a.d. 633 the Council of Toledo bade the priests and deacons communicate
before the altar, (he clerks or inferior clergy within the choir, and the people
outside the choir. The Eastern Church, the most conservative portion of
Christendom, still shuts in the chancel with a solid screen, pierced only by the
" Holy Gates " which are closed and curtained at the most sublime portions of
the holy mysteries. The stone screens and closed gates before the choirs in the
cathedrals at York and Lincoln, are no doubt the result of the same primitive
idea. See the Rev. G. S. Tyack's Lore and Legend of the English Church.

Drake observes that the Dean and Chapter of York have jurisdiction
in some respects over the parishes and towns within the several
dignitaries and prebends of the church, as well as over the prebendal
places themselves. Down to the 17th century the church was served
by curates, and the prebendaries of Wistow continued patrons. At
the Enclosure in 1777 the tithes were commuted for allotments and
fixed annual rents. The Archbishop of York is now patron of the
living.

After the battle of My ton in 13 19, in which so many of the diocesan
clergy were slain, the church, like the Archbishop's castle at Cawood,
fell into disrepair, for the country was sorely tried with poverty and
the miseries of invasions by the victorious Scots. A letter from the
Archbishop, written at Cawood at this time, to the rural dean of
Sherbum, states that many of the tenants have been killed in the
battle, and he requests that their affairs be promptly and properly
looked after.

The Church (All Saints) is an interesting structure, and since its
restoration in 1887-8, at a cost of ^1500, its appearance has been
much improved, without detriment to its antiquity. The interior,
of which I give a view, is neatly pewed in pitch-pine, and the old
grave-slabs have been relaid in concrete, and an even floor obtained.
The nave has two aisles, separated by a double row of pointed
arches, those on the south side being supported by four beautiful
Early English clustered columns, while those on the north side are
later, having octagonal shafts, with uniform capitals and bases.
The chancel-arch is pointed, with broad chamfers, and rests on
single columns, having moulded capitals, like those in the south aisle.
Two wide arches separate the chancel on the north from what has
been a private chapel, now occupied by the organ and vestry. There
is a 13th century doorway and also an obtuse arch (now built up) on
the south side, which very probably led into another chapel. On the
outer wall there is a recess bearing arms : party per chevron
embattled (sable and argent), three stags* heads (counterchanged).
The same arms may be seen in Stillingfleet Church on a monument
of a Moreby, whose daughter and heiress married Sir Wm. Acclom
in 1370^ From the Returns of Chantries at the Reformation we
gather that there was an obit and certain lights in the parish founded
" to continue for ever," and that freehold land belonging to part of
the said lights was then worth 6s. Copyhold land belonging to the
said obit was valued yearly at 6s. 8d. ; and to the residue of the said
lights, 2s. By license dated 28 March, 1300, Henry de Newark,
Archbishop of York, with the assent of his Chapter, ordained that a
void piece of land with one building thereon at Kingston-upon-Hull,

belonging to the Archbishopric, should be built u[)od at his expense
and assigned to three chaplains to celebrate divine service in the
three chapels of the manors of the Archbishop, of Cawood, Burton,
and Wilton. They are to celebrate in the cathedral church of York
at the altar of St. William, for the souls of the King and Queen and
Archbishop of York, and each chaplain to receive yearly loos. from
the rents of the houses so built.

The interior walls are interesting, being very crude in construction.
They are formed of stones of all shapes and sizes, some being placed
edgeways, others lengthways, and wide joints are filled up with small

OF Cawood Chuhch.

fragments. In the north wall there are four windows, each of three
plain lights, with cinquefoil heads. The south side has three
windows of similar design ; the easternmost being filled with rich
stained glass, and a brass beneath records that it was erected " in
loving memory of a dear father and mother, also of nine beloved
children, sons and daughters of Thomas and Jane Catherine Hartley
of Cawood." The window was erected in i88g by Thomas Hartley,
only son of the above parents and father of the children, seven of
whom died in infancy. The subject of the design is beautifully
suggestive: "Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid
them not." The east window of this aisle is also richly coloured,
and was set there by Isabel Lyie to the memory of her parents and

her infant daughter (1890). In 1898 the central three-light window
also in this south aisle was filled with stained glass in memory of
the late Mr. W. H. Nicholson. The large and beautiful east window
of five lights (Perpendicular) was erected in August, 1890, to the
memory of Frances, third daughter of Edward Prest, of York, by
her sisters and brother-in-law, James Williamson. The other
Mrindows in the chancel are single narrow pointed lights. One of
these in 1899 was filled with stained glass by Mrs. Day, in memory
of her husband, the Rev. Alfred Bloxam Day, for 24 years (1871 — 95)
incumbent of Cawood. There is a piscina in the south wall. The
font is octagonal and plain and lined with lead. The organ was the
gift of the late John Wormald, Esq., of Cawood, in 1872.

There are a number of mural monuments in the church, memorials
of the several local families of Taylor, Middleton, Elston, Smith,
and Wormald of Cawood Castle, Featherstone, Nicholson, and one
on the south wall to Archbishop George Mountaigne, who as before
stated was a native of Cawood and died at the castle in 1628. This
monument bears a half-length representation of the Archbishop,
with an ornamental shield above, bearing the arms of the See of
York impaled with his own arms as shewn on the annexed engraving.
Right lines of hexameter verse appear above the obliterated inscrip-
tion, which was as follows :

Georgio Mountaignbo.

HoHistis hoc in oppido penatibus oriundo, per cunctos discipUnarum gradus Cantab.
provecio, it acidemia procuratori, sub initio D. Jacobi hospitio quod Sdbaudiam vacant,
et iuUsia Westmonastbriensi /r<r/;^to, ab eodem R. ad prasulatum Lincolniensbm,
ac inde post aliqua temporum spiramenta Londiniensbm promoto, a Carolo divi. F. ad
DuNBLMBNSBM honcstiss. scnii et valetudinis secessum translate ; moxque, H. E. infra
spatium trimestre, ad archieptscopatum Eboracbnsbm benigniter sublevato. Viro
venerabili, aspectu gravi, moribus non injucundis, ad beneficia non ingrato, injuriarum non
uitori umquam, nee (quantum natura humana patitur) memori, amborum principum
Domini suoque semper eleemosinario. Isaacus Montaignus tbstamenti curator
pratri B.M.P. Vixit A.59 M.6.D.2.

The tower of the church is a large, massive, and handsome
structure, which, ever since its erection about the end of the 15th
century, has been a notable and conspicuous landmark for many
miles around. The summit is battlemented with four lofty crocketed
pinnacles at the comers. Above the belfry window it is finely
corbelled, while beneath it is an elegant canopied niche. The
buttresses are of somewhat unusual design, being octagonal and
extending half-way up the tower terminate in a neat, open parapet.
The old clock was coeval with the tower, and is mentioned in the
Fahric Rolls of York Minster for the year 15 10, when curfew-bell

MoNUMeNT TO Archbishop Mountaigne in Cawooo Church.

was tolled " at dew tymes." The present clcx:k was erected in 1843.
There are three ancient bells in the tower, two of them dated 1674,
and the other, older and undate4> is inscribed S^anct^e 9ntirra ora pro
nobtd. It is supposed to have come from the castle. The registers
date from 1591, but during the Civil War epoch, 1642 — 9, there are
no entries. The living is a perpetual curacy, held since 1895 by the
Rev. B. Eyre Wake, M.A.

Among old local families that of Cawood of Cawood stands out pre-
eminently in early annals. Members of this family were hereditary
foresters of the Forest of Langwith between Ouse and Derwent from
an early period. In 1263 David de Cawode was made Abbot of Selby.
In 1347 a chantry was erected at the east end of the church of All
Saints in Ousegate, York, by Henry de Belton, who settled thereon
certain lands and houses for finding a chaplain to say mass for the
souls of the said Henry and Margaret, his wife, of his father and
mother, and Sir Thomas de Cawoode. The Poll Tax of 1378 shews
them to have been the principal contributors to the subsidy in
Cawood. Many of this family were freemen of the city of York at
this time. Sir William Cawood was a canon of York, who died in
1439, and his monument is on the south side of the choir of York
Minster. There are also other important memorials of this local
family down to the 1 7th century. Among later descendants perhaps
the most famous was John de Cawood, Crown printer and publisher
in the time of Queen Elizabeth, of whom Dugdale has preserved
the following epitaph :

John de Cawood, citizen and stationer of London, printer to the most renowned
Queen's Majesty Elizabeth, married three wives, and had issue by Joane. the first
wife only, as followeth : three sons, four daughters. John, his eldest son. being
Bachelor of Law in New College, Oxenford, died 1570 ; Mary, married to George
Bischoppe, stationer ; Isabel, married to Thomas Woodcock, stationer ; Gabriel,
his second son, bestowed this dutiful remembrance of his dear parents, 1591,
then churchwarden ; Susanna, married to Robert Bullock ; Barbara, married to
Mark Norton ; Edmund, third son, died 1570. John de Cawood died ist April,
1572. being then at the age of 58. He bore arms : sable and argent parte
per chevron, embattled, between three harts' heads cabossed. countercharged
within a border, per fesse countercharged as before, with verdoy de trefoils sleped,
numbered 10.

He was buried in St. Faith's, under St. Paul's, London, where this
epitaph was placed.

The Smiths were also a family of some note, long resident at
Cawood, and their name is continuous through the registers. A
memorial in the church shews an alliance with the Torre £amily, of
Snydall, in the parish of Normanton, in the time of Queen Anne.*

* John Torre, the distinguished antiquary, who died at Snydall in 1699, is
buried in the old church of St. Andrew at Normanton.

The family was also involved in the Civil War broil and for having
taken part on the king's side were great sufferers on the assumption
of power by Cromwell. William Smith, of Cawood, died during his
troubles, leaving a widow Frances Smith and four children, who had
to compound with the Parliament for their estates. The said
Wm. Smith died seized of certain messuages and lands in Cawood
and Wistow, of three water corn mills in Cawood, and of the fourth
part of a small vessel, worth to be sold ^20, total yearly value
£^1 4s. The rest of his estate was sold to the use of the State, and
it is recorded that he died indebted to several persons to the amount
of ;^300 1 8s. 4d.

Richard and John Wilkinson, husbandmen, of Cawood, had also
to compound, in that they assisted the forces against the Parliament ;
likewise Isaac Mountaigne (brother of the Archbishop) with his son
George, of Wistow, compounded for having "sent an horse to supply
the forces against the Parliament."*

The Wormalds, too, were another notable family, who intermarried
with the above Smiths of Cawood. Samuel Wormald, tanner, was
a freeman of the city of York in 1748. Samuel Wormald was Sheriff
of York in 1767-8, and died in 1785. His wife, Ann, was one of the
three daughters of Joseph Bigland, carrier, of York ; the carrying
trade being an important one in York at that time. A son of this
marriage, also named Samuel, was Lord Mayor of York in 1809. He
married in 1777 Ann, daughter of Edward Smith, Esq., of Cawood
Castle, by whom he had a son, John Wormald, Sheriff of York in
1 820- 1, who died at Fulford House, near York, in 1848, aged 65.
A branch of the Tuke family was also residing at Cawood early in
the 1 8th century, from whom descended John Batty Tuke, a well-
known banker at Beverley, where he died about 1845. He was
grandfather of the present Member of Parliament for the University
of Edinburgh, Sir John Batty Tuke, Bart.

. Among other old families who have long resided in the neighbour-
hood I may mention also the Morritts, who were considerable
property owners in Cawood and elsewhere. In 1585 Thomas Morritt
of Ingmanthorp, yeoman, died, leaving his widow Joan and son John
and daughter Brigetta, joint executors to his will. A branch of the
family was also at this time seated at Sherburne-in-Elmet. Thomas
Morritt, mariner, was a freeman of the city of York in 1648. In
1743 Bacon Morritt, of York and Cawood, bought a third part of the
manor of Bourne, and in 1757 he also purchased lands, &c., in Little
Fenton. He was the son of Robert Morritt, gent., of Selby, and he
married in York Minster, Nov. 24th, 1723, Ann, only child and

• See Yorks. ArchLJl. (Rec. Ser.) xviii., 83 ; xx., 9 and 10.

heiress of William Sawrey, of Plumpton Hall, in Newland, Furness,*
by which marriage this historic estate, the property and home of the
Sawrey family for nearly three centuries, came to the Morritts. In
1806 the house (now a farm) and land were sold to Mr. Whitwell, of
Kendal, f The York and Cawood family is now represented by the
Morritts of Rokeby Park in Teesdale, John Sawrey Morritt, Esq.,
having in 1 769 purchased the manor of Rokeby, with Mortham, &c.,
from Sir Thomas Robinson, Bart., and his grandson, William John
Sawrey Morritt, Esq., is now lord of the manor.

Within the present century many changes have come over Cawood,
much property having changed hands and old families departed.
Likewise the business and importance attending the Archbishops*
residence having long ago disappeared, the scenes of life and
activity which the old streets were wont to present are now but a
reminiscence. The May Day festivities and many old customs
and superstitions have similarly gone, and the new railway into
Cawood would seem to have frightened away all the troubles of
barguest and other uncanny spirits. Two centuries ago Cawood was
startled by the appearance of a ghost in a field not far from the
village, which created no little disturbance at the time. A woman,
with child, had been foully murdered by her husband and the body
carefully secreted. The apparition of the woman, by-and-bye,
appeared on the spot, and this led to the detection of the crime and
the apprehension of the murderer. So say the York Castle Chronicles,
The man, William Borwick, was publicly hanged on White Cross
Hill, Haxby Lane End, on September 19th, 1690, and this is, I
believe, the last occasion of a Cawood man suffering the extreme
penalty of the law.

It is not beyond recollection when some little stir was made in the
place by the holding of the weekly (Wednesday) markets. In the
enquiry about local charities, held at Cawood in 1664 (elsewhere
quoted), it is spoken of as "a market town." Although the town
was never chartered for markets, owing to its proximity to Selby
and Sherburn,J it had, however, long held a weekly market by
prescription, and two annual fairs, one for cattle on May 12th, and
the other for line on S>eptember 21st and 22nd. At one time a great
deal of flax was grown in the district, and it is still to some extent

* I presume this is the William Sawrey of Plumpton Hall, co. Lancaster, who
is buried in the old church of St. Martin's, Micklegate, York. An epitaph there
records his death on November 24th, 1727, aged 49.

t Sti North Lonsdale Mag., Vol.iii., page 26.

X The charter for holding the market at Sherbum is printed in the author's
ufper Wharfedale, page 47.

cultivated, but the annual fair for its disposal at Cawood is now also
an event of the past.

At one time there used to be a very good carrying trade by water
between Cawood and York, and a steam-packet also passed every
morning (Sundays excepted) from York to Hull and every evening
from Hull to York. The river-trade between Hull ard York is of
ancient standing, and there is still a good business done between
these places, as well as Goole. Railway development has, however,
done away with much of the traffic. In 1385 the Chapter of York
took a lease of the quarry at Huddleston for eighty years, in order
to provide an adequate supply of good stone for the building and
reparation of the Minster. Sir John Langton, who resided at
Farnley, near Leeds, was then owner of the quarry. The lease was
renewed in 1465 for a further term of nineteen years. It was
customary at that time to carry the stone in ox-wains, or as appears
by the Fabric Rolls of York Minster, it was frequently " sledded "
from the quarry to the banks of the Ouse at Cawood, and thence
transported in the cumbrous old-fashioned barges to York. We
meet with such entries as these :

14 16. For carrying 285 fother of stones in wains from the quarry

at Huddilestan to the staith at Cawood .... . . £1^ 10 o

For carrying 282 fother of stones by boat from Cawood to

York. John Blakbum, shipman io8s. 4d.

For sledding stones to Cawood, 20 days, per William Totty 20s.

1418-9. In carriage of 237 fother of stones by wains from the

quarry at Hudilston to the water at Cawood . . . . ;^ii los.
1419. In carriage of 4 oak-beams (the gift of the Archbishop)

from Cawood by vessel to York los.

For repairing the road between the quarry and Cawood . . 3s. 8d.

I am told that an old custom formerly prevailed among the ship-
men of the trading- vessels between Cawood and York, who when
passing the palace at Bishopthorpe, fired three guns, and in return
they were given a drink of good ale by authority of the Archbishop.
This is no doubt a relic of the old feudal bond-service, to which I
have referred in the preceding chapter. The custom seems to have
died out with the introduction of tea and temperance societies.

The old system of local rating was based on the statute of 44th
Elizabeth (1601), whereby the whole wapentake of Barkston Ash
was assessed at ^i, to make up which 43 towns in the wapentake
contributed their quota in sums from 2^d. to ii^d. each. The levy
on Cawood was 9^d., and this was the basis of rating for a long
time subsequently. Cawood and Wistow paid no bridge-money,
and Cawood, UUeskelf, and Wistow are stated to be part of the
Archbishop of York's Liberty by special charter. For some time

at the beginning of the i8th century, considerable difficulty seems to
have arisen as to the right or propriety of Cawood and Wistow
contributing their proportion for the conveying of vagrants, and in
1 71 2 an enquiry into the matter was authorised to be made. The
result was that at the Pontefract Sessions, held April 6th, 1714, it
was ordered that Thomas Rootos and James Shillito, gents., chief-
constables of the wapentake of Barkston Ash, do levy by distress
upon some of the inhabitants of Cawood and Wistow, such sum or
sums of money as these towns are in arrear to the Estreats for
Vagrant money. It was further ordered that their services be
rewarded at the cost of the whole Riding, and that they distrain
particularly upon Jonas Smith, gent., of Cawood, and Field Dunn,
gent., of Wistow.

The land within the parish is chiefly copyhold, but the estate of
Keesberry Hall is a freehold manor of about a hundred acres, which
seventy years ago belonged to Mr. John Brown, and is now in
possession of the Prest family. The courts are still held there every
third year. The nuns of St. Clement's, York, had also one oxgang
of land in " Kawode " given them by Thurstan, Archbishop of York
(11 19 — 1 140). This is probably the earliest mention of Cawood
which has been discovered.

Cawood now wears the aspect of a quiet country village. Most of
the houses have been erected within the last century, and there are
chapels both in Cawood and Wistow for the Wesleyans and Primitive
Methodists. Formerly, as I have stated, there was a daily service
of passenger boats between York, Hull, and Cawood, but since the
opening of the Riccal and York railway, about twenty years ago,
this local communication has ceased. Pleasure steamers, however,
ply frequently in the summer months between York and Cawood, as
well as to other places both up and down the Ouse. Steamers may
be engaged for large parties by pre-arrangement at almost any time,
and as the boats are well fitted up, and licensed for the sale of a
variety of refreshments, very pleasurable days' outings may be had
by excursions on the river in this way.

The Cawood, Wistow, and Selby light railway, which was opened
for passenger traffic on i6th February, 1898, has also been the means
of rendering the district, and especially. Cawood, more accessible
from the famous abbey town. The total length of the railway
(single line) is 4^ miles, and at each of the principal farms past
which it runs, a siding has been constructed, so that the occupier
may have every facility for the loading and unloading of his goods.
The cost of cartage to Selby station had previously been about 5s.
a ton, and as there are at present about 150 acres of land occupied

as market gardens, and some 400 acres devoted to celery growing,
in the district traversed by the railway, the expenditure on transport
had always been an important item. The ceremony of cutting the first
sod was performed on July nth, 1896, at Cawood, by Mrs. Henry
Liversedge, of Eversley Garth, Sherbum, wife of the first chairman
of the company. The event was made the occasion of a general
holiday in the district, and a luncheon was served in the Cawood
schoolroom, at which Mr. Henry Liversedge presided. There were
also present Mr. Thomas Liversedge (chairman of the Urban
District Council), Mr. William Staniland (chairman of the Rural
District Council), Mr. J. H.Bantoft, Mr. J. Nicholson, Rev. B. Eyre
Wake, M.A. (vicar), Mr. Chas. Hoyle, Mr. Mammatt and Mr. White
(engineers of the line), Mr. S. Meyer (secretary), Mr. Day (the
solicitor), Mr. W. W. Morrell, of York, Mr. Edward Wardle, and
many others. In the evening there was a public tea given to the
children in the village, followed by various entertainments, and each
of the children received a commemorative medal. The event was
one that will long be remembered in the annals of the old town.

Wistow, as elsewhere stated, formed part of the Archbishops*
extensive Liberty, and is a pleasant village situated some two miles
distance from Cawood. In former ages it was an important and
populous place, and some idea of its status among West Riding
towns may be gathered from the poll-tax returns of 2nd Richard II.
There were then (1378) 65 married couples and 28 single adults
living in the parish, and the total population would not be much
under 500. * In the preceding century it must have had a population
in all probability never since exceeded.

It possesses, however, at the present time, little of interest save
its ancient parish church, which like the parish church of Cawood,
was in the gift of the prebendaries of Wistow, and now of the
Archbishop of York. It is a foundation of high antiquity, though
the present building is chiefly Decorated and Perpendicular in style.
There is a curious 13th century tomb in the church, bearing the
statue of a female in an attitude of prayer, and the inscription in
Norman-French reads :

Margari Re gist ici . . . merci
Vous qe passez par ici, priez pour Tame de Margari.

There is also an old tomb-slab bearing the device of a cross, a battle
axe and a sword. Attached to this church, but forming a separate
building, there was an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Hilda, the
famous Abbess who succeeded St. Heiu at the monastery of
Hartlepool and afterwards at Whitby. She died in 680, and the

dedication of this bygone chapel to this early saint has a special
interest in its bearing upon the establishment of Christianity before
the Norman Conquest in these parts. The subject will be further
dealt with in the chapter on Healaugh, which name, as I shall have
occasion to explain, may signify Heiu's lagk, or territory.

There are about 200 acres of glebe appurtenant to the vicarage,
mostly allotted at the enclosure in 1775, when the great tithes were
cominuted for fixed yearly payments, belonging to the Smith family
of London.

CHAPTER IV.

Some Cawood Charities.

Hitherlo unpublished records — Bequests of Archbishops Mountai|;ne and Marsnetl
— Inquisitions at Cawood in 1648 — References to old field-names, pinfold,
stocks, rood-stile, &c,— Abuse of the trusts — Enquiry at York Castle — Past
and present value of the charities — School endowments, &c.

HE following unpublished documents wilt be read with
interest, in view of the uncertainty that has long
existed, with respect to the true purport of the
charitable bequests of Archbishop Mountaigne and
Archbishop Harsnett for the benefit of Cawood.
They have only recently come to light, in the Public Record Office,
among some bundles of Inquisitions relating to ancient Charities.

The first of the enquiries was held at Cawood, on 23rd May,
1648,*' when the jurors sworn stated that George Mountaigne, late
Archbishop of York, on the 12th February, 1626, made his will and
bequeathed /~ioo to the poor of Cawood, and appointed Isaac
Montague his executor. They said that the ,^100 had not been paid
to the poor of Cawood, but to Wm, Smith, Wm. Turner, John
Reynard, John Wilkinson, and Wm. Rawden, the elder, the two
first-named being dead. And four-score and five pounds have been
bestowed on lands late William Clarkes, as appears by copy of
Court-roll, 8th Charles I. (1632), and fifteen pounds are unaccounted
for. The jf 100 having been thus misemployed, the Commissioners
order the same to be paid by the [parties above mentioned.

By another inquisition of the same date it is related that
Archbishop Harsnett, by his will dated 13th February, 1630, left
£'100 to the building of the poorhouse with bricks and timber he
had collected, and appointed Samuel Harsnett, his nephew, executor.
This again had been wrongfully appropriated. The enquiry respect-
ing this trust was held before many of the West Riding magistrates,
gentlemen of well-known position and influence in their day. The
following are the particulars :

* No doubt in the court-room of the gateway ; the castle had lately been
dismantled.

Inqn. taken at Cawood 23 May 24 Chas. I. (1648).

Before Sr. Edward Rhodes & Sr. Robt. Barwick Knts. Charles ffairfax John
Stillington Thomas Dicksonson & John Adinsall esqs. By virtue &c. By the
oathes of Bartholomew Hall Esq. John Lee Rich. Halliley Rich. Houseman
Roger Dighton George Bew Willm. Hemmingwaie Edmund Grant Geo. Spinck
Robt. Lund Vincent Stanton Willm. Halliley & Thomas Clarke good & lawful
men of the West Riding who say upon their oathes that Samuel Harsenett late
Archbishop of York was heretofore seized in his demesne as of ffee in right of his
said See of & in the manor of Cawood with the appurts. in Cawood aforesaid
And that one messuage and three parts of a messuage divided into four parts in
the Church and adjacent to Lidgate Lane with the appurts. in Cawood adforesaid
then were and yet are and tyme out of mind of man had been customerie lands
parcell of the said manor and demised and demisable by Coppie of Court Roll
of the said mannor at the will of the Lord according to the custom of the said
manor to any person or persons and his or their heires And the said Samuel late
Archbishop being so seized did at the Court of the said Mannor holden at Cawood
aforesaid the 17th Nov. in the 6th year of his said Ma'ties* reigne before Thomas
Lee steward of the said Court grant the said messuage and premises with the
appurts. unto George Mountagne gent. Lancelot Hall clerk Ralph Richardson
clerk James Ravenscroft Thomas Crowle Leonard Baynes William Smith the
younger Samuel Motteram William Smith the elder Thomas Chamberlayn
Thomas Rummans William Rawden & Thomas Rawden and fifrancis Ravenscroft
theire heires and assignes for ever according to the custom of the said mannor to
be employed by them for a workhouse and a ffree schole for the teaching of
English writing and cyphering and a house of correction for the mannor aforesaid
And they further saie that the premises so given to the use aforesaid are and were
of the yearlie value of £1 los. And the said Jurors further find that the said
Lancelot Hall James Ravenscroft Thomas Crowle Leonard Baynes Samuel
Motteram William Smith the elder Thomas Rowden William Rowden & ffrancis
Ravenscroft are dead And that the rest of the ffeoffees in trust afore-mentioned
wit George Mountagne Ralph Richardson William Smith the younger Thomas
Chamberlayne ft Thomas Rummans are in full life and of good estate and
abiUitie to performe the said trust committed unto them they beeing inhabitants
of the townships of Wistow ft Cawood aforesaid And the said messuage and
tenement together with the Rents ft profits thereof have for the space of seaven
years last past remayned in the hands of them the said George Mountagne
Ralph Richardson William Smith the younger Thomas Chamberlayne & Thomas
Rummans who have converted the same to their own uses by all the said time
of seaven yeares last and not to the chariteble and godlie use or uses by the said
Archbishop Harsnett intended for anything appeares to the said Jurors but con-
trary to the intent of the donor And against the forme of the said statute on that
behalf made and provided.

In witness whereof, ftc.

In the Tenth Report of the Charity Commissioners (1823) it is
stated that in the enquiry then recently held, there is no documentary
evidence known to exist how far the statement on the tablet in
Cawood Church is correct, that " Archbishop Harsnett left money
which purchased copyhold houses and lands within the township for
the maintenance of the Church staith, half of Littlestead clew,

highways, the relief of the poor, now let at £7.7. 15s. lod. ; likewise
£^ yearly, paid from lands in Wistow, to the master of the free
school, for teaching five poor children to read and write." They say
there are no entries on the Court Rolls of Wistow (those from 1660
to 1690 being lost) which appear to relate to property there, except
a surrender in February, 1692, of "a messuage being the head of
one- half oxgang in Garmencar in Wistow, with appurtenances," to
trustees ** for the use of the poor of Cawood." The oldest of these
surrenders, they say, is dated 1648, following no doubt on this
enquiry. I furnish, however, proof of surrenders of an earlier date.
The question, too, of the church-staith and the maintenance of the
highways, &c., is brought up in the following new document, which
is additionally interesting in that it contains references to old field-
names and such objects as the pinfold, stocks, rood-stile, &c., within
the parish.

Inquisition taken at Cawood 23RD May, 24TH Charles I. (1648).
Jurors say John Peares Archbp. of York was seized of the M. of Cawood And
one messuage builded near the Church yard and Penny Place near Tynbar Garth,
J of a mess, near the river Ouse, a mess, near the Pinfold, one Penny Place near
the Water Row, 3 parts of a cottage in Rydergate & ^ of a cottage in Wittongate
one Penny Place near Milne dyke, one close contg. 5 acres of Penny land abutting
on the Marsh i ac. 3 ro of Penny land in Clipscroft 3 acres of Penny Ingg lying
in the Tenn Acres half an acre of meadow lying near the Stocks in the Ings

5 roods of meadow called the bulling, one rood of Penny land at the Rood stiles,
a close containing 8 acres of penny land near Sand Wharfe, a close contg. 7 acres
of Penny land called Larder Land, half an acre of Penny land in Browne
Riddings. one parcel called the Kirkgowle & a rent of 6s. 8d. of the yearly value
of /iQ being customary lands. And the said Archbp. died 29 Eliz. and said
Manor being in the Queen's hands during vacancy of the see who in the Manor
Court 2nd Oct. 30th year did grant the said messuages to Rich. Smith Philip
Watson Eshley Pearson Thos. Spofford Thos. Clark Thos Hodgson Isaac
Mountagne Thos. Rummans & several others & their heirs for the maintenance
of one Staith betwixt the Ch. yard & the R. Ouse & half a close lying between
little Stead & Cawood Inggs & for maintenance of highways within the Lordship

6 relief of the poor there And of the above parties Isaac Mountagne & Thos.
Rummans are living & all the premises with the profits for 7 years last past have
remained in the hands of Thos. Rummans (the said Isaac M. living in remote
places) & he hath converted the same to his own use.

Another inquisition of like date states that Tobie, late Archbishop
of York, demised one fourth of a cottage in Cawood to Robert
Turner and others, as trustees for the poor, of the yearly value of
20S. And all the trustees being dead, one John Watson had
converted the cottage to his own use. Then again on the same date
the jurors affirmed that Wm. Smith, the elder, late of Cawood, made
his will 25th September, 1643, and gave to the poor there £'>^ during
the unexpired term of the water-corn -mill there, towards the binding of
apprentices. But since his death the above sum has remained unpaid.

Although the enquiry of 1648 was intended to rectify the great
abuse of the various trusts that had gone on uninterruptedly during
the unsettled era of the Civil War, yet we do not find matters just
as they should be for many years subsequently. The following
affords further light on the subject.

Inqn. taken at York Castle 13TH Oct. 1664.

Jurors say that Richard Wilkinson of Cawood yeoman about the year 1661
received and had of the inhabitants of Cawood £^o for the repair of the highways
leading between the market town of Cawood aforesaid to the market town of
Sherboume from the town cross in to that corner of Reastepark near Cawood
Park whereof he employed for the said use But £\^ ys. 2d. remained in his hands
which he converted to his own use And he also received of John Burton late of
Cawood yeoman deed, a steere of the value of £\ 13s. 4d. in lieu of one heifer
belonging to the poor people of Cawood which heifer he pretended to be his own
but was formerly part of the gift of Wm. Child to the use of the poor of Cawood
And said Rich. W. is tenant of one acre of meadow in Cawood Inges belonging
to the said poor under the yearly rent of los. and that he hath no lease of it.

Following this is another of the same character :

Inquisition taken at York Castle 16 Chas. II. (1675) 13 Oct.

Jurors say that William Clark late of Cawood yeoman & Jane his wife were
seized by Copy of Court Roll of J an oxgang of land late Halls in Cawood & for
a certain sum of money to them paid by Mountain late Archbp. of York his heirs
or Assignes did by them surrender 6th Feb. 1632 did surrender into the hands of
the Lord the said \ oxgang to the use & behoof of James Mountain William
Smith th'elder William his son and others [named] to the use of the poor of
Cawood And said oxgang has come to the possession of James Watson one of the
trustees by a pretended lease not produced at this Inquisition for a rent of ^5
And it is worth ^5 los. yearly And Jas. Watson is in arrears /6 4s.

In 1823 these properties were vested in feoffees, who are chosen
from time to time, on vacancies in their number, by election of those
who remain. The premises are all held by tenants from year to year,
except the workhouse and the schoolroom, with its appurtenances ;
and some few of the cottages and small parcels of land, the latter of
which are occupied by poor persons rent free, according to custom.
The annual income from the property was £7.17. 9s. At the present
time (1895) ^^6 estate consists of 134 acres and yields about ^300
yearly, applied in six portions, one-half being devoted to the main-
tenance of the National School, while the remaining three parts are
expended in apprentice fees, fuel and clothing, the maintenance of
the church-staith, and Wistow clew or dam.

The boys' school was built in 1850 and that for the girls and
infants in 1876. There is also a girls' school endowed with £^0
yearly, and residence, the income being derived from a farm left for
this object by the Rev. Samuel Duffield. There are also some other
small charities, amounting to £\i yearly.

CHAPTER V.

About Ryther.

Effluence of the Wharfe— Wild flowers — Situation of Ryther — An ancient settle-
ment— Meaning of Ryther — Early history — Large extent of woodland — Local
possessions of the canons of Bolton — Ancient knight-service — The family of
Ryther — Its great military distinction — Free-warren at Ryther — The reverses
at Bannockburn — Compulsory knighthood — ^John de Ryther, "hero of a
hundred fights " — Ryther nuns — Later history and pedigree of Ryther — The
Earls of Harrowby — The castle — Aspects of Ryther — Local charities — The
Wesleyans — The township of Lead.

PLEASANT walk of about two miles from Cawood
brings us to ancient Ryther, with its famous Norman
church. The road runs direct, but the river winds
considerably, and about midway between the two
places the Wharfe enters the Ouse. Bordering the
river part of the way our path is brimful of interest in the variety of
wild plants and flowers that spring around us in profusion. The
ample wastes of the water-side are covered with willows, and the
showy marsh mallow and tall figwort (most useful of herbs) grow
together, with patches of that old-fashioned pot-herb called Good
King Henry (Chenopodium Bonus- Henricus), which was once much
cultivated in the gardens of the monasteries and old manor-houses.

Ryther, like Cawood, is built on the south side of the river, and
the similar position of its ancient diurch by the water side, proclaims
the importance of the river as the highway of the old races entering
and settling the country along its banks. The river being navigable
and almost tidal up to Ryther, we may readily conceive the facilities
it would offer to Saxon and Dane on their errands of conquest, at a
time when the surrounding lands were covered with impenetrable
woods and marshes, infested by native Britons and the offspring of
their Roman allies. Ascending the river in their shallow craft, such
as Tacitus describes as in use in northern lands, it needs little
imagination to assume that a site such as this, close to the shore,
would be settled at a very early time. The persistent occurrence of
the * th * in the name of Ryther, peculiar to Anglo-Saxon, seems to
indicate a settlement during the Anglo-Saxon occupation, perhaps

as early as the sixth or seventh century. And the dedication of the
pre-Conquest church to All Saints (an Anglo-Saxon dedication) lends
some support to this belief. Leo (vide Altsdchsische und Angcl-sdchs.
Sprachprohen) gives tithe as a well, a fountain^ a river, a sufficient
explanation for the identification of a site such as Ryther. The
Normans being unaccustomed to the sound of * th,* write the name
in Domesday Ridre, and even curtail it to Rie, as they do with Reeth
in Swaledale.*

Surveyed under the territory of the powerful Ilbert de Laci, lord
of the honour of Pontefract, the estate and possessions of Ryther
are thus recorded in Domesday :

Three Manors. In Rie, Archil and Gamel and Roschil, had two carucates
of land for geld, and two ploughs may be [there] . Now Hugh has [it] of Ilbert.
In the demesne one plough, and six villanes and four bordars with one plough.
A. priest and a church. Eighteen acres of meadow. Wood pasture, one leuga
and a half in length and one leuga in breadth. The whole two leugae in length
and one leuga in breadth. In the time of King Edward it was worth forty
shillings ; now thirty shillings.

The mention of a ** priest ** or of a " church '* in Domesday does
not necessarily imply that the two were co-existent, though at Ryther
we have the excellent testimony that the church in 1086 not only
existed, but was endowed and had a resident priest, who is taxed for
the 18 acres of meadow apparently allotted to him. No doubt he
kept a cow or two, mowed some portion of his allotment, and through
the functions of his office, would on the whole be very comfortably
off. The lord, by fealty, had an ample demesne, and there is small
doubt he was primogenitor of the famous local family who subse-
quently took the name of De Rither and long flourished here. The
extent of woodland in 1086 may be gathered from the fact that a
square leuga is computed to contain 1440 statute acres.

The further testimony of Dotnesday is that in Ridre there were two
carucates of land held by Chetel and his brothers in two manors, the
whole being within the Laci fee of Pontefract. Again in the
Recapitulation the same two carucates in Rie are referred to as under
the castle of Pontefract. In Lede (Lead) there were also two
carucates belonging to the soke of Haslewood. All these, with others
mentioned in the survey, the men of Barkston wapentake declared
belonged to William Mallet. He was one of the heroes of Hastings
and to whom the Conqueror entrusted the burial of the body of the
fallen King Harold. He died in 1071, and his son and heir, Robert
Mallet, does not appear to have succeeded in recovering the whole
of his father's estates.

* Su the author's Richmondshire, page 239

The " Rie " or " Bie,** cited by Burton as containing an oxgang
of land given by William, son of Gilbert de Bie to the canons of
Bolton in Upper Wharfedale, does not appear to have ever been
identified. It is certain, however, that this territory was in Ryther.
In the Priory accounts for 1298 I find several entries of sums paid
by the canons for the mowing of meadows &c., at Ryther. In 51st
Henry III. (1266) I find the Prior of Bolton obtained a grant of free
warren in Ryther, among other places, and the Compotus of the
Abbey for 1325 has also this entry :

Liberat. Priori apud Ryther, viil. xviis. iid.

shewing that the monastery was then in receipt of rents from Ryther.*

The grant of free warren has not been printed before, and is as

follows :

For the Prior of Bolton.

The King to his Archbishops, &c., greeting. Know ye that we have granted &
by this charter confirmed to our beloved in Xt. the prior and convent of Boulton in
Crauuen that they and their successors for ever may have free warren in all their
demesne lands of Boulton. Kilwyk. Steede Ridinges. How, Halcum, Emesay.
Estby, Crachou, Mercum, Malgrum. Seteches, Wykedon, Brandon. Wyntworth.
Strete, and Ryther. in the County of York, while however such lands are not
within the metes of our forest so that no one shall enter such lands to chase in
them or to take anything which to such warren belongs without the licence & will
of the said Prior & monks or their successors upon forfeiture of ten pounds.
Wherefore we will, &c.t

The De Banco Rolls of 19th Edward I. (1290) record an action of
the Prior against Hugh Chapelyn, Nicholas de Helm, William de
Ryther, and others for hunting in the Prior*s free warren at Wygedon
and Brandon and taking hares. Again in 1344 the Prior of Bolton
enters a plea against Richard Turpyn (ancestor probably of the
redoubtable Dick Turpin) to give an account of the time when he
became the Prior's bailiff in Ryther.J

Torre states that the town of Ryther was held by William de
Ryther of the Earl of Lincoln as of the honour of Pontefract by the
rent of 5s. 4d., in which town is one Knight's Fee, where ten
carucates of land made a Knight's Fee. This fact shews how
Ryther must have prospered since the Conquest, how cultivation
had extended, to be thus able to provide a man and a leader worthy
to attend the King in his wars. For knight service was the most

• See also Yorks. Inquisit, vol. i., page no.

f See page 299 of Upper Wharfedale, where the date of this grant is erroneously
stated to be 1257.

J It is very probable, too, that " Ethoming in the wood of Ria," granted to
Holy Trinity Priory, York, was in Ryther. See Memoirs of the Meeting of the Yorks.
Archaol. Inst., 1846, page 115.

honourable of all service, though the King by the laws of his realm
could not enforce the attendance of any one Knight for more than
forty days in the year on the holding of a whole fee, or if he held
half-a-knight's fee, twenty days. The custom seems to have had its
origin long before the conquest of England by the Normans, and
may be traced among the natives in the East. The Poles, for example,
even down to this present century, have always claimed to be exempt
from serving in the militia more than six weeks, or forty days in the
year, by right of ancient usage. By-and-bye much of this service
in England was respited on the payment of a sum of money, varying
according to the degree and qualification of the owner. Such tenure,
however, still brought with it the advantages and emoluments of
wardship, aids, relief, primer seisin (or the right of the lord to the
profits of an estate unclaimed by the heirs of his vassal*), and
estreats of different kinds.

The history of Ryther is largely that of the ancient family of the
same name, which through several centuries was prominent in affairs
of Church and State. The first mention of the family-name occurs
in the foundation -charter of the Nunnery at Appleton over the water.
This charter is of the date about 1150, and one of the witnesses
thereto is Walter de Rithre. William de Rither likewise gave the
church of Ryther, with its appurtenances, to the same monastery.
The date is not stated, and the first distinct reference to their owner-
ship of the manor 1 find is in the reign of John. A third part of the
manor of Ryther was claimed in dower by Lecia, late wife of John
de Rie or Ryther, and this lady on her husband*s decease had to
• prove her just dues against the heirs or successors of her husband
by entering a writ in the form of a fine at the King> Court. This
was done at York before the justices-in-eyre on July ist, 121 2,
whereby she yields all her rights to a third part of the manor of Rie,
with appurtenances, to William de Rie (how related is not stated) on
payment to her by the said William of 15 marks of silver.! The
said William is represented in this suit by a Gilbert de Rie, no doubt

* This was a right which the King had, when any of his tenants in capite died
seized of a knight's fee. to receive of the heir (provided he was of full age) one
whole year's profits of the lands, if they were in immediate possession ; and half-
a-year's profits if the lands were in reversion, expectant on an estate for life.
This feudal usage afterwards gave a handle to the Popes, who claimed to be
feudal lords of the church, and who demanded in like manner from every clergy-
man in England, the first year's profits of his benefice, by way oiprimitia or first
fruits. Blackstone (1783) ii., 66-7.

t This is an interesting action of early date, shewing the right of a widow to
recover her dower, which had gone to the husband had he survived her. See
Blackstone's Comnf/fftortVs (1783), ii., 433-5.

the same person I have mentioned in the grant of land at Ryther to
the canons of Bolton. Moreover, the surety of the said Lecia is
one Simon de Marton, who most likely was nearly related to her, and
as there was a Simon de Marton, lord of Marton-in-Craven in
1206-7, ^^® church at which place about this time having been given
to the monks of Bolton, the circumstance seems to offer some addi-
tional testimony to the interest which the canons of Bolton had in
Ryther.

In 1 2 19 Jordan de Ryther gave six acres of land in Bradley (near
Huddersfield*), with a toft and free common, to the monks of
Fountains, which his son Thomas confirmed. In 1250 Sir William
Rithre is one of the witnesses to the confirmation by Roger Pajrtefin
to the poor of the Hospital of St. Peter at York, of all the donations
which they have of the gift of his ancestors in the towns and terri-
tories of Saxton and Woddehus, together with the right of patronage
of the church of Saxton.

During the prosperous reign of Edward I., the family achieved
high distinction in the person of Sir William de Ryther. He was
in many engagements at home and abroad, and was summoned to
Parliament in 1279 as a Baron of the Realm. His name is mentioned
in the poem of the siege of Carlaverock (1299) amongst the knights
present, and there we have the first notice of his arms, which are to
be seen in Ryther church and in the old Minster at York :

William de Ridre was there.
Who in a blue banner did bear
The crescent of gold so fair.

The crescent is a very ancient bearing and doubtless intended to
indicate some connection with the Crusades to the Holy Land ; f
indeed it is not improbable that Sir William de Ryther was a com-
panion in arms with the Prince, afterwards Edward I., during his
valorous and romantic expedition to Acre and Nazareth, the last of the
Crusades, 1270-72. Not a little of the success of this great monarch,
whose activity and skill raised England to a position, social, civil,
and military, she had never before known, was due to the foresight,
judgment, and generalship of this redoubtable lord of Ryther. The
accounts of the wardrobe of 28th Edward I. (1299), inform us that
Dom. Will, de Rithre, banneret y received ;^67 13s. od. for the wages
of himself and his retinue, consisting of two knights and five
esquires from the 14th of July, on which day his horses were valued,
to the 29th of September, when one of his knights, Dom. William
de Beeston, returned, being 77 days, £^0 15s. od. And for himself,

• See the author's Upper Wharf edaU, page 393.
f Ibid, page 118.

one knight and five esquires from the 28th September to the 13th of

October, on which day another of his knights returned, being 14

days, £^ 14s. 5d. ; and for himself and his five esquires kom the

1 8th of October to the 3rd of November, being 22 days £^ i8s. od.

His title of banneret was the highest grade of knighthood, for it was

only conferred on the field of battle upon those who had distinguished

themselves, and was an intermediate rank between the ordinary

knight and baron. In 1296 he was in an expedition to Gascony ; in

1298 he is mentioned as summoned to Carlisle with horses and arms,

and he was in the wars of Scotland in 1281, 1300, 1302, and 1303,

being always entrusted with important commissions and well favoured

of the King. In 1299 t^® King granted him license of free warren

in Ryther, Dunholme, and Thornton, and in 1303 in Scarcroft,*

Homington, and Gildersome. Touching this old warren I find in

the Plutnpton Correspondence the following short letter from Sir Ralph

Ryther, Kt., who was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1504, and died

in 1520 :

To MY Cousin, Sir Robert Plompton, Knyght, be these byll.

Right worshipfull Cousin. I recomend me unto you, desiring to hear of your
welfare ; praying you to give me ij. couple of conyes to stocking of a little ground
that I make at Ryther, and I shall doe you as great a pleassure. I pray you that
I may be recomend to my lady your wyfe. We have rest.f and past this summer
I wyll pray you to come and kill a bucke with me. I pray you. Cousin, that the
bringer hereof, my servant, may have the conyes, ajudjesu keepe you.
At Ryther, this fryday. By your Cousin,

Ralfe Ryther.

William de Ryther*s name likewise appears among the witnesses
in a suit, at the assize held in 1278, concerning the right of free
passage on the river between York and Boroughbridge, a very
important privilege in those times of bad roads ; and of fishing free
of toll, which the Earl of Cornwall had established. His name also
occurs as a witness to the gift by Roger Saxton, rector of the church
of Fishergate, of several parcels of land in Saxton, to the Hospital
of St. Leonard, York. He is also mentioned as having held the
manor of Cowthorpe as feoffee during the reign of Edward I. The
time of his death is uncertain, but Drake says : " Homington did
belong (9th Edward H.) to the Lady Vesey ; it was afterwards part

* A branch of the family was afterwards seated at Scarcroft, in the parish of
Thomer. John Ryther, of Scarcroft, married {temp. Charles I.) Ursula, daughter
of Sir Robert Dolman, Kt., of Pocklington. His wife's brother, Philip Dolman,
of Lead, in the parish of Ryther, married a daughter of Walter Vavasour of
Hazlewood. For pedigree su Surtus Soc, vol. 36, page 235.

t That is no bucks were to be killed out of the stock in the park at Ryther in
that year.

of the possessions of Sir Wm. Ryther, Kt., who had free warren
there, so I conclude that he did not die until after 131 6."

Dugdale states that he was succeeded by John de Ryther,
presumably his son, who was governor of Skipton Castle in 1309,
and who in 13 18 obtained from Edward II., a grant of free warren
in Haslewood and Addington. His name occurs in the Scottish
Rolls of Edward III. along with that of Robert de Ryther, who was
most likely his son. In 131 2 Robert de Ryther was summoned to
meet the King at Pontbell or Battlebridge, on Wednesday after the
Nativity of St. John the Baptist, to do and perform what should
then and there be required. The troubles with Scotland were then
at their height, and the disastrous reverse of 13 14, completely sub-
verted the grand run of prosperity which the nation had enjoyed
during the past hundred years. The whole of the North of England
was in a state of tumult and disorder. The Scots in 131 7- 18 were
in the Yorkshire Dales, and there was hardly a building or a farm
that escaped pillage or destruction. On December i6th, 13 18,
Robert de Ryther was suddenly called upon to raise and arm all his
men and able-bodied tenants. Then came the wreck at Myton,
when gallant knight and trained peasant, with the flower of the
diocesan clergy, fell against Scottish spear and arrow. Robert de
Ryther was apparently not in the battle, or at any rate not harmed,
for soon afterwards he, with M^uger le Vavasour of Haslewood, was
ordered to assemble his men and lead them to York. How he fared
we know not. But there is no doubt a life spent in anxious warfeire,
land going out of cultivation for lack of men to follow it, and the
drains constantly made upon his resources, must have greatly
impoverished the family patrimony. He had, moreover, been
mulcted in the heavy fine of 400 marks for joining in the Lancaster
conspiracy against the King. After the execution of the Earl in
1322 he was released from prison and the fine was paid.

Edward II., in the first Parliament of his reign (1307), passed a
statute for compulsory knighthood, as a means of raising money to
carry on his costly warfare, a prerogative enjoyed by our monarchs
to the time of the unhappy Charles I., who, however, was obliged to
abolish it in the i6th year of his reign (1640), shortly before the
outbreak of hostilities.* As a consequence of this compulsory act,
we find Robert de Ryther called upon in 1326 to accept knight-
hood, but it is recorded that he excused himself by waiving the
distinction until Michaelmas term next.

In the following year (1327) the dethroned monarch died, and
Robert de Ryther, who may also have died the same year, is declared

♦ See Upper Wharf edale, page 325.

seized of the manor of Ryther, as also of the manors of Scarcroft
and Hazelwood. His successor, John de Ryther, retrieved in some
measure the fortunes of his time and family. He was a valiant
soldier and diplomatist, and reached a ripe age. Few men, even in
the days of chivalry, have such a record of military achievements
attached to their names. In 1334 Edward HI., then at York,
ordered John de Ryther and Nicholas de Wortlay to assemble the
men-at-arms, archers, and others at Sherburn, whence they were
to proceed to the Scottish Marches. On his own testimony, taken
from depositions on the Scrop>e and Grosvenor controversy in 1386,
when he was too old and infirm to travel to York, we learn that
when the King, Edward III., began his wars with France, he was
with him in his expedition to Burempos in Picardy. He was after-
wards, in 1340, at the siege of Tournay, and subsequently (1342) at
the siege of Vannes and at the siege of Morlaix. He was with the
King at Melrose on his expedition to Scotland, and he afterwards
sailed to Flanders and took part in the battle of Sluys, which is
memorable in its connection with a document, said to be the earliest
known among the English records announcing a naval victory. Next
we hear he was in the front at the great fight at Crecy in 1346,
where cloth -yard arrows were never flung from English bows with
more deadly effect. When the conflict was ended John de Ryther
accompanied the King to Calais, and was present during the long
investment of that port ; then he went to Rheims, assisting in the
siege of that city, thence he rode with the King to Paris. Our hero
was also in the siege of Wellon in Lithuania, when Sir Geoffrey
Scrope was killed, and he caused Sir Geoffrey's arms to be painted
on a glass window which he himself set up in the cathedral of
Wellon. He was next at the famous battle of Najara, near the
Ebro in Spain, where the Black Prince, fighting for Don Pedro,
overthrew the forces of Du Guesclin and took him prisoner. Then
he attended the great lord of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, to the
Chivranche in Caux.

The greater part of his eventful life, indeed, was spent in military
activity, and the fame and success of his exploits will always give
interest and honour to the home of his family at the old Wharfeside
village. He was in truth " the hero of a hundred fights,'* and for
his important services was probably exempted from the tax of
knighthood, as we find him always styled esquire. His last years
appear to have been spent at Scarborough, and in the subsidy-roll
of 1378 the name of William de Ryther, esquire, possibly his son,
appears at the head of the inhabitants of Ryther. At this time
Ryther had a population of 32 married couples and 10 single adults.

besides the untaxed poor and children under the age of i6. The
parson was also not taxed in this lay subsidy, but the parson's man
is down as contributing his groat towards the maintenance of Calais
as an English garrison. Little, perhaps, the poor man cared whether
Calais belonged to the French or the English, but remembering the
deeds done there by the old lord of Ryther or his kinsman, he would
pay the tax without murmuring.*

The fortunes of this famous family need not be followed here much
further. Their later history will be found related in a subsequent
chapter on the records of Harewood. A John Ryther fought at
Agincourt in 141 5, but his identity is uncertain. It may be noted
that in 1397 William Ryther gave 20 marks for license to found a
chantry in the church at Alford in Lincolnshire, for the soul of John
Southeby of Alford. He had probably married a daughter of
John Southeby, as in the 12th Henry IV. (1410), among the tenants
of Thomas Colepepper, then lord of Saleby, was John de Southeby,
JiliuSf Dom. William de Ryther, milit. In the previous year the
same William de Ryther was fined 2d. for non-attendance at the
Saleby Court-leet. He was Sheriff of York in this reign, and again
in four years of the reign of Henry VI., a William Ryther, miUs,
occurs as Sheriff of York. Of him more will be related m the
chapters on Harewood.

At least two female members of the family found a home in the
monastery of the Rythers* benefaction at Appleton, on the opposite
side of the Wharfe to Ryther. The name of Agnes de Ryther occurs
in the list of Prioresses after that of Elizabeth Fitz Richard, who
died in 1426. She was buried in the Nunnery chapel, but her grave-
stone had at some period been taken up and for a long time used for
stopping water at a mill, until it was rescued by Mr. Lamplugh,
rector of Bolton Percy, in 1736, and placed in his church. The
inscription upon it is as follows :

(State pro antma 3gnett0 De l&gtiier quondam prtorisse . . monasterii
.... xxitt. qui obtt. primo tite mensts iWarttt mcccc .... cuju0 anhmr
proprietUT lBeu0. 9men.

Assuming that Agnes de Ryther was Prioress for 23 years, and
not 33 years, the date of her death would be about 1449. She was
succeeded by Joan de Ryther, whose name occurs in 37th Henry VI.
(1458). In the will of John Latham (1455), canon of Beverley and

* It is questionable whether John de Ryther ever was lord of Ryther, as in
1362 Archbishop Thoresby ordered his receiver to pay unto Robert Ryther, lord
of Ryther, twenty pounds sterling, being the price of 24 oaks bought of him to
be used in the building of the Lady Chapel in the Minster at York.

rector of Thorne, the name of "Joan Rither, now prioress,** is
mentioned. The testator states that " if the said Joan Rither be the
survivor, she is to have a plain piece of silver and a great feather-
bed, with the bolster, for her own use, and after her decease for the
use of the house. Burton mentions another female member of the
family, Isabel, daughter of Sir Wm. Ryther, who married Robert,
son of Sir Ralph Babthorpe, Kt., who died in 1468.

The Rythers appear to have continued at Ryther down to about the
Reformation. Henry Ryther, esquire, of Ryther, died in 1543 and
requests to be buried in the church, nigh unto the tomb of Sir Ralph
Ryther, Kt., his father, who died in 1520, and who was son of
Sir Wm. Ryther, of Ryther, who married Lucy, daughter of Sir Wm.
Fitzwilliam, and had issue, Sir Robert, High Sheriff of Yorkshire
in the reign of Henry VHI. ; Sir Ralph, Thomas, and Nicholas.
From a younger son of this Sir William Ryther, descended Robert,
who settled at Wisbeach,* and had issue Dudley Ryder, whose
grandson John was successively Bishop of Killaloe and of Down
and Connor, and Archbishop of Tuam, in Ireland, and whose
descendants have intermarried with many considerable families in
that country. The pedigree on pages 72-3 shows the connection of
this remarkable old family of Yorkshire Rythers with the noble house
of Harrowby. The latter family writes the name Ryder, but both
fiamilies bear the same arms, differenced by an ermine spot, sable, on
each of the three crescents, for Ryder, Earl of Harrowby.

It is remarkable that the first three Earls of Harrowby were
Cabinet Ministers in succession, and the first Earl, the friend of Pitt
and Percival, twice refused the Premiership, but was for a long time
President of the Council. The scholarly genius of the family was
well maintained in the second Earl, who was a double first at Oxford,
and a very popular M.P. for Liverpool. The third Earl, the friend
of Lords Beaconsfield and Salisbury, as Lord Sandon won in 1868
his father's seat at Liverpool by the largest number of votes ever
polled at that time. He was President of the Board of Trade in
1878 — 80, and Lord Privy Seal in 1885 — 6. Few noble houses,
indeed, have so long and illustrious an ancestry.

Among families of distinction possessing blood-relationship with
the Ryders, the following peers may be mentioned : Earl Fortescue,
whose mother was Lady Susan Ryder, daughter of the first Earl of
Harrowby ; Earl of Whamcliffe, whose grandmother. Lady Georgina
Ryder, was daughter of the first Earl of Harrowby ; and Viscount
Lifford, whose grandfather, the second Viscount, married a grand-
daughter of John Ryder, Archbishop of Tuam.

* Vidt Playfair's Brit. Family Antiquity (1809), pp. 214-16.

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Sir Wm. Scargill, Kt., M.P. for York in 1399, married Marg^aret,
daughter of Sir Wm. Gascoigne, of Gawthorpe, kinsfolk of the
Rythers, and had issue John Scargill, who made his will in 1472.
Thomas Scargill of Lead died in 1433-4, and his will is printed in
the Test, Ehor, (Surtees Soc. Pub.) vol. ii., page 35. His wife Joan
died in 1421, and desires to be buried " in the quire of the chapel of
St. Mary of Ledes, within the parish of All Saints of Ryther."

CHAPTER VI.

Ryther Church.

Unique collection of stone altars — Preservation of relics — Popularity of St.
William. Archbishop of York — His portrait in the church — Architectural
description of the fabric — The ancient monuments — The Robinson brasses —
Restorations of the church — Grant to Appleton Nunnery — Taxation of the
living — The registers — List of rectors.

HE old church at Ryther is a gem of antiquity, and
possessing, as it does, no fewer than five stone altars,
each bearing the symbolized wounds of Christ, is in
this respect probably unique. Two of these have
probably served as high -altars in the chancel, while
the other three have belonged to side chapels in the church ; or one
of them may have been brought, as a useful flag-stone, from a
chapel attached to the old manor-house.* The largest of them
is probably the original altar- table of the nth century building,
mentioned in Domesday. It is seven feet long, two feet eight
inches wide, and six inches thick. It is remarkable in having
the centre symbol much larger than those at the comers ; the limbs
of the central cross being 3^ inches each way, while the angle crosses
are if inches only. All the known altar-slabs have, I believe, these
symbols very nearly uniform in size.f Down to the sixth century
such altar-tables were of wood, but the Council of Epone in France,
A.D. 509, ordered that '* no altars should be consecrated with the
chrism of holy oil, but such as were made of stone only." These
stone altars frequently enclosed the relics of saints, and such relics
were considered an indispensable adjunct in the early Church. It is
not at all unlikely that one or more of the altar-stones at Ryther has

* Although at the restoration (1898) three of the altars were placed in the
chancel. Mr. Fowler was of opinion that two of them had been in other parts of
the church. The other three, he thinks, are in situ ; certainly the one in the
chantry is, which at the time of the restoration was in the pavement of the
chantry. That now fixed on the south wall of the chancel was in the floor of the
porch ; the remaining three were found buried.

t Su Mr. Oxon's paper on " The Symbolism of the Five Wounds " in the
Tram. Lotus, and Chesh. Antiq. Soc., x., 67 — 77.

been used for such a purpose, particularly in the 13th century, when
the popularity of St. William of York, the much -abused Archbishop,
who died in 11 54, and was canonized in 1280, gave a stimulus to the
collection and preservation of such objects. His tomb was originally
in the nave of York Minster, but in 1284, his relics were placed in a
very elaborate shrine and retained in the choir. At the removal or
" translation " of the relics, King Edward I. and his Queen, with
the whole court and eleven Bishops were present, and the large
offerings then made greatly assisted in carrying on the work of
building the Minster.=^' Dodsworth records that in Ryther Church,
in 1661, there was a picture of St. William, Archbishop, in the east
window, along with a painting of Archbishop Scrope beneath it.
This prelate who was beheaded in a field between Bishopthorpe and
York in 1405, was also greatly beloved, and the religious zeal which
prompted his rebellion forms one of the principal scenes m
Shakespeare's play of Henry IV.

In addition to these interesting altar-stones, the church retains
evidences of the changes it has undergone at successive intervals
from the Conquest to the present time. The chancel -arch, jambs of
the north door, as well as part of the north wall, with some curious
window-heads, now built up, are probably Norman, in point of age,
but erected most likely by Saxon workmen. Then in the reign of
John, when William de Ryther appears to have got possession of the
whole manor, considerable structural alterations were made, and
the nave would seem to have been almost wholly rebuilt. Portions
now remain of this early work, including the west wall with its
lancet windows, the north door, and also the south doorway which is
pointed, with angle shafts having circular abaci. The latter being
greatly decayed were renewed during the recent restoration, and
some ancient carved stones were then also built into the walls of the
new porch. They are portions of the Early English and Decorated
crosses of the nave and chantry gables, and were discovered built up
in the iSth century gable, which was put up when the brick tower
was erected, and the building put under one roof instead of, as
originally, two. The south aisle shews early Decorated work in the
double lancets, with open heads, well chamfered and splayed on the
inside. The east end has the apf)earance of having been a private
chapel, though it seems never to have been specially endowed. It
has a large hagioscope commanding a view of the high altar, and
there is a piscina and an ogee niche, beside which is the effigy of a
lady habited as in the time of Edward III. The hands are joined in
prayer, clasping her heart, her best offering to God and his Holy

• See also Church Fenton, chantry of St. William.

Church. A rich coronet, having a jewel in front, encircles the brow,
and on her fingers are also jewelled rings. The sleeves are long, the
lower garment plaited and the hem beautifully studded, while angels
support her head and at her feet is a lap-eared dog with collar
studded.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1843, when the late east window was
inserted, which was substituted for the present one in the style of
the north and south windows of the chancel at the restoration in
1898. The old glass I have referred to above or such of it as
then remained, was replaced in the south aisle at the west end.
Here are two shields bearing the arms of De Ros (gules, three water
bougets, argent) and Ryther. The arms of Ryther also appear with
those of Redmayne (gules, three cushions, ermine) in the east
window of the same aisle. During the alterations in the chancel a
large fresco was uncovered beneath a thick cpating of whitewash,
but it was so much decayed, that nothing could be made of the
design, and on exposure it soon crumbled away. A similar illu-
minated inscription of the Ten Commandments was found beneath
the whitewash of the chancel-arch in 1898.* The existing chancel
appears to have been rebuilt on the foundations of the 14th century
chancel, but the walls are considerably thinner than they were before,
as is evident from the foundations outside. The stone-work of the
north and south windows has been replaced, and also that of the
priest's door. The mullions of the two windows have been partly
cut away for the purpose of fixing shutters, and some of the iron
hooks remain. The priest's doorway has an almost semi-circular
head, and the jambs, which seem to be original, have been chamfered.
The Early English builders have also apparently used the stones and
timber of the original Norman door for the north door in the nave,
turning round the moulded stones of the door-head and forming them
into an Early English door- head. The outer circle of the arch of
this door consisted of beak-heads, which are built up in various parts
of the church. This north door was for a long time concealed,
having been covered over with lath and plaster before the late
restoration. The font is a plain circular bowl, supported on a plainly-
moulded shaft.

The ancient monuments are, however, the chief glory of this
interesting church. The oldest of these is a table-tomb bearing the
cross-legged effigy of a knight and his lady. He is depicted clad in
chain armour, with pointed and ridged bascinet, and limbs protected
with jambs or shin-plates, characteristic of the transition period of
the time of Edward H. By his side reposes his lady, shewn with

• See Upper Wharfedale, pp. 277-8.

the characteristic wimple or gorget of the same epoch, and almost
identical in style and age with that of the female effigy in the church
at Kirk Fenton. There can be little doubt that the monument was
^hioned and erected as a memorial of the great Sir Wm. Ryther,
and his lady, the knight who died about a.d. 1316, and of whose
warlike exploits I have spoken at some length in the previous
chapter. That he is a Ryther is shewn by the three crescents on
his shield, and the effigies are interesting from having been executed
at the time the destroying Scots were levelling and pillaging churches

Altar-Tomb in Ryther Church.

and feirms in the district, when these valuable monuments would be
concealed.

Another massive altar-tomb of Caen stone supporting a slab of
dark grey marble, bears various shields, &c., and has also borne a
number of brasses, which in all probability have been torn off during
the Puritanical raids in the time of the great Civil War. A further
and somewhat earlier altar-tomb, with sides richly panelled, bears
the figure of a knight accoutred in martial habit as worn in the era
of the Wars of the Roses. His gorget is of mail and his collar of
white rose rayon6e, or, and a sun in splendour, being the badge of

Edward IV. His head reclines upon his helmet, from which the
crest has been cut. His right foot rests against a dog, collared, and
beneath his left is a talbot, white sword and dagger are on either
side. Three sides of the tomb have been beautifully sculptured,
that on the north having the figures of four knights and four ladies,
while there are three ladies on the west and three knights on the
east side. This portion of the tomb greatly resembles the altar-
monument of Cardinal Archbishop Bouchier at Canterbury, which
is known to have been executed in i486,* Gough supposed the

Tomb of Sir Wm. Ryther in Ryther Church.

Ryther tomb to commemorate the bmous John de Ryther, who was
governor of Skipton Castle in 1310. But the effigy is at least 150
years later than this time, and there can be no doubt is intended to
commemorate the hero of Towton, Sir Wm. Ryther, Kt., who died
in 1476. By his will he directs to be memorized by a monument to
be erected in the church, and his son. Sir Robert Ryther, Kt., who
died in September, 1491, orders that his body be buried "in the
church against the sepulcre of his father." It was also the same
* A descendant or the Cardinal's family, John Boactiier, married Id 1760,
Mildred, daugtiter of Robt. Lane Pox. of Braraham Parli. For Pedigree of
Bouchier ui Dm. Lioi. (1S16). vol. i., p. 133, and Append,, p. 121.

Sir Wm. Ryther who bequeathed " all his tyles, bricks, and slates
within his lordship of Ryther," for the building of the tower of the
church at Ryther, a.d. 1476.

In 1844 these fine old monuments were carefully repaired, a fund
being raised for the purpose, towards which the Earl of Harrowby,
a descendant of the Rythers (see pedigree on pages 72-3), generously
sent five pounds.

In the chancel is a coffin-shaped stone, which has originally
covered the remains of a prioress of Appleton. It is inscribed in
black letter : J^ic jacet Jtionea tie ffiatnesburgi), prtortdsa tie flppelton.
cujug anima propicietur JBeu».* She was prioress in 1342. In addition
to these ancient memorials there are more recent ones to the family
of Robinson. In the south aisle is a handsome brass, having three
shields inscribed to John Robinson, Esq., of Ryther, who died in
1 61 9, aged 53, and his two wives : Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard
Rogers, of Dorsetshire, and Susan, daughter of Sir Edward Holm-
den, in Middlesex. By the latter he had issue, John, Henry, James,
Mary, Ann, and Susan.

Arms : Centre (Or) on a chevron (gu.) between 3 stags trippant, (vert) as many
cinquefoils (of the first) Robinson. Crest : a stag trippant (vert) attired (or)
bezanty. (Dexter) Robinson impaling Quarterly I. and IV., (arg.). a mullet (sa) cmi
a chief (or) a fleur-de-lys (gu.). Rogers ; II. and III., (Or), a fret (sa.) and a chief
(gu.). (Sinister) Robinson impaling (sa.) a fess between two chevrons (erm.)

HOLMDEN.

Another brass, inscribed to Henry Robinson, of the Inner Temple,
son of above John, died 1636, aged 26. The three shields bear the
same arms as above, excepting that the Robinson coat is charged
with a crescent for difference.!

In 1773 a brief was issued in aid of the repair of the church. It
was a restoration characteristic of the time ; the two gables of nave
and chantry were replaced by one, a ceiling quite out of keeping
with the antiquity of the building was put up, and no doubt there
would be a plentiful application of whitewash. An unsightly brick
tower and porch were then built, which have now given way ; the
one to a handsome bell-turret and the other to a stone porch in
keeping with the building. These latter alterations were made about
three years ago, when the church underwent a very thorough and
judicious restoration, a work that redounds very greatly to the credit

• Probably a Ryther. 1478-9. — ^Johanni Ryther de Gaynesburgh pro vi doliis
plastri emptis de stallaguim Usae, i6s. Vide Fabric Rolls of York Minster, page 84
and see also page 72.

t These brasses are described by Mr. Mill Stephenson in the Yorks. Archl.
Journal, xv., 45.

of all who were concerned in the difficult task. The cost was about
£"1400, raised by public subscription. The church was re-opened by
the Archbishop of York on Sept. 22nd, 1898, and in the evening the
preacher was the Rev. A, C. Dudley Ryder, M,A., rector of Trow-
bridge, who descends from the ancient house of Ryther previously
mentioned.

Burton says that William de Ryther gave the church at Ryther,
with its appurtenances, to the nuns of Appleton, but he is unable to
explain why the nuns never presented to it. The Rythers, it is
evident, retained the presentation in their own hands, and continued

Ryther Church after the Restoration 'n 1898.

patrons for some centuries afterwards. The nuns had merely an
annuity of five marks per annum out of the profits of the living.* I
have referred to the tripartite ownership of the manor in the time of
King John, and the whole church was valued at 15 marks annually,
and in 1292, according to the valuation of Pope Nicholas IV., at
_f2o, a very valuable living in those prosperous days.t The annuity
to the nunnery at Appleton of five marks, or £1 6s. 8d., was of course

• ViiU Torre's MSS., as taken from a MS. in possession of Hen. Squire, advo-
cate, being a parchment book of abstracts dated 1390 to 1364.

f Sit also Btverliy Chapltr Act Book (Surtees Soc,. vol. 98), p. 173.

forfeited at the dissolution of the house, but the amount is still paid
by the rector of Ryther to Lord Brownlow, under the name of
** Egerton Fee Farm Rents."

The registers of the church commence with the year 1558, but are
defective during the period of the Civil War. Torre furnishes a
catalogue of the rectors to 161 9, when the Crown presented as cust4>s
of John Robinson. In 1703-4 William Elsley was presented by
John Call, of Bloomsbury, Esq., who recovered by a law suit, the
patronage from the Crown. It appears the Crown ultimately
obtained the patronage from Sir Michael Wharton, in exchange for
Leven, and it is now in the hands of the Lord Chancellor. These
are the rectors, with the dates of their institution :

List of the Rectors.

Date of Inst. Names of Rectors. Patrons. How vacmttd.

12 ..Will. — (in X268 Will, de Ryther

entered the monastery at Thornton . .
. . Henry de Rytherholm
17 Sep.. 1309 . .Peter de Ryther, acolite* . . . . Will, de Ryther,

mil. . . By resig.

29 Jan., X328 . .John de Killom, acolite . . . . Edw. III. as guar-
dian of Robert
de Ryther, mil.
. .Thos. de Ripplingham . . . . . .By resig.

29 Oct.. 1338 . .Joh. de Bolton Will, de Clapham

h.v.p.

. . Joh. de Godetyme ..By death

13 Nov., 1369.. Joh. Ebchester Tho. Percy, mil.,

and two others
. .Tho. Porter (to Kirketon Ch.) . . . .By resig.

II Mar., 1401. .Adam de Lowth (to All Saints' Ch.,

Peaseholme, York) .. ..Will, de Ryther ..By resig.

5 Dec.. i4o6..Robt. Bryan (to Bumum Ch.) .. ditto .. ditto
16 May. 1408.. Tho. Robert (to St. Oswald's Vic.) ditto .. ditto

6 Oct., 1410 ..Walt. Bosum (res. for chantry in

Castlegate Ch., York .. .. ditto .. ditto

28 Feb., 1420. .Joh. de Malteby (Burd. in the chan-
cel at Ryther, 1432) .. .. ditto ..By death
21 July, 1432 ..Robt. de Aberford (Burd. in the

choir at Ryther) Sibilla, widow of

Will.de Ryther, Mf/. By death

8 May, 1472.. Robt. Ryther, Dec. B Will. Ryther, miV... By death

28 Mar., 1487. .Will. Savage Rob. Ryther. mil. , . By resig.

3 Nov., 1497.. Joh. Twyfforth als. Colyns, Canon

of Leicester Rad. Ryther. mil. . . By ditto

30 Aug.. 1506.. Thos. Ogglethorp (will d. 3 Nov.,

1513 : bd. in choir) ditto . . By death

• Peter de Ryther was rector of Kirkby Misperton in 1335.

inson

. . Died 1653

..Died 1 701

Died 1743II

..George III.

. . By death

ditto

. . ditto

ditto

. . ditto

..Victoria ..

. . ditto

• •

Z>aU of Inst. Names of Rectors. Patrons. How vacated.

30 Nov., i5i3..Joh. Wilkynson (Bd. in the choir,

1520) Assignees of Rob.

Ryther; mil.f . .By death

14 Aug., X52o..Thos. Ricall ditto ..By ditto

20 June. 1557.. Will. Fentiman (Bd. in the Kirke-

garth near Peter Fentiman) . . Feoffees of Thos.

Ryther, arm. . . By ditto
13 Feb., X572. .Ric. Richardson (Bd. in the chancel) Rob. Aske, arm. . . By ditto

28 Oct.. 1584 . .Joh. Crossbye Archbp.(by lapse) . .By resig.

28 Aug.. x590..Rob. Pereson, M.A Rob. Aske. arm. ..

20 Dec. 1606 . .Rob. Pereson, M.A.f . . . .James I. (by lapse) By death

7 June, 1619.. Roger Lowde,{ B.A. ..James I. (as guard-

ian of Joh. Rob-

.. Robert Morrittf
16 Mar.. X703-4 William Elsley
22 Nov.. 1769. .John Wise, clerk
9 May. 1772 . .Michael Bacon, D.D.

9 Nov., 1805. .John Forster, M.A

Nov., x846..Wm. Sibthorpe Cole, M.A...
6 July, 1892. .Arthur Thos. Field, MA. . .

It is noteworthy that there have been only three rectors during
the past century. Mr. Forster, who held the living for 41 years, was
rector of Sandal Parva at the time of his appointment to Ryther by
the Lord Chancellor Eldon, his relative, and as the distance between
the two places was certified to not exceed 25 miles, he continued to
hold the two livings together. He was a native of Northumberland
and descended from the ancient family of Forster of Bamburgh
Castle, who lost their estates for the part they took in the cause of

* Sir Ralph Ryther did not die until 1520, yet the assignees of Sir Robert
Ryther. it should be noted, presented to the living in 1513.

t Had administration of his goods taken in 1619 by Edward and Barnaby, his
sons.

I Roger Lowde buried, 1653, vide Ryther Register.

§ The time of his institution has not been found. He was rector in 1660. and
baptised a daughter Mary in 1661, and he was buried at Ryther in X701, Nov.
i6th. The living at his death was sequestered two years. Meantime there was
entered Nov. X5th, 1701. caveat by John Call ; Nov. 22nd, 1701, caveat by Richard
Braithwait ; Jan. 15th, 1702, caveat by Richard Davies.

II On the death of Wm. Elsley in 1743. there was a caveat, entered at the in-
stance of the Crown, Oct. 31st, 1743, and the living was sequestered 16 years.
Mr. Elsley was the son of Samuel Elsley. of Patrick Brompton, and was educated
at Sedbergh Grammar School. In 1689, at the age of 16. he entered St. John's
College, Cambridge : was B.A. in 1693. and afterwards, when rector of Ryther,
be became a Canon of York.

the Young Pretender.* He was a. magistrate of the West Riding
and sat regularly at the Selby Petty Sessions. There is a monument
to his memory in the church. One of his sons, the Rev. Charles
Forster, was formerly vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Bridhngton.

His successor, the Rev. Wm. Sibthorpe Cole, was appointed on
the recommendation of Lord Morpeth and his friend Sir William S.
Miiner, of Nun AppJeton. For the long period of 45 years Mr. Cole

Rev. Wm. Sibthorpe Cole. M.A.

laboured diligently for Christ's sake in this ancient and pleasaot
parish, winning the respect and affection of rich and poor alike.
During the same period he was also Rural Dean. He was the eldest
son of the Rev. W. Hodgson Cole, vicar of Woneish and West
* An interesting account of the ancestry ol ttie family will be found in Sir
Waller Besant's novel, Dorolliy Fonltr. Set also Mr. Bates' Hiit. of Norlhumbn-
land, pp. ZJ6-60, &c.

Claudor in Surrey, Rural Dean and Domestic Chaplain to H.R.H. the
Duke of Gloucester, by his wife Francis, great grand-daughter of
George Ashby, of Ashby and Quenby, co. Leicester. He was born
in 1799 at Guildford Grammar School, where his father was then
head-master, and took his degree at Worcester College, Oxford, in
1820, at the early age of 21, obtaining a second class in Classical
Honours. During the ten years he resided in Oxford he took pupils,
among whom were the late Lord Harewood and the late Sir Wm.
M. Milner, Bart. He then went to Dover and was appointed incum-
bent of the new church of Trinity, and shortly afterwards became
chaplain to the Duke of Wellington, as Lord Warden of the Cinque
Ports. In 1 83 1 he married Mary, daughter of John Maule, vicar of
St. Mary's, Dover, the nearest heir male of the great Scottish family
of Maule, of Panmure, now represented in the female line by the
Earl of Dalhousie.* Mr. Cole was full of interesting reminiscences
of his early college life. Shortly before his death, when past 90 years
old, he wrote a most happy account of these memorable days, full
of wit and story. I abstract the following ancedote, shewing how
the famous University Boat Races were managed in the twenties :

In June, 1827, when I was about to leave Oxford finally, after a happy residence
of more than 10 years, I wen^ to the river one evening to see the boat-race. As
I was running over the Bridges, my leg suddenly went through a. plank ; I fell
prostrate, and was at once covered by a mass of men. But a man a little in
advance of me. who saw the accident, sang out most loudly — ' Mind what you
are about ; there's a pro-proctor at the bottom ! ' — and in a few moments the
superincumbent mass was removed from me, and I rose uninjured.

The boats were started in those days in a primitive way. I do not know how
many boats existed then on the river, but I can only remember three — Christ
Church, Brazenose and Jesus ; there might have been another. The lock would
not hold more than four, and the process was this. The boats were stationed in
the lock, and the stroke of the first boat went forward into the bows as far as he
could, so as to leave room for the bow oars. He then placed his hands against
the brickwork at the side of the lock, and shoved the boat along, gradually going
astern himself, and as he went bow got his oar into the water, and began to pull ;
shortly No. 2 did the same, and by the time he had got to his place two or three
oars were at work : on taking his seat he began to row, and as quickly as possible

* Mr. Cole had a family of five sons and four daughters ; the eldest son,
William, died young ; the second, Edward Maule, married the Lady Philadelphia,
sister of John Francis Erskine, Earl of Mar, by whom he has issue. See the
Peerage. He is well-known as an s^rchseologist and geologist, and since 1865 has
been vicar of Wetwang, near Driffield. The third son. Hamilton Maule. R.N.,
died in the West Indies, (4) Arthur Maule, died aged 20, and (5) Henry, married,
is still living. The daughters are (i) Mary Louisa, married to the late Major-
Gcneral Holled Coxe. (2) Amelia Frances, married to the late Dr. W. W. Day,
and (3) Eleanor Amelia, wife of the Rev. H. Jackson, the present vicar of Thorp
Arch.

all the oars got into play. The same process was observed by the succeeding
boats. I believe that not one of the boats then in use belonged to any Collie.
I may be wrong, but I believe that all were hired. I remember that S. John's
had a four-oar, and Wadham, and, I think, Trinity ; but I do not remember any
others. The crews were not very strictly Members of a College. Christ Church
had a waterman to row for them, and also Jesus.*

Mr. Cole's forty-five years' ministrations at Ryther will long
remain a happy remembrance, and it is a pleasure to perpetuate his
memory by the accompanying portrait. He died in January, 1892,
at the advanced age of 93. For many years he was an unpaid
inspector of schools, and left behind him a rare example of what a
clergyman should be, faithful to his duties, loved by his parishioners
and friends, mourned by all.

Of the present respected rector I must, perforce, forbear to say
much. Mr. Field is a thorough churchman of wide experience, and
is an assiduous worker. He comes of an old Norfolk family, but
was born at Longnor in Staffordshire, where his father had a large
private school, which had a considerable reputation in the Midland
Counties from about 1832 to 1859. Like a previous rector of
Ryther, the Rev. Wm. Elsley, he received his early education at
Sedbergh Grammar School, and afterwards, in 1855, entered St.
John's College, Cambridge, the celebrated Bishop Atlay, a former
vicar of Leeds, being tutor in his time. Mr. Field was curate of
Holbrook, Suffolk, in 1859 — 60; of Settrington, near Malton, i860 —
65 ; vicar of Peak Forest, 1865 — 75 ; of Holbrooke, Derbyshire,
1877 — 82 ; and was rector of Holy Trinity, Chesterfield, 1882 — 92,
and chaplain of Chesterfield Union during the like period. Mr. Field
has had in the past a good deal to do with church restoration and
extension, and one of the proudest achievements of his incumbency
at Ryther has been the successful carrying out of the great work of
restoring the ancient church over which he still presides. Also quite
lately public subscriptions have been raised for the purpose of meeting
the expense of extending the churchyard three-quarters of an acre.
This work has been accomplished, and the additional ground was
consecrated by the Archbishop last Ascension Day.

Our Memories : Shadows of Old Oxford, 1892.

CHAPTER VII.

Church Fenton : Its Aspects and Historical Records.

Landscape effects — Wild flowers — Apple-land — The autumn-crocus — Name of
Fenton — History of the manor — Ancient landowners — Old field-names —
Wapentake courts — Ancient charters — Population in 1378 — An unpublished
inquisition — The Civil War — The Jacobite rebellion — A diabolical murder.

LAT as the country appears around Church Fenton,
there is a pleasantness, not to say a genuine charm
about the old winding thoroughfares, with their wealth
of wild flowers. A certain soothing mellowness there
is in the wide spaces of field and meadow -land ; while
here and there a rising knoll or " rash " covered with trees render
the aspects neither wanting in interest or impressiveness. Under
the soft shadows of a summer's eve, it is delightful to be out here
beneath the warm blue expanse of the paling sky ; and while scarce
heeding the ever-changing aspects of light, form, and colour, your ear
perchance catches the long-drawn " coo *' of the stock-dove ; — a
soothing restfulness comes over all, and half- listlessly you perceive
the dim distances grow ever fainter with the brightening moon !

How pleasant also to be in this luxuriant neighbourhood in the
spring-time, when primroses, orchids, and sweet-violets garnish field
and hedge-row, and the snowy orchards, too, are clothed with a
bridal charm. Truly this is a " land of apples," and — asks an
eminent divine — is there anything better and bonnier, save a bride in
her best array, than a round, rosy apple ? Surely it is one of God's
best gifts to man ! " Never a meal without an apple, is my motto,"
says the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse, and there is a saying in the West
country : " An apple a day, keeps the doctor away !" which may fitly
apply to the dwellers in this orchard-land. Ruddy autumn, too, has
its ample delights. The bright blossoms of the fleabane, which is
one of the rarest sights in the Highlands, makes here a common
wayside show, while the pretty crimson petals of the wild autumn
crocus are among the most conspicuous sights in the neighbourhood
of Church Fenton. I cannot make out (for no one seems to know)
how long this uncommon plant has spread its humble glory over the

fields of Fen ton. Tradition says the bulbs were brought to England
in the reign of Edward III. by a pilgrim who carried them at the
risk of his life from an Eastern land, concealing them in the hollow
of his staff. But whether the pilgrim brought them to Yorkshire, or
how long the bulbs have grown here, we have now no means of
ascertaining.

Church Fenton, Kirk Fenton, or Fenton as it appears in old
charters, seems like many other of the surrounding places, as Bolton,
Ryther, Appleton, &c., to have had its origin as a settlement, in
Saxon times. The prefix fen is obviously the A.S. fen, a fen or
marsh, in allusion to the original situation of the ton, enclosure, town,
beside some wet, low-lying spot. Before the land was drained,
marshes, with their congregations of wild-fowl, must have been
common in the flat-lands about the Wharfe and Ouse, and many
field-names of sites now dry and cultivated still bear witness to the
fact. The Fleets at Little Fenton may be cited as an example.

In the great Norman survey of 1083 — 6, the place is first noticed
thus :

Manor. In Fentun, Osmund had three bovates for geld. Land [to] half a
plough. Now, the same [Osmund] has it of Ilbert [de Lacy]. In the demesne
one plough and one acre of meadow. In the time of King Edward it was worth
ten shillings ; now ten shillings.

Osmund, the previous Saxon owner, was permitted to retain his
land as a vassal of the new lord of the great honour of Pontefiract.
Though Whitaker, in reviewing the rich manor of Sherbum, with
its berewicks and two dependent churches, at this time, suggests
that one of these churches was probably at Fenton, there is nothing
to warrant the assumption. The manor of Fenton was separately
surveyed and was not part of the Archbishop's fee. The cultivated
area was also small, the population insignificant, and even admitting
that the lord's ploughland in demesne carried, as no doubt it would,
a capital messuage with service, there is nothing to presuppose the
existence of a separately endowed church, as in the case of Sherbum,
with its ** four-score and sixteen carucates of land, where they may
be sixty ploughs."

Osmund's descendants in all probability continued to reside here,
taking the name of De Fenton, though it is not under this name
that we hear of the next transaction in the history of the manor.
This was in the reign of John, when the King's Justices were holding
court at Doncaster on Sunday, August i8th, 1202. A fine was there
entered between Alexander Fitz- Robert, petitioner, and Henry de
Camera and Agnes his wife, deforciants, of six bovates of land, with
appurtenances in Fenton, and the said Alexander remits all his rights

in the named six bovates, &c., in favor of him the said Henry and
Agnes and their heirs. For this quitclaim the said Henry and heirs
remit to the said Alexander and his heirs i8 pence of two shillings
rent of (etc.) 21 acres of land in the same place, rendering hence only
6d. annually for the same, namely 3d. at Pentecost and 3d. at the
Feast of St. Martin, for all services, save foreign services. And the
before-named Henry gives the said Alexander i mark of silver.

Then again in 1208 there is another agreement between Roger de
Brun and Ascelina, his wife, petitioners, and Richard Fitz- Richard de
Hudeston (Huddleston), deforciant, of three-fourths of a bovate of
land, and of three parts of twelve acres of land, with appurtenances,
in Fen ton. Roger and Ascelina acknowledge the said lands, &c., to
be the right of him, the said Richard; for which recognizance the
said Richard gives to the said Roger and Ascelina four acres of above
land, of which one is in the culture of Hesse, another in the culture
of Muncaie, a third in the culture of Hille, and the fourth lies near
the garden of the said Richard towards the south. To have and to
hold the said lands on a yearly render of 3d. payable at Pentecost,
for all services. And the above Richard gives the said Roger and
Ascelina a half-mark of silver.

Fenton, in common with many other places in the wapentake of
Barkston Ash, is not returned in Kirkbys Inquest (1284-5), but in
the Nomifia Villarum (13 15) it is recorded that Fenton, with its mem-
bers, is held conjointly by two of the families above mentioned,
namely Henry de Camera and John Fitz- Richard, while the township
of Barkston, adjoining, was at this time held of the Archbishop of
York, John Fitz-Walter and John de Selby. The old Hundred
Courts were formerly held in this once important village, to which
the men of the wapentake owed suit.

The parish of Church Fenton includes the township of that name.
Little Fenton and Biggin (from the A.S. byggafh to build), the two
latter within the liberty of St. Peter of York. A singularly inter-
esting record of the names of the inhabitants, with their holdings,
appears in Archbishop Greenfield's Register of the 4th year of
Edward H. (1310), under the heading of Fenton :

Johannes fil. Thomae holds 22 acres of land. Constantius Furmin holds i toft ;
Robcrtus Jolif i toft and 4 acres of land ; Henry Diker i toft and 2 acres of land ;
Roger Stain i toft and 4 acres ; John de Lumby i toft and 8 acres : John Batman
I toft and 8 acres ; William fil. Hugh de Chater i toft and 8 acres ; Henry de
Houck I toft and 33 acres ; Thomas Chapelain i toft and 1 acre ; John de Birne
I toft and I acre ; Margeriade Panely i toft ; John fil. Henry i toft and 16 acres ;
Roger fil. William i toft and 30 acres ; William fil. Galfrid i toft and i acre ;
Robert fil. Wilkoc i toft and i acre ; Galfrid del Meiten i toft and i acre : Jacke
I toft and 6 acres ; Richard Totty i toft and 3 acres ; William fil German i toft

and 2 acres ; John fil. Gilbert i toft and 6 acres ; John fil. Alan i toft and 3
Walter Brette i toft ; Adam Fox i toft ; Richaird fil. Humfrey i toft ; Alice le
Wilde I toft ; Thomas Sutor i toft ; Thomas AUi i toft and i acre.

Whether the Robert Jolif who held a parcel of land at Church
Fenton in 13 10, is any connection of the Essex family of Jolliff or
Jolliffe I have not ascertained. But it is noteworthy that the late
John Jolliffe Tuffhell, Esq., D.L., J.P., of Chelmsford, was at his
death in 1894, ^^^ of the principal landowners at Church Fenton,
and by marriage of John Tuffhell, Esq., with Elizabeth, sister of
Sir William Joliff, claims descent from the Jolliffs of Leeke and
Careswell Castle, co. Stafford.

I have already mentioned the Langtons as owners of the valuable
quarries at Huddleston, and in a deed dated at Bishopthorpe in 1373,
a grant is made to William Gray and Robert de Wyclif of the w^d-
ship and marriage of John, son and heir of John de Langton, of
York, he being then a minor, and heir to lands and tenements in
Frismersk (one of the lost towns on the H umber), Huddleston and
Fenton. These possessions had been held by John, father of the
said heir, of the Archbishop of York by knight service. Following
this I find some further charters from which it appears the ancient
and honourable Craven family of Altaripa or Dautry, held lands in
Fenton. A charter df Thomas de Altaripa, dated at York, 26th
March, 1382, assigns and instates Robert de Barkestone, his attorney,
to receive full possession of all those lands which belonged to
Nic. de Midleton, Kt., within the parish of Church Fenton, according
to the terms of a certain indenture to him the aforesaid Richard (sic)
thereof made. Again in 1383 Thomas de Altaripa of Carlton-in-
C raven, granted Robert de Stillington, parson of the church of
Broughton, Robert Dautry, chaplain of Carlton, and Thomas Wode,
of Carlton, all his lands in Elslack, Glusbum, Rimington, Bukthorpe,
Newthorpe-juxta-Sherburn in Elmet, and Kirkfenton, with all their
appurtenances.* This grant is witnessed at Elslack, where Godfrey
de Altaripa had by license of 12th Edward II. (13 18) erected a castle
or fortified manor-house. Another indenture of the same date,
written in Norman -French, and dated at Rest in the parish of
Sherburn, witnesses that Thomas Dautrey, of Carlton, granted and
confirmed to William de Hoghwyk, his heirs and assigns, an annual
rent of 26s. 8d., issuing out of his lands and tenements, with their
appurtenances, in Glusbum in Craven, during the life of Isabelle,
wife of the said Thomas Dautery. By this arrangement the said
William agreed to hold and peaceably enjoy all the lands, &c., in
Kirk Fenton, according to the form and effect of a charter of

* Col. Top. et Gen., Part xxiii. (1839) page 308.

enfeoffment made to the said William by the said Thomas Dautery,
without any rent charge issuing from the said lands and tenements,
except the services due and accustomed to the chief lord of the fee,
and also that the said Isabella, wife of the said Thomas, shall not
challenge her dower in the said lands and tenements, underwritten.

The property of this ancient house was transmitted by marriage
of coheiresses. Elizabeth, daughter of John Dautery, Kt., married
Sir John Bold, of Bold, co. Lancaster, to whose son, Brian Bold,
she releases all her lands, services, &c., in Carlton and Jolesum,
33rd Henry VI. (1454-5). Before this, however, a fine is entered of
the manor of Carlton between Boniface de Bold, plaintiff", and
John de Bold and this Elizabeth, his wife, deforciants. About the
same time also, Isabella, daughter and sole heiress of a William de
Altaripa, married Roger Ferrand, of Skipton, who brought the Hall
estate, not the manor, into that family.*

The manor of Fenton was in 1649 purchased by Adam Baynes,
M.P. for Leeds in the Interregnum. He was bom in 162 1-2, entered
the army of the Parliament, and died in 1670. He purchased
several Royal Forests in Lancashire, likewise the King's manor of
Holmeby in Northants. of General Lambert for ;f 22,000 but was
compelled to give it up at the Restoration. The following transactions
(not before published) concern the sale of the manor of Church
Fenton at this time :

Manor of Church Fenton.

We whose names are hereunder written being five of the Contractors appointed
by an Act of this present Parliament for the sale of the lands and possessions of
the late Deans. Deans and Chapters, Cannons, Prebends, and other persons in
the said Act mentioned ; doe hereby Certify to the Treasurers in the said Act
named, or any two of them ; that Adam Baynes who according to a Contract of
the 9th day of October last made by the said Adam Baynes for the purchase of
the Mannour of fienton and other things in the County of Yorke was to pay the
sum of [blank] in the whole, hath according to an Act of this Parliament of the
nineteenth day of June, 1649, payd to John Blackwell one of the Contractors in
the said first Act named whom wee and the rest of those contractors have appointed
to receive the same ; the sum of sixpence in the pound for all his said purchase
money which comes in the whole to Nyne pounds two shillings fourepence and
hath been received by the said John Blackwell and is by the said Act of the nine-
teenth June 1649 to be defaulked by the saia Adam Baynes and to be allowed to
him or such other, to whom the Conveyance is to passe by the said Treasurers,
or any two of them, in part of his or their said purchase money.

Dated this 9th day of November 1649.

Tho. Ayres William Roberts

Clem Oxenbridge Robt. ffenwicke

Ja. Russell. t

• Set Whi taker's Craven, 3rd edition, page 223.

i Add MSS., 21,427 fo. 50.

Twenty-two days following the date of the above, I find this
certificate of completion of the contract, enrolled by the Deputy
Comptroller :

Know all men by theise presents That the whoUe purchase money payable by
Adam Baynes of Knowstropp in the county of Yorke according to a contract of
the munth of October 1649, by him made with the Contractors for the sale of >-e
late Deanes and Chapters landes for the purchase of the Man nor of fifenton wth
the rights members and appurtenances thereof in the said County of Yorke and
other things certified by the Deputy Register to have binne by the said Adam
Baynes Contracted for Amountinge to the sum of three hundred sixtie fifoore
pounds foureteene shillings two pence is by him paid and defaulked in this
manner (that is to say) fifoure pounds eleven shillings tenn pence is payd in ready
money to the Treasurers And the residue thereof being three hundred and sixtie
pounds two shillings and foure pence is defaulked by the said Adam Baynes upon
parte of transferred Certificate fixed upon the Creditt of the Act of Parliament
for the sale of Deanes and Chapters lands and one Certificate under five of the
Contractors hands for sale of the said lands for vid. per pound upon the Contract.
As is certified to us by the Register Accomptant. Witness our hands the first day
of December 1649.

Stephen Estwicke. Tho. Hoes. (?).

The purchaser left a son, Robert Baynes, who died in 1697, but
whether the manor descended to him and his heirs I have not
ascertained.* The manor subsequently passed to the Gascoignes of
Parlington, and is now owned by Lady Ashtown, but the principal
landowners are Col. Wm. Nevill Tuffnell, Esq., D.L., and Henry
Edward Bull, Esq.

The Fabric Rolls of York Minster shew that many of the male
population of the parish of Fenton, in the 15th century, were
employed in quarrying and leading stone from the quarries at
Huddleston to the banks of the Ouse for transhipment to York.
The blacksmith of Fenton, whose smithy is still conspicuous in the
village, is also mentioned in 1458. Singularly, not one tradesman or
artificer in Fenton is returned in the Poll Tax of 1378. The named
population then consisted of 42 married couples and 26 single adults
who are all rated at the agricultural tax of 4d. each. Allowing for
men absent in war, &c., and for the exempted poor, the population
of the parish was probably not less than 250, in which case it would

• An account of Adam Baynes will be found in the National Diet. 0/ Biography.
but the date of his birth is erroneously given as 1631, and Knowstrop is stated to
be in Northants. instead of in Yorkshire. It may also be added that in the con-
firmation of his arms granted in 1650, he is stated to have " anciently come out
of Cumberland and settled himself at Knostrop." It is not improbable that his
ancestors settled with kindred long seated in the parish of Leeds, and in a long
succession of Adams and Roberts, perhaps descended firom .the Adam and Robert
de Knowsthorpe of the Subsidy Rolls of Edward III.

be safe to assert that it had been nearly 400 a century before. There
was no squire or chief lord living there in 1378, though ** Isabella at
ye Hall," probably a housekeeper, is mentioned among the then
resident ratepayers.

No properties at Fenton are cited in the Monasticon as having
belonged to the monasteries, yet it would appear that Selby Abbey had
possessions here, for in 33rd Henry VIII. (1541), William Bapthorpe
obtained a grant from the King of lands and tenements in Fenton
and \Vistow, late belonging to Selby Abbey.* Eight years previously
he had similarly obtained the manor of Newhay, with tenements, &c.,
in Saxton and Scarthingwell, late the property of Clementhorpe
Priory.

From an unpublished inquisition taken at York Castle, 15th Oct.,
1672, I find that a parcel of land called the Fleet, in the lordship of
Little Fenton, the rents and profits of which, every third year,
when a field in the township of Little Fenton, called Sweemunds,
lay fallow, were taken by the churchwardens of Kirk Fenton for
repair of the Parish Church. This enquiry elicited the fact that
Wm. Hammond, Esq., of Skaldingwell, had been owner of the
lands, and he about the year 1660 had sold the said parcel to
John Motterhom, of Bishopdyke Hall, who had not paid the above
rent for four years past.

Church and poor had suffered greatly during the troubled era of
the Civil War, and there appears to have been a great abuse of
public charities, as will be seen in the chapter on this subject relating
to Cawood.

How many men of Fenton took part in that disastrous broil of the
17th century we have no means of ascertaining, but the Sessions
Records of the West Riding shew that one George Buck, of Fenton,
had been badly wounded in the war and in 1676 he was lame and
blind.- He had served the King's party under Captain Edward
Stanhope, in the company of foot, and no doubt fought at Marston,
but being now totally unable to work, a petition bearing many
influential signatures, seems to have got the old man a pension.

During the Jacobite rebellion in 171 5 the men of Fenton were
again called upon to provide and set forth foot soldiers for the West
Riding militia. Their names are given in a MS. book elsewhere
noted, entitled Ye Register of Sir Henry Goodrich^ A^ 1715 and 171 6 A
The country was in a very disturbed state for a long period and not

^ The above grants I find cited in the Coucher Book of Selby Abbey, but the
charters are undated.

t Ste upper Wharfedale, page 56.

until the " waefu' day o* Drumossie Muir" in 1746 sealed the fate
of the Stuarts, was anything like a settled order of society restored ;
though Church Fenton, some two or three years after this, was the
scene of one of the most shocking crimes that marked that era of
unsettled existence. Two honest women named Elizabeth Ferrand
and Mary Parker, living together, being well-to-do grocers in Church
Fenton, were brutally murdered in broad daylight in their own house
by a ruffian named Fawthorp, who robbed them of all their money
and valuables and then decamped. Afterwards the barking of a dog
attracted the attention of some of the neighbours, who broke into
the house, and discovered the two lifeless bodies mangled in a most
awful manner. The bloody deed, it is said, had been done with a
cooper's adze, or some other blunt instrument. Fawthorp was
eventually apprehended and hanged at the Tyburn without Mickle-
gate Bar, York, March 26th, 1749.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Church, Village, and Old Families of Church Fenton.

Antiquity of the church — Its dedication — Description of the church, and archi-
tectural details — Singular position of holy-water stoup — Prebendary of
Fenton — The vicars — Old families — Old houses — Remains of ancient cross.

URNING from records of war and crime, let us now
seek pleasanter paths. The hoary old church by the
wayside in the village is invested with no common
interest, and nearly eight centuries of history surround
its hallowed walls. Its very dedication is lost in
antiquity. Though recorded to have been St. Mary,* there appear
good reasons for supposing it to have borne a double dedication in
honour of St. Mary and St. John the Baptist. Upon entering the
church you take a step down, perhaps symbolical of the Baptist
stepping down into the waters to baptize. This arrangement, how-
ever, is common in ancient and unaltered churches dedicated to this
saint. Healaugh and Adel in our own district may be cited as
examples. Moreover one of the pre- Reformation bells of the church
bears a figure of the Baptist, with the inscription : Jfac tibi Babtistta
fit ut accq)tabi'li0 wta.f [Do those things which the Baptist has made
favourable (acceptable) to you.]

♦ There are a number of early charters in the Reg. Mag. Album at York, and in
the Cotton MSS. (Claudius B. III.), in which the church of Fenton is thus
referred to ; (i) Hugh, son of Germanus de Fenton, grants to God and the church
of the Blessed Virgin of Fenton, the yearly rent of a penny, which David de Chau-
comb used to pay him for a tenement in Fenton ; (2) William, son of Henry de
Camera, of Fenton, grants to God, the church of S. Mary and the prebend of Fenton,
and Mr. Robert de Winton, prebendary of Fenton, and his successors, an annual
rent of 6d. which the said Robert owed me for one part of a messuage near the
cemetery of Fenton. Archbishop Gray's Register, page i8g.

t Anciently St. John the Baptist as a patron-saint was very popular, but in
modem times no dedication is so common as St. John the Evangelist. Among
the old churches of Worcestershire the proportion of St. John the Baptist out-
numbers St. John the Evangelist as twenty to one. Su Miss Amold-Forster's
Studies in Church Dedications.

The church is cruciform, having transepts with central tower (as
in cathedrals) supported upon four massive 13th century arches.
These are discontinuous, there being no capitals, a character most
commonly met with in Flamboyant work, though occasionally in
earlier styles. The choir is spacious, being forty feet long and nearly
twenty feet wide ; the arch inclines slightly to the north. The large
east window of four lights is a fine example of late Flamboyant, and
contains a beautiful and harmonious composition in stained glass,
with inscribed scrolls. The north and south sides of the chancel, as
also the west end and the tower, are late Perpendicular.* The south
window of the chancel is of three lights, filled with stained glass
depicting figures of St. Peter, St. John and St. James, and is a
memorial to the Rev. John Bull, S.T.P., prebendary of Fenton in
the Cathedral Church at York, who died in 1858. The window was
erected by his brother, the Rev. Henry Bull, M.A., rector of Lath-
bury in Buckinghamshire.

The north transept, now occupied by the organ and vestry, is
Early Pointed, having lancet lights, one of which contains some old
stained glass. There is also a Perpendicular oak screen in this
transept, making a division for the vestry, and a slab upon the floor
records the death of one Thomas Birdsall, who died in 1 709. Before
1840, when the new school was built, this transept had been parti-
tioned off for the Sunday School, and subsequently down to the
restoration of 1844 a loft was set up in it, in which hay and straw
were kept, I believe for the sexton's donkey ! Indeed old inhabitants
tell me that the ass was actually stalled there, and that strangers
passing in the night-time fled as for their lives when sometimes they
were startled by the sombre bray of the disturbed animal echoing in
the aisles, verily believing his Satanic Majesty was endeavouring to
call up (it is to be hoped vainly) the spirits of the departed !

The south transept aflbrds an interesting example of the transition
that took place in the time of Edward III., when the restricted
lancets were giving way to the more spacious lights of the Middle
Pointed style. In the east wall are two single pointed windows, and
in the west wall a double lancet, with quatrefoil above, combined
beneath a hood terminating in bosses of characteristic foliage. The
south side is lighted by a spacious window in four compartments,
having Decorated tracery in the head. Beneath this window is an
ogee niche of the same period, coeval with a female effigy now in the
chancel, which was discovered laid upside down and forming part of
the chancel pavement when the church was restored in 1844. It is

* The wood and plaster-work of the chancel in 1300 was reported to be in a
very decayed condition. SurUes Soc, vol. 35 (1858), page 266.

of good Huddleston limestone and in excellent preservation, and is
laid upon a modern base. The lady is represented with hands in
prayerful attitude upon her breast, and clad in a long, close-fitting
dress, concealing the feet. The sleeves are open at the ends and
reach a little below the elbow. The head, reclining upon a cushion
laid anglewise, is covered with a veil, having a double plait arranged
diagonally in front, while a single plait extends down either side of
the head, and the usual large wimple or gorget covers both chin and
neck. At the feet is a curious combination of heads, a dog and a
talbot or lion apparently contending for the head of some other
animal. The effigy may be dated 1320 — 1330, and had probably
been concealed during the Puritanical revolution. Some old oak
forming the end of a pew bears the arms of Newby (two stilts in
saltire) ; Ryther (three crescents) and Newby again (as named, with
a label of three points for difference).

Female Effigy in Church Fenton Church

The east end of the south transept has apparently been a chantry
chapel, though there appears no documentary evidence of its having
been endowed. In the east wall are two stone brackets upon which
figures no doubt were placed, and during the alterations in 1844 an
ancient stone altar-slab, bearing the usual five crosses, was discovered
here, as also another in the chancel. The latter has the usual centre
cross marked on the front edge of the stone.*

The south aisle is separated from the nave at the west end by two
pointed arches resting upon octagonal columns. A third arch lower
and rounder than the others is carried upon a small cylindrical shaft,
having a moulded capital and octagonal base, and a half-arch at
the east end springs from the latter. There is a narrow pointed
entrance into the tower, the step of which is now nearly a yard above
the floor of the nave, and about seven feet above this doorway is a small
square- headed window. The tower is battlemented, and has large
belfry- windows with sloping sills. The curious buttress-like projection

♦ See upper Wharf edale, pages 317-18.

at the south-west angle, shewn in the accompanying illustration,
is only a thickening out of the wall for the above-mentioned staircase
into the tower.

The second illustration shews the east end with the restored roof-
pitch. It may be noted that before the introduction of hammer-
beams and flat roofs, the leading timbers of the principals, says
Mr. Parker, were often formed into an arch by the addition of
circular braces under the tie-beams, the beams themselves being also
frequently curved. The spandrils formed by these braces were very
usually filled with pierced tracery, and the timbers generally were

E*ST End of Church Fenton Church,

more moulded and enriched than in the earlier styles. Mr. George
Fowler Jones, F.R.I.B.A,, who very ably and efficiently restored the
church in 1844, tells me that he re-roofed it to the old pitch, which
was clearly marked by a weathering against the tower. As a con-
sequence the roof of the aisle inside looks low, being continuous with
the nave-roof above it, but the design undoubtedly carries with it
the principle of the original building. The old roof had evidently
been lowered three times by shortening the spars and other timbers
that had decayed on the wall. The south aisle was also rebuilt and

lOI

part of the north transept, together with the buttresses at the angles
of the south transept.*

The old south porch, which had been many times repaired,! was
also rebuilt, and has a very high gable. The doorway is Early
Pointed and bears a nail-head impost. The north entrance, now
blocked, has a mutilated stone bracket on the east side, and the
remains of a holy-water stoup opposite, a somewhat remarkable
position for such objects, and apparently so placed from local usage of
entering the church by the north doorway and quitting it by the south.

The church was originally a rectory but was appropriated to the
prebendary of Fenton by Archbishop Walter Gray. A vicarage was
ordained in 1240 and the prebendaries continued patrons. J The
Uving is valued in the King's Books (Henry VIII.) at /*6 13s. 4d.
yearly, and in the Parliamentary Survey at /*io per annum. Torre
gives a list of vicars to the 17th century.§ In an inquisition taken
at Sherbum in 13 10, Adam, clericus, de Fenton, is named as present
among the jurors, who say that the manor of Sherbum, &c., is held by
the Archbishop of York of the lord King, in capite.% The present
excellent vicar, the Rev. James John Christie, M. A., who is also Rural
Dean, succeeded the late venerable vicar, the Rev. James Isaacson,
in 1899. The registers of the church commence in 1630, but are
defective from 1739 to 1750.

• Mr. Jones, the architect and restorer of the church 56 years ago, and now in
his 85th year, is still remarkably hale and active. Upon hearing of the author's
project he at once kindly undertook to visit the district, and took several admirable
photographs (including the views of Church Fenton) which are engraved in this
work.

f In 1472 the porch was reported to be in a bad state owing to decay of plaster-
work. Surtus Sdc., vol. 35, page 257.

J Adverting to the conjecture on page 90 as to a Domesday church at Fenton,
I may observe that the prebends of the liberty of St. Peter's, York, were an ordi-
nation of post Survey date ; nor were the prebends of Fenton and Wistow founded
until the time of Archbishop Gray, the foundation being confirmed by Pope
Honorius III. {Reg. Mag. Album, III., 36a). The original plan of the canons of
York living together, or in common. — a system derived from the Celtic Church,
does not appear to have continued after the nth century, for Henry the Chanter,
who wrote about this time, relates that " after the canons had lived together for a
few years. Archbishop Thomas, by the advice of certain persons, divided the land
of St. Peter (a.d. 1090), which was still for a large part waste, assigning a prebend
to each, both that the number of canons might grow, and also that each one
acting for himself would be more zealous in building on and cultivating his own
share" {History Ch. Y., II., 108). The prebends were called sometimes after the
altars in the minster to which they belonged, and sometimes after the places from
which they derived their dues. The latter was adopted in the case of the prebends
of Fenton and Wistow, within the liberty of St. Peter at York.

§ Vide Torre's MSS. (Peculiars), page 555. ^ Surtees Soc, vol. 49, page 438.

I02

The most ancient local family of which we have any record is that
of De Fenton, who took their name from the place, and in all
probability descend from the " Richard " of Fenton, whose " garden"
I have mentioned as existing in 1208. In 1275 Johannes de Fenton,
tanner, was a freeman of the city of York. He is amongst the
earliest enrolled, and doubtless obtained his freedom by inheritance.
In 1309, Nicholas de Fenton, butcher, and in 1328, William de
Fenton, clericusy were also freemen of York. In 131 7 license was
granted to Ralph de Fenton, chaplain, to assign rents in Nabum-
juxta-Fulford, to a chaplain to celebrate divine service in the cathedral
church at the altar of St. William for the souls of the said Ralph
and his ancestors.* Members of this family were settled early about
Leeds, and they were long resident at Middleton, near Hunslet, from
the time of Edward II. Sir GeoflPrey Fenton, Kt., Secretary of
State, married a daughter of Richard Weston, Lord Chancellor of
Ireland, by whom he had a son, William, and a daughter, Catharine,
married to Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork, from which alliance
several noble families trace their descent. He died in 1608. Richard
Boyle, second Earl of Cork, created Earl of Burlington in 1664, 'was
lineal ancestor of the present Duke of Devonshire.!

I have also mentioned the family of Dautry, landowners in Fenton,
who had a fortified manor-house at Elslack in the parish of Broughton
in Craven. Thomas de Fenton was instituted rector of Broughton
in 1 39 1 and resigned in 1393. The church at Broughton, it should
be observed, was not appropriated to Bolton Priory nor a vicarage
endowed till 1442. Fr. Wm. de Fenton, a canon of that monastery,
was vicar of Broughton and a man evidently of some substance, for
administration of his effects was granted to Gilbert, Prior of Bolton,
22nd April, 1480.J There have always been Fentons at Fenton, and
they are there still.

After the dissolution of religious houses there were a few families
in the parish who resolutely declined allegiance to the reformed
church. The Newbys were amongst these, an important landowning
family in the 15th and i6th centuries at Church Fenton, whose arms
are in the church. Peacock mentions Francis, wife of Gervise Newby,
gent., Elizabeth, wife of Edward Newby, and Ambrose and Cicely
Newby, their children, as Papists in 1604. Also Robert Halliley,
Alice Dalby, Elizabeth Grene, widow, and Clare, her daughter, were
avowed non -communicants at the Parish Church at the same time.

• Pat. Rolls, nth Edward II., page i, m. 28.

t See Upper WharfedaU, page 305.

X See Whitakers Craven, 3rd edition, page 109.

I03

The lords of the manor of Fenton have for a long period been non-
resident, and there is no house now existing that can strictly be called
the manor-house. The old moat-house was pulled down about 1SS5
and the present substantial residence, now occupied by Mr. Joseph A.
Walkington, occupies its site. The commons of the parish were
enclosed in 1 771 -2, when 260 acres were allotted for tithes. A further
Enclosure Act was also passed in 177S. The Wesleyan Methodists
were established here last cenlury and they erected a chapel in 1807.
The National Schools in the village were built in 1840, when
Wm. Ammilt was schoolmaster. The buildings were enlarged in
1871. There is also a Board School at Biggin.

There are the remains of an ancient cross on the green opposite
the smithy, but for what purpose it was erected or whether it is in its
original position no one now appears to know. The base is rudely
octagonal and the portion of the shaft that remains is of the same
pattern and about a yard high. The village has never been chartered
for a market, nor have markets known to have been ever held here,
as the ancient chartered towns of Sherburn and Tadcaster are only
some three to five miles distant.

I05

CHAPTER IX.

Bolton Percy : its History and Old Families.

Picturesque aspects — ^The vine and rosemary — Old houses — Evidences of the Ice
Age — Many Boltons in Yorkshire and consequent confusion — The manor of
Bolton Percy — Methods of land cultivation at the Conquest — The soke of
Healaugh an important heritage — The pre-Conquest church — The Percies
and their Yorkshire castles — Successive owners of Bolton Percy — Peculiar
anomaly in the ownership of the church and manor — Grant of free-warren —
Plague and murrain — Effects at Bolton Percy — Population in 1378 — The Lords
Beaumont — Sale of the manor to the Fairfaxes — The Duke of Buckingham
aud Mary Fairfax married at Bolton Percy — Sale of the manor to the Milners
— Old families — The Wickhams^Some notable connections with Bolton
Percy — Manor of Homington — The Kendalls.

ROM Church Fenton we may travel by rail, three miles,
crossing the Wharfe into the Ainsty, to the pleasant
village of Bolton Percy. It has a station on the main
line from Leeds and Sheffield to York, and, accurately
measured, the station is 7 miles 40 chains from York.
The village forms yet another of those beautifully-picturesque " red-
tiled islands in a sea of orchards," surrounded by sweet sequestered
lanes and posied by-ways, and where, too, charming old homesteads
stand about invitingly beneath perfect masks of flowers. Comfortless
as these pretty dwellings sometimes are, we nevertheless like their
quaint looks, neither forgetting the old fashioned herbs and flowers that
usually grow about them. These gardens are many-posied. The vine
and rosemary here make a luxuriant show, conjuring up memories
of those bygone days when nearly every house older than the
Reformation, — when religion was surely nearer the hearts of the
people, — grew one or other of these typical plants with almost
venerating care. The vine was the type of Our Lord, who compared
Himself with it, and he that planted it had " cast out the heathen "
(Ps. Ixxx., 8) ; while the rosemary was the emblem of remembrance
in absence or in death. The leaves and tendrils of the vine are
sculptured on our oldest sacred monuments ; the rosemary was laid
upon every bier, and was it not the sweet -voiced Ophelia who
exclaimed : " There's rosemary prithee, that's for remembrance, and
there are pansies, too, that's for thoughts " ?

io6

Two or three of these old cottages are pictures of rustic beauty.
One of them, I observed, was built of stone and thin bricks, alternately,
something after the old Roman fashion ; while the walls of another
were composed of a great variety of round cobbles, derived from the
washings of the great ice-sheet and moraines that once overspread
this skirt of the Vale of York. In the old wall of the churchyard,
near the stile on the south-east side, there is a boulder of Shap Fell
granite, which I once pointed out to an old native of the place, who
was unaware of its presence. The face of the stone measures 27
inches by 18 inches, and as I find from the Parish Accounts that a
new gate for the churchyard, and also a new stile, were provided in
1800 by a William Richardson, for the sum of £7. iis., it is not
improbable the stone may have been put in then.

The noble old church, the largest in the Ainsty, stands where it
has always stood from the old Saxon days, by the homes of the
people ; while few may be aware that this now small and peaceful
village was probably the site of a once mighty battlemented castle,
erected by one of the doughty Percies in the days of the first King
Edward. But of this more anon.

In Yorkshire there are many Boltons, and in early charters and
other old documents it is not always easy to distinguish them. Even
the clerk to the Conqueror's commissioners confuses Bolton Percy
with Bolton-on-Dearne, these being among the hundred manors
granted to Percy at the Conquest. Our Bolton seems to have been
an important parish even in pre- Norman times. It is thus surveyed
in the great inquest of 1083-6 :

Three Manors. In Bodetone (Bohon Percy) Ligulf, Turchil [and] Emui
had eight carucates for geld, where four ploughs may be. Now Rozelin has it of
William [de Percy] . He has two ploughs there and six villanes with two ploughs
and twenty acres of meadow. A priest is there and a church. Wood, half a
leuga in length and half [a leuga] in breadth. The whole one leuga in length
and half [a leuga] in breadth. In the time of King Edward it was worth forty
shillings ; now thirty shillings.

Manor. In Torp (Pallethorpe) Gamelbar had two carucates of land for geld,
and one plough may be there. Now Fulk has it of William. Two villanes and
two bordars are there with one plough. In King Edward's time it was worth
twenty shillings ; now twenty shillings.

Two Manors. In Hornitone (Hornington) Gamelbar and Aldene had three
carucates of land for geld, where two ploughs may be. Now Godefrid has it of
William. Five villanes are there with one plough and twelve acres of meadow.
Wood pasture half a leuga in length and as much in breadth. The whole six
quaranteens in length and six in breadth. In King Edward's time it was worth
ten shillings ; now fifteen shillings.

These represent the whole of Percy's possessions in what was
constituted the parish of Bolton, but there were other large properties

in the parish not held by Percy, namely, four manors in Steeton,
three manors in Appleton Roebuck, five manors in Colton, besides
lands in Pallethorpe and Hornington, all held by Osbern de Arches.
Next we find it stated :

In Bodeltune (Bohon Percy) William de Percy has five carucates of the land
of Ligulf. The soke belongs to Hailaga (Healaugh). the land of Goisfrid Alselin.
Of twelve bovates of land in Waletune (Walton) of the land of Godwin, the soke
belongs to Hailage (Healaugh). the land of G. Alselin.

William de Percy summons his peers in testimony that [when] William Malet
was living, and was Sheriflf of York, he himself was seiz^ of Bodetone (Bolton
Percy) and held it.

Osbern de Arcis confirms that Gulbert. his predecessor, had Apeltone (Appleton
Roebuck) and all the other lands quit [from geld].

Ulchil suabrodre [had] in Stiutone (Steeton) two carucates, in Hornintone
(Hornington) half a carucate. in Oxetone (Oxton) one carucate, in Torp (Palle-
thorpe) six bovates, in Coletone (Colton) seven bovates. Count Robert [of
Mortain] has them. Nigel Fossard holds of him.

From this important testimony we gather that the district was one
of great fertility and very populous in the Confessor's time. There
were 8 carucates under the plough in the township of Bolton, and
moreover, the whole township was worked on one uniform system by
four ploughs. That is, there were 1440 statute acres in cultivation
in 1086, of which 960 acres were annually ploughed and paid geld.
There was also, according to the calculations of Mr. Pell, 720 acres
of pasturable woodland. Fleta {temp, Edward I.) observes that if
land lay in three common fields [as at Bolton Percy] the carucate
contained 180 acres, 60 for winter tillage, 60 for Lent tillage, and 60
for fallow ; but if it lay in two fields the carucate contained 160
acres, that is 80 for fallow and 80 for winter and Lent tillage. The
latter system seems to be the more ancient of the two, and was
probably the method adopted by the Britons, and was still in vogue
at Appleton, Steeton, and Colton when the Normans made their
great survey in 1083 — 6.

The soke of Healaugh, it should be noted, extended over a wide
district, and even the men of Bolton owed suit to that lordship from
five out of their eight carucates, doubtless the continuation of an
immemorial usage. It is also interesting to observe that there was
already an endowed church at Bolton (Percy) situated within the
township, and such township regarded ecclesiastically became the
parish or " priest's share." Originally these were of large extent,
but as churches and priests multiplied they became smaller, while
many were again enlarged by the readjustment of civil boundaries
after the Norman conquest. There are places in the parish of Bolton
that did not come originally within the civil jurisdiction of Bolton.
Colton, for example, did never belong to the Percies, yet the people

io8

of that place have ever attended and received the sacraments at the
church of Bolton, and so became united to that parish.

There appears to have been some doubt as to whether the heirs of
William Mallet, a large landowner in the neighbourhood {see page
63), were not entitled to the manors of Bolton at the time of the
Inquest. But Percy summoned his peers and proved his claim, and
so this large well -farmed manor descended to the heirs of his
chivalrous house. But notwithstanding a long era of prosperity,
notably in the 13th century, there does not appear to have been any
increase in the area of cultivated land within the manor between the
time of the Conqueror's great survey and the last quarter of the 13th
century. There were still extensive woodlands within the manor
which are especially noteworthy as those from which William de
Percy gave timber for service in the construction of York Minster,
and his effigy, holding a piece of wrought timber, along with that of
Vavasour, holding a piece of rough stone, expressing in a similar
manner that he gave much of the stone, are to be seen above the
western entrance to that noble fane.

According to the return made by John de Kirkby* in 1284-5, there
were still eight carucates of land in Bolton under cultivation, which
were held by Robert de Percy of the heirs of Henry de Percy, and
he had held them of the King in capite^ as of his barony of Topcliflfe,
by the rent of 4s. annually. The same Robert de Percy in 1292
obtained royal leave to crenellate or embattle his manor-house at
Bolton (Percy) as also his manor of Sutton (on Derwent).+ This
was about seventeen years before Henry de Percy received license to
build his castle at Spofforth, the family's chief residence in Yorkshire.

• See Upper Wharfedale, page 393.

•j- Mr. Ellis (Yorks. Archal.JL, iv., 156-7) says that Picot de Percy, brother of
William, grantee at the Conquest, was before the Survey, enfeoffed in the manon
of Bolton Percy and Sutton-on-Derwent, but the Bolton then held by Picot was
undoubtedly Bolton-on-Deame. Bolton Percy may have come to Picot, and
apparently did come to him before William's death in 1096-7. See post. Robert,
son of Picot de Percy, gave the church of Sutton to Whitby Abbey.

In 1267 Sir Peter de Percy held 7 carucates in Bolton, worth by the year
£^S us. 4d., also 8 carucates in Kemetby (Camaby), and also the town of
Warrum (Wharram Percy) with the advowson of the church. (See Yorks. Inquisit.,
vol. i., page 104). The above Bolton was probably that of the name in the parish
of Bishop Wilton, in the East Riding. In 1367 Henry de Percy, le Piere, was
found to nave died seized of Wharram Percy, Bolton, and Camaby. (Vide Inq.
p.m., 41st Edw. III., No. 48). In the New County History of Northumberland {yo\. v.,
page 420), the Bolton here mentioned (1367) is stated to be Bolton Percy, but it
appears to be Bolton in the parish of Bishop Wilton, 3 miles from Pocklington.
This manor, with Camaby and Wharram, soon afterwards came to the Hiltons,
by whom it was acquired from the Percies in exchange for the manor of Shilbottle
in Northumberland. Bolton Percy at this time was owned by the Lords Beau-
mont, but the Percies had been lords of three Boltons in Yorkshire, viz., Bolton
Percy, Bolton-on-Deame, and Bolton in the parish of Bishop Wilton ; they also
held Bolton in Cumberland, and Bolton. 4 miles from Alnwick in Northumberland.

I09

The manor of Bolton next came to the powerful family of Vescy,
and in 1290, John, Lord Vescy, contributed 22s. lod. towards the
marriage of King Edward I.'s eldest daughter, this being his propor-
tion of the levy of 40s. on every knight's fee, made on his manor of
Bolton Percy. In 131 5 the Lady Vescy, Isabella de Beaumont, his
wdow, is returned as seized of the manor of Bolton-cum-Haryngton
[Homington] . She also at this time was possessed of the manors
of Thoresway, Linwood, Stewton, Kelstom, and Welborn, held of the
Barony of Baieux, in Lincolnshire, and the moieties of Waye and
Piddle in Dorsetshire. At her decease these manors went by entail
to her brother, Henry, Lord Beaumont, who held the entire Barony
of Baieux, inclusive of the manor of Imham, of whose descendant,
John, Lord Beaumont, half a fief in Imham was held by Philip
le Despenser, 20th Richard II. (1396).* Henry, Lord Beaumont,
married Alice, daughter and eventually heiress of Alexander Cumin,
Earl of Buchan, in whose right he became Constable of Scotland,
and obtained the manor of Whitwick in Leicestershire, where he
-was licensed to convert the manor house into a castle. He was
summoned to Parliament as a baron in 1309. Henry de Bellemonte
or Beaumont, Earl Boghan, obtained in 1338 a charter of free
warren in all his demesne lands at Bolton Percy. This was a sad
epoch in local history. The disasters following the accession of
Edward II. had brought poverty and misery among the hard-working
and erst prosperous Yorkshire folk. Famine and plague were
now rife, and, as we learn from monastic chronicles and other regis-
ters, thousands of honest people succumbed to their combined
ravages. From 1340 to 1342 more than half the population of York
and Hull died from the shocking pestilence known as the Black
Death. The land bore scant crops, pastures and meadows could not
be tilled, herbage became poor and sour, and whole farms lost their
stock of cattle by disease. At Bolton Percy I find from the Nonae
Rolls that in 1340 "a great murrain exists among the sheep," the
taxes due could not be paid, and the place could no longer support a
merchant to buy the people's goods. t The following is the record :

The "Ninths" of Bolton Percy, a.d. 1340.

Taxed at xl li. Thomas de Staynford, Thos. Rayner, Thos. son of Isabel,
Walter son of Henry de Colton, Thos. Lyly, John Oliver, Robert del Shippen,
Thos. son of Robert, John le Carter, John Cowhurd de Bolton, Will Stert of the

* Su Memoirs' of the Meeting of the Archal. Inst, at York, 1846, art. ; Holy Trinity
Priory, York, page lydn.

f This murrain among sheep seems to have been very widespread at this period.
The Durham Abbey Account Rolls for 1338 — 1339 shew that scores of sheep that
had died of the plague were sold to the Hexham Abbey cellarer, and hides of
animals similarly stricken were also sold in abundance. See Surtees Soc., vol.
100, page 309.

same, and Roger le Feryman, parishioners of the church of Bolton Percy, [sum-
moned] for this purpose, present upon their oath by indenture made between
them and the Prior [of Nostell] and freemen, and alternately signed, that the
ninth of sheaves, wool, and lambs of the whole parish is worth this year xxxli
and no more, because the ninth part of sheaves, wool, and lambs, does not reach
the tax ; that the tithe of hay is worth vii marks ; oblations and Lent tithes and
white tithes* are worth viii marks, and that the wool and lambs fetch a low price.
and a great murrain exists among the sheep this present year. They also present
that there is no merchant now living within the said parish except by agriculture

This is really not so bad a return as in most other places, as the
parish, we see, was rated, according to Pope Nicholas's taxation, at
£^o and was now worth £^o. This, I may add, was a tax on nine-
tenths of the parish, the other tenth having been bestowed by the
lord as an endowment of the church, for the exclusive use of the
priest under the name of glebe. +

The Poll Tax of 2nd Richard II. affords some idea of the humble
status of Bolton Percy during the last quarter of the 14th century.
There were then but 14 married couples and 5 single adults resident
in the township, and allowing four in a family and one-third more for
children under the age of 16, and for absentees in war and other
exempts, the population would number less than 100 souls in 1378.
They all paid the agricultural tax of 4d., except two tailors who p>aid
6d. each. Appleton, Steeton, Colton, and even Oxton were much
more populous than Bolton Percy at this period. But a century and
a half afterwards we find that Bolton Percy, in point of rateable
value surpassed all of these places. The subsidy-rolls of 1523 shew
that Robert Cokett and Thomas Mawe were taxed in goods each 20s.,
and there were nine others assessed, the eleven paying together
^"3 19s. 6d. In Appleton, George Battersby paid 9s. for goods and
Robert Broket 8s. for goods, while nine others paid a lesser amount,
the total levy being 26s. 6d. At Oxton the total levy on ten persons
was 9s. 2d., while the only person rated at Steeton was Wm. Fairfax,
esquire, for lands 26s. 8d.

The manor in the 14th century was, as I have said, owned by the
Lords Beaumont ; John, the sixth Baron, being created Viscount in
1440, and was the first person honoured with the title of Viscount in
England. He was also a Knight of the Garter, and had granted a
patent of precedency above all other Viscounts, and was afterwards
constituted Lord High Chamberlain of England. He was succeeded
by his second son, William, Viscount Beaumont, lord of Bolton Percy,

• The meaning of " white tithes " (albe decime) is not exactly known, but they
were probably tithes commuted for money payment, i.e , in white money ; silver-
white rent is used thus.

t See the author's Richmondshire, page 298.

Ill

who was a staunch Lancastrian, but being taken prisoner at the

battle of Towton in 1461, he was attainted and his estates forfeited.

They were, however, restored to him by Henry VII., but dying

without issue in 1507, the Viscounty expired, and the Barony remained

in abeyance between the heirs of his sister Joan, who married

John, Lord Lovel, and had a daughter Joan, who married Gilbert

Stapleton, Esq., of Carlton. Joan Stapleton had, with sons who

died without issue, a daughter and heir, Anne Stapleton, who married

Mark Errington, of Couteland, Northumberland. Mr. and Mrs. Mark

Errington adopted the surname of Stapleton, in lieu of Errington,

and were ancestors of Miles Thos. Stapleton, Esq., who in 1840

obtained by writ the Barony of Beaumont out of abeyance. He died

in 1854 ^^^ ^®ft ^wo sons ; the eldest, Henry, Lord Beaumont, who

married Violet, daughter of the celebrated dress-maker, ** Madame

Elise," died without issue in 1892, when his brother. Miles Stapleton,

Colonel of the 20th Hussars, succeeded to the Barony, but not to

the estates. He married in 1893 Ethel Mary, only daughter of

Sir Charles Henry Tempest, Bart., of Heaton, co. L9.ncs., and

subsequently Carlton Towers was repurchased from the mortgagees.*

The manor of Bolton Percy early in the i6th century was sold by

Sir John Brocket to the Fairfaxes of Nun Appleton.f And when

the war-worn hero of the Civil War, Thomas, Lord Fairfax, died in

1 67 1, the estates of Bolton Percy, Nun Appleton, and Bishop Hill,

were left to his only child, Mary Fairfax, wife of George Villiers,

Duke of Buckingham. Motives of family interest in the estate

appear to have prompted this celebrated but unfortunate alliance

with the reckless Duke of Buckingham. She had been engaged to

the handsome Earl of Cumberland, and the banns of marriage had

been twice called in St. Martin's Church, Westminster. But Brian

Fairfax, her cousin, was sent to forbid the banns a third time,

probably more by her father's desire than her own. He relates that

her father favoured her alliance with the Duke, as he had some of

the Duke's estates at Helmsley and York House, of the Parliament's

gift, which he was willing to restore, as he did the Earl of Derby's

estate in the Isle of Man, to the Countess and her children.

Also by a singular coincidence in the history of the Bolton Percy
estate, this marriage with the Duke would cause it to descend to
consanguines of the Lords Beaumont. John, first Viscount Beau-
mont, was first cousin to John Beaumont, of Overton, Esq., whose

* For further particulars concerning the families of Beaumont and Stapleton,
«« The Stapeltons of Yorkshire, by H. E. Chetwynd- Stapleton (1897), and the
Rev. J. N. Worsfolds History ofHaddUsey.

t See also the author's Nidderdale, page 185.

grandson, Wm. Beaumont, Esq., married a daughter of Sir William
Bassett, and had several children, of whom Antony, the third son.
was father of Mary, who married Sir Charles VilHers, Kt., and >vas
created, after the decease of her husband. Countess of Buckingham.
She was mother of John Villiers, Viscount Purbeck ; Christopher
Villiers, Earl of Anglesey ; and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingha.m,
who married Mary Fairfax. The marriage of the Duke to Mary
Fairfax took place 15th September, 1657, in Bolton Percy Church,
and the event was duly recorded in the registers ; she being 20 and
he 30 years of age.

Qeohoe Villiers. Duke op Buckinqham.

The excesses of the Duke of Buckingham plunged his house into
great debt, and though he continued extremely wanton in his life
and habits, his devoted wife never ceased her affection for him, and
ever tried to dissuade him from the pernicious and dissolute ways
into which he had fallen. But the fault was not so much in the man
as in the profligacy of the age in which he lived, an ^e the most
vicious and libidinous our English annals have to record. Bright,
witty, and cheerful, and endowed with more than ordinary ability,
the Duke seems to have been a great favourite, and just before his
somewhat sudden death in the house of one of his tenants at Kirby

Moorside, Brian Fairfax had been in York arranging for his removal
to his own house at Bishop Hill, which had been left to the Duke by
his father-in-law, the great Lord Fairfax.

This Brian Fairfax knew the ill-starred Duke intimately, and

wrote thus feelingly of him : " If he was extravagant in spending,"

he says, ** he was just in- paying his debts, and at his death charged

them on his estate, leaving much more than enough to pay them."

Sir Clements Markham, in two unpublished letters,* tells us that the

famous Admiral Robert Fairfax, then Captain Fairfax, attended in

June, 1687, the obsequies of the Duke, who " laid in greater state

than the late King, and was buried with great splendour." Captain

Fairfax adds that he was one of the mourners, who went before the

corpse in long cloaks, and had ** very good mourning given to him,

cloth of 1 8s. a yard, with sword belt, stockings, gloves, and cravat,

with two white dimity waistcoats," &c. The Duke was no mean

verse-writer, and on the death of his famous father-in-law, he wrote

an epitaph which concludes with these lines :

So blest of all, he died, but far more blest were we

If we were sure to live till we could see

A man as great in war, as just in peace as he.

The Duchess, his wife, died Oct. 20th, 1704, aged 66, and was buried
in Henry VII.*s Chapel. The fifth Lord Fairfax having died in
1 7 10, his widow, who was a Kentish heiress, sold most of her York-
shire estates during her son's minority, to pay off the debts on Leeds
Castle in Kent. She did this with a very reckless hand.f Nun
Appleton and Bolton Percy were sold to Alderman Milner, of Leeds,
for, it is said, fully /"Sooo less than they were worth. J But there was a
family relationship between the Alderman and the Fairfaxes. He was
grandson of Richard Milner, who had served under fiery " Black
Tom " in his first Yorkshire campaign. There being some doubt as
to the title to Nun Appleton, the famous lawyer Witton, grandson
of the Mr. Witton who in 1666 drew up the settlement made by
Lord Fairfax, skilfully managed the conveyance, and afterwards
married the Alderman's daughter, Jane Milner. With the Milner
family the estates remained for two centuries, when the present
owner. Sir Angus Holden, Bart., M.P., became the purchaser.

Besides the Lords Beaumont, Fairfaxes, and Milners, there were
other old landed and yeoman families long resident in the parish,
notably the Vavasours, Sampsons, Tates, Wickhams, Brockets (who
sold Appleton to the Fairfaxes), Smiths, Kendalls, Housmans, &c. A
charter dated at Bolton Percy, 6th July, 1379, grants to John Smyth,

• Life of Robert Fairfax, of Steeton (1885), pages 50 — 51.

t Su upper Wharf edale, page 180. J Surtees Soc., vol. 77, page 139.

114

of Bolton Percy, all rights in one part of a messuage in the town of
Melton-juxta-Wath, then held by the widow of one William Stele of
Melton. This charter is tested by Henry de Barton, rector of the
church of Bolton Percy, William Samson of Appleton, William Cerf
of Styveton (Steeton), John Paulyn of Bolton Percy, William Dresure
of the same place, and others.* The William Samson here mentioned
died in 1393 and was buried "in the church against his father's tomb."t

The Fairfaxes from their long residence in the parish have of course
many notable associations with Bolton Percy. Six marriages of the
Fairfaxes have taken place within the parish church, and many of the
family lie buried within its sacred walls. Amongst those who have
been interred here are Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax, the Parliamentar}-
general, who died in March, 1647-8, and was father of Thomas,
the great Lord Fairfax.} Lady Fairfax, widow of the gallant
Sir Wm. Fairfax, who was mortally wounded before Montgomery
Castle in 1644, along with her daughter Isabella, wife of Nathaniel
Bladen, Esq., lie in the same grave within the church. Mrs. Bladen
died in October, 1691, and the aged Lady Fairfax, who, as is stated
on her monument, ** lived mistress of Steeton over fifty years," died
in the January following. Mrs. Bladen's eldest son, Martin Bladen,
was baptized in Steeton Chapel in 1672, and afterwards settled in
Maryland. Her second son, Martin Bladen, became a famous
officer, and in his youth served under Marlborough in Flanders, and
under Stanhope in Spain. He became Comptroller of the Mint, a
Commissioner for Trade and Plantations, Under-Secretary of State,
and for many years was member for Portsmouth. He died in 1746
at Albury Hatch in Essex. His sister Elizabeth was the wife of
(i) Colonel Ruthven, and (2) of Edward Hawke, and she was mother
of the famous Admiral Lord Hawke. His second sister, Frances,
married Mr. Hammond of Scarthingwell, and the third sister,
Catherine Bladen, did not marry, and was the companion of her
uncle. General Thomas Fairfax, who had served in the West India
expedition which took the Island of Jamaica. He died at Dublin
in 1 71 2, in his 80th year.§ His portrait is at Bilbrough.

The Wickhams of Bolton Percy were descended from William
Wickham, who was Bishop of Lincoln and afterwards of Winchester,
and died in 1595. His son, Henry Wickham, D.D., was collated to
the prebendal stall of Fen ton in the cathedral at York in 16 14. He
was Archdeacon of York, rector of Bedale and of Bolton Percy, and
died in 1641, leaving two sons and a daughter; the latter being wife

• Su Yorks. ArchalJL, vi., 65. f Torre's MSS.

X Portraits of these generals are engraved in Upper Wharfedak, pp. 176 and 179

§ See Markham's Life of Admiral Fairfax, pages 128, 224, Sec.

115

of Toby Jenkins, of Grimstbn, in the parish of Dunnington, near

York.* The eldest son, Tobias Wickham, was instituted rector of

Bolton Percy in 1660, and Dean of York in 1677. He died in 1697,!

leaving three sons ; the eldest, Tobias, was a barrister-at-law, and

died in March, 1704-5; the second, William, of Ulleskelf and

Wakefield, was Clerk of the Peace for the West Riding, and was

father of Tobias, rector of Kirk Bramwith in 1719, and of Keighley ;

Henry, the third son, was baptized at Bolton Percy in 1665, and

lived at Heslington. He married an Archer, from Barbadoes in the

West Indies, and his only son, Henry Wickham, was rector of

Guiseley, and died in 1772. From him descend the Wickhams of

Cottingley in the parish of Bingley, and of Low Moor House and

Chestnut Grove in the parish of Thorp Arch.J

Among other families in the parish were the Inglebys of Pallathorpe

and Whartons of Homington. The manor of Hornington in the

time of James I. belonged to Henry Topham, Esq., of York, a man

'whom Sir Thomas Widdrington eulogises for his wit and great

learning. How long the Inglebys resided at Pallathorpe I have not

made out. William Ingleby, of Pallathorpe, gent., died in 1637, ^^^

was buried at Bolton Percy, October 27th. He married Mary, third

daughter to William Hill, of Knaresbro', by whom he left two sons

and two daughters ; John, his son and heir, William, Mary and Anne.

The name of Kendall also appears among the earliest entries in the

roisters ; a family no doubt descended from the Johannes Kenell

who contributed his groat to the warlike King Richard's poll-tax in

1378. The following descent compiled from the registers may serve to

illustrate a little domestic tragedy, at a time when the neighbourhood

of York was afflicted by the terrible scourge I have before spoken of.

William Kbndall^Marie,

Bd. Nov. 30, 1593. I Bd. Oct. 14, 1611.

Robert=Ann Thorp Jane, Elizabeth. Margaret, Thomas, Ellen,

Bap. 1573, Bap. 1576, Bap. 1581, Bap. 1583, Bap. Bap. July,

Md. July 21, Md. Geo. D. 1581. D. 1592. 1586, 1590.

1604, Marshall, D. 1587. Died of the

Died of the plague Jan. 14, plague and

and buried 1611. bd. Oct. 19,

Sept. 20, 1604. 1604.

Thus out of a family of six, three died in infancy or childhood, and
then in 1604 the widow lost her eldest son, having only been married
two months, when he died of the plague, and lastly the widow's
youngest daughter was taken from her at the age of 14 by the same
fatal disease.

• Pedigree of Jenkins see Clay's Adds, to Dugdale's Visit., pages 143-5 ; there
are also k Grimston and a Dunnington in Holderness.

t Yorks. Arch.Jl., I., page 269. } Su the author's Old Bingley, page 144.

CHAPTER X.

Bolton Percy : Old Customs and Events.

Village life in the olden limes — The parish accounis— Lord Fairfax and King
James II — Ferambutalion of boundaries — Wandering beggars — A woman
of Bollon Percy publicly whipped — Local wild animals — Sparrow-shootiiig —
A remarkably late occurrence of the beaver al Bollon Percy— Suitable
habitats of the beaver — A Book of Briefs — Some old church restorations —
The church of St. Olave's. York— The Ripponden flood— Horse-races at
Bollon Percy— Carriage of letters — Bequests to the poor— Rrockett Hall and
Ihe Brocket ts— Bolton Lodge and its tenants— Old inn.

■J FORMER times village life was varied a good deal
by customs and amusements now no longer existing.
The old parish accounts of Bolton Percy, which
commence with the year 1679, shew that important
national or local events were celebrated with feasting
and rejoicing, or much ringing of the old church bells. In 1803 1
find the sum of 14s. was disbursed for ringing 7 days; in 1804 to
ringers for 9 days, i8s. ; and in 1810 to ringers for 10 days, 30s.
Going to earlier times I find los. was paid in 1680 for ringing on the
5th November, at which period the sum of as. 6d. was annually
given for ringing on the King's birthday. Charles II. died Feb. 6th,
1684-5, '^^^ under the year 1684 (no other date given), I find the
churchwardens gave 3s. to ringers on the coronation day of James II.
James, when Duke of York, had been insulted by the citizens of
York, in 1679, which I shall allude to when I come to speak of his
visit to Tadcaster, This is a curious reflection on the changed!
temper of the time. The Fairfaxes never favoured that monarch,
and when William, Prince of Orange was proclaimed in York in
1688, papular enthusiasm, led by that family, knew no bounds.
Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax, who died in 1710, mounted on a
handsome and richly -caparisoned charger, rode into York, with
Lord Danby, followed by a hundred stout yeomen, all accoutred, to
hear the Prince proclaimed. When in September, 1714, George I.
landed at Greenwich, the ringers were given is. and 4s, more on
" ye Thanksgiving Day for ye King's accession to ye Throne."

117

Again in 1721 2s. was paid for setting up the King's arms in the
church. Loyalty, at any rate, seems to have been ever conspicuous
among the good folk of Bolton Percy.

The perambulation of the parish boundaries was also a periodical
event of some importance, and in the 17th century I find the
meetings usually took place at Street Houses. When the last
perambulation was made I have not ascertained. In 1700 I find is.
given to a woman with a letter of request at Street Houses in
Bilbrough parish. The law was then very strict with regard to
wandering beggars or vagrants, and such vagrants when apprehended
were to be brought before the nearest justice of the peace and sentence
passed upon them. They were to be publicly whipped by the
constable or petty constable, or some other person appointed by such
constable, of the parish or place where they were apprehended. By
the statute of 22nd Henry II. (1175), the vagrant was to be carried
to some market-town or other place, and there tied to the end of a
cart naked, and beaten with whips throughout such market-town
or public place till his body be bloody by reason of such whipping.
This ordeal was modified by the statute of 39th Elizabeth (1596),
when the oflfender was to be uncovered from the middle upwards and
whipped as above. This infliction was carried out at Bingley in
Yorkshire, within present recollection,* and the Kildwick-in-Craven
parish books contain an entry under the date 1601, May ist, that one
Alice Wright was publicly whipped and sent back to Bolton Percy,
from whence she came. Happily modem decency no longer tolerates
such disgraceful exhibitions.

In the 17th and i8th centuries the parish of Bolton Percy seems
to have literally swarmed with wild creatures of different kinds.
Payments made for the capture and slaughter of otters, foxes,
foumarts, greys or badgers, &c., are frequent. In 1721 the sum of
2s. 2d. was allowed for powder and shot and shooting of sparrows.
What destruction this represents may be imagined. But the record
does not equal that of the payment by the churchwardens of Flixton,
in Lancashire, who in the 22 years, 1 820-1 to 1841-2, disbursed no
less a sum than £1^^ for sparrow -heads, which at the statutory
allowance of ^. per head, represents a slaughter within that parish
during the period named of 63,844 sparrows ! f

But by far the most interesting natural history record which I find
in the accounts of Bolton Percy, is the entry in 1790 of 2d. " pd. for
abever head." There should be no mistaking such animal, for at
this period all the other species named were still more or less common.

* Su the author's Old Bingley, page 274.

t Su Mr. Lawson's History 0/ Flixton, page 71.

ii8

Still it is remarkable if the beaver maintained an isolated existence
in Yorkshire down almost to our own time. There are, I believe,
absolutely no records of the existence of the beaver in England in
last century. But the lonely Marshes here seems a very likely place,
and one may believe that the capture of a beaver here as late as
1790 must have created no little interest. Clarke and Roebuck, in
their valuable monograph on the Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire (1881)
observe that the only grounds for surmising that the European
beaver ever inhabited Yorkshire are afforded by place-names such as
Beverley in the East Riding, Beaverholes and Beaverdike in the
Forest of Knaresbro*, and Beevor Hill or Beverhole near Bamsley,
in the West Riding. These places, they add, appear to have been
suitable to the habits of the animal. Attempts have been made to
construe a Danish or Norse meaning out of the name of Beverley,
but Professor Skeat says " it is as English as can be, — the beaver
meadow" which implies what Beverley actually is, " a low-lying place
by open water-meadows.*' * That the beaver was also an animal of
trading value in this district, is evident from an old manuscript in
the possession of the Corporation of Beverley, which states that
beaver-skins sold in 35th Henry H. (1188), in the market-place at
Beverley at i2od. The record is also borne out by the fact that the
existing mayor's chain, of a date not later than the 14th centur)',
consists of beavers and eagles alternately, the eagle being the well-
known emblem of St. John the Evangelist.f

There is also at Bolton Percy a valuable Book of Briefe,
commencing with the year 1707 and continued till 1773, which if it
contains no references of a strictly local character, contains much of
importance relating to other places. For example, in 1 709 I find 3s.
was collected upon a brief for the " Protestant Church at Mittau in
Courland, being so impoverished by ye War yt they are not able to
build a Church or convenient place of worship." Again, in the
same year 3s. id. was collected towards the restoration of St. Mary
Redcliffe Church,in Bristol, ** by length of time very much impaired.
Damage /4410 and upwards."} Next, in 171 8 the sum of 7s. 8d.
was collected towards a proposed restoration of the old church at
Penrith in Cumberland,§ and in the same year 5s. 7d. was subscribed
for the rebuilding of the decayed church at Dolgelly in Wales. The
estimated cost of the former was ^1380 and of the latter ^1449.
Then in 17 19 three collections were made and the sum of £1 15s. lod.

* .SV^ Beverley Chapter Act Book (1897), page xix. f Jf>i^, page xxxiii.
J There is a Book of Briefs at Ribchester, in Lancashire, containing an entry
of IS. id. collected for the same church.

§ This church was wholly rebuilt, except the tower, in 1721-2.

119

raised towards rebuilding the body of the church and repairing the
steeple of St. John the Baptist's church in the city of Chester. The
church is stated to be a very large and ancient fabric, founded by
King Ethelred in the year of our Lord, 689,* and is now (17 19) so
ruinous that the congregation cannot, without apparent danger of
their lives, assemble in it. Again I find a very interesting reference
in 1720 to the old church of St. Olave's, York, which was rebuilt
out of the ruins of the dissolved Abbey of St. Mary. The brief
states that the fabric is of more than 700 years standing and that the
monastery named was obliged to uphold one whole side of it. But
since the dissolution of the Abbey the charge *• has fallen upon the .
parish, and that in the Civil Wars it was made use of as a Fort or
Battery, having cannons planted upon the roof to defend the King's
Palace and the city of York against the rebels, by which means it is
become so cracked and ruinous that it must of necessity be rebuilt.
But the parishioners by reason of a numerous poor, and having
expended one year with another Fifty Pounds a year, and particularly
in one year ;^3oo, are not able to complete so great a work, the charge
being compted at ^^1039 and upwards." One other case I will cite
from this interesting old manuscript. This is the great Ripponden
flood in the Calder valley, which happened on May i8th, 1722.
Much of the town, which is romantically situated on the eastern side
of Blackstone Edge, was wrecked, and twelve persons, eight in one
family, lost their lives. The old chapel, together with several mills
and bridges were swept down ; the graves in the chapel -yard were
torn up by the violence of the deluge, and one coffin was borne a
considerable distance and lodged in a tree. The Bolton Percy
accounts state the loss to have been ^'3395, and on Oct. nth, 1724,
a collection was made in the parish and the comparatively large sum
of £^ 13s. 6d. was raised. The collection upon briefs of this kind,
in rural parishes, was generally a few shillings, or at most a pound
or two, but the inhabitants of Bolton Percy appear to have often
resf)onded to such calls in a very generous manner.

In 1796 an Act was passed for enclosing lands within the parish.
All tithes were then commuted. At this time horse-races were run
on the Marshes, and the meetings seem to have been well attended
and to have generally finished up with a dinner at the old Assembly
Rooms. Wood was still largely used for fuel, though some coal was
brought from Tadcaster, and in 1799 I find 8s. 6d. was paid for a

• It is very possible that the •' King Ethelred " referred to in the Brief of 1719
is Ethelred. Earl of Mercia, who married Ethelfleda. daughter of Alfred the Great.
A.D. 901 — 911. See Canon Cooper Scott's History of the Church and Parish of
St. John Baptist, Chester.

I20

load and 2s. more for carting the same from Tadcaster to Bolton
Percy church for use in the vestry. On March 13th, 1800, I find
id. was paid for bringing a letter from Tadcaster (3 miles), and in
1823 8d. was charged on a letter from York. There was little letter
writing in those days, and the receipt of such a missive, or of a heavily
taxed newspaper, created no little stir and soon became known to
the whole village, who gathered to hear the news.

The poor of Bolton Percy have the benefit of various bequests.
In 1763 the Rev. Francis Day left £50 to the poor of the parish, and
in 1769 Dame Mary, wife of Sir John Lindsay, Kt., and daughter of
. Sir Wm. Milner, Bart., gave,;^2oo in bank-stock, the interest to be
distributed among the poor of the townships of Bolton Percy and
Appleton Roebuck, at the discretion of the owners of Nun Appleton,
who with the rector are perpetual trustees. In 1807 Benj. Reynolds
bequeathed ;^ioo for the relief of poor persons belonging to the
township of Bolton Percy, and James Moyser, Esq., of Appleton, who
died Jan. 24th, 1694, ^^^ ^ rent-charge of 20s. per annum, paid out of
an estate at Appleton Roebuck, for the poor every Christmas Day.
There are also several other small donations.*

Brockett Hall in the parish, was the old home of the Brocketts.
Robert Brocket, draper, was a freeman of York in 1390, and his son
Robert was the same in 1396-7. There was a Nicholas Brocket and
wife, brazier, of Steeton, assessed at i2d. in the PoU-Tax of 1378,
and Robert Brocket, of Appleton, I have mentioned (su page 1 10) as
living there in 1523.!

Bolton Lodge, near Ulleskelf, is connected with the village of
Bolton Percy by a long bank or ridge of land across the Marshes,
made when the house was built last century. It was formerly the
seat of Col. Clements, and from 1840 to 1856 the residence of
George Hamilton Thompson, Esq., Lieut-Col. of the East Yorks.
Militia. Since that time it has been occupied by the family of Oliver.
The late Captain Oliver married in 1858 Isabella Anne, daughter
of the late H. J. Ramsden, Esq., of Oxton Hall, and brother of
John C. F. Ramsden, Esq., Captain in the Royal Artillery, who
served in the Crimean War. Mrs. Oliver is the present occupant
of the Lodge.

The Wheat Sheaf inn, kept by William Shillito sixty years ago, is
now a farm-house close to the station.

* See the Tenth Report of the Charity Commission, (1823), page 717.

t Drake observes that there was a gravestone in Bolton Percy church in 164 1.
inscribed to Thomas Brocket and Dionisia, his wife, the former of whom died in
April, 1435, and the latter in April, 1437. Ehoracum, page 386.

121

CHAPTER XI.

The Castle, Church, and Rectors of Bolton Percy.

License to erect a castle at Bolton Percy — Was the castle ever built ? — The castle
at Spofforth — The 15th century manor-house at Bolton Percy — Its site and
aspects — Traditions of Robin Hood — Historical records of the church— r
Description of the church — Pagan and Christian ritual — BuriaJ of Ferdinando,
Lord Fairfax — Chantry in the church — Barker family — Local customs — A
curious dispute about the Hall pew — Local recusancy — The old church bells
— Burials in woollen — Old tithe-bam — The rectory — The old rectors — Torre's
omissions — Recent rectors.

|OYAL license was obtained by Robert de Percy in 1292
to fortify his manor-house at Bolton Percy.* Little
or nothing, however, is known of this old castle of
the Percies.t The pre-existing manor-house no doubt
stood near the church, and in all probability the same
site was taken for the more massive battlemented stronghold that
may have been raised here in the chivalrous days of Edward I. But
beyond the Crown grant to crenellate there appears to be no
documentary proof of the existence of such a castle at Bolton Percy.
Gent (1733) says that a " very small part " of it was remaining in
his day, but this doubtless has reference to a later manor-house.
The Poll Tax returns of 1378 contain no suggestion of a castle or a
hall, or even of any notable person then living within the township.

* The Percies had before this time probably made Tadcaster their principal
residence. They had a pele-tower or pilum at Bolton near Alnwick, which was
destroyed after the rebellion in 13 17. Vide Col. Doc. relat. to Scotland, vol. iii.,
No. 623. page 118, quoted by Mr. Hodgson in the New History of Northumberland,
vol. v., page 30.

t Mr. Parker, (vide Domestic Architecture, vol. ii., page 227) makes the mistake
of assuming the above grant to refer to Bolton Castle in Wensleydale, the license
to build and crenellate which was granted to Richard le Scrop, 3rd Richard II.
(1379)- '^he Percies never belonged that estate. Scrope's Castle at Bolton in
Wensleydale (not Bolton Percy, as stated in Hodgson's History of Northumberland,
vol. ii.. page 200) was built by a Durham mason named John Lewyn, who in
1380 erected the manteUtti or defences round the great tower of John of Gaunt's
Castle of Dunstanburgh. Vide Duchy of Lancaster Reg., Richard II., vol. xiv..
page 54b.

122

But it is quite possible that the building may have been sacked or
demolished by the invading Scots between the years 131 6 and 1320,
or have been suffered to go to decay during the era of plague and
famine that followed. Some doubt may, however, attach to any
long existence of the castle, or even to its ever having been built, as
William de Percy in 1309 obtained a similar grant for the erection
of his stronghold at Spofforth, which was little more than twelve
miles distant, and Spofforth henceforth became the chief residence
of the family in Yorkshire. After the battle of Towton, hard by, in
1461, when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Sir Richard
Percy, his brother, were slain, their lands and houses were laid waste
by the infuriated conquerors. Leland says their manor-house at
Spofforth was then ** sore defaced,** but there is no allusion to Bolton
Percy. At this time the manor was in the hands of William,
Lord Beaumont, who was also present at Towton, and his name
appears in the Bill of Attainder amongst a great many other nobles
and gentry, whose houses, in some cases, were dismantled and estates
forfeited for their adherence to the House of York.

The 15th century manor-house of the Lords Beaumont (whose
arms are in several places in the church) appears to have occupied
the high ground a short distance south of the church, being bounded
by the Marshes on the west. There are indications of a moat
on the east side of Houseman*s orchard, and about sixty years
ago some foundations ot a building were discovered there while
draining. The bank on the west side is thrown up to a good height
above the road, and in flood -time the marsh and ditch (locally
pronounced Fool or Foul Breck*) are a good depth in water. The
Marshes reach southwards to a spot called Robin Hood*s Bottom,
and tradition affirms the bold outlaw to have once secreted himself
there. Several old inns in the district bear his name.f

* Is this the Norse brog or broch, a place of shelter and defence for man and
l>east in times of Viking and other ravages ; not military forts but shelters erected
on available land for tillers of the soil ; Set Saga Book of ike Viking Club, vol. ii.,
page 57. Henry le Broch, of Haxby. was a freeman of York in 1299. SnrUcs
Soc., vol. 96, page 8. There is a Colton Breck in this parish, and these brecks
being connected with old water-mills, seem to be disused mill-races. In the Fabri{

Rolls of York Minster (i 371) is this entry : " Gustos molend' de Brotherton

carectatis lapidum emptis cum cuchyngs et cariages in le brek, 66s. 8d.

t Perhaps it was the ' ' Merry Geste of Robyn Hode and his Meyne, ' * first
printed by Wynkin de Worde, that engendered rivalry in the famous Yorkshire
outlaw, Dick Turpin, whose family were long connected with this district.
Probably also more traditions about Robin Hood exist in West Yorkshire than in
any other part of England, which seems to point to the conclusion that he also
belonged to these parts. Tradition, indeed, assigns his birth-place to Locksley
(perhaps Loxley near Sheffield), and his burial-place to Kirklees, near Huddersfield
where was a Nunnery of the same Cistercian order as the one at Appleton in the

123

The church (All Saints) at Bolton Percy is a large and very
interesting structure, no doubt occupying the site of the building
that apparently stood here in the Confessor's time. Through the
magnanimity of the first Percy it was probably rebuilt, and by
charter, cited by Burton, is said to be the Bolton Church given by
Picot de Percy, to the newly-founded Priory of Nostel {ca, 1120), in
the deanery of Pontefract. Picot de Percy must then have been
advanced in years, and it is not very clear how he came into possession
of the church, as William de Percy, the original grantee of the
manor, was succeeded by Alan, his son ; and Picot de Percy,
apparently a younger brother of William, the first grantee, was
enfeoffed by him in the manor of Bolton-on-Dearne.* The grant to
Nostell, observes Burton, was confirmed by King Henry I. (d. 1135),
Henry II. (1154-89), and by Robert, son of Picot de Percy, and
Robert his son. But if Picot de Percy held the church of Bolton
Percy in 11 20, while the manor had been held by William de Percy
up to the time of his death in 1096-7, we are compelled to the
inference that the manor was not subsequently held by the heirs of
the said William.f The charter of Robert de Percy's confirmation
is given by Dugdale in the Mon. Ang,, vol. vi., part i., page 93.

parish of Bolton Percy. He is said to have been related to one of the nuns of
Kirklees. and Dr. Gale, late Dean of York, possessed an old MS., which purported
to give the original inscription on Robin Hood's gravestone at Kirklees, dated
1247. Su Hunter's Haliamshire ; Baines's Yorkshire Past and Present, vol. iv. ;
Smith's Old Yorkshire, vol. i., &c. ; Ritson's Robin Hood, page vi. et seq. ; Hunter's
Robin Hood (1852) ; Hargrove's Anecdotes of Archery (with pedigree of Robin
Hood). (York, 1792).

* William de Percy, to whom the manor of Bolton Percy and 2 J carucates in
Bolton-on-Deame, were granted at the Conquest, died in 1096-7, leaving four
recorded sons, viz. : Alan, Walter, William, and Richard. Picot, supposed
brother of William (the father) with his son. Robert, witnessed the charter of
Alan, son of William, to the monks of Whitby. See Burton's Mon. Ebor., page 302,
and Appendix (Whitby Abbey) i., iv. ; aJso Yorks. Archal. Jourl., xiv., 49n. The
charter of confirmation by Robert de Percy is printed in Dugdale (vi., i., 93);
with the church of Bolton is included all appurtenances in hosco, et piano, <S<.,
qnam Picotus avus mens eis in liberam elemosinam dedit, et Robertus, pater mtus, carta sud
confirmavit.

t The only way in which I can explain this apparent anomaly, is to suppose
that Rozelin, to whom William de Percy had subfeud the manor of Bolton Percy
at the Conquest, died in the interval of the grant and the death of the grantee.
On the demise of Rozelin before 1096-7, William de Percy subfeud the manor to
his brother Picot, who was already possessed of half the manor of Bolton-on-
Deame, but not the church there. This was held by Roger de Busli and was
afterwards granted to the monks of Bretton. That the death of Rozelin took
place before the death of William de Percy in 1096-7, seems further confirmed
from the subsequent descent of Rozelin 's manors of Brinsworth, Dalton, and
Thribcrgh, which in 1284 were held by Sir John de Halton of Henry de Percy.
Su Kirkby's Inquest, pages 6 and 230.

124

The Prior and Convent of Nostel agree that the Archbishop
should ordain citra Natale Domini 1247, and pledge themselves that
as soon as one of the churches of Tickhill, Rouwell, or South
Kirkby, comes into their hands, they will exact no pension from the
church of Bolton and the mediety of the church of Mekesburgh.*
*• It was in this way,*' observes Canon Raine, " that the rich living
of Bolton Percy came into possession of the Archbishop of York/*t
Torre gives the year 1250 J as the date of the transfer, but the
register of Archbishop Gray records that in 1248 "the Prior and
Convent of S. Oswald, at Nostel, having transferred to us and our
successors in the See of York, their right of patronage in the church
of Boulton, now vacant, we collate Rad* Brito, clerk, to it, divina
pictatis intuitu. \ Afterwards on loth Jan., 1323, Pope John XXIII.
appropriated the rectory to the table of Archbishop Melton during
his life, granting him power when he should cease or decease to
reduce the church to its pristine state. Whereupon the said Arch-
bishop collated Robert Byngham to serve as vicar during the union
for the term of his life, assigning him a competent portion for a
maintenance.lf

The present church was built by Thos. Parker, rector of the parish,
who died in 1423, and whose epitaph relating the circumstance of
the erection of the church was on the south side of the altar. On
the 8th July, 1424, a commission was granted to the Bishop of
Dromore to consecrate the church and churchyard, also the high-
altar of the church, " newly erected and built." ||

The structure consists of a nave with collateral aisles, a spacious
chancel, with chapel on the north side, south porch, and a square
battlemented tower having four lofty crocketed pinnacles at the
angles. The large interior presents an agreeable aspect of antiquity.
Some mediaeval glass has been preserved, and the old dark-oak box
pews have been retained. The length of the interior is 100 feet,
nave 58 feet, and chancel 42 feet. The position of the building is
not exactly due east and west, but inclines somewhat to south-east.
The nave, with aisles, is of broad and lofty proportions, and the
columns are octagonal, with massive bases and capitals of the same
order, carrying pointed arches. The singularly-constructed original
roof, of high pitch and without tie-beams, is illustrated in the

* Reg. Mag, Album, III., 930. f Surtus Soc., vol. 56, page 205.

I Misprinted 1150 in Lawton's Collect, return Eccles. (1842).
§ Gray's Register, page 105.

^ Torre's MS., pages 135, 141, and Archbishop Sharp's MS., I., 63.
See Surtees Soc, vol. 35, page 238.

126

a shield of arms of eight quarterings. She was the daughter ol
Sir Henry Cholmley, Kt.,and was bom at Scriven, near Knaresbrc*
(6) Upon a tablet of white marble is inscribed :

Here are interred the remains of Sir Wm. Mordaunt Milner, Bart., of Nun
Appleton, in the Ainstey of York, the third baronet of the family. Bom Oct. 6th,
1754 ; died Sept gth, 1811, aged 56 years. In 1790 he was first chosen M.P. for
York, and continued to represent that city till the day of his death, during four
successive Parliaments. He was twice Lord Mayor of York, in 1787 and 1798.
In 1803 he was appointed to the command of the Regiment of the York City
Volunteers, and in 1809 to that of the York City Local Militia. His public
conduct was conscientious and upright, and marked with the strongest sense of
honour. In the several relations of private life he was all that can render a man
amiable and estimable. His heart was the abode of goodness, and all his energies
were employed for the benefit of his fellow creatures ; the sweetness of his temper
combined with such a heart, and such a disposition, was perhaps in no instance
surpassed. His loss was deeply and sincerely felt and lamented. He had many-
friends and died without an enemy.

This was no mere effusive outpouring, but a genuine tribute of
devotion to the memory of a worthy man. I have examined the
York newspapers of the time and find that a very large and
sympathetic gathering took place at his funeral, numbers coming
from long distances, while many of the common people, it is said,
wept at the loss of one who had been untiring through life in his
efforts for the good of all classes of the community.

Beneath the foregoing epitaph is a tablet to the memory of
Frances Penelope Byng, fourth daughter of the Hon. John Byng,
who died Sept. nth, 1796. On the floor of the choir is a stone
inscribed to the memory of Henry Fairfax, late rector of this church,
and Mary his wife. He died April 6th, 1665, ^^^ 77» and she died
Dec. 24th, 1649, aged 56, and another stone records the death of
their two grandchildren who died at Oglethorp, in 1654.

The ancient stone altar was rescued from the floor of the church,t
and on the south side is a handsome sedilia of three seats of
continuation, having cinquefoil heads under ogee canopies with
crockets and finials. At the back of the centre seat there has been
affixed to the wall a brass apparently in the form of a crucifix, with

* ^e^Markham's Life of Admiral Robert Fairfax, page 134, where Brian Fairfax,
her son, relates that she was the " daughter of Sir Richard Cholmeley, Kt., of
Roxby, by his Lady Catherine (widow of ye Lord Scroop), eldest daughter of
Henry, Lord Clifford, first Earl of Cumberland, by Margaret his first wife,
daughter to ye Earle of Northumberland." Brian Fairfax, it is evident, has
through inadvertence omitted to mention Sir Henry Cholmley (his mother's
father) who was son of Sir Richard Cholmley. The point is correctly represented
by Charles Fairfax (uncle of Brian) in AnaUcta Fairfaxiana.

t So stated by Allen (1828) but it cannot now be found.

the kneeling figure of St. John on the left side of the cross. The
piscina adjoining is in point of dimension and beauty of workmanship
probably unequalled by any similar relic of the kind in the North of
England. It exhibits very beautiful evidences of the departing glory
of the Decorated epoch, along with the ornate style that came in
with the House of Lancaster early in the 15th century. The piscina
has a triangular canopy, with crockets and finial, and there are side
buttresses, also richly pinnacled, terminating at the base respectively
in a male and a female bust, the latter having the hands raised in
prayer. The basin of the piscina is a quatrefoil carried on a corbel
formed by the bust of an angel with wings outspread, and holding a
book upon the breast. Above this, and within the same recess, is a
stone credence- table for holding the sacred vessels.

SeOIUIA AND PiSCINil, BOLTON PEHCY ChURCH.

In the use of these objects the Romish Church had the sanction
of high antiquity. Her priests have always been enjoined to wash
their hands in the piscina before the celebration of the mass, just as
the priesthood of the heathen temples were bound to wash their
hands before the performance of their service. Hesiod, writing
more than 800 years B.C. (vide Lib. operum el diorum), says that no
offering of wine shall be made to Jupiter, unless the sacrificer has
previously washed his hands. Similarly the ecclesiastical vestments
of the Roman Catholic Church were throughout England in
pre -Reformation ages the same, and bore the same names, as the
robes of the heathen priests centuries before the birth of Christ.

128

The windows of the nave differ in style from those in the chancel^
but are alike in consisting of three lights. Those on the south side
are plain, and two of the three on the north side are filled wth
stained glass ; (i) to the memory of Anna Elizabeth Harris, of Oxton
Hall, who died i8th Dec, 1876; erected by her three daughters;
and (2) in memory of Alfred Harris, of Oxton Hall, who died
nth April, 1880. Over the north doorway is a tablet inscribed to
the memory of William Darlington, of Ivy Lodge, Cheshire, who
died at Oxton, 24th July, 1840, aged 64; also of his widow,
Elizabeth Darlington, granddaughter of Thomas Dutton, of Dunham,
in the same county, " nineteenth in descent from Odard, Lord of
Dutton, fourth son of William, Earl of Eu, by Jeanne, sister of
Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester." Elizabeth Darlington died at
Bradford, i6th July, 1842, aged 59 years.* This memorial was
placed here by their only son, John Darlington. There is also a
monumental inscription near the north door, to Isabella, wife of
Nathaniel Bladen, Esq., of Hemsworth,t daughter of Sir William
Fairfax, of Steeton, Kt., and Dame Frances, his wife. She died
Oct. 25th, 1 69 1, leaving six children. Also to the said Dame Frances
Fairfax, daughter of Sir Thos. Chaloner, of Gisburgh, in Cleveland.
She was born in 1610, married at the age of 19, and died in 1692.

The private pew, or Brockett chapel, anciently known as St. Mary's
choir, on the south side, has its east window filled with exquisite
stained glass, and a brass beneath records that it was erected by his
daughters in 1840, to the memory of Sir Wm. Mordaunt Milner,
bom Oct. 20th, 1779, and died March 20th, 181 5. A floor-slab at
the entrance to this pew is inscribed to Wm. Yarbrough, of Appleton,
who died in 1671, aged 75; J also to Mrs. Mary Bickerdike, of
Appleton, widow, daughter of the above Wm. Yarbrough, who died
in 1 713, aged 52; § also to Mrs. Margaret Wise, wife of the Rev. John
Wise, of Colton, and daughter of the above Mrs. Bickerdike, who

* She was the daughter of Thomas and Anne Sefton of Pickton, co. Chester.-
Anne Sefton died in her looth year. The Darlingtons are an old Cheshire
family. The only son of above William and Elizabeth Darlington was John
Darlington, who was baptized at Great Budworth, co. Chester, in 1808, and he in
1854 assumed the surname of De Dutton. He married Elizabeth, daughter of
James Turlay, of Leeds, and had issue nine children.

t He was a barrister, and son of Dr. Thomas Bladen. Dean of Ardfert, by
Sarah, daughter of the second Lord Blayney, who was slain in 1646, fighting
against O'Neale in Monaghan. Su Markham's Life of Admiral Fairfax (1885),
pages 51, 127.

} For pedigree of Yarbrough of Snaith see Surtui Soc., vol. 36, page 220; also
Clay's Addits. to Dugdale, page 331. and Burke's Landed Gentry.

§ *' Bolton Percy : Edward Bickerdike and his wife, for a clandestine marriage.*
York Visitation Book, 1674.

129

died in 1 740, aged 53 ; also Margaret their daughter, who died in
1740, aged 14 years. Near this tomb-slab is another inscribed in
Latin to the memory of the above Rev. John Wise, of Colton, for
some years curate of this church, who died April i6th, 1772, aged 72.
At the north angle of the same pew is a large monument, having
two Corinthian columns with ornamental caps, supporting an arched
pediment, surmounted by the Fairfax arms. It is a memorial to the
celebrated Parliamentary General, Ferdinando, Lord Fairfax, Baron
of Cameron, who died in 1647, aged 64. The inscription, in Latin,
in gilded letters, tells us that he was the descendant of great and
glorious progenitors, and was an illustrious instance of British
bravery and honour. He was **a sanctuary to the religious, a patron
to the learned, and himself was the very standard of humanity and
good breeding. By his wife, Mary, daughter of Edmund, Earl of
Mulgrave, he had nine children. What wonder then if Death could
not separate those whom a particular affection had endeared to each
other, so long by a numerous issue."*

The corresponding portion of the north aisle, opposite the Brockett
choir, is known as the Steeton chapel, and there are traces of the
screen, south and west, by which it was enclosed. The north chapel,
now a vestry, has a curious piscina-like object, and it is not unlikely
that an altar originally stood there. But the exact use of this object
is difficult to determine. It stands against a low plain niche in the
south wall, and only just above the level of the floor. No similar
arrangement is known to exist elsewhere, and Green thinks that it
indicates some use connected with the sacred vessels. Had it had
a more common use it would probably have been in the north or
west wall. The Certificates of the dissolved Chantries (1548) state
that there is nothing in the parish of Bolton Percy but a light which
was founded to have continuance for ever, and that the yearly value
of freehold land to the said light belonging is 4d.+ But in the will of
one Christopher Barkar, dated 20th June, 1508, 1 find this statement :

Also I gyffe to ye purchesyng of a chauntre wt'in ye kerk of Bolton Percy
wt'in ye space of vii yere, xxs., and yflf ye said chauntre be not purchest wt'in ye
forsayd yeres. no mony to be geven to ye chauntre. J

* Notwithstanding that it was a time of great trouble, when many gentlemen
were withdrawn from their avocations, the funeral of the Lord Fairfax was
attended by about 300 people, including many " Justices of the Peace and
Gentlemen of the Country, the Commander in chiefe, and divers of the chief
Ofi&cers of the army in these parts, who met the corpse at Tadcaster, attended by
the Gentlemen aforesaid. He had as decent and honourable a buriall as so short
a time (dying on Munday and being buried on Wednesday) would permit.'* Vide
Civil War Tract in possession of Mr. Thomas Brayshaw, of Settle.

f Surtus Soc., vol. 92, page 377.

t Sir William Fairfax, of Steeton. in his will dated 1557, mentions two chantries,
one at Bolton Percy, and the other at Denton, each endowed with five pounds,
gifts to his sons. See Fairfax Correspondence, vol. i., page 18.

I30

He desires to be buried in the church of Bolton Percy, and gives his
best beast for his mortuary. He leaves to the Prioress of Appleton
and her sisters 4s. ; to the church of Bolton Percy 1 3s. 4d. (for his
burial), and to the churches of Acaster, I2d., and Cawood i2d. The
following table shews his family connections and their inheritance :

r 1

Christopher Barkar=fMargaret son:

after all beque 4s
to have residue

will proved 18 July,

1508, by his widow,

Margaret.

, ; 1 ' 1 Elizabeth, to have

Henry Elizabeth Anna William iis. 8d. or a cow

£^ 6s. 8d. 20S. 20S. £^ 6s. 8d. of the same price.

Upon the easternmost pier of the north aisle is an ornamental stone
tablet to William Fairfax, Esq., of Steeton (the last of the Fairfaxes
to reside at Steeton), who died July 23rd, 1694, ^^ ^^ 3^^^ year,
and this memorial was erected by his younger brother Robert, the
Admiral, who inherited the Steeton property. On the north wall is
a tablet to the memory of Elizabeth, daughter of the before-mentioned
Nathaniel Bladen, Esq., and wife, (i) of Col. Ruthven and (2) of
Edward Hawke, Esq., and was erected by her only son, Sir Edward
Hawke, Kt., of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, and Vice-
Admiral of the Blue Squadron of His Majesty's Fleet (1748).

Near the south entrance is a large floor-slab, 10 feet by 4 feet,
which has had four brasses at the comers, and there is also the
matrix of a brass, doubtless bearing an inscription, 22 in. long and
\\ inches wide. There are also other tomb-slabs in the church,
from which brasses have been torn. Near the south entrance is a
stained window erected by Mrs. Oliver, of Bolton Lodge, to the
memory of John Hope Barton, of Stapleton Park, who died 20th
March, 1876. Near the south doorway is a pointed niche, 2 feet
9 inches high and 17 inches wide, which seems to have been a recess
for a holy-water basin, used by the congregation, apparently, on
leaving the church. The north or " devil's doorway " is still in use,
and contains its original massive oaken door, well studded with nails,
and ponderous oak-cased lock and iron key. I find from the church-
wardens' accounts that this old lock and key were mended in 1 722 at
an expense of is.

The font (Norman) is a plain circular bowl, 7.\ inches thick at the
rim and 6 feet 10 inches in external circumference at the top. The
cover is of 15th century date. The organ is now at the west end,
blocking access to the tower. Formerly there was a loft or gallery
here, erected in the early part of the i8th century. Paint and
whitewash were now becoming fashionable, covering with their dense
opacity both masonry and sculpture, and wiping out of sight in most

131

of our country churches the wondrous art of the past. In 1722 I
find 1 7s. was disbursed on whitewashing inside Bolton Percy church ;
8d. was also spent on milk for the whitewash. In 1809 there is the
following equally suggestive item in the Churchwardens' books :

Memorandum that in the year 1807, ending Visitation 1808, the Parish Church
of Bolton Percy was coloured by John Thompson of Tadcaster at 2d. per square
yard.

The Pews were cleaned and oiled, and the Porch. Door-gate, 2 Stiles and Loft
were p>ainted by John Fairbourn of Tadcaster aforesaid.

The Inhabitants of the Township of Steeton maintained their own part, which
is known by the name of " Steeton Quire," and the rest of the parish the body of
the church.

The Vestry and Belfry colouring, the Porch door, gate, and 2 Stiles painting
(being considered as ornaments of the Church) were paid for by the Parish at
large.
The Loft painting was paid for by the owners and occupiers of the seats.
Witness our Hands this 24th Day of February, 1809,

I Robert Atkinson, Thomas Laycock,
Churchwardens. ) Stephen Hodgson, Benj. Swale,

f Richard Bean.

In the year 1814 it is recorded that the fan at the west end of the

church was put up at the expense of the Rev. Robert Markham, and

cost twenty-two pounds, and in future it is to be kept in repair by

the rector for the time being. At this period there was an annual

expenditure of £1 for turning dogs out of church. In some districts

the office of dog-whipper was combined with that of rousing snorers.*

In 1725, for example, one John Rudge, of Trysull, Staffordshire,

bequeathed £1 per annum to provide a man to beat the dogs out of

church and to wake up all sleepers during the service. The dogs

from the Hall were, however, sometimes allowed a special pew, and

were exempt from the dog-whipper's attentions. This was the case

at Aveley, in Essex. Probably the squires of Steeton and Appleton

left their canine friends at home ; or, if they brought them to church,

they would be thrashed with the rest. Before the Reformation most

churches were but scantily supplied with seats, and these were often

subjects of dispute. At the synod of Exeter in 1287, the following

decree was issued :

We have heard also that the inhabitants of parishes repeatedly quarrel about
seats in a church, two or more persons laying claim to one seat, which is a cause
of much scandal, and often produces an interruption in the service. We therefore
decree that no person shall for the future be able to claim any seat as his own,
with the exception of nobles and patrons of churches, but if a person shall first
enter a church to pray there, he may chose whatever place he will.

* The Visitation Books at York contain many entries of charges for sleeping in
Bolton Percy church ; e.g., " 1600 : William Rylay and John Jaques for slepeinge
in the church."

132

There was a curious dispute between Sir Thomas Fairfax and
Mr. James Moyser, gent., touching their respective claims to occupy
St. Mary*s choir in the church which had been always appropriated
by the owners or tenants of the manor house at Nun Appleton. It
appears that on a certain summer morning in 1597, immediately
after service, Sir Thomas Fairfax, the younger, then living at Nud
Appleton, came out of the choir where he usually sat, into the body
of the church, and in a perfectly orderly manner requested the parson
and churchwardens to find some suitable or convenient place in the
church wherein the said Mr. Moyser and his company might sit
during the time of divine service. Whereupon it was agre^ that
the matter should be discussed, and if possible be amicably settled
on the following Sunday. The meeting took place, at which
Mr. William Fairfax, the churchwardens, with one exception, and
other neighbours, were present. They concluded that Mr. Moyser
was fully entitled to occupy the choir where he had been wont to sit,
but as there was ample room for both parties they suggested that
the choir be parted in two and that the said Sir Thomas Fairfax
should have the first choice of the two places or parts. This
arrangement, however, would not appear to have been satisfactory.

Accordingly a commission was directed by the Archbishop of
York to the Rev. Edmund Bunny, rector of Bolton Percy, and the
churchwardens of the parish, commanding the apprehension of any
person who should interfere with the said Mr. James Moyser taking
his seat in the said choir as heretofore. Any person so interrupting
or hindering him in his place was to appear personally before the
Archbishop or Her Majesty's Commissioners for Causes Ecclesiastical
at York op the 2nd day of August, 1597, and shew or prop)ound
cause, if they have any, why the said Mr. Moyser, his wife, and
retinue ought not to enjoy the said choir as hath been accustomed.
This mandate stated that Sir Leonard Beckwith, some time owner
of the Manor House of Appleton called Appleton Hall, about two
years ago, with his lady after him, John Good and his wife, one
Metham and his wife, another and his wife, and lastly James Moyser
and his wife, owners by tenancy or otherwise of the said Manor
House, had successively one after another during their dwelling there
at such times as they repaired to the church at Bolton, to hear divine
service or sermons, usually occupied the said St. Mary's Choir, on
the south side of the church, as in a place properly belonging to the
said house, and that they had from time to time in the same choir
buried several of their dead.

Sir Thos. Fairfax, however, warmly pursued his claim, contending
that the said St. Mary's Choir, or Beckwith's Choir, belonged to hijn

133

in respect of lands purchased by his father of Sir John Brocket, late
lord of the manor of Appleton, and now in his possession. The said
James Moyser on the other hand held that the choir belonged unto
him in respect that the owners and occupiers of Appleton Hall which
he then possessed, had for fifty years last past or more, been retained
and enjoyed by them.

The dispute was continued with great bitterness by the two
parties, but was at length terminated by an award dated the 15th
day of September, in the 40th year of the reign of Elizabeth (1597),
set down and concluded by John Bennet, Doctor of Laws, William
Palmer, Chancellor of the Church of York, and William Nobel, Esq.,
arbitrators for and between Sir Thomas P'airfax, the younger, of
Nun Appleton, on the one part, and James Moyser, of Appleton,
gent., on the other part.* The arbitrators having authorised a suit
by the said James Moyser against Sir Thomas Fairfax, which they
heard and finally decreed that as the choir in dispute was large or
spacious enough for both parties. Sir Thomas Fairfax was to have
his choice of seats in the said choir and that Mr. Moyser accept
the other, and neither should at any time interfere with the other in
the enjoyment of the said seats. Furthermore that as divers suits
were then depending in the Court of Star Chamber, as also in other
Courts, touching some assaults, riots, or affrays, which had happened
between the servants of the said parties and others in the year 1597,
by which hurt had been done on either side, the said arbitrators
ordered and decreed that the same suits shall be no further prosecuted
but utterly and for ever cease. But as Mr. Moyser had suffered most
in prosecuting the above suits, the arbitrators recommend Sir Thomas
Fairfax to pay some charges of suit to Mr. Moyser, but they would
fix no amount, and more in the interests of peace and good fellowship
did they encourage Sir Thomas to recompense his neighbour with
love and all the offices of courtesy that fast amity be entertained
between them hereafter.

Shortly before this time a complaint had been entered in the
Visitation Books that Henry Fairfax, of Steeton, and Dorothy, his
wife, did not come to church. And on 13th July, 1591, they were
ordered to repair to Bolton Percy church, ** when he sojourned in
that parish," and that " he and hys wyfe shal comunicate at Bolton
Percie church att handes of Mr. Bunny or his minister, some Sonday
or Holyday before Martynmas next (Nov. 12th).** Also in 1596
William Fairfax, of Steeton, and his wife, did not communicate at

• For pedigree of Moyser see Foster's Visitation, page 223, and Surtees Soc, vol,
36. page 212.

134

Easter last, " yet they are contented to communycate att the next
communyon.'**

The parish accounts for 1797 shew an expenditure of £\ los.
" towards the church pinnacles/* On the east gable of the church
there is an ancient cross bearing on one side, now looking eastward,
a representation of the Virgin and Child, and on the west face the
Saviour crucified. Whether it had ever formed part of the ornaments
in the old St. Mary's choir in the church, does not seem to be known.
But for many years the cross lay in the rectory garden, until it was
placed in its present position by Canon Harcourt.

There are three old bells in the tower : (i) inscribed G. Daltok.
York, 1760; (2) Deo Gloria pax Hominibus, 1629 (with the ro3ral
arms) ; (3) In Jucuntiitate £oni Sonafao STtbi Bne ^ In Sulcebtne Hocts
Cantabo BTuo Noe. I605.t The latter was re-cast at Bradford. Gent
(1733) mentions another bell as existing in his day, and bearing an
inscription and date 1620.

Ringers' Rules at Bolton Percy.

He that a bell doth overthrow
Shall two-pence pay before he go.
And he that rings with spur or hat
Shall four-pence pay be sure of that ;
And if these orders he refuse
Not less than sixpence will excuse.

The holy mould in which the fathers of the parish have been
gathered for well-nigh a thousand years, bears many memorials of
departed worth. But none of the stones exhibit dates particularly
old. Gent (1733) mentions one inscribed to William Hopwood, who
died in 1666. There is a special Register of Burials preserved, from
which it appears that several hundred bodies have been interred in
woollen, according to the Act of 1678, for " lessening the importation
of linen from beyond sea and encouragement of the woollen and
paper manufactures of this kingdom.'* The last entry I find of this
kind is of one William Waite, of Bolton, miller, who was buried
April 9th, 1 728. J There is a curious marriage-entry in the register
for 1756. It records the union of one John Brown, labourer, and
Ann Steel, but a note following says that John Brown afterwards
proved a woman, and so the bonds of wedlock were dissolved.

* It was a rule implicitly carried out at Nun Appleton before the dissolution of
the Priory that everyone should on no account be absent from holy communion
on Easter Day, Whitsun Day, Maundy Thursday, and Christmas Day, but all
who were able were to " communicate " every Sunday.

t This inscription also appears on a bell, dated 1603, at the ancient church of
St. John the Baptist at Royston, near Barnsley. Su Yorks. Arckl. Jl., xvi., p. 70.
\ See Upper Wharf edaU, page 419, &c.

136

There is a picturesque old tithe-bam still standing near the church
and rectory. It is a post-and-pan (half-timber) structure, the upper
story projecting, and the roof is of rather high pitch. Inside the
spandrils of the old timber-work are beautifully ornamented. The
rectory, close by, stands in the midst of a large and well laid-out
garden, and was built about two centuries ago at the exp>ense of the
Rev. William Pearson, D.D., rector of Bolton Percy. He was also
Chancellor of York and Archdeacon of Nottingham, and one who
was justly celebrated in his time for learning, eloquence, and piety.
In 1 78 1 the Rev. Dr. Marsden paid tax on four male servants at the
rectory.

The living is a valuable one and the incumbents have generally
been selected from men of tried experience, who have attained a high
position in the Church. The patronage rests with the Archbishop
of York, and the gross yearly value of the rectory is stated to be
£gyS ^^^ ^®*^ value £ST^» Torre and Drake give a list of the rectors
to the institution of Tobias Wickham in 1660. Their earliest record
is of Rad. Briton in 1250, but this person, as appears by the register
of Archbishop Walter Gray, was collated to the church in 1248, and
he was followed by Roger de Oylly in 1251. The institution of
Henry Wicham is given by Torre and Drake as in 161 7, and
Tobias Wickham follows him in 1660. But on the death of the
Rev. Henry Wickham, D.D., in 1641,* he was succeeded by the
Rev. George Stanhope, D.D., chaplain to the King, and some time
vicar of Flintbam, co. Notts. He died in 1644, and was buried in
York Minster, 26th July. The next rector, also omitted by Torre,
was the Hon. and Rev. Henry Fairfax, second son of Sir Thomas
Fairfax, the first Lord Fairfax, of Denton. He was bom at Denton
in 1588, and had five brothers, all soldiers, living in a stormy era.
Brian Fairfax, his son, says of him, " I have heard say that King
James bid my grandfather make him a scholar, and he would make
him a Bishop, but the storm that fell upon the Church and State
made him incapable of that dignity, living quietly like Lot in Zoar,
from whence he saw Sodom all in flames." He was rector of Newton
Kyme, and "all the tyme of the Civil Wars, from 1642 to 1646,
their little house was a refuge and sanctuary to all friends and
relatives on both sides : from thence they removed to Bolton Percy."
Though held in great respect and afterwards interred within the
church, his family sympathies with the Government obliged him to
resign the living at the Restoration. He therefore retired to his
inheritance at Oglethorpe and there died in 1665, aged 77, as recorded
upon his gravestone in Bolton Percy church.

* Buried in York Minster, 3rd July. 164 1.

r CROStHWAITE

137

After the dissolution of monasteries it was very rarely that a son
of a nobleman or person of great family entered Holy Orders, and
in 1 67 1 we find Barnabas Oley sp)ecially commenting upon the fact
that a son of the Earl of Westmoreland had taken Holy Orders,
likewise a son of the Lord Cameron, Fellow of Trinity College,
Cambridge, and rector of Bolton Percy.* The Hon. and Rev. Henry
Fairfax was father of Henry, fourth Lord Fairfax, of Denton, who
succeeded his cousin, the great Lord Fairfax, in 1671, and married
Frances, daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Barwick, of Toulston,
in the parish of Newton Kyme.

During the last hundred years many excellent and able churchmen
have held the important living of Bolton Percy. From entries in the
Diocesan Registers I find that the Rev. Wm. Vernon Harcourt, D.D.,
Canon Residentiary of York, and son of Archbishop Harcourt, was
collated to the living in 1837, on the death of Dean Markham, and
resigned 13th Nov., 1863. He removed to Nuneham Courtenay,
Oxon., on succeeding to the estates of his brother, George Granville
Harcourt, M.P. for co. Oxford, who died in 1861. Canon Harcourt's
younger son, the Rt. Hon. Sir William Harcourt, Q.C., M.P., late
Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, is reputed to
have been born at Bolton Percy, but this an error. The eminent
statesman only resided at Bolton Percy with his parents in his early
youth.

On 19th Jan., 1864, the Rt. Rev. Francis Russell Nixon, D.D.,
late Lord Bishop of Tasmania, became rector, f and on 17th May,
1865, ^h® Ven. Stephen Creyke, M.A., was collated to the rectory.
On 23rd December, 1865, the Archbishop granted his license to this
rector to hold services in the school-room at Appleton in the parish,
for convenience of the inhabitants thereof. Subsequently, during
his incumbency a church was built and consecrated at Appleton,
which with Acaster Selby was formed into a separate ecclesiastical
parish. Archdeacon Creyke will always be remembered as a
conscientious and zealous worker for the good of the church and
parish of Bolton Percy. He spent largely of his private fortune
on the beautiful chancel of the parish church. He restored the great
east window with its fine old glass ; and he filled the other windows
of the chancel with stained glass. He covered the floor with
encaustic tiles, and erected a series of oak stalls along the north and
south walls, similar in design to six old " return stalls," the only
remains of the chancel screen which has been long since removed.
Archdeacon Creyke died in 1883, aged 85, and was succeeded,

• Su Preface to Christian Reader, Herbert s works, i., 138.
t For a notice of Dr. Nixon see Men 0/ the Time.

138

25th Jan., 1884, by the Rev. Gilbert Henderson Philips, M.A., who
held the living only about a year and a half, when he died at Bolton
Percy, and was interred there in August, 1885. He had been editor
of the York Diocesan Calendar from 1866 to 1880, and was hon. Canon
of York and Chaplain to the Archbishop. Previous to his coming
to Bolton Percy he had been vicar of Brodsworth (1867 — 1884).
Canon Philips was succeeded in August, 1885, by the Ven. Robert
Jarratt Crosthwaite, M.A., Prebendary of Grindall and Archdeacon
of York, who in 1889 was consecrated Bishop Suffragan of Beverley,
and who is still rector of the parish. From 1883-5 he had been vicar
of St. Lawrence's, York, and Rural Dean of Selby.

Bishop Crosthwaite*s energies have been attended with a large
measure of success in many departments of church work. As
Bishop of Beverley and Archdeacon of York much of his time is
naturally taken up in the discharge of the duties attendant upon
these offices. But the parish of Bolton Percy has by no means
suffered in consequence of these claims upon the rector's activities.
The parish is in a prosperous condition, much good work having
been accomplished during the fifteen years of Dr. Crosthwaite's
charge, not the least important step in the direction of progress
being the erection and opening of the handsome chapel-of-ease at
Colton in 1899 (see Colton). Some improvements have also been
effected in the body of the parish church. The windows have been
re-glazed, and the roof of the nave and aisles has been lined with
oak. Also the heating of the church has been improved.

Bishop Crosthwaite's father, the Rev. Benjamin Crosthwaite, I
may add, was from 1873 to 1887 Vicar of Knaresborough, and died at
Bolton Percy December 2nd, 1887, aged 85.

CHAPTER XII.

Appleton Roebuck and Nun Appleton.

Importance of Appleton in Saxon times — Relics of pre-historic occupation —
Early history — ^The foundation of Appleton Nunnery — The monastic fish-
pond— ^The Cistercian system — The origin of first-fruits — Rushes and rush-
lights— The Fauconberg family — The right to dower — Civilization in the
15th century — General demoralization — Monastic relaxation — Charges against
the Nuns of Appleton — Stringent regulations — The story of the wooing of
Isabel Thwaitesby William Fairfax — An unfounded romance— Their marriage
at Bolton Percy — A notable alliance— Suppression of the Nunnery — Fairfaxes
opposed to the Dissolution — Public unrest, and tyranny of the " reformers "
— Execution of the aged Countess of Salisbury — Grant of site, &c., of Nun
Appleton — Erection of the Hall, the home of the great Lord Fairfax — Sale
of the estate to the Milners — Purchase by Mr. (now Sir) Angus Holden —
Pedigree of Holden — The Markham Family — Description of the mansion —
An attractive neighbourhood — Local natural history — The village of Appleton.

HIS ancient township, formerly in the parish of Bolton
Percy, was, with Acaster Selby (so-called from the
Abbot of Selby being lord of this place*), constituted
a separate parish October 29th, 1875. In the Domesday
account " Apletone " is described as being in three
manors, held by Fardan, Aluin, and Tone, who had the large extent of
twelve carucates of land subject to taxation. And there were twelve
ploughs. The whole estate having been granted to Osbem de Arches,
the latter at the date of the survey (1083-6) had two homagers having
seven villanes working the manor with five ploughs, and he had the
site of a mill and twenty acres of meadow. There was also wood
pasture one leuga in length and half a leuga in breadth. The whole
two leuga in length and one in breadth. In King Edward's time the
whole manor was worth four pounds ; now only thirty-two shillings.
The taxable area was then about 2000 acres, while the township
is now computed to contain 2780 acres. It must, therefore, in Saxon
times have been a very valuable holding, well cultivated and populous,
and was evidently worked in two large common fields, each carucate

* King Richard I. confirmed this town given to them [the monks of Selby] in
William the Conqueror's time, by Osbem de Arches, High Sheriff of Yorkshire.
Burton's Mon, Ebor., page 388.

140

containing 160 acres, 80 acres lying annually fallow and 80 acres for
geld. But Osbern, the Norman grantee, says that his predecessor,
Gulbert, had this manor quit of geld. It is, indeed, not improbable
that it was the site of a religious community long before the establish-
ment of the Nunnery here in the 12th century. There are traces of
pre-historic encampments in and about the village, while relics of a
similar age have been found in the neighbourhood.

It is not, however, until Norman times that we obtain pyositive
knowledge of the p>eople who dwelt here, and how they lived and
acted. The powerful family of De Arches were then lords of the
place, and one of their kindred, Adeliza or Alice de St. Quintin,
founded, about a.d. 1150, a Priory here for nuns of the Cistercian
order. This was an important movement in the life of the local
population, and one which must have helped materially to assuage
the evils of civil war, and restore neglected husbandry, which for
many years had distracted and impoverished the country, making
farmers declare that " to plough the land was as useless as to plough
the sea.**

The foundation-charter states that Alice de St. Quintin, with the
consent of Robert, her son and heir, erected the Nunnery ** in a
place which Julian held, near Appleton,** and dedicated the same to
God, St. Mary, and St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. The
foundress was then the widow of Robert, son of Fulco, and she soon
afterwards became the wife of Eustace de Merch. I may observe
that shortly after her marriage the Nunnery of Keeling, in Holdemess,
had been founded by Agnes de Arches, her mother, who gave the
church of Keeling, with three carucates of land, as an endowment,
which was confirmed by Richard de St. Quintin and William de
Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, as well as by Alice de St. Quintin,
who is stated to be daughter of the foundress and then wife of
Eustace de Merch. As the charter was also confirmed by Archbishop
William Fitzherbert, who died in 11 54 and was canonized by
Pope Nicholas III., the foundation of the Nunnery of Keeling must
have followed very shortly upon that of Appleton.*

Adeliza, the foundress, gave a certain piece of ground here, on both
sides of the river, together with two oxgangs of land in this territory,
which were confirmed by Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury

• According to the Harleian MSS. the Nunnery at Appleton was founded by
Adeliza and her son Robert in the 3th John (1204). The signatories to the charters
of foundation and confirmation, however, oppose this Moreover it is tolerably
certain that no Cistercian monasteries were founded after the reign of Stephen,
as the Chapter of Citeaux in 1152 forbade the erection of any more houses of
their order, and that mandate, though it may have been violated, was never
withdrawn.

141

[who was murdered in 1170] , and by Robert, son of Robert, son of
Fulk, by the said foundress, his wife, and by King John, together
with four oxgangs and some essarts of land here, with leave to take
one cart-load of dead and dry wood for fuel each day. He also
confirmed the carucate of land, with common pasture in the same
territory, given by the foundress, with her corpse, together with the
two oxgangs of land which William Sen de Appleton gave in the
same territory, which received further royal confirmation in 1249.
Also Walter de Fauconberg gave a toft, croft, and five roods of land
here; and Philip de Fauconberg gave two tofts, one croft, and 21
acres of land, and 15 acres of meadow, with a culture called Stub
Flats, and all the land called How Ridding, and the essart, or
clearing, called Mickledale and Wathdale in this territory ; which
were confirmed by King Edward I.*

Tlie extensive and very valuable stank or fish-pond at Appleton I
find mentioned in 1298, when the Canons of Bolton Priory obtained
a supply of fish from it at a cost of £\ 13s. 4d., a considerable sum
in those days, equal to at least £^0 of present purchasing power.
Likewise it may not be generally known that St. Mary's Abbey,
York, had a large estate at " Appleton in the Ainsty." It consisted
of a mill, 200 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, and 13s. 8d. rent,
of the gift in 1272 of Walter, son of Sir Philip de Fauconberg, Kt.
There were also other small properties here given to the same
monastery by this family .f

The Cistercian order, it may briefly be stated, was a branch of the
Benedictines, and so called from Cistertium or Cisteaux in the
Bishopric of Chalons in Burgundy, where the order originated in
1098. It was introduced into England in 11 28, or 23 years after the
Augustine canons (Nostel and Bolton Priories being the oldest of this
order in Yorkshire), and soon became so popular that within twenty
years of its establishment in this country no fewer than 85 abbeys,
priories, and dependent cells were organised and built. Rievaulx
Abbey was perhaps the first to be erected in England (i 128-9), ^°d
soon followed Fountains, Jervaulx, Byland, Kirkstall, and other of
the lesser abbeys and priories in our county. All the houses of this
order were built in lonely and isolated places, and were exempted
from the payment of tithe. Burton observes that the only privileges
he discovered concerning the Nunnery of Appleton were granted in
the year 1207, when King John exempted the Prioress and Convent
from attendance at the county and wapentake courts, from the aids
or payments to the High Sheriff and his servants, and that they
should not be impleaded for any of their demesnes, except before the
King or his Chief Justice.

* Su Burton's Mon, Ebor., pages 276-7. t See Drake's Eboracum, page 584.

142

But the Popes subsequently granted many other privileges and
immunities to the abbeys and priories of this popular sect. In 1221
Honorius III. allowed them to break up new land in their holding,
upon which they were to pay no tithe, and in the year following he
ordained that no monks of this order should travel more than a two
days' journey from their monasteries on account of any trials they
might be ordered to attend. This was a great consideration in an
age when roads were few and bad and travelling not without peril,
but the situation of the nunnery at Appleton was fortunate in this
respect, being within an hour or two of the city of York, where the
chief courts were held. In 1245 the Cistercian monks were also
exempted from answering before the ordinary, when accused of any
crime ; nor might any person excommunicate even the friends,
servants, or benefactors of their order. Other concessions of a like
nature were also made to them, so that the order grew in great
favour and many yearned to belong to so privileged a class. They
were, however, bound to the rule of St. Benedict, but had their ovm
particular statutes and customs, which originally were of a very
rigorous and exacting character. But in process of time these were
very much relaxed, and even abused, and had it not been for
undoubted benefits and the great and important work that their
establishments were performing, the luxurious habits and relaxed
life about them would doubtless sooner have hastened their downfall.

Considering that originally there were only a Prioress and some
thirteen or fourteen nuns, the house at Appleton was richly endowed.
I have enumerated some of the local properties. They had likewise
small properties at Acaster and Colton, and an acre of meadow called
Middle Ing, at Bolton Percy, given to the house by William de Percy.
They had also two messuages in Skeldergate, York, of the gift of
Roger de Askwith, and Robert, son of Peter York, gave his land
here in St. Benedict's parish. And they had a pension of 5 marks
per annum out of the church at Ryther, given them by William de
Ryther, and that amount still remains a charge upon the church.
Had that charge been upon land, instead of a pecuniary payment, it
would have amounted to at least ;^6o per annum of present currency.

I have said that all the Cistercian houses were being built at one
period, and so lavish had been the grants to these and other of the
religious bodies that Henry III. was obliged in 1225 to pass a statute
restraining the public gifts to monasteries.* Yet such was the
popular respect for the monastic life, that it was impossible to stem
altogether the great tide of wealth that had begun to flow towards it,
and as it was necessary to obtain the King's license before any grant

* Vide Stat. 9th Henry III., cap. 36, and see Tanner's Notitia, pref. ix.

could be made, it is a singular reflection u]X)n the religious bias of
the time that not only were several new monasteries established in
his reign, but there were many and important gifts to already existing
religious houses sanctioned by the royal hand.* There are several
confirmations by Henry III. to the nuns of Appleton, including one
in 1240 of 13 oxgangs of land in Holme given by Sibilla de Percy,
with her corpse, and another of lands given by Richard Foliot, in
Fishlake, with all the men and their families.f The nuns in this
case exercised dominion over the bodies, bom and unborn, as well
as over the goods of their tenants in this place.J Then there was a
grant by Roger de Lascelles of 20 acres of meadow in Fulstow, to
enable the nuns to hire men to cut rushes and sedges, which the
nuns had previously been obliged to cut themselves. Rushes were
an essential of comfort at a time when the floors of both church and
dwelling were the bare earth. Rushes, too, were used for lighting
purposes from very early times, and they continued to be so employed
in many places down to the end of the i8th century. Aubrey, writing
about 1672, remarks that at Ockley in Surrey, ** the people draw
peeled rushes through melted grease, which lends a sufficient light
for ordinary use, is very cheap and useful, and bums long.**

I have mentioned the grant of Fauconberg to the nuns of Appleton,
and in 1205 I find a fine or suit entered by Walter de Fauconberg
against Hugh de Lelay, touching 3^ carucates of land, with
appurtenances, in Appleton. Walter, the said petitioner, grants to
the said Hugh and his heirs, the whole of the said lands, with
appurtenances, held of him and his heirs by service appertaining to
22^ bovates of land, where 14 carucates make a knight's fee in the
said town, for all service. Except 5^ bovates of land, with
appurtenances, of the above 3 [and a half] carucates ; namely, two
bovates, with appurtenances which William, son of John holds ; two
bovates, with appurtenances which John, son of John holds, and
i^ bovates, with appurtenances, adjoining the two bovates which
William de Capella holds towards the west, which remain to him,

* The act of mortmain requiring the King's license in the transfer of lands to
the church and bodies corporate had its origin in Saxon times, and according to
Blackstone. it can be traced back to " above sixty years before the Norman
conquest." Commentaries (1783), II., 269.

t Probably the same Richard Foliot who gave a mill at Norton to Nostel
Priory before 1120. See Hunter's Deanery of Doncaster, II., 204.

J There were at this time many grave objections to the papal supremacy, and
in 1297 Edward I. compelled the clergy to contribute to the assistance of the
State. This was contrary to the Pope's bull, and was really the beginning of
that struggle which the Church of England continued until its final separation
from Rome by the Parliament of Henry VIII.

144

Walter and his heirs quit of the same, Hugh and his heirs for ever.
The knight's fee here contained 14 carucates, but there are instances
in Yorkshire where the knight's fee varied in extent from as much as
48 carucates to as little as 3 carucates.*

The nuns of Appleton were by no means free from legal squabbling
and troubles with their tenants respecting the various properties held
by them. In 1252 Richard de Fauconberg pleaded in the King's
Court against the Prioress of Appleton, that she should render the
accustomed services due for the free tenement which she holds of
him in Appleton. And in 1266 there is a writ of dower entered by
the Abbot of St. Mary's, York, against the Prioress of Appleton,
touching the third part of certain lands, a wind-mill, and los. rent,
in Appleton, which Mabel, widow of Philip de Fauconberg claims
in dower. The right to dower was a very frequent subject of
litigation where the widow had to assert her title against her husband's
representatives, or it may be her step-children, or perhaps against
purchasers from her husband.f In 1368, Agnes, Prioress of Appleton,
brought an action against William Kyng and Juliana, his wife, for
wrongfully pulling down some buildings, and selling some fruit-trees,
belonging to a house and gardens in York, which Idonea, late Prioress
of Appleton, had demised to the defendants for their lives, to the
disinheritance of her church of St. John the Evangelist at Appleton.J
This was probably one of the two houses in Skeldergate, which
belonged to the Priory by gift of Roger de Askwith. In 1439 there
is a similar action brought against James Shirwode concerning
houses at Tranmore.§ From an unprinted record of an inquisition
taken 4th Nov., i494,|| I find that Isabella Sapcote, widow, late wife
of John Frances, was seized among other possessions of the manors
of Ilkley, Thirkleby, and Nun Appleton ; the last mentioned worth
8 marks, held of the City of York by 3s. rent at Easter and Michaelmas
yearly, for all service. She was the heir of Wm. Plesyngton and
died ist March, 1493-4, and Joan, wife of Wm. Neville, aged 48 ; Alice,

* Under the provisions of the Assize of Arms passed in 1181, the holder of a
knight's fee must possess a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and a lance, and ever>'
knight was to have as many of these arms and weapons as he had knights' fees.
See Grose's Military Antiquities.

t See Surtus Soc, vol. xciv., page 14.

X Burton states that in the church of this Priory a chantry was founded at the
altar of St. John the Baptist, by John de Latham in 1455. who endowed it with a
stipend of £5 per annum payable by the Abbot of Selby out of the manor of
Acaster Selby.

§ See Yorks. Arch.Jl. (Rec. Ser.), xvii., 159 — 161.
1! Cal. Inq.p.m., loth Henry VII.

wife of Wm. Staveley, aged 44 ; and Joan, wife of Thos. Sapcote,
aged 34, are her daughters and heirs.*

In the 15th century we hear complaints of many extravagances
and irregularities in the monasteries. But this reputed demoralization
was not so much due, as is popularly supposed, to increased wealth
and indifference to public opinion, as to the wretched and corrupt
state of society that followed upon the evils of nearly a century of
intermittent civil war. In Yorkshire the result of so much blood-
shed, with recurring periods of famine, was most keenly felt, and left
its impress on the temper and morals of the people. The baronage
of England had been well-nigh extirpated by the wars ; men grew
reckless and profane, castle and manor-house became the refuges of
gaming and profligacy; cottages of the poor were deserted or in
ruins ; indeed, civilis^ation in the 15th century was at a standstill, or
it was at a lower ebb than it had been since the great English
Conquest. It may be described as an age of social panic. Even
the seclusion of the monasteries offered no safeguard against the
depraved state of society at this period. Grave charges were brought
against them, and it was a sad and anxious time to the troubled hearts
and minds of many an aged Abbot and Prior. Neither did the
nunneries escape the vile calumnies heaped upon them ; indeed, more
serious charges were brought against these than was the case with
the abbeys. At Nun Monkton some of the inmates were declared
guilty of the grossest offences ; of undue intimacy with certain
clerics and other persons, from whom they had received presents,
and they were henceforth forbidden to hold any manner of discourse
with any male member within their establishment under pain of
excommunication. At Appleton Nunnery, after the wars, when all
had been lost to the House of York, and Henry of Lancaster ascended
the throne (1485), some strange behaviour was reported of certain of
the sisterhood, not the least shocking was that some of them had
frequented the village tavern, and, anxious for news, had been
gadding with men by the water-side, not to mention the more serious
crime of harbouring them within the walls of the monastery. In
1489 the following stringent rules were ordained :

That the cloister-doors be shut up in winter at seven, and in summer at eight
at night, and the keys be delivered to the prioress.

That the prioress and all the sisters lodge nightly in the dorter, unless sick or
diseased.

That none of the sisters use the ale-house, or the waterside, where the course
of strangers daily resort

That none of the sisters have their service of meat and drink to their chambers,
but keep the frater and hall, unless sick.

• See my Upper Wharfedale, page 204.

146

That no sister bring in any man, religious or secular, into their chambers or
any secret place, day or night. &c.

That the prioress license no sister to go a pilgrimage, or visit her friends, with-
out great cause, and then to have a companion.

That the convent grant no corrodies or liveries of bread, or ale, or other victual
to any person, without special license.

That they take in no perhendinauncers or sojourners, unless children, or old
persons, &c.*

If these ordinances of the chapter continued in force for any length

of time, one is at a loss to reconcile them with the romantic story of

Sir William Fairfax's elopement with the rich and beautiful nun,

Isabel Thwaites.f The story has, doubtless, been elaborated much

beyond what the real facts of the case warrant. The truth seems to

be that this fair scion of the last of her family, being a ward of the

Prioress, was sent to the Nunnery to be educated, and that her

marriage with Sir Wm. Fairfax was of her own free choice, and had

the sanction of all who were concerned. That she had actually

become one of the sisterhood at the convent is not probable ;

there is no evidence upon which to ground any such conclusion. J

Andrew Marvell, the friend of Milton and some time tutor to

Cromwell's nephew, was also for more than two years (1650-52)

tutor at Nun Appleton to Mary Fairfax, daughter of the great

Lord Fairfax. He, I believe, was the first to present the romance

of Isabel Thwaites' traditional elopement to the reading public,

and this he did in a poem of 776 lines of tolerable verse. If its

length were a measure of its strength or of reason, the lines would

have a high historic value, but it is to be feared that even in his day

many of the circumstances concerning the event had lapsed into

loose tradition. Making one of the nuns address the fair Isabel,

Marvell says :

Our Abbess too, now far in age,
Doth your succession near presage ;
How soft the yoke on us would lie,
Might such fair hands as yours it tie !
Your voice, the sweetest of the choir.
Shall draw heaven nearer, raise us higher.

As a matter of fact the Prioress of Appleton, Anne Langton, at the
time of Isabel's wooing, could not be much above 30 years of age

* See the page of convent-rules taken from a register, now among the archives
at Ripley castle. Vide Appendix to Sixth Report of the Hist. MSS. Com., page 163.

t See upper WharfedaU, page 174.

X Most accounts assert that she was wrested from the Nunnery by main force
But the statute of 3rd Henry VH. (1487). specially provides against the forcible
abduction of an heiress, and also with a view to prevent clandestine marriage of
minors, the law, even from Roman times, has always required the consent of the
parent or guardian at all ages.

(she was instituted in 1506), as she was still Prioress when the house
was dissolved in 1539, or twenty-five years after the marriage of
Isabel to William Fairfax. Moreover, at the time of her wooing,
Isabel Thwaites appears to have only just passed out of childhood,
and was still in her teens ; an age that was not likely to recommend
her for the position as head of the monastery. That the union was in
reality a compact of estates, arranged between the parents of the
youthful couple, seems clear from the early age at which they were
married. Sir Wm. Fairfax's father, who had bought Steeton in
1493, died in 1 514-15, when his son was a youth of 16, and was
shortly afterwards married. No doubt the Prioress of Appleton felt
that by the marriage of her young charge, great emoluments would
be lost to her house, as the young lady's alliance carried with it the
fair estates of Denton, Askwith, Thwaites (Bingley), &c., and when
the monasteries fell, Sir William also came into possession of Nun
Appleton and Bolton Percy. The couple were married at Bolton
Percy in 15 15 (the lady being apparently not more than 16), and the
two lived long and happily together in the enjoyment of their ample
fortune.* Sir William died at Steeton in 1557, and his lady, Isabel
some time previously, and they are both interred in the old church
at Bolton Percy.! They had a numerous offspring, and were the
founders of that illustrious house which played so important a part
in the destinies of England in the 17th century.

When the noise was in the air that the religious houses were to be
suppressed and dismantled, not all the Fairfaxes acquiesced in this
extreme method of what was called ** purifying religion.". Sir Wm.
Fairfax, whose beautiful and accomplished wife had passed her early
life in the convent at Appleton, was bitterly opposed to such measures,
and eventually he joined the insurrection of 1537. ^^e King's
motive, he well knew, was prompted by anger and avarice, incited
by knaves, though we find that monarch, some years afterwards,
addressing Sir William as his " trusty and well-beloved knight. "J
Sir William formed one of the grand jury who tried the unhappy
case of Catherine Howard at Doncaster, 1541, and brought in a
verdict against the unfortunate Queen, no doubt much to the
satisfaction of the royal tyrant. Sir Nicholas Fairfax, of Walton
and Gilling, grandson of Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Walton, cousin of

* Harrison says William Fairfax was married in his father's life-time, but some
accounts afifirm the marriage not to have taken place till 15 18.

f His will is printed in the Fairfax Correspondence, vol. i., page xvii, and therein
he desires to be buried in "St. Nicholas' his choir in Bolton Church." The will
contains no reference to his wife, who had evidently predeceased him.

J Su Froude's History of England..

148

Sir Wm. Fairfax, of Steeton, who died in 1514, was another of those
whose indignation could not easily be quieted by such rigorous
exactions upon the public conscience.

It was a season of national terror. Noble and knight and high-
bom dame were brought to the block, and the scaffolds were drenched
with the blood of those whose consciences forbade allegiance with
the tyranny of the " reformers.'* But of all the unmerciful acts that
marked the latter years of the reign of Henry VIII., that of the fate
of the unhappy Countess of Salisbury excels, beyond comparison,
even the tragic end of the great Cardinal at Cawood, of whom I have
spoken in the first chapter of this book. She had been arrested on
account of the opposition which her son. Cardinal Pole, had offered
to some measures of the King. An attempt, says Cavendish, her
contemporary, was made to attaint her without trial or confession.*
She was kept in the Tower (probably to intimidate the Cardinal, her
son), and at the end of two years, upon some pretext of provocation,
apparently of the most trivial nature, being unsupported by a particle
of evidence, she was led to the scaffold. Pale and trembling with
her long confinement, the aged Countess was requested by the
executioner to lay her head upon the block. But her courage rose.
" No>'* she said, " my head never committed treason, and if you will
have it, you must take it as you can !*' Thereupon there was a
terrible struggle, but at last being held down by main force while
the executioner was performing his office she exclaimed, ** O God !
blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness sake. Lord,
have mercy on the King !*' She was more than 70 years of age, the
nearest relation in blood to the King, and the last in the direct line of
the Plantagenets.

The dissolution of the monasteries then followed in hot haste.
Men and women might shudder, but none dared speak. On Nov. 28th,
1539, the Nunnery at Arthington was taken ; St. Mary's Abbey,
York, ceded on the following day, and within a week (Dec. 5th) the
Nunnery at Appleton surrendered. The annual income of the latter
was returned at £S^ 5s. gd. gross, and £j^ 9s. lod. clear. The site
of the house was granted, according to Tanner, 33rd Henry VIII.
(1541) to Robert Darknall, but an abstract from the rolls called
Originaliaj records the homages of Guido and Thomas Fairfax for
the buildings and site. Another grant of 7th Edward VI. (1553)
records the alienation by Robert Darknal to Sir Wm. Fairfax, Kt.,
and Humphrey Shelley.

Thomas, first Lord Fairfax, grandson of Sir William, pulled down

* Hallam. however, maintains there is no evidence to shew that she was not
heard in her defence.

149

every vestige of the old Priory, and erected a substantial brick house
a little west of the site. Here the great Lord Fairfax ended his
eventful days, but not wholly enjoying the confidence of the people
whom he had served,* though he had the respect of the restored
monarch, Charles II., who had named one of his war-ships, the
** Fairfax,** in his honour. From the new volume of the Historical
Manuscripts Commission (1900), containing papers in possession of
Mr. E. W. Ley borne- Popham, of Littlecote, Wiltshire, one of whose
ancestors was a colonel in Fairfax's regiment of foot, it appears that
the war-worn chief, though already crippled by infirmities, emerged
from his retirement at Nun Appleton in order to assist in restoring
peace in 1659, when Cromwell (who really owed his throne to
Fairfax) being dead, the nation cried for a free Parliament. There
is a letter from Fairfax to General Monk, written at Appleton on
Feb. 14th, 1660, and four days later the Convention was announced
which resulted in the restoration of the monarchy. Such was his
power and influence, that had Fairfax opposed Monk the Restoration
would not have followed so speedily. Fairfax at this critical
juncture had in reality the nation's destinies in his hands. The papers
shew that Nun Appleton at this period must have been the scene of
much State business and activity. Messengers and petitions of all
sorts were daily arriving ; " maimed soldiers and poor tradesmen,
who had lost their livelihoods in the war, and been forced to sell
papers in the streets," beg of him to mitigate an Act of Common
Council that forbids their doing so, &c. The old General bore this
strain with uncommon gravity, but as time rolled on he was obliged
to seek more restful occupation. His latter years were devoted to
much religious duty, and, adds Brian Fairfax, to the reading of
"good books." The curious old arm-chair, with its big wooden
wheels {set page 153), in which he was accustomed to exercise, is still
preserved, with other of his belongings, at Bilbrough Hall.

The house and estate at Appleton were purchased in 171 1, as
already stated, by Alderman Milner, of Leeds. f The Milners were
an old Swaledale family, whose local ancestry can be traced back to
the era of the Crusades. Hugh Milner was tenant of half a carucate

* Fairfax had become disgusted with the policy of the party he had long
served, and became a hearty loyalist on the accession of Charles II. The best
account of his life, prepared largely from unpublished MSS., and containing a
great deal of valuable information on public matters of the time, was written by
Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., and published by Macmillan in 1870. See also
the indictment for "seditious words" against one William Hurd in 1663-4, quoted
in the Depositions at York Castle (Surtees Soc, vol. 40, page 119).

t The chief landowners at Appleton Roebuck at this time were the Moyser
and Slingsby families

i HOLDEN, BAHT.. M.P.

151

rector of Bolton Percy. Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., F.R.S., &c.,
the distinguished geographer and biographer of the Fairfaxes, is son
gf the Rev. David Markham. He was bom at Stillingfleet in 1830,
and married in 1857 Minna, daughter of the Rev. J. H. Chichester,
rector of Arlington, co. Devon. Few men of his time have rendered
more valuable services to the cause of geographical research than
Sir Clements Markham. From 1863 to 1888 he was the indefatigable
secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, and is now its learned
and able President. He served in the Arctic Expedition of 1850- 1 ;
travelled in Peru, with great advantage to British interests, in
1859-62 ; and was geographer of the Abyssinian Expedition, besides
having filled many other positions of great trust. He was cousin to
the late Col. Fairfax, of Bilbrough, of whom some account will be
found in the next chapter.

The estate at Nun Appleton having many family charges upon it,
augmented largely by agricultural depression, was sold early in 1897.
The Milners had always been considerate landlords, and greatly
respected in the neighbourhood, and much local sympathy was felt at
the severance after so long a connection with the estate. For many
years previous to this time considerable improvements had been made
to almost every part of the estate. The township of Acaster Selby
had also been added to it, by purchase from the Pilkingtons, and
various other properties had been bought. In 1878 the Hall was
rented by Mr. William Beckett, M.P. for the Bassetlaw Division,
second surviving son of Sir Edward Beckett-Denison, Bart., M.P.,
and he remained at Nun Appleton until his death in 1890.

Mr. Angus Holden, M.P., then residing at Nun Appleton, became
in 1897 ^^® purchaser, and is the present proprietor of the estate.
Mr. Holden, on the death of his father, the venerable Sir Isaac Holden,
in August, 1897, succeeded to the title as second baronet. There are
several important northern families of Holden, but of their connection
with this family nothing is known. The late Sir Isaac Holden, Bart.,
the founder of the family's fortunes, was bom at the village of
Hurlet, between Glasgow and Paisley. By his own endeavours he
became a great millowner in the town (now city) of Bradford, with
branches at Roubaix and Rheims. Mr. Jonathan Holden, the
representative of the house in Rheims, has also been no unimportant
benefactor to the place of his adoption. In 1887 he presented a
Library to the town of Rheims, with which the Queen was gracious
enough to allow her name to be associated. In 1897 he made further
and extensive charitable bequests to the same town in commemoration
of the sixty years' reign of Her Majesty. At the same time he
marked his connection with the city of Bradford by munificently
remitting ;f 500 to local charities.

152

Sir Isaac Holden was a Wesleyan and a Liberal. In 1855 he was
elected M.P. for Knaresbro*, and in 1882, after three unsuccessful
contests, he was returned for the North Division of the West Riding,
and in 1885 for the Keighley Division, which he represented imtil
his retirement in 1895. He was then in his 88th year, and was still
possessed of wonderful vitality. Indeed, Sir Isaac was a marvel of
healthful activity almost to the day of his death. When at home at
Oakworth House, in the romantic Worth valley, near Keighley, he
was accustomed to take long walks on the adjoining moors, and daily
he might have been seen tramping over the rugged roads and enjoying
the fresh moorland breezes with evident relish. ** I never stop indoors
for the weather," he used to say, ** either for snow, hail, or rain ; and
it does not matter whether it is hot or cold, I never shorten my walks/'
In May, 1897, the Corporation of Keighley conferred upon him the
freedom of the borough, he being one of four local worthies who
received that honour.

He died in his 91st year, and was succeeded by his eldest son, the
present popular owner of Nun Appleton. Sir Angus Holden, Bart,
had before his removal here taken a useful and conspicuous part in
municipal affairs in Bradford, of which town he was for some years
mayor. Since 1892 he has represented the Buckrose Division in
Parliament. As owner of the historic estate of Nun Appleton the
following table of his family connections will be referred to with
interest.

Marion (i)=r Sir Isaac Holdkn, Bart.— (2) Sarah, dau.

of Mr. John

dau. of Mr.

Angus Love,

of Paisley ;

md. 1832,

d. 1847.

Born at Hurlet. N.B..

May 7th, 1807. Cr. Baronet

in 1893. Died at Oakworth

House, Keighley. Aug. 13th,

1897. Interred at Under-

cliflfe Cemetery, Bradford.

Sugden, of
Dockroyd :
md. 1850,
d. 1890.
(no issue).

Angus,:t= Margaret, Mary=Henry, son

2nd Bar-
onet,
M.F. for
Buckrose
Division

from

1892, now

of Nun

Appleton

CO. York.

dau. of Mr.

Daniel Illing-

worth,

of Bradford
(1792— 1869).

of Mr. Daniel

Illingworth,

of Bradford,

jp..

d. Sept., 1895
(has issue).

Margaret^ Alfred, Edward.
son of Mr.
Danl. Illing-
worth, of
Bradford, J. P;

M.P. for
Knaresbro*,

1868-74 ;
M.P. for Brad-
ford, 1880-95 *
(has issue).

Ernest Illingworth, J. P.

of Appleton Ho., Bolton

Percy ; md. at Gargrave,

May, 1897.

Ethel Edith,
dau. of Major
Wm. Cookson

(8oth Foot),

Gargrave. co.

York.

Annie— Tatton, son of
md. at Mr. Robert
Bolton Bower,

Percy, of Welhara.
July, Mai ton.

1897.

153

Little remains, save the south front, of the old hall of the Fairfaxes.
The original mansion consisted of a centre and two wings. Above
the central part rose a cupx)la, and there were numerous shields of
wood, painted with the family arms. When the property came into
possession of the Milner bmity in 1711, many additions and
alterations were made to the premises, and the western half of the
mansion was again rebuilt about forty years ago. During the
operations part of the old floor was taken up, when the complete
skeletons of a man and woman were accidentally come upon.
Their discovery in such a place clearly indicates a surreptitious
burial, the circumstances whereof will probably never be known.

The gardens about the house are extensive and wel! laid out. In
the park and on the estate generally, there is some fine timber ; the
oak here finds a congenial home,
striking its roots deep into the rich
loam of the alluvial flats, and many
specimens, probably five or six
centuries old, present truly noble
proportions. In similar soil at
Cowthorpe, some ten miles dis-
tant, stands the largest oak-tree in
England, described and illustrated
in my history of Nidderdale.

When the first blush of Spring

is over, and the early roses put on

their luxuriant bloom, the sweet

strains of the ' lovelorn nightingale'

may occasionally be heard in the

neighbourhood. Mr. Wm. Clayton,

LoHQ Faibf«x's CHArR "-"^ Appleton Roebuck, tells me

that this most musical of English

songsters has during the past three or four years nested here annually,

each time within a radius of ten yards of the first observed spot, and

each season it has successfully reared its brood. The district,

owing to the thick oak-woods and bracken-beds, offers shelter and

encouragement to many species of birds not found in the country

adjacent. The coot, snipe, woodcock, turtle-dove, hawfinch, are not

uncommon about Appleton, while the heron is a very frequent object

of interest all the year round. This is no doubt partly due to the

marshy nature of much of the land, but more particularly to the

proximity of the Moorby colony, which is only a couple of miles

I plant life ; the rare mistletoe grows

154

somewhat plentifully in the surrounding woods, and some uncommoD
species, of wild flowers are to be met with, including several of the
lily tribe. Water plants are abundant, and luxuriant specimens of
Yellow Weed (Reseda lutea), Meadow Rue (Thalictrum flavum)^
Enchanters* Nightshade (Cincea lutitiana), &c., may be found. The
children of the village school at Appleton Roebuck have brought to
school on Friday afternoons, during the past two or three years, as
many as sixty varieties, which they have gathered within a radius of
three miles of the school. Probably the largest mushroom ever seen
in England was gathered near Appleton Roebuck in 1898. It
measured exactly one yard in circumference and weighed three-
quarters of a pound.

The village of Appleton, with its orchards and flower gardens, is
very pleasant in summer. In the early 'part of the century there
were three inns in the village, the Fox and Houttds, Shoulder of Mutton,
and the Buck, The first mentioned was closed about i860. The
National School was built by subscription in 181 7, and there was an
Infant School erected in 1841, and supported by the Milner family
in commemoration of the attainment of his majority by Sir William
Mordaunt Milner, who died in 1867. The church (All Saints) vras
erected in 1868 at a cost of ;f25oo, raised by public subscription.
There are several memorials in the church, including a beautiful east
window, the gift of Mr. Richard Creyke, in memory of his aunt.
The living is a vicarage, consolidated with that of Acaster Selby,
when the parish was formed in 1875.

The Wesleyans have also a chapel here, originally built in 181 8,
at a cost of ;^5oo. A Convalescent Home has also been founded
here and is supported by Mrs. Oliver of Bolton Lodge. About three
years ago the Charity Commissioners sanctioned a scheme for the
disposal of the sum of ;^94, being the residue of the funds of an
association founded at Appleton Roebuck in 1825 for the prosecution
of felons, which had then been defunct some years. The above
amount has been placed in the hands of six trustees, for the purpose
of forming a lending library in the village.

155

CHAPTER XIII.

COLTON, StEETON, AND THE FAIRFAXES.

Prehistoric evidences at Woolas — Name of Colton — Manorial history and some
results of subinfeudation — The creation of new manors — The old Hall at
Colton — Local asp>ects — The new church— Old beliefs and customs — Incense
and flowers — History of Steeton — Local landowners — Accession of the
Fairfaxes to Steeton — Sir Guy Fairfax built Steeton Hall — Antiquity of chapel
— A confusion of Steetons— Alliance of Fairfax with Coates* family of Craven
— Steeton Hall made a farm-house — Description of the Hall — Interesting
inventory of effects at the Hall in 1558 — Chimneys a novelty — ^The chapel,
its ancient arms, and Fairfax associations — The chap>el removed .

ROM Bolton Percy it is a somewhat roundabout journey
of three miles, by Bramber Grange and Colton Bridge,
to the pleasant little village of Colton. Or the open-
country walk may be varied by Appleton mill and
Woolas Grange to Colton. The old house at Woolas
seems to have been a place of some consequence in former times,
though little is known about it. There are traces of an extensive
camp and moat close by, which may have been one of the Roman
outposts to Eboracum, some six miles distant to the north-east. The
Roman military way between York and Tadcaster follows a straight
course a short mile to the west of Colton. There can be little doubt
that Woolas formed one of the numerous small manors in the parish
of Bolton Percy at the time of the Domesday survey.

There are several Coltons in Yorkshire, all of them named, no
doubt, from the cool and elevated sites they occupy in comparison
with the surrounding country. The A.-S. c6l means cool or cold.
Colton and Bilbrough are upon the highest tableland in this part of
the Ainsty, and there is a local saying, addressed to those who require
a bracing air, " you must go up to the moor to get some Bilbrough
bloom into your cheeks ! '*

The manor of Colton anciently belonged to the De Arches family,
but there was a small parcel (seven bovates) in this place held in the
Conqueror's time by Count Robert of Mortain, by whom it was
subfeud to Nigel Fossard.* This in 1065 ^^^ belonged to Ulstan,
the priest, who had a son Archel.t In 1284-5 the manor of Colton

• Yovks Arch. Jl., iv., page 410. t Ibid., xiv., page 310.

156

is stated to contain 4^ carucates of land (the same as in the
Confessor's time), held of the heirs of Scotenay, who held of the heirs
of Bnis, and the same heirs of Brus held of the Barony of Mowbray,
who held of* the King in capite. Here is a specimen of that
complicated subinfeudation which by-and-bye created so many
difficulties, that Edward I., among the numerous wise measures
passed in his reign, removed by the statute of Qui Emptores, the
dangers and abuses of this system. " In the early times of our l^al
constitution," observes Sir Wm. Blackstone, ** the King's greater
Barons, who had a large extent of territory held under the Crown,
granted out frequently smaller manors to inferior persons to be holden
of themselves. These inferior lords began to carve out and grant to
others still more minute estates, to be held as of themselves, and
were so proceeding downwards ad infinitum, till the superior lords
observed that by this method of subinfeudation, they lost all their
feodal profits, of wardships, marriages, and escheats, which fell into
the hands of these mesne or middle lords, who were so impoverished
thereby that they were disabled from performing their services to
their own superiors. This occasioned, first, that provision in the
32nd chapter of the Great Charter, 9th Henry HI. (1224), that no
man should either give or sell his land, without reserving sufficient
to answer the demands of his lord ; and afterwards the statute of
Westminster, or Qui EmptoreSy i8th Edward I. (1289), which directs
that upon all sales or feoffinents of land, the feoffee shall hold the
same, not of his immediate feoffor, but of the chief lord of the fee,
of whom such feoffor himself held it. But these provisions, not
extending to the King's own tenants in capite, the like law concerning
them is declared by the statutes of prerogativa regis, 17th Edward II.
(1323), and of 34th Edward III. (1360), by which last all subinfeu-
dations, previous to the reign of King Edward I., were confirmed;
but all subsequent to that period were left open to the King's
prerogative."

It is thus evident that, at any rate, from Saxon times until 1289,
manors continued to be subdivided and new manors made, but fi"om
the latter date named no tenant of a lord was able to create a new
manor, and thus manors existing at this day, or manors held by a
chief lord, must be the same as in the time of Edward I.

The manor of Colton was, 20th Edward I. (1291), held by
Garo Chamont or de Calvo Monte. In 1506 Henry Oughtred, Esq.,
of Kexby, in consideration of the right good counsel to him given by
Wm. Fairfax, Esq., serjeant-at-law, did for the pleasure of the said
William, grant to him and his heirs free liberty and license to hunt
and hawk in the manor and town of Colton, with leave to fish and

157

fowl therein, rendering one red rose annually at Midsummer. A

century later the manor was in possession of Sir George Ratcliffe, Kt.,

and eventually it passed to the Morritt family {see page 52), who

resided at the Lodge, now occupied by E. M. Lawson-Smith, Esq.

It may be said to take the place of the old manor house at the east

end of the village, which was long ago pulled down, but the site is

still preserved in the name of Hall Garth, where are the remains of

a moat. The place is long and straggling, with plenty of open spaces,

and has one inn, a neat school-building, a Wesleyan Chapel, and a

Church (St. Paul's), which latter occupies, undoubtedly, the best site

in the village. The site was given by Mr. Lawson-Smith, and the

church was erected as a Jubilee memorial of Her Majesty's sixty

years reign. The foundation-stone was laid by Mrs. Lawson-Smith,

and the church was consecrated i6th June, 1899. It consists of nave,

chancel, north vestry and south porch, and is constructed of good

red brick, with terra-cotta window-heads and mullions ; the roof

being tiled and surmounted by a bell-turret covered with blue slates.

Prior to the erection of the church, services had been held by the

rectors of Bolton Percy in the school-room.

It is always interesting to preserve to posterity the existence of
customs and superstitions in our rural villages, which, however
useless or unimportant they may appear in our day, have often
originated in beliefs and doctrines that in remote times formed part
of the national life. I have, on various occasions, referred to old
burial customs at different periods prevalent in Yorkshire, and
Pennant observes that at some places in North Wales the bearers
invariably brought the corpse into the churchyard by the south
gate. In Yorkshire there was in many places a strong feeling
against interment on the north side oi the churchyard. As the
congregation faced the east or chancel end of the church, the north
was the left side, and the objection to burial on that side seems to
have arisen from a superstitious dread of being found among the
goats on the Day of Judgment. The south also was the light or
sunny side, being that on which the Gospel is preached to the faithful.
Whether this custom has any bearing upon the old rite of burning
candles beside the dead I am unable to say, but the practice is one
which the people would not willingly let die, notwithstanding its
rigorous interdiction at the Reformation. The York Visitation Books
for the year 1623 contain an entry respecting one Edward Wythes
or Wise, of Colton, gent., who is charged for suffering candles to be
burned over the corpse of his son John ** in the daytime super-
stitiously." The said Edward Wise excused himself by saying that
he was from home and in London on business at his son's death and

i6o

After the disastrous battle of Towton, when the house of Percy
was attainted and their fine old home at Spofforth dismantled,
Edward of York ascended the throne. It was then that the Fairfaxes
rose prominently into State favour. They had long been seated at
Walton near Thorp Arch, described in another part of this book.
Sir Guy Fairfax, was a younger son of the Walton family, and
during the Wars of the Roses had been an enthusiastic supporter of
the House of York. Indeed, so great was his ardour in the popular
cause, that, having escaped with his life on Towton Field, he
eventually obtained permission to bear a white rose on the shoulder

Steeton Hall.

of the lion in his coat-of-arms. He attained a high position in the
law in the reign of Edward IV. He was Recorder of York, Chief
Justice of Lancaster ; in 1463 a King's Serjeant, and in 14.77 ^e was
a Judge of the King's Bench. His marriage with Isabella Ryther,
granddaughter of the bmous Chief Justice Gascoigne, had probably,
observes Sir Clements Markham, some bearing on his success at
the bar.

He it was who built, in 1474, (according to Charles Fairfax, of
Menston), old Steeton Hall, with its courtyard and moat (of probably
still higher antiquity), and he also rebuilt the ancient chapel, which
was consecrated by Archbishop Rotherham in 1477. Before the

i6i

destruction of the chapel, in 1873, (pity that so interesting a building
should have had to be removed !) which was in the late Perpendicular
style, distinct evidences of its incorporation with a Norman edifice
were apparent in the mouldings of the entrance. The doorway, now
forming an entrance to the garden, has a rudely moulded arch,
supported upon two slender shafts having plain circular abaci, and
the moulding of the shafts is continuous with the wall masonry ;
composed of single stones, just as it is in the transition -Norman
work in the choir of Bolton Abbey.* Upon one of the stones there
is^n incised cross, which may be a consecration cross, though it is
different in size and form to that at the entrance to the church at
Newton Kyme. I have little doubt a chapel existed here or at
Colton in the Confessor's time, as I have mentioned Ulstan, the
priest, most likely then resident here, as he was endowed with seven
bovates of land (about 100 acres) at Colton before the Norman

Conquest.!

On the death of the heroic Sir Wm. Fairfax in 1644, J Steeton
continued to be the residence of his widow, Dame Frances Fairfax,
for nearly fifty years, up to her death in 1692. It then passed to her
grandson, William Fairfax, who now left his home in Craven and
came to reside at Steeton, with his wife and three young daughters,
Frances, Susanna, and Anne Fairfax, who all died young. He had

• Su Uppet WharfedaU, page 312.

t The statement made by Drake, and copied by others, that the " church of
Stivetune " was given by Stephen, Earl of Britain, to St. Mary's Abbey, York,
is very misleading. *' Stivetun " suggests either Steeton in the Ainsty or Stewton
(in Domesday Stivetun) in Lincolnshire, but there is no evidence that the Norman
churches at either of these places were ever appropriated to any monastery. A
reference to the original charter of Earl Stephen, who died in 1137, shews that
the grant to St. Mary's Abbey consisted of five carucates of land and the church
in SiviTUNA, proving beyond doubt that Sinnington (in Domesday Siuenintun and
Siverinctun) in the North Riding, is intended, though I have no record as to
the length of time the appropriation continued. But Burton (vide Mou. Ebor. page
285) says the church of Sivelington was given by Ralph de Clere, ca. 1170, to the
Benedictine Nunnery of St. Mary, at Yeddingham. ,The manor of Sinnington
is surveyed in Domesday as a possession of Berenger de Todeni, second son of
Robert de Todeni, who died in 1088, ancestor of the Duke of Rutland. As
Berenger de Todeni appears to have died without issue, his Sinnington estate
may have reverted to the Earldom of Richmond, and so have descended to the
family of Clare. See Yorks. Archal. Jl., iv., pages 135-8. Settrington (in Domesday
Sendriton). was also a possession of Berenger de Todeni, and gave title, temp.
]ames I., to Ludovic, son of Esme Stuart, Earl of Richmond, ancestor of the
Duke of Richmond, who still retains the inferior title of Baron Settrington.

I He succeeded to Steeton on the death of his brother Edmund, in 1636. but
the Hall estate had before 1640 been let out to farm. Quintin Hudson had it in
1633

l62

married in 1685, a Craven lady named Susanna Coates, of whom his
brother, Robert Fairfax (the Admiral), remarks in a letter to his
mother, written in December of that year : " I hear my sister's name
was Coates, before, which is a name I never knew nor heard of, to be
anything of a suitable family to match with, but I never was 1
confess a great searcher of pedigrees.* As a matter of fact she was
of a very respectable parentage, being connected with the old Puritan
family of Coates, of Kildwick Grange, who were acting magistrates
for Craven during the Commonwealth. No doubt they took their name
from the ancient township of Coates in the parish of Bamoldswick,
one of the family, a Gilbert de Coates, being Abbot of Kirkstall in
1280 ; that monastery having in the previous century been translated
from Bamoldswick.t

William Fairfax was the last of the family to reside at Steetcm.
He was never very strong, and died July 20th, 1694, ^^ *^^ ^^ of 30*
and was buried at Bolton Percy. By his will he bequeathed ;^iooo
to each of his three daughters, but they survived their father only a
few years. There is a half-length portrait of him by Sir Godfrey
Kneller at Bilbrough Hall. Mrs. Fairfax, likewise, died within
twelve months of her son William, and was interred at Auber, in
Lincolnshire, where she had been taken ill and died while on a visit
to her half-sister. Lady Neville. The family at this period were
stricken in sorrow, and when Robert Fairfax, the Admiral, succeeded
his brother as head of the family, he married late in 1694, ^^^ ^^^
several years resided with his wife at Ruswarpe, her father's place
near Whitby. Steeton was given up, and for a time was unoccupied,
and then Robert built the hall at Newton Kyme and planted the still
existing avenue in 171 2.

The famous old mansion at Steeton was then in great part taken
down ; the wings which formed two sides of the court-yard, together
with part of the front, and the gate-house, were all removed. The
many valuable family portraits, together with some fine old tapestry,
and various carved stones were taken to Bilbrough, where they are
now preserved. The arms of Fairfax were also in the window,
together with a shield of seven quarterings, viz. : Fairfax, Malbis,
Etton, Mauley, Calthorpe, Arghom, and Thwaites.

Steeton Hall was converted into a farm-house, and as such it
remains. The principal front looks south, where the former extent
of the old premises is evidenced in the excellent remains of a massive

* See Markham's Life of Robert Fairfax, page 49.

t Rog«r Coates, of Royd House, in Kildwick parish (will dated May nth. 1725).
died possessed of property in the parish of Sherbum, Kirk Fenton, &c. •Ar
Turner's Yorks. County Mag., i., 250-1.

1 63

wall, which now bounds the garden and orchard. There is a good
plinth to this wall, which is continued at the same level round the
house, and the angles have characteristic Perpendicular buttresses.
The north side is constructed of massive masonry and the windows
have transomed mullions. The south front has also large transomed
mullion windows, and a stone slab (now at Bilbrough) with coat-of-
arms, was formerly above the porch. The stone is about six by
three feet and bears the arms of Fairfax, quartered with Thwaites,
impaling Curwen, quartered with Brus, along with the date, 1595.
The stone appears to have been carved for Sir Wm. Fairfax, of
Steeton, who married in 1581, Mabel, daughter of Sir H. Curwen,
of Workington, who died in 1624. Sir William made large additions
to the house, and also added the gate-house. He died in 1603.
Over the archway of the gate-house was another slab, with the arms
of Fairfax (having a white rose on the lion's shoulder, explained
on page 160) quartered with the arms of Malbis (a chevron between
three hinds* heads erased),* a baldrequin behind the shield, and two
angels as supporters.

The gardens and orchards are, doubtless, much older than the
house. The orchard contains some very old trees, and there are also
some noteworthy plants and flowers, now wild, which are most likely
descendants of those that were cultivated and much prized in former
times.

On the death of Sir Wm. Fairfax, at Steeton, in 1558, an inventory
was taken of all the effects then in the Hall, and this catalogue,
which is printed in full in the Exccrpta Antiqua (York, 1799), affords
an exceedingly interesting and valuable exposition of the character
and belongings of the house of a knightly family in Yorkshire in the
days of Queen Elizabeth. The rooms mentioned are (i) the hall,
(2) the parler where he lay, (3) the gallere, (4) south chamber,
(5) great chamber with (6) indermer chamber, (7) new chamber with
(8) the indermer chamber, (9) Ryder chamber, (10) St. George's
chamber, (11) great parlour, (12) Low and (13) High Studye, (14)
butre, (15) brew-house, (16) kitchen, besides the outside laithes,
bams, and cow-stalls, and the chapel. From this inventory it would
be almost possible to construct a plan of the premises before the
alterations and additions were made fifty years subsequently. The
principal rooms were hung with tapestry and hangings of " Ares
warke " ; the old knight's armour, with his " gowne of caffry fured
and garded with velvet," hung in the parlour *' where he lay." He
had feather beds, admirably upholstered, a rare object at this time,
when the bulk of the people of England slept like the great Norman

• Also formerly in a window at Walton Church.

164

Conqueror and other feudal monarchs, on wooden frames covered
with straw. His " great chamber '* was even carpeted, a luxury
unknown at the lately dissolved Priory at Appleton, where his good
lady had been educated. No better garniture covered the floors of
monastic houses than the common rushes gathered in neighbouring
marshes and streams. Sir William had also much plate, gold and
silver, pewter dishes, saucers, goblets and tankards ; while his land
about bore a goodly crop of wheat and barley, and he had horses
and cows, and a hundred sheep, the latter then (1558) worth is. lod.
each.

Chimneys, as we learn from Leland, were by no means common
even in castles and better houses at this time, and it is interesting to
note in this old inventory such an entry as this : " one iron chimley,
vis. viiid. *' ; an item which seems to suggest that the smoke of the
hall-fire had been carried off* by a moveable construction connected
with a louvre -lantern in the roof. The entry follows a record of
** one cheste in the chapell," but it is not likely the chapel would
have the luxury of a heating apparatus even in winter time. In the
chapel was a beautifully-carved oak screen, part of which is now at
Healaugh Old Hall, and a later gallery had been erected above the
west entrance. The east window was richly emblazoned with coats
of arms, as follows: (i) Percy, (2) Percy quartered with Lucy,
(3) Semy of fleurs-de-lis, (4) Neville, argent, on a saltire, gules,
(5) Hastings, argent, a maunch, sable, (6) Under all, one completely
armed (for Sir Nicholas Fairfax, Kt., of Rhodes), in the right hand a
spear, on his left arm the cross of St. George, (7) Scrope, azure, a
bend, or, (8) Or, a bend, gules, (9) Ryther, three crescents, quartered
with Aldburgh, (10) Vaire (or chequy), argent and azure a fess gules,
quartered with azure fretty or chevrony, or, a chief of the second.

Domestic chapels of pre- Reformation age are now very rarely met
with, and one cannot but feel some regret that a building of such
interest could not have been spared as a memorial of past usages,
and of a family whose achievements will always be in the forefront
of interest in the storied life of Old England. Many of the Fairfaxes
were first received in this chapel into the sanctity of Christ's faith,
through the holy rite of baptism, and many have hearkened unto
His words within its sacred walls. When it was pulled down in
1873, most of the stone, I am told, was conveyed to Bilbrough and
used in building the new south side of the church there that replaced
the old Norman one. The other parts of the church were constructed
of Bradford setts.

i65

CHAPTER XIV.

BiLBROUGH.

" Fairfax, whose name in arms through Europe rings.
Filling each mouth with envy or with praise." — Milton.

Situation of Bilbrough — A supposed Roman look-out post — Prehistoric tumuli —
Recent excavations at Bilbrough Hill — A large tumulus—Antiquity of the
church, and fts position near the Roman camp— History of the manor — Local
families — Purchase of the manor by the Fairfaxes — Its subsequent sale and
purchase by Admiral Fairfax in 1 716— The old manor-house — The Fairfaxes
resident in the neighbourhood over seven centuries — Pedigree of the Fairfaxes
— The York and Ainsty Hunt — The American Fairfaxes —Their old home in
Virginia — The late Lord Fairfax — Old family portraits at Bilbrough — The
church and its re-erection in 1844 — The Nortons — The great Lord Fairfax
buried in the Norton Chapel — Local memorials — The churchyard — Dedica-
tion of the church— Its endowments and the Parliamentary report — The
village of Bilbrough, and surrounding scenery.

ONG before the Fairfaxes were settled here in the days
of Queen Elizabeth, this pleasant upland village had
been a place of no small consequence. Its situation
upon rising ground, commanding a magnificent outlook
over the rich vale of Wharfe, had rare attractions to
the great Lord Fairfax, who, in his later life, would come here to
enjoy the fresh breezes and meditate upon that vast and now peaceful
scene of many an important exploit and campaign in the long Civil
War. Far away, back in Roman times, a similar motive had,
doubtless, prompted the governor of York to maintain a guard and
look-out post here, commanding the great " street '* which led from
Tadcaster to the imperial city, but a short distance to the east. It
has been suggested that places compounded with the suffix burgh or
borough, indicate a Roman origin, as Bamborough, Aldborough, and
probably Knaresborough ; while such as have the terminal bitry, as
in Almondbury, Dewsbury, Wednesbury, &c., are towns or stations
of Anglian or Saxon foundation.

Having been attracted to Bilbrough in the autumn of 1900, upon
hearing that an excavation had then lately been commenced for
Mr. Fairfax's new mansion on Bilbrough Hill, I had a favourable

1 66

opportunity of examining the site. To my gratification I discovered
many indications of the remote occupation of that commanding
position. In my presence the workmen dug up many fragments of
Roman tiles, portions of thin red bricks, and just before my arrival
an unglazed earthenware jug had been, unfortunately, shattered
beyond repair by the pick. The ground, to a depth of i8 inches,
was strewn with fragments of bone and with broken tiles and bricks ;
some of the latter might be mediaeval ; some were entire, and
several I measured were lo by 5 inches and from i^ to 2 inches thick,
identical in size with many of those in the Roman wall at York. 1
was also fortunate in observing a portion of a mill-stone, originally
nearly five feet in circumference and 6 inches thick. It was of mill-
stone grit, and grooved diagonally along the edge of the surface, of
similar form and pattern to some of those in the Museum at York.

These discoveries persuade me that this was the original Roman
" burgh ** that gave Bilbrough its name. It is true that the site
had in Elizabethan times been built upon, but many of the fragments
of tiles, &c., were undoubtedly Roman, and for two centuries at any-
rate, the groimd had been vacant. On the south side there seems to be
the remains of a double bank or vallum, with intervening fosse, but
it is impossible at this day to define the area of the original camp or
enclosure. The present Bilbrough Hall, now being taken down,
adjoins it on the north, and on the west, looking over the vale of
Tadcaster, the ground slopes rapidly to the fields. Outside the area
of this probable camp, at its south-west angle, is a very large
tumulus ; and when I asked an aged native if he could tell me any-
thing about this mound, all the answer I received was : " There's a
hundred poond [a hundred pounds] buried in yon hill ! ** Local
tradition usually imparts the concealment of much gold in erections
of this kind, but as this one has apparently never been examined, I
refrain from imagining of what its true wealth consists ! It is fully
120 yards in circumference at the base, and upon it grow several fine
oak trees. Other smaller barrows in the neighbourhood were opened
a few years ago, and found to contain cinerary urns and other relics.

At the Norman Conquest, Bilbrough, or Mileburg (qu. Bileburgh),
as it is spelled in Domesday^ had a church, built as usual, like the
churches at Tadcaster and Ilkley on the Wharfe, close to or within
the area of the Roman camp. This premises the existence of a
temple, pagan or Christian, on the site long before the Norman
erection. The manor, or " land " in 1083-6 consisted of eight
carucates (a very significate holding at this time), in possession of
one Richard, son of Erfast, who was in all probability the £r£ast,
Bishop of Thetford from 1070. This Richard had also three mansions

167

in the city of York, as well as the church of the Holy Trinity there.
Bilbrough, together with the York property, appears to have come
into possession of Ralph Paganel, who gave the church of the Holy
Trinity to the Benedictine monks of Marmoutier on the Loire, who
founded and erected a Priory on the site. The church of Bilbrough
was appropriated to this Priory, but early in the 14th century it had
become a free chapel.* All the alien Priories, with the exception of
above, had been dissolved by 1414.

Ralph Paganel died before 11 30, and his descendants continued in

possession of Bilbrough for a long period subsequently. Geoffrey,

son of Ralph Paganel, founded in 11 32 the Priory of Wartre in

Holdemess, and he also gave his chapel of All Saints, Skewkirk,

near Kirk Hammerton, to Nostel Priory, which afterwards became a

cell to this Priory .f The monks of Nostel had also large possessions

in Bramham and Oglethorpe, and for more than a century were the

impropriators of the valuable rectory at Bolton Percy. According

to Kirkby*s Inquest (1284-5), there were in Byleburgh 7 J carucates

of land of the fee of Pay nil, who held of the King in capitcX Paynel,

however, appears to have subfeud Bilbrough, as by inquisition made

in 1287, Sir Roger de Mortimer was declared seized of one knight's

fee in Bilburg, Monketon, and Sandwathe, held by knight-service of

John Paynel, and worth yearly ;^2o.§ In 1315 Roger Basy was

returned as lord of Bilburgh. Drake says he was the son of

Walter de Bascy, who was Mayor of York in 1290.II But the said

Roger Basy or Basi was Mayor of York, i8th Edward I. (1289) and

again in 20th Edward I. (i29i).f Richard Basy, esquire, was lord

of the manor and principal resident at Bilbrough in 1378, when he

paid the capitation tax of 6s. 8d. He died in 1394, and by his will,

dated 29th March, 1393, bequeathed 20s. to the Black Friars of York

to pray for his soul.** There were then 33 married and unmarried

taxpayers in Bilbrough in 1378, all of whom, save the lord of the

manor and four others, paid the agricultural rate of 4d. each. The

exceptions were Roger Wryght, carpenter, and three blacksmiths,

who were assessed at 6d. each.

• Su Proc. Archal. Inst., York (1846), pages 2 and 171 ; and Dugdale's Mon.
^^'» iv.. 680.

t Su the auihoT's Nidderdale, page 168 ; also art. Holy Trinity Priory, page 218,
in the Memoirs of the York Muting of the Archal. Inst., 1846.

X Su also grants of land in Billeburgh (Lincolnshire), to St. Mary's Abbey,
York, cited by Drake, Ehoracum, page 586.

§ Yorkshire Inquisitions, vol. i., 186. and ii.. 62.

n Ehoracum, page 391.

1 Suttees Soc., vol. 96, pages 4-5.

** Yorks. Archal. Jl., vi., 411,

1 68

In the 4th Henry VI. (1425), the manor of Bilbrough was ouiied
by Elizabeth, widow of Richard Basy, and soon afterwards it passed
to the Nortons. John Norton died in 1464, and his son William
succeeded to the inheritance. The Subsidy Rolls of 15th Henry VIII.
(1523), record that Margaret Norton, widow, paid los. on ^10 lands
in Bilburgh ; Christopher Norton (son of William), the same, while
the total subsidy of twelve persons in Bilbrough at this date was
45s. 6d. In 1537, on the dissolution of Trinity Priory, York, the great
tithes, with the manor, of Bilbrough, were granted to Sir Leonard
Beckwith, and in 1554 they were re-granted to John Wright and
Thomas Holmes, who in 1556 disposed of them to Sir Wm. Fair^Euc
of Steeton. Thomas, Lord Fairfax, who died in 1671, settled by
his will all his tithes of the parish, after the death of Mr. Struttcm
(Stretton), a Nonconformist minister.*

The unfortunate circumstances attending the death of the Duke of
Buckingham {see page 112) caused many complications in the settle-
ment of the late Lord Fairfax's estates. Bilbrough was ultimately
sold, in 1 71 6, to Admiral Fairfax, for ;^7523 17s. 8d. The purchase
included the whole township of Bilbrough, except the lands belonging
to Newark and Hems worth schools in Sand with. There were,
however, five other persons who bought separate freeholds under him,
his own share being the largest, and it included the manor, the trust
of the tithes, and the presentation to the living.f

The old manor-house, which stood on the site of the one now being
built, was the birth-place, in 1560, of Thomas, the first Lord Fair£ax.
It was occupied at the time the third Lord Fairfax died, in 1671, by
his domestic chaplain, the Rev. Richard Stretton, and shortly after-
wards was pulled down and the late Bilbrough Hall, which stood at
the foot of the hill adjoining, was erected. This house was the
property and residence of Thomas March, who was acting agent of
the estates in the time of Queen Anne. In 1751 the house was
enlarged, and subsequently sold by Wm. March to a lawyer named
Agar, who added to it, and it was then called Bilbrough Hall.
Mr. Agar eventually sold it to the Rev. Robert S. Thompson, third
son of Henry Thompson, Esq., of Kirby Hall, near York, who died
in 1862, aged 84. It was again sold by his son. Captain Thompson,
to Thomas Fairfax, Esq., who was born at the Hall in 1804, and it
continued the family residence until its recent demolition (1900) by
the present owner of the estate, Guy Thomas Fairfax, Esq. J

The Fairfax family have been resident landowners in the neigh-

* Lawton's Collect., page 51.

t See Markham's Life 0/ Admiral Robert Fairfax, page 262. { Ibid., page 268.

' • I .

I I

' ' (■

E OF FAIRFAX,

SIR WILLI,
of Steeton. High Sheri
5 and 1540 ; died 1558, bd.

=(2) Dorothy, widow of

John Rokeby ;

d. 1596

Charles, Edward, (the
died poet), of New-
1604 hall, Fewston ;
d. 1632

3;
the

thai.

eth

Thomas,

b. at
Denton.

1594;
a mer-
chant
adven-
turer

John. b. \

Nun AppI

ton, 1597-

slain at

Frankentt

with '

his brothi

Willianf

Thomas,

b. 1640;

d. 1651

■t

Th
5th Lord Fa?
b. at BoltC!
Percy, 1657 ;

for CO. Yor
1688-1707; d.

»mas, Brian, of Wetherbv
nd d. Barwick, b. 1695 > ^•
590 1700

John, b. & d. 1699

i Sarah, wife of

m Major John dau. of
Carlyle, of Alex- son Ca
andria, Virginia 1757: d,

ret, dau.
lliam
t, Esq.

Ferdinando
d. at Mount £^
1820; md. and :

nne Caroline, dau. of J

le Hon. John C. Her- ofF

bert, of Maryland m^

< J 1

RaymondssAnna'

b. 1829 ; C.E. ; late Syly

Capt in Confederate Burfc

States Army ^ herst,-

•- 1 I

Frances Thomas

Marvin, of Bilbrough HalL

b. ton Spa, 1839 ; Lt .

Aug. 29, adier Guards ; m«

1878 Feb 8,*84;bd.Ne

of Bilbr6
Appleton, 18;

'AX,

VILLI

bSberi

'«•" 169

IT of

furhood for probably not less than seven centuries. Richard Fairfax,

1204-5, was possessed of lands if not the manor of Askham Richard

(the id other properties in the vicinity of York. He held Askham
New- ichard of the heirs of Mowbray, and the fine old church there,
^ ^^ ' hh its modem Norman porch -entrance, was afterwards given by
/illiam de Arches to the Priory of Monkton. William, grandson
^ , .' Richard Fairfax, purchased the manor of Walton, near Thorp
n Appfch, from Peter de Brus, ca. 1250. From him have descended all
». i597te noble and illustrious members of this ancient house, with its
jikentlT^'^c^^s at Denton, Steeton, Gilling, Bilbrough, and Virginia, U.S.A.
with lie annexed pedigree shews the connection of the Bilbrough branch
^rlj^^th the senior line of Denton and Steeton.

The late Thomas Ferdinand Fairfax, Esq., of Bilbrough, who was

^Lt. -Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, died 8th Feb., 1884, ^* *^^

dirly age of 44, and was buried at Newton Kyme. He succeeded to

be estates upon the death of his father, Thomas Fairfax, Esq., in

Th^75' Colonel Fairfax, on finishing his education at Eton, joined

rd Fake famous Grenadier Guards, with which regiment he spent some

t Boltijjj^g in Canada. After leaving the army he settled down at

o. yoi3ilbrough, to the life of a country gentleman, and was always

07; d^cceedingly popular and highly respected in the neighbourhood. It

said that he inherited some of the strongly marked political bias

many of his ancestry, and that no one ever exactly knew whether

icrhy jg ^g^ g^ Liberal or Tory. For six seasons he was the popular

Uaster of the York and Ainsty Hounds, which certainly deserved

699 well of his charge. That famous pack, ever since 181 8, when

r. Challoner, Mr. Clough, and the Hon. H. Butler, induced

Mr. James Lane Fox to part with a tract of the Bramham Moor

,oi

^^Country, that it might be hunted from York, has had many Masters,
J^'^jdbut none of them have shown " more determination, more devotion
— Tic sport, or a steadier eye to hounds " than Col. Fairfax. When
lot E^ter the sad death of Sir Charles Slingsby, which cast an almost
. and ineffaceable shadow over the hunting-field. Sir George Wombwell,
', With Peter Collinson as his huntsman, took charge of the York and

of f Ainsty Hounds, and both in the kennel and in the field maintained

""Hhe good name which Sir Charles Slingsby and his predecessors had

Anna built up for the pack. Sir George resigned the country in 1872, and

SyJ^then there was a short break, but Col. Fairfax came forward and
^"^t, proposed to hunt the hounds himself. His action was promptly
supported by every member of the Hunt, and when he resigned the
'^hIiI ^^^^'^ship to the capable hands of Capt. Slingsby in 1879, the pack
Q. It- ^2ui never been in a better or healthier condition or keener for sport.
Is: fl*' Col. Fairfax married in 1869, Eveline Selina, daughter of his

170

friend and neighbour, Sir Wm. Milner, Bart., of Nun Appleton, by
whom he had two sons and a daughter, the eldest son, Guy Thomas
Fairfax, Esq., being the present lord of the manor of Bilbrough, and
now sole representative of the house of Fairfax in England. He
married, 6th July, 1899, Joan, daughter of C. H. Wilson, Esq., of
Warter Priory, Holdemess, and has one son, Bryan Gerald Ferdinand
Fairfax, bom i6th July, 1900.

As will be seen from the pedigree, the senior line of the family has
been long settled in the beautiful vale of the Shenandoah, in Virginia,
U.S.A. Here Lord Fairfax erected, in the middle of the i8th
century, the still-existing manor-house of Greenaway Court, and here
the youthful and afterwards celebrated American statesman General
Washington, often stopped as he journeyed to and firom eastern
Virginia, his own home, to the valleys of Alleghany and Monongahela,
where the able young hero, who was born in 1732, afterwards won
his first laurels.* The " Old Chapel ** hard by (maintained on the
principles of the Church of England), was erected about the same
time. The remains of Lord Fairfax were taken for interment
beneath the chancel in the episcopal church in Winchester, Frederick
(now Clark) county, where a tablet to his memory has been affixed
to the eastern wall.

George William, eldest son of the Hon. William Fairfax, of Belvoir,
Virginia, was the trusted and life-long friend of General Washington.
The surveys made by Washington in the great valley of Virginia,
were ** so singularly accurate and satisfactory, that through Lord
Fairfax's influence he received the appointment of public surveyor.'*!
The family relations continued of the most intimate kind, and
Lawrence, elder brother of the future President, married in 1743,
Anne, eldest daughter of the Hon. Wm. Fairfax. At the beginning
of the American civil war, George William Fairfax came to England
in order to take possession of Toulston and other estates which had
fallen to him. But Toulston he was obliged to sell in consequence
of the hostilities. Belvoir, left in charge of a steward, was accidentally
burned to the ground, and the owner, as a Royalist, never returned
to his old home. He remained in England, and died at Bath in
April, 1787.

Greenaway Court, the old manor-house of the Lords Fairfax, is
situated in one of the most picturesque and fertile regions in Virginia,
the far-famed valley of the Shenandoah. " Its commanding location,"
observes Mr. W. Y, Page,J ** the varied beauty of its surrounding

* See Irving 's Life of Washington.

t Richard Wheatley in the Magaxine of American History, 1885. page 230.

X Ibid, 1893. page 140.

170

friend and neighbour, Sir Wm. Milner, Bart., of Nun Appleton, by
whom he had two sons and a daughter, the eldest son, Guy Thomas
Fairfax, Esq., being the present lord of the manor of Bilbrough, and
now sole representative of the house of Fairfax in England. He
married, 6th July, 1899, Joan, daughter of C. H. Wilson, Esq., of
Warter Priory, Holderness, and has one son, Bryan Gerald Ferdinand
Fairfax, bom i6th July, 1900.

As will be seen from the pedigree, the senior line of the family has
been long settled in the beautiful vale of the Shenandoah, in Virginia,
U.S.A. Here Lord Fairfax erected, in the middle of the i8th
century, the still-existing manor-house of Greenaway Court, and here
the youthful and afterwards celebrated American statesman General
Washington, often stopped as he journeyed to and from eastern
Virginia, his own home, to the valleys of Alleghany and Monongahela,
where the able young hero, who was bom in 1732, afterwards won
his first laurels.* The " Old Chapel " hard by (maintained on the
principles of the Church of England), was erected about the same
time. The remains of Lord Fairfax were taken for interment
beneath the chancel in the episcopal church in Winchester, Frederick
(now Clark) county, where a tablet to his memory has been affixed
to the eastern wall.

George William, eldest son of the Hon. William Fairfax, of Belvoir,
Virginia, was the trusted and life-long friend of General Washington.
The surveys made by Washington in the great valley of Virginia,
were " so singularly accurate and satisfactory, that through Lord
Fairfax's influence he received the appointment of public surveyor.'*!
The family relations continued of the most intimate kind, and
Lawrence, elder brother of the future President, married in 1743,
Anne, eldest daughter of the Hon. Wm. Fairfax. At the beginning
of the American civil war, George William Fairfax came to England
in order to take possession of Toulston and other estates which had
fallen to him. But Toulston he was obliged to sell in consequence
of the hostilities. Belvoir, left in charge of a steward, was accidentally
bumed to the ground, and the owner, as a Royalist, never returned
to his old home. He remained in England, and died at Bath in
April, 1787.

* See Irving's Life of Washington.

t Richard Wheatley in the Magazine of American History, 1885. page 230.

X Ibid, 1893, page 140.

Rt. Hon. John, Eleveh-i

171

scenery, the wavy outline of undulating fields and forests, with the
well-defined course of the majestic Shenandoah (i^., "river of the
woody banks"), with the long unbroken line of the Blue Ridge
mountains in the foreground, forms a picture which well attests the
taste and wisdom of the lordly possessor in its selection." The house
itself, he tells us, has a low-pitched sloping roof, surmounted with
three belfries, after the fashion of many old English farm-houses of
that day. " Everything about it was low, viewed from a more
modem standpoint; a long rambling building, sitting almost flat upon
the ground, consisting of only one story and an attic, massive outside
chimneys, squat and low, stuccoed g&bles into which small stone had
been pressed when the mortar was yet soft and yielding, giving to

Qreenaway Court,

the whole gable, chimney and all, the appearance of mosaic, and
which we may readily imagine has not its like upon the American
continent."

The late John Centre, i ith Lord Fairfax, lived the life of a gentle-
man farmer in the Southern States. He was of a very unostentatious
and retiring disposition, and the only title by which he was locally
known was that of Doctor, to which he was entitled as a graduate
of the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was
quite a boy when his family left Virginia and moved to the Heights
of Georgetown, Maryland, where he received his schooling preparatory
to entering college. He succeeded to the title upon the death of his

^74

Appleton when Lord Fairfax pulled down the Priory buildings and
built the hall. The south chapel is separated from the nave by two
pointed arches resting on octagonal columns. It appears to have
been erected by John Norton, lord of the manor, whose will is dated
1464. He left five marks for the new church tower, when the
parishioners should be disposed to build one, and 20s. for a stone to
be placed over his body. He died in 1493 and desires to be buried
in the chantry-chapel aforesaid, then lately built in the chapel of
St. Saviour, and that the chaplain thereof. Sir Wm. Dryver, should
have an annuity of six marks for ever, to pray for the souls of the
said John Norton and his family. This amount (£^ os. od.) still
continues to be paid to the rector of Bilbrough. His widow,
Margaret Norton, died in 1506, and by her will she desires to be
buried in the tomb of her late husband. She left i2d. to Sir Thomas
Oglethorpe, the curate at Bilbrough, some books to her daughter
Joan Nelson, and 3s. 4d. to each of the children of her son William,
who was residuary legatee. All her bees, it is interesting to note,
she gave to maintain a light in Bilbrough chap>el, '* as long as it shall
please God to preserve them." There are two stone lamp-corbels in
the east wall of their chapel, and their altar-tomb, of stone, which
is 8 feet long and 3 feet 9 inches broad, bears on the side two shields
with merchants* marks, and there are also the matrices of six brasses,
torn away, doubtless, during the Puritan revolution.

It was in the old Norton chapel that the great Lord Fairfax desired
to be buried, by the side of his wife. Their tomb is a handsome
table-monument of black marble, with stone base, 7 feet 6 inches
long and 4 feet 9 inches broad at the top, inscribed to Thomas,
Lord Fairfax, of Denton, who died Nov. 12th, 1671, and Anne, his
wife, daughter and co-heir of Horatio, Lord Vere. Above the
inscription is a shield of arms, Fairfax empaling Vere, with the motto
*• Fare Fac." The sides of the tomb are ornamented with panelled
pilasters, sculptured with military trophies, and the spaces between,
on the north and west sides, are occupied with elaborately-carved
shields of arms. The other two sides being against the wall are
plain. The shield at the west end, with helmet. Baron's coronet,
crest,* and supporters, depicts the arms of Fairfax quartered with
those of Malbes, Etton, and Thwaites, and Vere in the centre on a
scutcheon of pretence.f This chapel was originally entered by a
doorway on the west side, but now blocked.

* The crest, a lion passant, gard^uit, sable, is on the north side falsely represented
by lions passant, only. See Markham's Ltfe of the Great Lord Fairfax, page 436.

f The field of the Fairfax coat is argent, but when the Scottish Barony of
Fairfax of Cameron was created, the heralds recorded the arms differenced by
making the field or (therefore a gold and not a silver shield).

175

There are no other memorials in the church, but in the tower-
porch are three marble tablets ; one to the family of Todd of Normans
and Tadcaster ; another to the memory of Robt. Stephen Thompson,
clerk, B.A., third son of Henry Thompson, Esq., of Kirby Hall,
who died in 1862, aged 84 ; the third is inscribed to Harriet, wife of
the Rev. R. S. Thompson, and daughter of Childers Walbanke
Childers, Esq., of Cautley, who died in 1858, aged 80. There is
also a brass in the splay of the south window, recording that beneath
the tower is the vault of the family of Todd of Bilbrough.

In the churchyard adjoining the south chapel is a sepulchral

enclosure containing three marble crosses, inscribed (i) to Ferdinand

Fairfax, born and died in 1876 ; (2) to Edward C. Milner, Lieut.,

Coldstream Guards, bom Feb. ist, 1858, died April 23rd, 1878 ; (3)

to Evelyn Selina Fairfax, bom June 25th, 1846, died Feb. nth, 1900.

The ancient dedication name of the church is lost, and the names

of St. James and St. Peter are both given, but in Domesday (1083-6)

it is called Christ Church.* According to Archbishop Sharp it was

anciently a chapel in the parish of Askham Richard. But in 1291

it appears as a separate benefice, valued at ;^i2, and in inquisitions

made in the life-time of Sir Andrew Luttrell, patron of the Priory

of Holy Trinity, York, a.d. 1379,! it is stated that " the free chapel

of Bilborough, belonging to the church of the Holy Trinity, is worth

yearly £6 13s. 4d." This reduction appears to have been consequent

upon the depression and privations that followed the disastrous reign

of Edward H., and the terrible scourges of 1348-9 and 1361, known

as the Black Death, when nearly half the population of York died.

The certified value of the curacy about 1707, was £^b 6s. lod. In

1838 the tithes were commuted for a rent charge of £7.^0, In 1867

the living was declared a rectory, under the District Tithes Act ;

being described as " a peculiar without the cure of souls." The

present average yearly value from tithe-rent charge is retumed at

;f205, and the living for 45 years, from 1854 to 1899, was held by

the Rev. Joseph Powell Metcalfe, M.A., who had previously been

curate at Collingham. The Rev. W. W. Aldridge is the present

rector who succeeded Mr. Metcalfe on his retirement in 1899.

The Parliamentary Commissioners (ca. 1650) have the following
report about this church :

No certain maintenance, except 14 nobles per annum, paid by the Receiver-
General of the Commonwealth. We think fit that the towns or manors of Colton
and Steeton and all the Street-Houses in the parish of Bolton Percy lying almost
two miles thence, and much nearer to the church of Bilbrough, and better ways

* In the will of John Norton (1464) he speaks of " the chantry founded in the
chapel of St. Saviour " at Bilbrough.

t ^ Arthington.

176

to it. be divided from Bolton parish and annexed to Bilbrough. and the tithes and
other profits thereof arising to the church out thence, go along therewith as
annexed to Bilbrough. towards the maintenance of a preaching-minister in the
same, being worth about /60 per annum. And that the parishioners of the same
parish may erect a new parish church, so as may stand conveniently for the use
of the said towns of Steeton, Colton. and Bilbrough. The Lord Mayor and
Aldermen of York shall appoint the place, in case the parishioners cannot agree
thereof, towards the charge whereof we think fit and desire, that two years' profits
of tithes and church dues arising within Steeton and Colton may be allowed
there. And that the posterity of Col. Sir William Fairfax, Kt., deceased, may
have the use of their ancient chapel in Bolton Church, for burial and other uses,
as formerly they have had at their will and pleasure.

The pleasantly-situated village of Bilbrough has in its vicinage
some places of interest, such as Red Hill (a famous place for picnics)
and Cave Hole, which tradition associates with the youthful exploits
of " Black Tom " of Civil War renown. In former times Ingrish
Hill, which is a short walk from the village, was a beacon, and in
the parish registers at Bilbrough is an entry of a *^* daughter of
George Teasdale, soldier at the beacon.*' This old signal -place,
according to Andrew Marvell, was at one time a landmark for ships
coming up the Humber. There are now no buildings of antiquity
or of particular interest in the village. Bilbrough Grange, at present
occupied by Mr. Fairfax, while the new hall is being built, was
formerly the property and seat of John Fisher, Esq. In the garden
in front of the house is a well-grown Chili pine, popularly known as
the monkey-tree (Araucaria imhricaia)^ about fifty feet high, and there
is also a very fine copper-beech in the garden behind the Hall. The
Wesleyan Chapel was erected in 1838, and the old Free School was
endowed with if 19 a year ; ;^io being contributed by the lord of the
manor, £^ by the incumbent of the parish, and £^ by Lady Hewley's
trustees. There are two small charities founded by Christopher
Wright in 1694, ^^^ Christopher Blythe in 1766, together amounting
to about ;^9 per annum.

177

CHAPTER XV

KiRKBY WhARFE.

Geological aspects — Curious phenomena — Architectural qualities of the Magnesian
Limestone — Ancient settlements — Flint relics found at Kirkby Wharfe —
Discovery of a Roman inscribed tablet — Local sculptured crosses in the
church — Kirkby Wharfe a Danish settlement— Historical records — Old
families— Picturesque situation of the church — Description of the church —
The churchyard— Registers — The vicars — Biographical notices — The vicarage
houses ~ Rural aspects of the village — Old customs.

E will now cross over to the south side of the river to
the pleasant and picturesque old parish of Kirkby
Wharfe. Here we get on to the Magnesian Limestone,
which is an interesting exchange for the wide tracts
of Bunter or variegated Sandstone, with its thick
overspread of glacial drift, that characterise the surface aspects of
the far-reaching parish of Bolton Percy, previously dealt with. For
many miles — all the way from CoUingham to Kirkby Wharfe — the
flexuous river has cut a channel through the varying beds of
Magnesian Limestone, or as it is sometimes called Permian
Limestone, from Perm, a district in Russia, where this rock is
extensively developed, occupying an area twice the size of France,
and containing a special fauna. From Kirkby Wharfe the Permian
beds extend westwards to Bardsey and Barwick-in-Elmete, and
about a mile eastwards over the river to Wighill and Oxton,
southwards to a point where the railway crosses the river between
Ulleskelf and Bolton Percy. It is the cause of much variety in
the scenery, and in many places, as at Knaresbro* and in the
neighbourhood of Bramham, it may be seen lying unconformably
upon the older series of the Millstone Grits. In my work on
Nidderdale I have described some striking peculiarities in these
strata, and not far from the observatory tower in Grimston Park,
near Kirkby Wharfe, the limestone also assumes a very curious form.
The place, called Sunny Bank, is a small wooded knoll, and here the
beds of limestone appear quite perpendicular, caused by some
violent lateral pressure, the jagged and upturned edges of the rock

178

extending for a distance of one hundred yards in an east and west
direction, and in breadth from ten to fifteen yards.*

This rock has been quarried in Lower Wharfedale from early
times, as already explained ; its adaptability for working and its
richness in magnesia, making it unfavourable to vegetable growth,
have in consequence brought it into early repute for architectural
purposes. The old quarries of this stone at Huddleston, near
Sherburn-in-Elmete, and Thevedale, near Tadcaster, were probably
worked in Norman times. The ancient palace of the Archbishops
of York at Sherburn, pulled down in 1361, was largely built of it.

At what period the parish of Kirkby Wharfe was first peopled we
have no certain knowledge. But Celt, Roman, Saxon, Dane and
Norman all appear to have been established in the immediate district.
In such places as Bolton, Fenton, and Appleton, we have strong
evidence of Anglian settlements ; in the neighbouring Tadcaster we
have the Roman castra, while in Kirkby, the old Viking Dane appears,
as he does in such a large proportion of the places compounded with
the suffix by (a village or building), in Lincolnshire. Well may we
picture him with gleaming spear and banner, disporting the dreaded
raven, sailing in his stately craft up the Wharfe, as far as its ample
waters would allow him, and then contesting with Celt or Angle for
some favoured spot upon its banks. Long ago the native Briton
was compelled to seek refuge among the wild hills in the upper dale,
leaving but scant evidence of his former life in the warmer and more
luxuriant tracts of the Lower Wharfe. The old mounds about
Bilbrough tell of his presence here, and now and again, but very
rarely, a Roman coin or article of flint is turned up by the plough,
or by the washing away of earth by the river or beck sides. Though
flint weapons were used by Saxon and Dane, it is hardly likely they
were fashioned by them in this district, where bronze and iron,
introduced by the Romans, were well known. A single flint arrow-
head was picked up not far from the river near Kirkby Wharfe, some
years ago, and Mr. Henry J. Clayton, of Grimston g^xdens, tells me
that his son discovered, in 1880, a remarkably fine flint axe-head,
which had been washed out of the beck side near the old church.
The implement is of polished flint, nearly two inches in diameter at
the shoulder and about one inch at the tip. This fine relic is now
in possession of Mrs. Fielden at Grimston Park.

The Romans, as I have said, had an important station at Tadcaster,
and there would appear to have been a summer residence, villa, or

* See also Mr. Marshall's notice on carbonate of copper occurring in the
Magnesian Limestone at Newton Kyme, in the Trans. Geol. Soc., Ser 2, vol. ii.,
page 140.

Ancient Cross. Kih

179

mausoleum at Kirkby Wharfe. Within the last two years, while
some workmen were engaged on some repairs at the farm of
Mr. Haywood, at Kirkby Wharfe, they found in an old pig-sty a
piece of Sicilian marble, inscribed in Latin characters to the memory
of a daughter of some distinguished Roman. This old sepulchral
slab may possibly have been brought from the Roman station at
Tadcaster, though, from the base use to which it had been put, its
importance was not recognised, and it is not likely to have travelled
far. The probability is there was a mausoleum in the vicinity of
where the stone was found, possibly on Grimston Hill, which
commands a fine view of the vale of Wharfe and the country around
Tadcaster. The marble had been used as a flag-stone and has had a
hole pierced through it in recent times, for the passage of a water-
pipe.

Evidence of the settled occupation of Kirkby Wharfe in the 8th
or 9th century is forthcoming in the excellent fragments of Christian
sculptures now preserved in the church. The most important of
these is the complete shaft of a cross, with mutilated head, which
has only one limb perfect. The shaft itself is 30 inches high, and
with the cross-head, 43 inches. It tapers gradually from base to
top; the top being 7^ inches wide and the base loj inches. The
principal front of the shaft is occupied with a panel in which is
sculptured a tall cross or " tree of life," on each side of which stands
the nimbed figures of a male and female, presumably SS. John and
Mary. In the panel below the figures is a well executed triquetra-
knot, or emblem of the Trinity. The other fragments of crosses
seem to be of later date than the one described, being poorer in idea
and execution.

Whoever had worshipped here when those crosses were raised in
their pristine beauty, it is certain the Danes were in possession of
the place at the time of its cession to the Norman invaders. It is
also certain that a church stood here before the Conquest, because
Domesday calls the place Chirchebi (church-village), and tells us it
was a manor where Forne had half-a-carucate of land to be taxed,
which before the Conquest was worth 5s., afterwards nil. The
adjoining manor of Grimston appears, however, to have been the
more important place in point of economic wealth, for here were one
carucate and five bovates of land for taxation, where one plough
may be, and when Wlsi had the manor in the Confessor's time it
was worth los., afterwards nil. It is very possible the estate at
Grimston had been worked longer and at an earlier period than at
Kirkby Wharfe. Both estates fell within the great fee of Ilbert de
Lacy, the potent Baron of Pontefract.

i8o

The parish of Kirkby Wharfe has, at any rate from the era of
Donusday^ included Grimston, Kirkby-with-Milford, and Ulleskelf,
though the latter has been for a long period within the jurisdiction
of St. Peter of York, and old documents mention a chap>el at that
place, of which at the present time little or nothing is known. The
early history of the manor of Kirkby Wharfe is somewhat obscure.
It is not mentioned in Kirkby 's Inquest (1284-5), but in 1290, when a
levy of 40s. was made upon each knight*s fee in the kingdom in
aid of the marriage of the King's eldest daughter, we find that
Lady Margaret de Nevill contributed 5s. gd. to that gift, for the two
carucates she held in Kirkby and Grimston, where 14 carucates
constituted a knight's fee. In the register-books at York for this era
are a number of entries of homages made to the Archbishops of
York for lands in Kirkby Wharfe held of the See by knight-ser\^ce.
In 1298 Sir Simon Ward made homage to the Archbishop for his
lands in Guiseley, Givendale, and Kirkby-super- Wharf, and again
in 1300 he did the same; also on August ist, 1306, he repaired to
the Archbishop's manor-house at Otley, and did homage and fealty
for the same lands. He died in this year, and on Nov. 21st his son,
Sir Simon Ward, presented himself as the heir and successor to his
father's lands.*

In 1340 Archbishop William de la Zouch died at Cawood, seized
of the manors of Kirkby Wharfe, North Milford, Sherbum, and
several others, all of which came into possession of his nephews,
whose descendants were conspicuous for their wealth and influence
among Yorkshire county families. Anne Montacute, daughter of
John, Earl of Salisbury, who descended from the family of La Zouch,
married John Holland, Duke of Exeter, who died in 1446. Their only
daughter and heiress, Anne Holland, married Sir John Neville, Kt.,
who was slain at the battle of Towton in 1461, and their son,
Ralph Neville, became the famous third Earl of Westmorland,
grandfather of the " King maker." It was through this ancient
house of Neville that the manors of Grimston and Kirkby Wharfe
came to Thomas, Duke of Exeter, in the reign of Henry V. The
venerable Lady Margaret Neville, who held these manors in all
probability at the date of Kirkby 's Inquest (1284-5), died in 13 18, and
her funeral at Bolton Abbey was carried out with great pomp.f In
1426 an inquisition p.m. was made at Selby, when the jurors affirmed
that Thomas, late Duke of Exeter, was seized of the manor of
Scotton, held of the Castle of Knaresborough, and that before his
death he gave and confirmed by deed to Sir Wm. Haryngton, Kt.,

• See also Memorials 0/ Fountains Abbey, vol. i., page 197.
t See my Upper WharfedaU, page 303.

i8i

all his right and possessions which he had in the manors of Farnley,
Oakenshaw, Clakeheton, Scoles, Colling, Coningley, Gargrave,
Potterton, Grimston, Kirkby Wharfe, North Milford, &c., to hold to
the said William and his heirs for ever. And the jurors further say
that the said Duke held these manors for the term of his life, after
the death of Margaret, late wife of the said Duke, daughter and
heiress of Thomas, son of Robert Neville, Knight, of Hornby Castle,
CO. Lancaster, of the inheritance of Margaret, wife of the said
Wm. Haryngton, and one John Langton, Knight, relations and heirs
of the said Margaret, late wife of the said Duke. And all the said
manors are held of the King, as of his Duchy of Lancaster and the
Honor of Pontefract. The Duke died on 27th December, 1425, and
John, Earl of Somerset, his nephew, is his next heir.

An indenture dated nth Henry VL (1432) shews that the
inheritance of Margaret, late wife of Thomas, Duke of Exeter, was
divided between the co-heirs. Sir William Harrington, Kt., and
Margaret his wife, who, as the aunt and co-heir, took the castle and
manor of Hornby, and other estates in Lancashire ;* while
Sir John Langton, Kt., the other co-heir, took for his share the
manors of Farnley, Grimston, Kirkby Wharfe, North Milford, and
others above cited, together with the manor of Appleby and its
appurtenances, and the advowson of the Priory of Thomholme, all
in CO. Lincoln.

The senior family of Langton expired in an heiress, who married
Sir James Danby, Kt., temp. Henry VH.t The manor of Kirkby
Wharfe was now for some reason parted and held in moieties, and in
1545 a moiety of the manor of Kirkby Wharfe, and of a market
there, was sold by Francis Langton to Anthony Hamond, probably
of the Scarthingwell family. Sir John Langton, Kt., who married a
daughter of Roger Aske (she was a widow in 1463), had been
possessed of the whole manors of Grimston and Kirkby Wharfe, as
explained, and probably by the failure of his issue, male, the
property had descended to co-heirs in moieties. J In 1561 I find

• Richard Beaumont, of Whitley Hall, co. York, married for his second wife
Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Harrington, of Hornby Castle.
Su Yorks. Arch.Jl., viii., 508 n.

t The Langtons were at one period resident at Huddleston, in the parish of
Sherbum (see page 54). In 1342 the Archbishop of York received the homage
of John, son of Nicholas de Langton. for the lands held by him of the See of
York in Huddleston. The Fabric Rolls of York Minster contain many references
to this old family.

X The manor of Kirkby Wharfe subsequently came to the Gascoignes. and
Robert Ryther, of Ryther, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Wm. Gascoigne.
of Gawthorpe, Kt., but died without issue. The Ryther property therefore
descended to his brother-in-law. John Aske, of Aughton, a kinsman of the above
Roger Aske.

IC.

I II 111
6 daughters

surviving son ; succeeded=j=Jane Roberts,

)rs of Steeton. Bilbrough,
olton Percy ; d. 1584

of Bentham,
CO. York

Henry Anne Mary

Mathew

Thomas

(base)

William
Frederick
Francis
Arthur

' I I I I
Msuy

Bridget

Pris^la

Prudence

Sir Philip=pFrances, dau.

of Steeton, b. 1586
sold the manor of
Bolton Percy, &c.
to Sir Thomas
Fairfax, of Den-
ton ; died 1613

of Edmund,
Lord Sheffield,

Earl of

Mulgrave, and

President of

the North

Edmund,

md. Mary, dau.

of Sir William

Irwin

Sir William:
of Steeton ; b.

1610;

commander in

the Parliament

army ; fell at

Montgomery

Casde. 1644

William=f=Catharine, dau.

^Frances, dan. of

Sir Thomas

Chaloner, of

Guisboro' ;

b. 1610;

d. 1692-3

— r~»
Mary

Ursula

ofSteeton;b. 1630
d. at Newton
Kyme, 1673-4

of Robert

Stapleton. of

WighiU

Thomas.

b. 163J ;

d. in DuDlin,

171a

T I I J

Catherme
Isabella
Mary
Philadelphia

by RoDert=j=

ana of Steeton, Newton Kyme

; d. and Bilbrough ; b. 1665-6 ;

left Admiral in R.N. ; M.P.

re) for York ; d. 1725

Hester, dau. of Frances Elizabeth

Robt. Bushell, Ann Catherine

Esq.,ofRus- Isabella Alathea

warpe, nr. Whitby, Susanna

<J- 1735. aged 80

Hannah, Guy,

md. to b. and of Steeton & New
Warner d. tonKyme, b. 1698
Vashington 1695 md. 1730; d. 1774

Thoma»j=Elizabeth, sis. of Lind- Catharine,

dau. of Geo. Lod-
1, of Bracebridge
CO. Lincoln, d. 1809

ley Simpson, Barrack- md. Henry

master at Limerick ; Pawson, of

d. York, 1780, aged 81 York ; d. 1767

Guy, b. 1735; Rector

of Newton Kyme ; md.

and issue; d. 1794

Tnomas,
William,
d. young

Elizabeth.

d. nnmd.

1800

Thomas Lodington=pTheophania. eldest dan

(only child), b. 1770 ; d.
at Newton Kyme, 1840

of Edward las. Chaloner,
of Lincoln ; d. 1857

seton=^Louisa Constantia,

wton
'Ugh,

X875

dau. of Geo. Ravens-
croft, Esq., E.I.C.S. ;
bom at Lucknow

Jane
Frances,
b.
1800

Elizabeth,
b. 1802 ; md.
toRev.Thos.

Hart Dyke

Theophania,

b. 1803 ' nid. to

Hy. Collingwood

Blackett, Esq.

t Frances, Emma Louisa, b.
id. David, 1838 ; md 1859 to
5. Craigie Hon. Chas. Pierre-
lis, Esq., of point D'Arcv Lane
Midlothian Fox ; she d. 1870

n Constance,

b. 1872

Katherine Henrietta, Isabel Augusta,
b. 1842 ; md. 1868 to b. 1843; md. 1870 to
Wm. W. Wickham. Edwd., only son of
Esq . , son of Lamplugh Edwd. York , Esq. . of
Wickham. Esq. Hutton Hall, co. York

169

bourhood for probably not less than seven centuries. Richard Fairfax,
in 1 204-5, was possessed of lands if not the manor of Askham Richard
and other properties in the vicinity of York. He held Askham
Richard of the heirs of Mowbray, and the fine old church there,
with its modem Norman porch -entrance, was afterwards given by
William de Arches to the Priory of Monkton. William, grandson
of Richard Fairfax, purchased the manor of Walton, near Thorp
Arch, from Peter de Brus, ca. 1250. From him have descended all
the noble and illustrious members of this ancient house, with its
branches at Denton, Steeton, Gilling, Bilbrough, and Virginia, U.S.A.
The annexed pedigree shews the connection of the Bilbrough branch
with the senior line of Denton and Steeton.

The late Thomas Ferdinand Fairfax, Esq., of Bilbrough, who was
a Lt. -Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, died 8th Feb., 1884, at the
early age of 44, and was buried at Newton Kyme. He succeeded to
the estates upon the death of his father, Thomas Fairfax, Esq., in
1875. Colonel Fairfax, on finishing his education at Eton, joined
the famous Grenadier Guards, with which regiment he spent some
time in Canada. After leaving the army he settled down at
Bilbrough, to the life of a country gentleman, and was always
exceedingly popular and highly respected in the neighbourhood. It
is said that he inherited some of the strongly marked political bias
of many of his ancestry, and that no one ever exactly knew whether
he was a Liberal or Tory. For six seasons he was the popular
Master of the York and Ainsty Hounds, which certainly deserved
well of his charge. That famous pack, ever since 1818, when
Mr. Challoner, Mr. Clough, and the Hon. H. Butler, induced
Mr. James Lane Fox to part with a tract of the Bramham Moor
country, that it might be hunted from York, has had many Masters,
but none of them have shown " more determination, more devotion
to sport, or a steadier eye to hounds *' than Col. Fairfax. When
after the sad death of Sir Charles Slingsby, which cast an almost
ineffaceable shadow over the hunting-field. Sir George Wombwell,
with Peter Collinson as his huntsman, took charge of the York and
Ainsty Hounds, and both in the kennel and in the field maintained
the good name which Sir Charles Slingsby and his predecessors had
built up for the pack. Sir George resigned the country in 1872, and
then there was a short break, but Col. Fairfax came forward and
proposed to hunt the hounds himself. His action was promptly
supported by every member of the Hunt, and when he resigned the
Mastership to the capable hands of Capt. Slingsby in 1 879, the pack
had never been in a better or healthier condition or keener for sport.

Col. Fairfax married in 1869, Eveline Selina, daughter of his

170

friend and neighbour, Sir Wm. Milner, Bart., of Nun Appleton, by
whom he had two sons and a daughter, the eldest son, Guy Thomas
Fairfax, Esq., being the present lord of the manor of Bilbrough, and
now sole representative of the house of Fairfax in England. He
married, 6th July, 1899, Joan, daughter of C. H. Wilson, Esq., of
Warter Priory, Holderness, and has one son, Bryan Gerald Ferdinand
Fairfax, born i6th July, 1900.

As will be seen from the pedigree, the senior line of the family has
been long settled in the beautiful vale of the Shenandoah, in Virginia,
U.S.A. Here Lord Fairfax erected, in the middle of the i8th
century, the still-existing manor-house of Greenaway Court, and here
the youthful and afterwards celebrated American statesman General
Washington, often stopped as he journeyed to and from eastern
Virginia, his own home, to the valleys of Alleghany and Monongahela,
where the able young hero, who was bom in 1732, afterwards won
his first laurels.* The " Old Chapel " hard by (maintained on the
principles of the Church of England), was erected about the same
time. The remains of Lord Fairfax were taken for interment
beneath the chancel in the episcopal church in Winchester, Frederick
(now Clark) county, where a tablet to his memory has been affixed
to the eastern wall.

George William, eldest son of the Hon. William Fairfax, of Bel voir,
Virginia, was the trusted and life-long friend of General Washington.
The surveys made by Washington in the great valley of Virginia,
were " so singularly accurate and satisfactory, that through Lord
Fairfax's influence he received the appointment of public surveyor."!
The family relations continued of the most intimate kind, and
Lawrence, elder brother of the future President, married in 1743,
Anne, eldest daughter of the Hon. Wm. Fairfax. At the beginning
of the American civil war, George William Fairfax came to England
in order to take possession of Toulston and other estates which had
fallen to him. But Toulston he was obliged to sell in consequence
of the hostilities. Bel voir, left in charge of a steward, was accidentally
burned to the ground, and the owner, as a Royalist, never returned
to his old home. He remained in England, and died at Bath in
April, 1787.

• See Irving's Life of Washington.

t Richard Wheatley in the Magazine of American History, 1885. page 230.

X Ibid, 1893, page 140.

scenery, the wavy outline of undulating 6elds and forests, with the
well-defined course of the majestic Shenandoah {«,«., " river of the
woody banks"), with the long unbroken line of the Blue Ridge
mountains in the foreground, forms a picture which well attests the
taste and wisdom of the lordly possessor in its selection." The house
itself, he tells us, has a low-pitched sloping roof, surmounted with
three belfries, after the fashion of many old Enghsh farm-houses of
that day. " Everything about it was low, viewed from a more
modem standpoint; a long rambling building, sitting almost flat up>on
the ground, consisting of only one story and an attic, massive outside
chimneys, squat and low, stuccoed gkbles into which small stone had
been pressed when the mortar was yet soft and yielding, giving to

the whole gable, chimney and all, the appearance of mosaic, and
which we may readily imagine has not its like upon the American
continent."

The late John Cont6e, i ith Lord Fairfax, lived the life of a gentle-
man farmer in the Southern States. He was of a very unostentatious
and retiring disposition, and the only title by which he was locally
known was that of Doctor, to which he was entitled as a graduate
of the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was
quite a boy when his family left Virginia and moved to the Heights
of Georgetown, Maryland, where he received his schooling preparatory
to entering college. He succeeded to the title upon the death of his

189

On the south wall of the chancel there is a neat marble tablet

inscribed :

In Spe Beat^c Resurrectionis.

To the glory of God and in Memory of John Fielden, of Grimston, who died
July 4th, 1893, this Chancel was repaired and adorned by some of his relatives,
Easter. 1896.

Also on the south side is a two-light window, containing some curious
German stained glass. It bears the dates 1599, 161 7, and 161 8, and
was brought from the Continent by the second Lord Londesborough
at the time of the restoration of the church in 1861. It was inserted
in the window here by Mr. Knowles, of Stonegate, York, who, as is
well-known, has done so much in bringing out the beauty of the old
glass in York Minster. The only coloured window in the south aisle
is of three lights, placed there to the memory of Ann Lally, who was
bom in 1773 and died in 1858 ; given by her daughter, F. H. Moore.
Upon the walls of the tower are several tablets to the kindred of
Lord Howden, lord of the manor of Kirkby Wharfe. One of them
is inscribed to the memory of the first peer's father, Archbishop
Cradock, of Dublin Another reads : " In memory of Thomas Crofton
Croker, Esq., the amiable and accomplished author of the Fairy
Legetids of Irelatid, and other works, antiquarian and literary. This
tablet is erected by his friend. Lord Londesborough, MDCCCLV.*'*
There is a beautiful single-light stained window on the west side of
the tower, by Mr. George Shaw, the architect who restored the
church,t which was dedicated at the restoration bythe Rev. Richard
Wilton, M.A., vicar, a.d. i860, who is now rector of Londesborough.
The lower part of the tower is Early English, the buttresses being
late additions.

The ancient font (now replaced by a handsome modern one) is a
perfect cylinder, no doubt coeval with the original Norman church.
Its internal diameter is 24 inches and external 30 inches. In the
churchyard, close to the south wall, is a very perfect and handsome
late 14th century grave-slab of some ecclesiastic, bearing an incised
floriated cross, with chalice on the dexter side. This stone should
be placed with the other stone relics in the vestry.

One might linger long in the old burial-ground of the parish, whose

* Among the Hailstone collections in York Minster Library, I have seen what
must be a very scarce quarto pamphlet (with woodcuts), entitled : Recollections of
Old Christmas : a Masquf performed at Grimston, Tuesday, 24th December, 1850. By
T. Crofton Croker, Esq. Privately printed.

t This window is from a design by Mr. Fairholt, F.S.A. In the Miscellanea
Graphica, edited by Thos. Wright, F.S.A. . will be found an account of the first
Lord Londesborough's principal Art treasures at Grimston Park, illustrated with
numerous drawings by Fairholt.

190

fathers have been laid to rest there century after century. Here is
the private vault of the Londesborough family. Among the recent
tributes to departed worth is a very elegant lona cross raised to the
memory of Mr. John Fielden, of Grimston Park, who was bom 8th
July, 1822, and died 4th July, 1893. Another beautiful cross, of Celtic
design, commemorates his son, Mr. Thos. Fielden, who died 5th Oct.,
1897, ^^^ whose widow, Mrs. Fielden, is the present occupant of
Grimston Park. Near the churchyard, but within the Park, is an old
and curious sun-dial, which has had dials on four faces, a very
unusual arrangement.

The registers of the church commence with the year 1583. There
are 40 acres of glebe at Knapton and 15 acres at Bolton, near
Pocklington, belonging to the vicarage. Torre supplies a list of the
vicars down to the 17th century, and there are some interesting notes
on the early vicars, written at the end of one of the oldest registers,
by the Rev. Richard Sugden, who was vicar from 171 1 to 1727. 1
am indebted to the present vicar for the additions to Torre's list.
The Prebendary of Wetwang continued patron from the institution
of the first recorded vicar to the year 1857; then Archbishop Thomson
presented, and subsequently the Fielden family, who are the present
patrons.

Vicars of Kirkby Wharfe.

Date

Dat€

Institution.

Name of Vicar.

Institution.

Name of Vicar.

. John

1642

. . Francis Sherwood

23 Jan..

1329 '

. Roger de Montefort

1647

. . John Greenwood

17 May,

1321 .

. Will Paule

II Nov.,

1661

. . Geo. Thompson

26 June,

1334 •

. Will Paule

26 Oct..

1668

.. WillKaye

• •

. Will de Wetewang

1705

. . Thomas Massey

15 July.

1350 .

. Roger de Selby

1711

.. Richd. Sugden

9 Aug..

1377 •

. Hugo del Orton

1728

. . Edward Markland

16 April,

1407 .

. Tho. Prestcote

Hodgson

19 Sept..

1441 .

. Job. Grenehill, or

13 Oct..

1762

. . Robt. Hitching

Grenefield

9 April.

1788

., Edw. Heber

26 Mar.,

1476 .

. Tho. Nicholson

12 Dec ,

1795

. . Hen. Forster Mi(Js

28 Sept..

1483 .

. Job. Cowton

2 Feb..

1798

. . Thos. Radley

8 Oct.,

1485 .

. Robt. Adamson

I July,

1799

. . Thos. Gilpin

16 June.

1510 •

. Henry Knigbt

2 Jan.,

1827

. . Matt. Barker [ham

2 July,

1510 .

. Chrislr. Cattail

II Mar.,

1829

. . Hen. Spencer Mark-

••

1540 .

• • •

16 Feb..

1832

. . John Ashford

9 Feb.,

1580 .

. Tristram Tildesley

. . [John M. Williams.

19 Dec..

1586 .

. Ric. Soundifurtb

Curate, 1852 — 1857,]

20 Mar.,

1595 •

. Geo. Byngeley

7 Jan.,

1857

.. Richard Wilton

29 June,

1597 •

. Antb. Higginbotbam

20 April.

1866

. . Norman D. J. Straton

22 Jan.,

1599 .

. Tbo. Ostler

8 Sept.,

1875

. . George J as. Bostock

5 June,

1628 .

. Tbo. Clarke

28 Mar.,

1882

. . George S. Allen

It was during the incumbency of the Rev. Richard Wilton, the

present venerable and amiable rector of Londesborough, who is also

a Canon of York, that the important undertaking of restoring the

church was so efficiently carried out. Canon Wilton, whose family

is thought to be connected with the Gloucestershire Wiltons, was

bom at Doncaster, on Christmas Day, 1827. He became vicar of

Kirkby Wharfe in 1857, and in i860 Lord Londesborough appointed

him his domestic chaplain. In 1866 his Lordship presented him to

the living of the rectory of Londesborough, near Market Weighton,

which he has held ever since. He is author of much excellent verse.

His tasteful volumes, entitled Wood Notes and Church Bells (1873),

Lyrics, Sylvan and Sacred (1878), Sungleams (1881), and Benedicite and

other Poems (1889), are full of Nature's melody and resonant with the

spirit of one who feels what he writes. Canon Wilton's worthy

successor in the living of Kirkby Wharfe was the Rev. Norman D.

J. Straton, the present popular Bishop of the Isle of Man. He was

instituted 20th April, 1866, and on 22nd March, 1867, he had license

from the Archbishop to use the schoolroom at Ulleskelf for the

purposes of divine worship. Dr. Straton, previous to his elevation

to the See of Sodor and Man in 1892, had been vicar of All Saints

(the Cathedral), Wakefield, and Rural Dean of Wakefield, from

1875. His promotion has been rapid. In 1873 he married Emily

Jane, widow of Henry Baines, Esq., of Bell Hall, and daughter of

Joseph Robinson Pease, Esq., of Hesslewood House, co. York.*

He was succeeded at Kirkby Wharfe, in 1875, by the Rev. George

J. Bostock, who had been chaplain in Western Australia from i860

to the time of his appointment to the Wharfedale vicarage. He

married an Australian lady. For some years before his death, at

Kirkby Wharfe, in 1882, he was often ailing and in delicate health,

probably due to change of climate. His death was much regretted.

The present esteemed vicar, the Rev. George S. Allen, was next

inducted to the living, and certainly no incumbent deserves better of

his parish. His whole life has been one of well-doing and self-sacrifice

in the cause of Christ and His Church. Mr. Allen's father, I may

add, was the friend and coadjutor of the learned historian. Dr. T. D.

Whitaker, and he collated much of the matter for the Doctor's

History of Richmondshire, He likewise added largely to the contents

of the second edition of Dr. Whitaker's History of Whalley, in two

volumes, and Mr. Allen has in his possession a presentation copy

to his father.

The village, with its ample green, is a delightfully rural and
picturesque place, its cottages overhung with flowering creepers and

• For pedigree of Pease set Forster's North and East Riding (Yorkshire) Pedigrus.

192

gardens, even in winter hardly ever out of bloom. I am told that
the vine, in favourable seasons, has ripened its fruit here in the open.
The so-called Church House, now occupied by Mr. Joseph Lacy,
custodian of the church, is a roomy old 17th century tenement, much
restored, which at one time was the residence of the vicars. This
house was formerly tenanted by a black servant, whom Lord Howden
brought from abroad and named Harris, and who married here and
brought up a family. The present vicarage is, I believe, the fourth,
if not fifth, that has been occupied within living recollection. After
the Church House ceased to be occupied by the vicars, an old half-
timber dwelling (now removed), which stood beside the Green, was
taken for the purpose, but as it was small and inconvenient, the late
Lord Londesborough, in 1863, offered Mr. Wilton Milford Hall as
a residence, and there he remained until he was succeeded by
Mr. Straton in 1866. Then the handsome vicarage, at present
standing, was raised on the lane leading to the Selby and Tadcaster
highroad. This being a very large and costly building, erected by
Mr. Straton, now Bishop of Sodor and Man. The present vicarage
was built in 1890 at the comer of the lane opposite. It is a pleasing
brick structure, erected from the proceeds of the sale of the former
vicarage-house, and four acres of land adjoining.

There is little now to disturb the tranquility of every-day at this
pleasant village. The old ** Moor Kirk fair " here, which existed
from at least the time of Queen Elizabeth, was removed early in the
19th century to Tadcaster. In former times the perambulation of
the boundaries of the parish, now done away with, created no little
stir. The Village Feast, held every June (on the festival of the
Nativity of St. John the Baptist), is also an event of the past, but
old folks well remember the hilarity and merry-making that com-
memorated this annual gathering of relatives and friends. Railways
are no doubt largely responsible for the extinction of many old
customs, as well as for the removal of families, who have in many
instances lived in the same parish, and even on the same farm, for
centuries.

193

CHAPTER XVI.

Grimston Park.

Ancient cultivation Meaning of Grimston- Grim in the A.-S. dedication stone
at York — TKe manor of Grimston — The manor-house - Local families — The
Stanhopes and Gascoignes — Purchase of the manor by Lord Howden— Local
field names — Duke of Wellington at Grimston — Sale of Grimston to Lord
Londesborou^li, and afterwards to John Fielden, Esq. — Description of the
mansion— A remarkable collection of relics — The park and gardens Fo mer
population oi Grimston— Schools — Bella Hall estate.

T THE Norman conquest there were probably not less
than 200 acres of land in cultivation at Grimston,
farmed by a village community, which continued to
exist down to last century, when the whole was
absorbed in the present noble park. The place may
have originated on the Anglo-Saxon conquest, although the name
Grim is also Norse and occurs in the Sagas. In Havelok the Daiu,
written temp, Edward HI., we have the following lines :

In Humber Grim bigan to lende
In Lindeseye. rith at the north ende,
Ther sat his shippe up on the sond,
But Grim it drou up to the lond,
And ther he made a litel cote
To him and to his flote.

Grim was also one of the lords of Harewood at the Norman
conquest. But in the old church of St. Mary's, Castlegate, in the
neighbouring city of York, there is preserved a rare dedication -stone,

which (translated), states that " this minster was built by ard

and Grim and Aese, to our Lord Jesus Christ and Saint Mary,

Martin, and Saint bert and All Saints." This is, apart from

names, highly interesting testimony to the survival, in the 8th century,
of the ancient British method of erecting monasteries or ** minsters,'*
not in the for.n of a single conventual building but as the venerable
Bede tells us, in groups of churches and oratories, sometimes
considerable distances apart. From the last part of an effaced date,
** — VI.,** which appears on the stone, the dedication has been
referred to the year 756, and it could hardly have been earlier, as it

194

is not likely so important a "minster" would have escaped record by
the vigilant Bede, who died in 734. This Grim was consequently a
Saxon, and must have been a person of some consequence in his
time, but whether he was lord and founder of this place (which is 9
miles south-west of York and 2 miles south of Tadcaster), can, of
course, never be known.*

The manor of Grimston was merged in Ilbert de Laci's great fee
of Pontefract, and appears to have followed the fortunes of its
neighbour-manor, Kirkby Wharfe, down to the i6th century, as
related in the last chapter. The Prioress of S. Clements, near York,
had common of pasturage in 2^ acres of meadow in Grimston near
Tadcaster, in the 13th century. At this time the capital mansion
appears to have been in the occupation of the family of Malure or
Mallory, who were akin to the Stapletons.t By writ dated 4th Aug.,
1 6th Edward I. (1288), tested at Westminster by Edmund, Earl of
Cornwall, and directed to Nicholas de Stapleton and John de
Lythegrayns, ordering them to find out by the oaths of knights and
other lawful and honest men of the neighbourhood of Grimston and
Kirkby -on -Wharfe, if Henry, son and heir of Sarra, daughter of
Ankettin Malure, who was born at Grimston and baptised in the
church of Kirkby-on-Wharfe, and who by reason of his minority
was in the King's custody, was, as he alleged, of full age. The
jurors sworn say on their oath that the said Henry was of full age
on Tuesday in Whit-week, i6th Edward I. (i8th May), 1288.J

In the time of the Nevilles, the manor-house was in occupation of
the respectable family of Saxton, who derived their patronym from
an adjoining township. In 1378 Robert de Saxton, /ran^if, and his
wife, were the principal tenants at Grimston, and paid 3s. 4d.
capitation tax towards the levy authorised to be made for carrying
on the war with France. § At this time there were eleven married
couples living at Grimston, and two single adults, all of whom paid
4d. each towards the same fund. The population of the township
would therefore be about 60 in 1378, and had doubtless been much
more a century earlier.

♦ There are several Grimstons in Yorkshire, one of them being 3 miles east of
York, in the parish of Dunnington. Grim is a still existing personal name in
Saxony and other parts of Germany. It occurs as a Yorkshire surname in 1202
and 1210 in the Feet of Fines, printed by the Surtees Society, vol. 94. pages 49
and 165.

f Sh the StapUtons of Yorkshire (1897), page 23, &c.

J Yorks. Inquisitions, ii., 80.

§ The Register of Archbishop Romaine records a debt of £50 due to Roger de
Saxton in 1286. and another bond in the same year due to Thomas de Grimston.
Archdeacon of York, William de Langton, ana Henry de Milford. executors of
Wm. de Langton. late Dean of York.

195

Drawn hither by their masters, the Nevilles, who were also lords
of Famley, near Leeds, were Robert de Femelay and his wife, and
I observe also a Robert Sonnyng and wife, at Grimston, in 1378.
In a document at the Public Record Office,* there is contained a
grant made in 141 8 by William Sonnyng, perhaps son of above
Robert, then vicar of the parish church of Kippax, and William
Worthington, of Kirkby Wharfe,t to Thomas de Thorpe, of
" Grimston near Todegastre," and Isabella, his wife, for their lives,
of all their lands in Grimston, which formerly belonged to Henry le
Balne, grandfather of the said Isabella, with the remainder in tail to
Richard Freman of Allerton-by-the-water, and Agnes, his wife, with
reversion to the heirs of the said Henry. These Freemans were a
family of long standing at Aller ton -By water, and in the subsidy-rolls
of 15th Henry VIH. (1523), John Freeman, of that place paid 2s. for
lands. The family was also seated at Ulleskelf, in the parish of
Kirkby Wharfe, and in the same volume of ancient deeds is a grant
by John Freman, of Ulleskelf, to Robert Bercar, bailiff of Tadcaster,
Laurence Rauson, and John Burton, rector of Garforth, of all his
messuages and lands in Ulleskelf and Grimston, by Tadcaster, on
certain conditions, and to perform grantor's last will, dated 12th May
i6th Henry VII. (1500).

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the manor of Grimston passed
by purchase to the Stanhopes. A fine was concluded in 1589 between
Edward Stanhope, Esq., plaintiff; on the one part, and Christopher
Nelson, gent., and Mary, his wife, deforciants, on the other part,
with reference thereto, and the sale included the manor, with 10
messuages, 10 cottages, a windmill, and lands in Grimston, Kirkby,
Tadcaster, and Stutton ; also free fishing in the Cock and Wharfe.
This Edward Stanhope was one of the counsel at York for the
Northern Parts. He was also Recorder of Doncaster. He died in
1603, and was buried at Kirkby Wharfe, leaving issue six sons, the
eldest of whom, Sir Edward Stanhope, of Grimston, was High
Sheriff of Yorkshire in 161 5. His son, Edwd. Stanhope, Esq., like his
famous kinsman. Sir Philip Stanhope, first Earl of Chesterfield, took
the King's side in the Civil War, and had to compound for his estates*
In 1649 he was declared seized of a free tenement for life, remainder
to his first, second, third, fourth, and every other son in tail, remainder
to the heirs of his father, Sir Edward Stanhope, in the manor of
Grimston, worth yearly £1^3 6s. 8d. After the decease of the
Lady Margaret Stanhope, widow, his mother,} it is stated there will

• Ancient Detds. vol. Hi., d 574.

t Thomas Worthington was vicar of Sherburn-in-Elmet, and died in 1475.

J She was the daughter of Sir Henry Constable. Kt.. of Burton Constable.

196

come to him an estate in Grimston, worth yearly ;^66 13s. 4d., out of
which he craves allowance of £'^0 annuity to James Brook, alderman
of York, for 99 years, granted by his father in 1628, out of the manor
of Grimston, also £'^ and £'^ rent-charges out of lands in Grimston,
viz. : to James Anderton £1, to George Bowen ^8, granted by
Edward Stanhope, Esq., his grandfather ; £^ 6s. 8d. rent to the
Crown ; and j^3oo for which his father mortgaged grounds in
Grimston to Henry Breary, of the yearly value of £6^, redeemable
on the payment of the said j^300, but the money not being paid,
Breary assigned over the premises to William Fentyman* and
William Pickering, who are in possession. Also ;^i29 debt for
payment of which he mortgaged certain closes in Grimston to
William Wilson, who has entered into possession, and ;^io8 debt for
payment of which he mortgaged other lands to Henry Breary, who
has likewise entered into possession. This Edward Stanhope died
in 1658, and was buried at Kirkby Wharfe on New Year's Day,
1658-9.

There is an assignment, dated 12th September, 1656, of the manor
of Grimston to Lady Mary Cockayne, on her separating from her
husband.f How or why she became entitled to this manor (Grimston,
Tadcaster ?) is not very clear. She was the eldest daughter and
co-heiress of Henry O'Brien, 5th Earl of Thomond, from whom
descended Henry, 8th Earl of Thomond, who married a daughter of
the Duke of Somerset, lord of the manor of Tadcaster. Lady Mary
married in 1627 Charles Cockayne, of Rush ton, co. Northants, who
was made Viscount Cullen in the peerage of Ireland. The title
became extinct in 181 3.

John Stanhope, Esq., of Grimston, his grand-nephew, who died in
1704, left several sons and daughters. Considerable litigation
followed up>on his decease. Edward, his younger son, laid claim to
Grimston. He died unmarried, leaving a reputed son by the wdfe of
one Wright, a blacksmith at Grimston, named Edward Wright, to
whom his father left Grimston. His inheritance was resisted by
Judith, daughter of Langdale Sunderland, Esq., mother of Edward
Stanho|>e, and Judith, his father's sister. The subject was long in
Chancery, and was not decided before the whole of the estate had
been swallowed up by the expenses of the suit.

• There were lands in Grimston in the tenure of Robert Fentman, 40s. yearly,
which at the Dissolution formed part of the endowment of the chantry within the
chapel of Farnley. near Leeds. William Fenteman was vicar of Sherbum. and
by his will, proved i8th July, 1542, desired his body to be buried in the church
of Sherbum, " under the stone of the Worthingtons, and to have the day of his
burial set in brass according to the memory of the said Mr. Worthington " Sit
also page 195.

t See Yorks, Airlnrl. Jl., vol. vi., page 95.

. LOFiD LoNDtSflOftOUaH,

197

The manor subsequently came to the Gascoignes of Parlington,
and early in the 19th century R. O. Gascoigne, Esq., who died in 1843,
was lord of the manor, but the whole of the land had been purchased
in 18 1 5, from the executors of the Townend family, by the Hon. John
Francis Cradock, afterwards (1819), Lord Howden. Through the
courtesy of the present owner of Grimston I have seen the original
catalogue of particulars of the estate, at the time it was sold in 1815.
The sale took place at Garraway's Coffee House, in Change Alley,
Comhill, London, on May 30th, and the whole estate was offered and
disposed of in one lot. It comprised the capital mansion at Grimston
and Grimston Lodge, together with certain houses, cottages, offices,
lands, plantations and woods in the townships of Grimston and
Kirkby Wharfe, embracing an area of about 1252 acres; likewise
the rectorial tithes of the whole of the said lands, and all other lands
within the said townships, together covering 1371 acres. Ulleskelf
and North Milford were added subsequently. The particulars furnish
the name of every field, its extent and quality. Very few of the
names possess any antiquarian interest. I notice Home Brecks and
East Brecks (brek, O.E., a mill-race), Nodder Ing, Lady Flat, Hum,
and Mast Hill. The last mentioned probably indicates the " balks
or marstalls ** of the outbounds of the township. The name occurs
in this sense at Bingley, in West Yorkshire. The word has been
discussed at length by Canon Atkinson, in the Yorkshire Arckaological
Journal J vol. xv., pages 403-7.

Lord Howden, who purchased the estate, was a General, and
sometime Colonel of the 43rd Regiment. He bore the titles of
G.C.B., K.C.B. &c. He was the son of Archbishop Cradock, of
Dublin, and was raised to the peerage for his great military services.
His family claim descent from Caradoc and the ancient Princes of
Wales. His lordship died in 1839, and was succeeded by his son,
John Hobart Caradoc, who married, in 1830, the daughter of Paul,
Count Skavronsky, a cousin of the Czar of Russia. He was also a
Colonel in the army, and in 181 7- 18 was aide-de-camp to the Duke
of Wellington, with whom both his father and himself were on terms
of great intimacy, and in 1827 they had the honour of entertaining
him at Grimston Park, at which time the famous Duke, ** the greatest
military genius of his age,*' was exceedingly popular. But such is
the transitory character of fame that the memory of that celebrated
visit is now all but forgotten, and though I have spoken, within
recent years, to several old inhabitants, none now remember it. The
"Hero of a Hundred Fights " arrived at Grimston on Saturday,
Sept. 22nd, 1827, and remained the guest of Lord Howden until the
Monday morning following, and on Sunday he attended service in

I9S

the old church of Kirkby Wharfe. On Monday he entered York,
and was presented with the freedom of the city, contained in a richly-
chased casket of gold. Afterwards he dined at the Black Swan with
upwards of eighty nohles and county gentlemen, a great function the
like of which this old inn has never known before or since.

Lord Howden 'eventually left England and built for himself a
castle in France, where he died, leaving no issue. About 1849.50

The First Earl op LoNOESBOROuaH,

he sold the Grimston estate to the Hon. Albert Denison, second
surviving son of the first Marquis Conyngliam, who, upon his
succeeding to the great property of his maternal uncle, Wm, Joseph
Denison, Esq., M.P., of Denbies, Surrey, assumed by royal license,
4th September, 1849, the surname of Denison only, and was created
Baron Londesborough 4th March, 1850. His lordship was a gentle-
man of great scholarly attainments, and his life was one of continuous

199

prosperity, attended with much public advantage. He was M.P. for
Canterbury from 1835 to 1841, and again from 1847 ^o i^S^. He
was a K.C.H., F.R.S., F.S.A., &c., and ever took a deep and useful
interest in history and antiquities, and there are many valuable
articles contributed by him to the volumes of the Archaologia.
He had also a good knowledge of coins, and was President of the
Numismatic Society. The accomjjanying portrait I am privileged to
reproduce from the admirable engraved picture by Sir Francis Grant.
It depicts his lordship about to address an archaeological society, and
upon the table by his side is shown a very fine Roman helmet,
brought from Ravenna, and one of the only perfect ones known.
His lordship was much attached to Grimston, and always spoke of it
as " dear old Grimston.'* He was twice married, and died in i860,
leaving a large family by both marriages. His eldest son, William
Henry, second Baron Londesborough, created Earl in 1887, was
formerly M.P. for Scarborough, and he had also been, in 1857, M.P.
for Beverley. He was born in 1834, and married Lady Edith,
youngest daughter of Henry, seventh Duke of Beaufort, K.G., by
whom he had issue, a son (the present Earl) and four daughters.
His lordship died in 1900, and was interred at Londesborough, near
Market Weighton, the ancient seat of the Cliffords, the estate having
been purchased by the first Lord Londesborough in 1850.

In 1873 ^^® Grimston estate was sold to the late John Fielden, Esq.,
D.L., who at the time, of his death in 1893 was lord of the manor and
sole landowner. His family descends from the Fieldens or Feildens
of Leventhorpe, in the parish of Bradford, temp. Henry VIII.,* and
afterwards of Todmorden Hall on the borders of Lancashire. John
Fielden, Esq., of Centre Vale, Todmorden, who died in 1849, was
M.P. for Oldham, and his third son Joshua Fielden, Esq., F.A.S.,
F.R.G.S., of Nutfield Priory, Surrey, was J. P. for Lancashire and
Yorkshire, and M.P. for the Eastern Division of the West Riding
of Yorkshire, from 1868 to 1880. He died in 1887, aged 60. Mr. John
Fielden, of Grimston, was succeeded by his son, Thos. Fielden, Esq.,
D.L., and M.P., for South-east Lancashire (Middleton Division),
who died in 1897. ^^ married Martha, eldest daughter of Thomas
Knowles, Esq., M.P. for Wigan, who with her family now resides at
Grimston Park.

The previous Hall had been built in the latter half of the i8th
century by John Carr, the celebrated architect of York, who was also
the architect of the large mansions at Famley and Denton, higher up
Wharfedale.f The Hall was rebuilt, by Lord Howden, in 1840, and

• See Bradford Antiquary, vol. i. (1881), pp. 10 — 16, 231, &c., vol. ii., pp. 5, &c.

t Grimston is omitted in the list of Carr's works cited in the Yorks. Archcel. Jl.,
vol. iv., pages 205-6.

200

is a very large and imposing mansion in the Italian style, with a
handsome Corinthian portico, surmounted by a triangular pediment,
upon which are his lordship's arms representing an officer surrendering
his sword, with the motto : ** Betrayed, not conquered." The interior
apartments are exceedingly handsome and richly decorated, and
during the lifetime of Lord Howden and its subsequent noble owners,
few houses in England contained a larger or more valuable collection
of famous relics and antiquities. There was a wonderful assortment
of ancient armour, and in the Asiatic Dining Room was a magnificent
collection of Indian and Turkish weapons, made of or mounted with
gold and silver, and ornamented with diamonds and other cosdy
jewels. These included the swords of Tipp>oo Sahib, and other
Indian, Afghan, and Turkish warriors, together with their fire-arms
and chain -mail. Much of the armour was collected by the
Lords Howden. There was also a great display of other relics,
including the gauntlets and sword belonging to Henry VIII. of
England ; the golden stirrups of the High Constable of France of
the reign of Henry VIII. of that country; helmets of the time of
King John and the early Edwards ; executioners' swords from
Germany ; Roman helmets and camp-kettles, and a collection of
ancient British arrow-heads and celts. There were also in the Blue
Drawing Room several fine paintings by old masters ; the silver
knife, fork, and spoon, of Prince Charles Stuart, ** the Pretender ;"
besides a superb array of jewellery, part of which had been worn by
the Bourbon family. There were also four beautiful chairs, a couch,
and a table, formed of ivory, which had been presented by the native
Princes to the celebrated Warren Hastings on his leaving India.
Also many splendid objects of vertu, and a unique collection of
drinking-vessels, including a small carved ivory drinking-cup,
curiously mounted with gold, which once belonged to the great
Reformer, Martin Luther.

The park surrounding the mansion embraces an area of about 300
acres, and is picturesquely diversified by wooded dells and gentle
undulations, produced by the uneven denudation of the underlying
limestone. There is also a nice lake, which attracts many uncommon
birds, particularly in the winter season. In December, 1884, a large
bittern (Botaurus stellaris) was shot here, and about fifty years ago a
very fine specimen of the rosy gull (Lams rossiij was shot in this
neighbourhood, and having been preserved was for many years at
Nun Appleton Hall. Yarrell states that it was ** quite new to our
British catalogue."

The timber on the estate is generally w-ell grown, and there are
many grand spreading trees. The elms and ash-treee, as well as

20I

Scotch firs, thrive uncommonly well on the estate, and there is here
perhaps the largest sycamore in England. It bounds the vista of
the promenade on the west side of the house. This fine specimen
is probably 200 years old, and is 80 — 90 feet high, and at three feet
from the ground the trunk measures 22 feet in circumference. There
is also a magnificent specimen of the Mount Atlas cedar (Cederus
Atlanta)^ which is 70 feet high, and at three feet from the ground the
trunk is 13 feet round. When I saw this tree in the autumn of 1900
it was laden on every bough with numberless cones, which might
have been numbered not in hundreds or thousands, but by hundreds
of thousands !* The numerous finely-grown trees and luxuriant
foliage form a dense and delightful shade in the hot days of summer,
while the abundant evergreens temper the severity of the winter's cold.

The laid-out grounds cover an extent of about 40 acres, and are
amongst the finest of their kind in Yorkshire. Experienced gardeners
have always been employed on the estate, and not a little of the
beauty of the existing display is due to the care and skill of the
head gardener, Mr. J. Clayton, who came here when the estate was
purchased by Mr. Fielden in 1873.! The Rosary contains about
300 varieties of roses, and there is a surprising amount of bloom
outside throughout the greater part of the year. There are also
extensive conservatories and vineries, besides large kitchen gardens
and orchards wherein are some very old species of apples. At the
western extremity of the grounds is a splendid level parade designated
the Emperor's Walk, which has on either side marble busts of the
twelve Caesars, each most admirably executed by well-known Italian
sculptors. At the east end of the walk is a life-sized statue of Paris
offering the apple ; while at the opposite end is a beautiful arcaded
temple enshrining a large bust of Napoleon I.

The grounds and walks were laid out, in the time of the second
Lord Howden, by Mr. Nesfield, of London, and like the mansion
are in the Italian style. Elegant and attractive as the whole place
appears, in its Italian loveliness, it is said that the second Lady
Howden could never be reconciled to make Grimston her permanent
home, for in spite of its reminders of fair Italy, there was still lacking
an Italian sky !

In the neighbourhood of the Emperor's Walk stood part of the
village of Grimston, which in 1851 had a population (with the whole
township) of 115, and its rateable value in 1851 was ^1272. There

* An account of this tree was furnished by Mr. Clayton, the head gardener, to
the Gardeners' Chronicle, for 12th September, 1900.

t The Gardeners' Orphan Fund, established in the Jubilee year, 1887, is
recorded to owe its inauguration to a suggestion of Mr. Clayton.

202

was a Charity School here for i6 girls, supp>orted by Lady Howden
and afterwards by Lady Londesborough, and the children were also
partly clothed by their ladyships. Grimston Lodge, now the residence
of the Harrisons, was in the thirties occupied as a school by
Mr. Benjamin B. Haigh {see Bramham). In 1770 this village was
the scene of a diabolical murder of a man named Lund. The
murderer, Michael Nay lor, was executed at the Tyburn, without
Micklegate Bar, August, 23rd, 1770.

On the east side of the Park, a short distance from the church,
are some four or five acres known as the Bella Hall estate. At the
sale in 181 5 it is described as the ** Bella Hall Orchard,*' and was
then a grass pasture. It is bounded on two sides by earthen banks,
erected for the purp>ose of staying floods from the river, and at the
south-west extremity is part of a ruined wall, with a buih-up
doorway, which has evidently been a closed building of some kind,
though it does not look very old. The walls are only 15 inches thick.
There is an annual rent-charge of £2 los. payable out of this estate
to the trustees of Armthorpe School, near Doncaster, left b)
Ann Holmes in 1689. I^ would appear she was of the family of
Holmes, of Hertfordshire, who held lands in Armthorpe in the time
of Queen Elizabeth. Hunter speaks of John Holmes, who married
a Tindell, of Brotherton, temp. Henry VIII., as " another trafficker
in Abbey lands."

203

CHAPTER XVII.

Ulleskelf.

A place without a history! — Importance of Ulleskelf in pre-Norman times —
Gallows at Ulleskelf — Some important discoveries — Meaning of Ulleskelf —
The manor with church — Historical records— Baptisms at Ulleskelf —
Population in 1378 — Local men in the wars — Old families — Village aspects
— An ancient homestead — A great fire— Disappearance of the old church
— Erection of the new church — Wesleyan Chapel and National School.

LLESKELF on the Wharfe has no history, so I was
once told by an intelligent native of the place. It has
always been in the old parish of Kirkby Wharfe, and
was said to have no separate records. A place without
a history naturally stimulated my curiosity, and so I
was led to make some close enquiry about it. Then I found that
this ancient township had not only a history, but a very long and
interesting one ; indeed much longer than it will be p>ossible to relate
in these pages. In fact Ulleskelf, like the other constituent member
of the parish, Grimston, had been in pre-Conquest ages, and even
afterwards, a much more important holding than Kirkby itself, and
seems to have stood pretty much in the same relation to Kirkby
Wharfe as Appletrewick originally did to Bumsall in Upper
Whaxfedale. It was an old Celtic tribal claim, afterwards taken and
cccupied by the Danes, and its lords down to and beyond the
Conquest had jurisdiction over the whole place, including the lives
and possessions of their tenants.* At Ulleskelf they erected a
gallows under the ancient law of infangtheof, having the right to
execute thieves taken within their liberty, and acquired the property
of all such felons. Where these old gallows stood at Ulleskelf I
have not ascertained. They are mentioned in the pleas of Quo
WarrantOy a.d. 1279, as then the right of the " Prebend of Ulftkelf."
It is not unlikely that the township had been added to the See of
York for some reason connected with the kingdom of Elmete, which
was dissolved about the time that King Edwin became a Christian
and foimded the See in 627. And so it continued to be within the

♦ Sec Upper Whar/edale, pages 45 and 365.

204

liberty of St. Peter's, York, though comprehended within the parish
of Kirkby Wharfe upon the formation of that parish, the whole of
which, it should be noted, is on the south side of the Wharfe, and
not within the Ainsty.

Situated within nine miles of the imperial Roman city, it is not to
be wondered that relics of Roman age should have been discovered
from time to time in the vicinity of UUeskelf. Perhaps the best of
these were found in 1849, viz., two fine and perfect bronze celts,
together with a bronze palstave, in equally good condition. They
were dug up in the sand and warp at a depth of five feet, and
subsequently passed into the hands of Mr. R. H. Brackstone, of
London. Engravings of them are here appended. But by far the
most important find within the township, as well as one of the most
valuable of its kind ever made in England, was the discovery of an
immense hoard of stycas, turned up by a man named Lee while
ploughing in a field near the Wharfe. The field belonged to
Colonel Thompson and is called Wood Hill Close. There was a
compact mass of 3000 to 4000 Anglo-Saxon (Northumbrian) copper
coins ; the bag or box in which they had been placed having
completely perished. About 500 of the specimens are now in the
York Museum, and they range from and include coins of Eanred
(808-840) to Archbishop Wulfhere (from 854), though singularly not
a single coin of either Eanbald (796-832) has been observed among
them. They probably represented the monetary wealth of the
township or parish at the time of the great Danish irruption in 867,
when York was sacked and a most horrible massacre ensued. It
would actually appear that there had not been, in this neighbourhood,
a survivor left to indicate the spot where so much treasure had been
concealed. In 880 the great King Alfred vanquished the intrepid
invaders, but again they broke into revolt, but were finally quelled
by Athelstan " the glorious " in 937, who then became master of
York and all Northumbria,* and by whom the great liberty of Otley,
Cawood and Wistow, was among other valuable properties, confirmed
to the See of York. There can be little doubt that UUeskelf also
formed part of the same extensive grant by Athelstan, it being also
a place of ancient religious importance, and had a church recorded
as existing there in 1083.

The place would appear to have been settled and greatly improved
by the Danes, who called it by some such name as we now know it,
UUeskelf. In Domesday^ however, it is written OUschel and OUsUc,
while the local pronunciation has always been Uskel or Oleskel.
From the surface aspects of the place it would not appear, as in the

* See Upper Wharf edale, page 35.

Bronze Celts pound n

205

case of Shelf, near Halifax, and Tanshelf, near Pontefract, to suggest
a shelving situation, sufficient to warrant such a derivation from the
terminal " skelf." In the prefix Ole or UlU I have no doubt there
lurks the Scand. name of Ullr, akin to the gothic wtUpus^ glory* which
is the name of one of the gods, the step-son of the mighty Thor, in
the Edda. From Vigfusson, who quotes the Flateyjar-hok^ I gather
that skclfr means to frighten, to shake, to make tremble, which is
what we might expect to have happened on the Viking conquest of
this place. Ullr, in the form of Ulfr and Ulf, gave name to many
men of renown in the Viking days, who have left traces of their
existence in such places as Ulverston, and UUes-water, in the
English Lake District, and Ullesthorp in Leicestershire. Ulleskelf
may therefore have the meaning or significance of Ulfr's conquest, and
we must not forget the famous Ulphus, son of Toraldus, who
governed the western parts of Deira. He it was who bestowed all
his lands, &c., on the blessed minster of St. Peter of York. The
coins I have referred to may have something to do with that Danish
conquest.

At the Norman Conquest Oleslec (Ulleskelf), with its berewicks,
is stated to have contained 1 3 carucates, less one bovate, for taxation,
and that 8 ploughs may till them. Archbishop Eldred had these for
one manor. Now (1083 — 6) William de Verli has of Archbishop
Thomas, 2 ploughs in the demesne, and 8 villanes and 9 bordars
having 4 ploughs, and 3 sokemen with 2 villanes and 5 bordars
having 2 J ploughs. There is a church, 60 acres of meadow, wood
pasture for swine, &c., the whole worth in King Edward's time loos.,
now 4 pounds. In the Recapitulation Archbishop Thomas is recorded
as seized of 13 carucates, less one bovate, in Oleschel. A manor so
advanced in cultivation, and possessed of an endowed church, must
have been one of great importance at this early time.

There is no mention of Ulleskelf in Kjrkby's Inquest, but in 1297-8
I find a Thomas de Ulekelf made homage to the Archbishop in his
chambers at Cawood for lands, &c., held by him in Ulskelf.* Some
of the tenants obtained their manumission through the lenient
government of the Archbishops, and there afterwards grew up a
series of valuable freeholds, and a good deal of property afterwards
exchanged hands in the township, particularly in the 15th and i6th
centuries. In 13 15 Ulskelf, as then spelled, is returned as within
the liberty of St. Peter's, York. In 1525 Anthony Hamond sold
lands, &c., in Uskelf, and in 1542 the same Hamond bought of
Baldewin Yong, the manor of Scarthingwell, &c., and a rental of
1 pound of cumin there and in Barstow (Barkston ?), Sax ton, Uskell,

• See also Suttees Soc, vol. 35, page 241.

2o6

and Grimston. A fine concerning this property was made in 1554,
when Henry Yong, gent., and Thomas Crosthwayte, were plaintiffs,
and Margaret Hamond, widow, and others, were the defendants.

Before the dissolution of the monasteries Dean Higdon, who was
Dean of York from 1516 to 1539, erected a "goodly house" at
Ulleskelf with orchard and well kept flower-gardens. Leland
observed this house when he was here about 1540. The prebend of
Ulleskelf had been established at an early p)eriod, and one might
make out a long list of the prebendaries of that stall to the present
time. No doubt some of the early prebendaries resided at Ulleskelf
and served the church or chapel then existing there. Although in a
grant of the manor of Stockeld, 9th Edward II. (13 15), I find among
the witnesses the name of Adam de Midelston, who simply signs
himself parson of the church of Unskelf.* Among the presentations
made at the Visitations of those churches dependent upon the Mother
Church at York, are several referring to this old chapel at Ulleskelf.
In 1472 the chapel is reported to be in a defective condition, and in
1 48 1 there is a similar report of broken windows in the nave, &c.,
and from an allusion made in this year to a carelessly kept font and
crismarium, it would appear that the church at this time possessed
the right of baptism. The holy chrism, or unguent used at the
ceremony of baptism, is of very ancient origin, and is mentioned by
Tertullian as in use in his time, ca. a.d. 200.

But in the Poll Tax of 1378 we find mention of no house of
importance at Ulleskelf, though this was a layman's tax, and the
priest consequently is not referred to. There were 27 married
couples living at Ulskelf (so spelled) at this time, besides 9 single
adults, each of whom paid the agricultural rate of 4d. The
population, allowing for absentees in war, &c., would not be much
under 200, a comparatively large population at this time, considering
the ordeal the district had lately undergone through the scourge of
the Black Death. John Michelson and Robert Nicholman appear in
this list, and in 141 8 I find a John Nicholson ** forester of Ulskelf."^
Also in 1444-5 Richard, the smith of Ulskelf, receives los. 4d. from
the Dean and Chapter of York for bands, crooks, and snecks for
repair of the Minster. Again in 1472 the same Richard, or his son
of the same name, supplies some iron fetters or chains for St. Peter's
prison in York. It is evident that there was a forge and smithy at
Ulleskelf at this time, where in times of war, weapons of different
kinds would be turned out, ** homely work " they might be, yet they
would ** stand in good stead." J

• Yorks. County Mag., (1891), page iii. t Surtecs Svc, vol. 35, page ^S
J See Upper Whar/edate, page 305.

20/

The men ot Ulleskelf no doubt were called upon to serve in arms
in many a great affray at home and abroad. Towton field is close
by, where it is all but certain some of them would be engaged ;
likewise in the great Civil War of King Charles* time, and again in
1 715 I find firom an old parchment book at Bolton Abbey, the men
of Ulleskelf assisted in the suppression of the rebellion headed by
the Pretender, James Stuart. When news of the victory at Preston
reached the village, the bells of Kirkby Wharfe rang out a merry
peal, as is recorded in the old parish accounts for 1715. During the
Civil War of the 17th century, at least one local landowner was a
great sufferer for his loyalty and devotion to the cause of the unhappy
King. He had to compound for his estates, which comprised lands
and houses in Ulleskelf. He produced a deed, dated i8th July,
1 2th James I. (161 4), which shewed there was a rent-charge of ;^i6
I>er annum granted to Thomas Breary and his heirs for ever, issuing
out of a messuage and lands in Uskelfe (so spelled), and he deposed
that all his lands in Uskelfe, amounting to /*22, are liable to this
charge.*

Among other old local landed families is that of Squire. At
the time of the Civil War they were living at the Manor House,
afterwards taken by the Shilleto family, who for many years, down
to about 1840, owned the manor of Ulleskelf as well as a great part
of the soil. The Squires had been resident about York long before
they settled at Ulleskelf. Timothy Squire, a wealthy woollen draper
in that city, was Sheriff of York in the time of Charles H. He had
a son Timothy who died in 1682. Robert Squire of the same
city also deserved well of his country. He was the fifth son of
William Squire, of Ulleskelf, by Ann, his second wife, daughter of
William Savile, of Copley. William Squire was a devoted servant
in the unhappy cause of Charles I., and his son Robert, who was
bom at Ulleskelf Manor in 1648, was a lawyer of note and sometime
M.P. for Scarborough. He died at York in 1707, leaving by his
wife Priscilla, only child of Edward Bower, of Bridlington Quay,
one son and two daughters. The son died in infancy, and his
daughter Priscilla married Bryan Cook, Esq., eldest son of Sir Geo.
Cook, Bart., of Wheatley.

The manor of Ulleskelf afterwards came to the Lords Londes-
borough, and in 1873 all their land and manorial rights in the
townships of Ox ton and Ulleskelf were sold by public auction at
York, June 24th. John Fielden, Esq., D.L., who had bought
Grimston Park, became the purchaser, and his descendants are now
lords of the manor of Ulleskelf, and with the executors of the late
Chas. Shann, Esq., J. P., of Tadcaster, are the principal landowners.

• Sit Yorks. Arch. Jl. (Record Ser.), xviii., page 86.

2o8

The village of Ulleskelf consists mainly of one long rambling
street (see illustration facing this chapter), winding in true Danish
fashion, and there is little doubt the plan of this ancient thoroughfare
remains pretty much the same as when its shealings of wood and
turf were raised on the same site in the old Viking days. Modem
improvements have done away with much of the antique character
of the place, but there are a few old tenements still standing ; the
most notable of these has a basement of brick and superstructure of
lath and plaster, now much decayed. On the principal front of the
house there remains portions^of an elegant plaster shield of arms.
For many generations the house belonged to the Grainger family,
and is now owned with other property here by Messrs. Liversedge,
of Selby.

In 1740, I find among the Sessiofis Records at Wakefield, there was
a great fire at Ulleskelf, and many houses, no doubt at that time
constructed largely of wood, were burnt down. Upon the petition
of Richard Johnson, Richard Potter, Wm. Varley, Mary Cressor.
Jeffery Boan, James Jobson, John Ellis, and Jas. Shillitoe, setting
forth that they had sustained damage, by accidental fire, to the
amount of /"350 and upwards, the Justices ordered the Treasurer of
the West Riding to pay unto Mr. Shillito of Ulleskelf, the sura of
;^io. This was to be distributed by him amongst the sufferers
named, at the discretion of the Rev. Mr. Hodgson, vicar of Kirkby
Wharfe. Two days afterwards a further /"lo was awarded to them
from the bounty of the West Riding, and it was also ordered that a
certificate of the court be made of the premises to the Lord High
Chancellor, in order to procure a brief to enable the sufferers by this
calamitous fire to make a general appeal for assistance from the
country at large.

I have referred to the old Donusday church at Ulleskelf, and as it
is mentioned as existing in 1 481, in all probability it continued to
serve the principal portion of the population of the parish down to
the Reformation. After then the people of Ulleskelf would attend
the old church at Kirkby Wharfe, and it would be necessary to keep
the roads between the two places in a decent state of repair. The
old parish accounts contain some records of this fact, and in 1 709 is
an entry of 2s. 6d. paid for mending the church bridge going to
Ulleskelf. Ulleskelf, as I have said, has always had a larger
population than either Kirkby Wharfe or Grimston, and the need of
church accommodation for that township has long been felt. At
length, through the efforts of the present active vicar of Kirkby
Wharfe, a very neat and comfortable new chapel -of-ease has been
erected in the village. It is dedicated to St. Saviour, and is a

209

memorial of the completion, in 1887, of Her late Majesty's fifty years
happy reign. The whole of the cost of the erection, about ;^iooo,
ivas raised by voluntary subscription, excepting a grant of £()o from
the York Diocesan Building Society. Mrs. Fielden is the patron.

A W^esleyan chapel was built at Ulleskelf in 1827, and the
National School was erected in 1864 in place of the old school, which
had an annuity from the Shillito family for the education of six poor
children. The common was enclosed in 1838.

210

CHAPTER XVIII.

Round about Towton.

North Mil ford — The ancient family of Ledes— Custom of garsome — Milford Hall
- -Manor of Towton — Baron Hawke — Towton Hall — The great Battle of
Towton — The site of the battle — The burial trenches — Lord Dacre's tomb —
Horse and warrior interred together — Local discoveries — Some relics: a
Towton battle-axe — The Towton roses, a foolish belief — The 15th century
memorial chapel.

BOUT midway between Ulleskelf and Towton (three
miles), we pass through the old Domesday vill of
Milford, or North Milford, so called in contradistinction
to South Milford in the parish of Sherbum. North
Milford, in the parish of Kirkby Wharfe, was of Laci's
fee of Pontefract, but the place is chiefly memorable as the seat of a
family who for several centuries made the old Hall here their home.
The first local mention of this family I find in the capitation-tax
of Richard 11. (1378), for Kirkby Wharfe, where Robert de Ledes,
frankelyttj and wife, contribute 6s. 8d. to that levy. This shows the
family had, even at that time, an important status in the district.
Their lineage is furnished in the Visitation made in 1665-6, and
Thoresby gives a pedigree of the family, commencing with Pauline de
Ledes, whose grandson was Sir Roger Ledes, Kt., 43rd Edward III.
(1369), from whom descended Thomas Leedes, of North Hall, Leeds,
who married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Plompton, Esq. The
Leedes and North Milford families bore the same arms, viz. ; argent,
a fess, gules, between three eagles displayed, sahU, There was also a
family of this name resident at Westwick, near Boroughbridge, before
the Reformation. Before 1428, Nicholas Crodack, Robert Ledes,
and Henry Berton, held one-third part of a knight's fee in Ryther
and Lead ; and in 1438 Thomas Coupland and Alianora, his wife,
who was formerly wife of Thos. Ledes, of Westwick, were defendants
in a fine touching property in Dalton Noreys and Newsom, in
Broghton-in-lithe, in Richmondshire.

I have already mentioned some local benefactions of this family,
and from some further unpublished particulars of an inquisition held

211

at York Castle, 12th June, 1674, ^ ^"^ ^^^^ Brian Leedes, of North
Milford, gent., by will dated 20th April, 1563, bequeathed £\o to the
vicar and churchwardens of Kirkby Wharfe, to be paid ** to any
inhabitant of the said parish having to pay garsofne for his house or
farm and not able to pay ; without hindrance of occupying their
farm- hold, "^^ or for lack of his corn for finding of family, or a cow to
a poor man or woman, or the buying of a yoke of oxen, or any other
meritorious act, ;^2o of such /"40 to be let among such persons as
stand most in need every year, and the other /"20 as they thought
most convenient." The inquisition is too long to be printed in full,
but it apjjears that in common with other benefactions of this period,
the heirs or trustees had not fulfilled the terms of the will.

In 1597 Sir Robert Stapleton, Kt., Edward Stanhope, Esq. (of
Grimston), John Conyers, Esq., John Vavasour, Esq., and Hugh
Bethell, Esq., were plaintiffs in a fine for the recovery of the manor
of North Milford from Thos. Leeds, Esq., together with messuages
and lands there and in Kirkby Wharfe and Saxton. Thos. Leedes
left an only daughter, but the family continued to reside here down
to the 1 8th century, and in the old churchwardens* accounts for
Kirkby Wharfe is an entry, under date 171 7, of a payment of is. " to
Mr. Leedes's servant for two otters heads ;'*t ^^^ again in 1720
los. is paid to Madam Leedes for "wood for altar rails** in the church.
In 1740 was celebrated the marriage of Edward Rookes, Esq., of
Rodes or Royds Hall, and Miss Leeds, of Milford, near Tadcaster.J
The Rookes family was seated at Royds Hall in the 15th century,§
and on the marriage of this last male descendant of the Rookes
family, in 1740, with the daughter and heiress of Robert Leeds, of
Milford, the latter family terminated its long connection with this
neighbourhood. Edward Rookes assumed the name of Leeds,

* Gaersuma is an Anglo-Saxon term signifying store, riches, a premium, fine,
an earnest (vide Bosworth). In a survey of the manor of Steeton, in Airedale,
made in 1583, it is stated that the lord's tenants of the said manor have been
accustomed time out of memory of man to pay unto the lord at every ten years'
end, one whole year's rent besides their accustomed rent. This is commonly
called " town-term," which, together with other heriots mentioned, is paid in
consideration of the fines on the grassemes of their tenements. Clough's
Steeton, page 17. In Mallerstang, in the North Riding, by gtassams is understood a
fine paid for grassing on the common, and the large pastures at the present time
are divided into grassams.

t Otters and badgers have been long extinct in this neighbourhood Patefield
Wood, between North Milford and Scar thing well, was doubtless an old haunt of
the badger, the word pate being a local name for a badger. See Lucas's Studies in
Nidderdale, page 270.

J Hey wood's Noncoti. Register (ed. J. H. Turner), page 230.

§ See Bradford Antiquary, vol. i.. pages 20 — 25.

214

upwards of 35,cx)o brave and stalwart Englismen brought to their
last account on that unhappy day.* The old English aristocracy
was all but annihilated by this disastrous war.f

The battle was fought on Palm Sunday, March 29th, 1461, upon
the then unenclosed land between the villages of Saxton and Towton,
bounded on the west by the small river Cock, which enters the
Wharfe at Kettleman Bridge, about a mile south of Tadcaster.J
Old chroniclers affirm that this stream was choked w-ith the pierced
bodies of the dead and dying, and that for more than a mile below
its effluence with the Wharfe, the water was ** collored with bloud.'*
Old Drayton (1563 — 1631), referring to this incident, little more than
a century after the battle, says, —

Small Cock, a sullen brook, comes to her succour then,
Whose banks received the blood of many thousand men.§

Great trenches were dug to receive the bodies of the slain, (one of
which is on the north side of Saxton churchyard, a few feet from
the wall), 1 1 and occasionally, in various places, during digging
operations, bones and remains are come upon. About twelve years
ago, while excavating the upper part of the lime works at Newthorpe,
near South Milford, some trenches were found containing many
human skulls and other remains. Ralph, Lord Dacre, lies buried in
Saxton churchyard under a " mean tumbe," which long continued in
a broken and neglected state, without palisade or railing, imtil 1883,
when through the bounty of Lord Carlisle, of Castle Howard, it
was carefully restored and erected on a bed of concrete, and enclosed
with a kerbstone and iron rail.li The tomb bears on each side a

• Fenn's Paston Letters, vol. i., pages 219 — 221, gives the Heralds' report as
28.000 slain.

t See Trans, of the Royal Hist. Soc, vol. i, (1875).

J The Rev. G. F. Townsend, M.A., Vicar of Brantingham, writing in 1846.
says a road runs between two stone quarries, where great slaughter took place.
There were many mounds about here, which " through the lapse of four
centuries have worn nearly down to the level of the soil ; but you may see a kind
of circles in the field, above the quarry mentioned, and these circles are covered
with patches and clusters of rose-trees."

§ A full account of the great fight, with a plan of the battlefield, will be found
in Dr. Leadman's Pralia Ehoracensia : Battles Fought in Yorkshire (1891) ; se€ also
Yorks. Archl.Jl., vol. x., pages i — 34.

II They appear to have been removed from the Common where they originally
lay Leland says " they lay afore in 5 pittes. yet appering half a mile of by
north in Saxton Feldes."

H An account of the Dacre Tomb by T. M. Fallow, M.A., F.S.A., appears in
the Yorhs. Archal.Jl., vol. x.

215

shield of arms, and the ancient black-letter inscription upon it is as
follows :

l^ic jatet l&anulpi)' ^^0 tie Safcar tt gilledlanti inn miles Sc strenuus in
btllo pro Ttge f^cnrico FIE. anno tiomini iflCCdH. xiiix tit nttnsis
marcit bityelicit tiominica ramid palmarum rtijus anims propictrtur tirus.
9nirn.

It is stated that Lord Dacre's " gallant grey" was buried with him,
and that the warrior himself was interred in a standing position,
similar to those old warriors of the same era, recorded to have been
buried upright in the Clapham vault at Bolton Priory.* The
Rev. S. G. M. Webb, the present vicar of Saxton, possesses a portion
of the skull of a horse taken from Lord Dacre*s grave in 1861.

Many relics have been found upon and about the site of the battle.
Drake recordsf that he and two others were present at the op)ening
of one of the burial mounds, when a large number of human bones
were disinterred, together with portions of swords and arrow-heads.
Several groat-pieces were also found of Henry IV., Henry V., and
Henry VI., which had evidently remained in the owner's jx)cket
when he was buried after the battle, and there they rested until the
purse or garment had perished, and the coins had dropped close
beside the thigh bone, where they were found in quite fresh condition.
In 1789 a massive gold signet-ring was found while ploughing a field
at Towton. Its weight was i oz. 4 dwts. 9 grains. It had no stone,
but upon the circular bezel was engraved a lion statant, gardant,
with the motto : Now ys thus. The crest of Percy being a lion
statant, it is conjectured to have belonged to the fallen Earl of
Northumberland. But the Percy lion is statant only with tail
extended, and their motto : Esperance.J Four years later a fine
gilt spur was discovered bearing the inscription : En loial amour
TOUT MON coER.§ Subsequently a miller found a 15th century
battle-axe in the river, a relic no doubt of the famous fight. The

* Set Upper Whar/edale, page 317 ; also Wheater's Sherburn (1865), page 178.

t Ehoracum (1736), page iii.

X The Sovereign of England bears as a crest the lion passant, gardant. It is
also the charge of the Bromfield and Consul families, while the Fairfaxes of
Newton Kyme have also the same crest, which appears on the tomb of the great
Lord Fairfax in Bilbrough church. Sir Guy Fairfax, of Steeton. was on the
Yorkist side at Towton, while Sir Wm. Talbois, Kt., then lord of Newton Kyme,
fought for the Red Rose, and was attainted and had his lands confiscated. The
motto : Now Thus, is ascribed to the families of Pilkington and De Trafford, but
I can discover no instance of the motto adduced above.

§ Two other Towton spurs are in the Bankfield Museum, Halifax One of iron
was dug up on the field of battle, and the other of copper was found on the line
of retreat.

2l6

haft of oak was much decayed from long submergence in the water.
It is now in the Duke of Northumberland's museum at Alnwick
Castle. By his Grace's kindness I am enabled to present the
accompanying view of it, from an excellent photograph specially
taken for this work by Mr. Ruddock, of Alnwick. The handle of
the weapon is not, 1 should add, the original one.

Much has been made of a local belief, that a certain dwarf rose-
bush, once plentiful on the Field of Towton, has produced roses

Biittle-Axe prom Towton Field,

white and red ever since the great battle. There are people foolish
enough, even in our own days, to believe in a miracle, which, had it
originated in the Middle Ages, might be excused, but as it is wholly
a modern invention, the notion of this floral oddity must be
discountenanced in the light of scientific fact. These bushes, no
doubt, grew about Towton long before the White and Red fight

217

between King Edward and King Henry, and produced the same
kind of roses then as they do now. The plant is the little Scotch
Burnet Rose (Rosa spinosissima)^ which grows not only at Towton,
but all over the great belt of magnesian limestone which divides our
county in half, from north to south. I have found it in many places
just the same as at Towton. The plant is common to this formation,
and its blossoms vary, like all roses, according to age, soil, and
situation, from pure white to flesh -colour, that is, with more or less
pink or red in the bud or open flower.*

The run on these roses at Towton has been tremendous, especially
within living memory, and a man at Saxton once told me that he
had got as much as 2s. 6d. a root for them within the last ten years !
Very few now remain ; nearly all having been stubbed up ; more the
pity, for there is nothing in the least peculiar about these Towton
roses, and no botanists, before the 19th century, have commented
upon them. Furthermore, we have been told in prose and poetry
that the " blooms do fade and the tree doth wither and die " when
removed from its native heath ! Exactly ; so will most flowering
bushes when removed at the wrong time of the year or planted in
uncongenial soil. In Saxton gardens the plants may be seen thriving
vigorously, but it is useless attempting to grow them in Leeds,
Manchester or Bradford. Scores of songs and poems and magazine
articko "^ave been written on this aspect of the Towton blooms ; but
;^*^' folloWing beautiful verse must suffice as a fair example of this
ponular fallacy :

'^l^hfxe is a patch of wild white roses that bloom on a battlefield.
Where the rival rose of Lancaster blush'd redder still to yield ;
ToMT hundred years have o'er them shed their sunshine and their snow,
But in spite of plough and harrow, every summer there they blow ;

' Though rudely up to root them with hand profane you toil.
The faithful flowers still fondly cluster round the sacred soil ;
Though tenderly transplanted to the nearest garden gay.
Nor cost, nor care, can tempt them there to live a single day.f

Of the "great chapel" erected at Towton by Richard III. in
memory of the "men slayn at Palmsunday Field," nothing now
remains, but the site of the building is preserved in the name of a
field called Chapel Garth, situated behind Towton Hall. An
indulgence of 40 days for two years was granted 22nd July, i486, to
all who would contribute to the building and endowment of the
chapel, and again in 1502 there was a further indulgence of 40 days
in aid of the same "capella de Toughton," then newly edified.
There was a similar indulgence granted in 1484 for the new chapel
at Aberford, which John Brown of Abirforth intends to erect."J

* Su W. West, F.L.S. , on the Towton Rose in the Journal 0/ Botany (1891), p. 346.

t V^ ]• R- Planche's *• Flowers of Towton Field ' in Songs and Poems from
1819 to 1879. X Surtees Soc, vol 35, page 241.

CHAPTER XIX.

About Saxton and Aberhord.

ScarthiiiBwell Hall— Catholic chapel — Village of Sajtion — A wayside cross— The
Cock Beck — Lead Hall and church — Peculiar endowment of the church —
Around Aberford— A wealth of wild-flowera -Roman road- Nameoi Aberford
— Charter (or a market The church— Its unusual dedication — Murder ot a
vicar — Aberford on a main hiRhroad — Local plagues — Registers of the
church — Effects of plagues, &c. — Abstracts from registers — Tithe-bam —
Local pin trade — " Sammy Hick " — Table of former occupations at Aberford
— Pinfold and ducking-stool — The bridge— Aberford longevity— Barwick-in-
Elmel— Old hall — Lotherlon— Stnrton Grange — Becca Hall — Old inn-
Supposed Roman bridge.

iOM Towton the main road to Sherbum passes near

to Scan hing well Hall, previously referred to as the

property and seat of the late Lord Hawke, from whotn

it was purchased by the Hon. H. C. Max we 11- Stuart

in 1848. It is now in the occupation of his son,

Charles Maxwell-Stuart, Esq. The mansion had been previously

leased for some years by the Hon. Mrs. A. D. Bland, of Kippax

Park, and afterwards to John Kendall, Esq. Sir William Maxwell,

Bart., who died in 1877, married in 1833, Helenora, daughter of

Sir Michael Shaw-Stuart, Bart., who was 17th in direct male descent

from Sir John Stuart, son of Robert III., King of Scotland.

The mansion, part of which is very old, was built of stone from
the famous Huddlestone quarry, elsewhere mentioned, but consider-
able additions were made to it about fifty years ago, shortly after the
purchase by the Hon. H. C. Maxwell-Stuart. The mansion stands
in a very pleasant park, and has a lai^e lake (about 16 acres), made
about the year 1 770, and there is a beautiful Catholic chapel attached
to the house, attended by a few families in the neighbourhood. It
is ill the Byzantine style, but much of it has been copied from the
Royal Chapel at Munich. The chapel was opened by Cardinal
Wiseman in 1854.

A short distance to the west is the historic and pleasantly rural
village of Saxton, with Its venerable church (All Saints)." Near the
* The Woodhouse family were living at Saxton in 1378 and founded a chantry
in the church. Sit Sarliei Soc. vol. xcii.. pajte 2211.

219

junction of Saxton Lane with the Great North Road is the stump
of a wayside cross. The old hall or manor-house, formerly the seat
of the H ungate family, lords of the manor, was pulled down early
in the 19th century, and the present building, now a farm-house, was
erected on the site. Of other ancient buildings the old soke-mill at
Saxton is mentioned in 1207-8.* The ancient forge, too, which
furnished mallets, wedges, and other implements of iron for the
quarries at Huddlestone in the 15th century, is mentioned in the
Archbishops' books at York.

The famous Cock Beck, which rises in the neighbourhood of
Barwick and flows eastwards through Aberford, here makes a sharp
bend to the north, and at the picturesque Crooked Billet inn, a good
half-mile from Saxton, the beck is a tolerably broad stream. Here
are old Lead Hall and Lead Church, previously mentioned. The
former is now a ruin, but the quaint little church is still used for
worship twice a year. These services, by immemorial custom, are
held, the one on the Sunday following St. Mark's Day and the other
on the Sunday after St. Luke's. Their origin does not seem to be
known, but it has been conjectured that they may have been originally
intended to commemorate those who fell at the neighbouring battle
of Towton. There was, however, a special memorial chap)el erected
in the village of Towton, but how long it existed is not known. The
only endowment belonging the chapel of Lead consists of the tithe
of the Chapel Garth, in Lead, a field of about 17 acres, which tithe
in 1845 was commuted for a modus of £1 i8s. 8d., payable annually
to the rector of Ryther, who is responsible for the bi-annual services
held in the chapel within his parish. In the Parliamentary Survey
(ca, 1652), the chapel is stated to be four miles from Ryther, and but
half-a-mile from Saxton ; has no minister and only 30s. per annum
for maintenance. The Commissioners recommend that it be dissolved
and the chapelry annexed to Saxton.

Round about Aberford the country is very pleasant and picturesque,
and, being undisturbed by manufactories, there is a great abundance
as well as variety of plant-life. Mr. Ben. Spencer, the well-known
botanist of Bradford, who was schoolmaster at Aberford from i860
to 1865, *^^^s me that within a radius of three or four miles of
Aberford Bridge, he collected, at that time, upwards of 300 species
of flowering plants. The whole of the parish is situated on the
magnesian limestone, but towards Bramham the gritstone crops up.t

• See Surtus Soc, vol. xciv., page 115.

t It is worthy of note that Mr. Geo. Webster, of York, has recently added a
moss, new to the British Flora, from the magnesian limestone near Aberford.
See Naturalist, 1901, page i.

220

There are many indications of prehistoric works in the neighbour-
hood of Aberford, and the old Roman road from Tadcaster to
Cambodunum* passed through the town, though its presence here is
nowhere indicated. The town, notwithstanding its high antiquity,
is not recorded in Domesday^ unless we are to assume that Cuford
(that is cow-ford; A.-S. r«, cowt) is intended, which was in the
vicinage of the Cock Beck. Here Ilbert de Lacy had two carucates
of land and in Perlinctune (Parlington), he had a further six carucates.
They both lay within the soke of Kippax, and the tenants owed suit
of court to the lords of that manor. Parlington was the more
important place, and in the 14th century its population was more
than double that of Aberford. Aberford was, no doubt, so called
from the name of its first Anglo-Saxon colonist. Aba or Abba, a very
common name in Saxon times. \ In the Aberford registers the name
is frequently written Abbaford and Abaford.

The place is comprised within three townships, situated within
the parishes of Aberford and Sherbum. In 1250 Henry le
Grammarie, then lord of the manor, obtained a charter for a weekly
market on Wednesday, at Aberford, and also for an annual fair to
be held on the eve, day, and morrow of the feast of St. Richerius.
This market and fair were confirmed by Edward I. in 1306 to
Hugh le Despencer, and again in 1335 to William Grammarie.
The church was formerly in the patronage of the knightly family of
Walkingham, lords of Ravensthorpe, and was appropriated to Oriel
College, Oxford, and a vicarage ordained 9th March, 1331. The
Provost and Fellows of this College are still impropriators.

The church bears the uncommon dedication to St. Richard, a fact
which seems to bespeak a Saxon origin, as St. Richard was King of
the West Saxons, ca, a.d. 720, though it seems equally likely that
the name is derived from St. Ricarius, whose life was passed in the
parts of Picardy about Abbeville. § The old church, pulled down in
i860, certainly bore traces of great antiquity in the herring-bone
masonry of the lower walls and in the zig-zag ornament of the
chancel-arch, but one ancient window has been retained, previously
in an outer wall and now between the chancel and the vestry. The
ancient tower also remains, now surmounted with a spire ; the east
end being likewise allowed to stand as it had been rebuilt only some
twenty years previously. The new church was erected through the

♦ See Upper WharfedaU, page 28.

t This is the Domesday interpretation, but Cuford may be the house now called
Cocksford, written in 1286 Cokesforth. See Yorks. Inq., ii., 42.

t See Aba and Abba in Birch's Saxon Charters, No. 242, &c. ; also in Kemble's
Codix, 1266, &c.

§ See Miss Amold-Forster's Studies in Church Dedications, vol. ii.. page 43.

221

munificence of the Gascoigne family of Parlington and other residents
in the neighbourhood, and was opened by the Archbishop of York,
April 29th, 1862. There is also a beautiful Catholic Church,
originally erected in 1788, and since restored; also a Wesleyan
Chapel, and a good Almshouse, with chapel attached, founded in
1844 by M^s. Gascoigne and Lady Ashtown.

The list of vicars of Aberford commences with the year 1230, and
in 1346 it is recorded that John de Byngham, then, or shortly before,
vicar, was in the church bent upon his knees in prayer, when a gang
of violent persons entered the sanctuary and forthwith slew him on
the spot.* The motive for this crime is not stated, but it happened
during the terrible and unsettled season that led to the Black Death,
when famine and misery were abroad. Aberford, situated upon one
of the most important highways in the kingdom, would certainly
not escape the dreadful consequences of that calamity. Some places
and even whole parishes were entirely depopulated. Indeed the
position of Aberford on this busy thoroughfare has . no doubt led to
its being victimised by many contagious outbreaks originating in
other parts of the country, as the ancient and interesting registers of
the church apparently testify.

The registers of the church are amongst the oldest in England
and commence with the year 1540. In 1551 I find there was a great
plague at Aberford, when probably one-sixth of the entire population
succumbed to its ravages. Who can picture the deprivation
and wretchedness that must have prevailed during that dreadful
period ? The monasteries had been dissolved and the roads were full
of freebooters and wandering beggars. The sered pages of these old
registers tell a sad tale of the conditions of life in the parish at this
distant time. It was hard fare for the bulk of the inhabitants, who
were ill-clothed and ill-housed, and when they fell sick they mostly
relied for recovery on the herbs of the field. Life indeed was held
in little respect ; the hardness of the times begot a callousness and
indifference and self-interest almost brutal, which led everywhere to
oppression and greed. What are we to think of such an entry as
this in the Aberford registers: under the date July loth, 155 1,
appears the burial of John Carter and Jennet, his wife, and two days
later were buried Margaret, wife of Richard Carter, Alice, Elizabeth,
Richard, and Margaret, children of the said Richard Carter. A
husband deprived by death of his wife and four children, if not also
of his father and mother, probably all inmates of the same house,
who were taken and buried all in the space of three days ! t There

* Se€ Raine's Fasti. Ebor. page 444.

t The Carters were an old local family and were settled at Parlington in 1378.

222

were evidently no means of isolation employed and so the whole
family perished, leaving the desolate husband to mourn his miserable
fate. What a sad life-story is there not contained in the above
few lines ! Yet it was nothing unusual in those dreadful days. Only
two months after the record I have mentioned, I find a similar case,
a whole family confined, no doubt by force, in one house, and all
perished of the plague ! —

1551. Sept. 6th. William Stamper, Matthew. Elizabeth, and Anne, children
of the said William Stamper, buried.

Again in December, 1609, there is this mournful entry, — mournful
yet touching in the irony of its brief statement that only one house
(thank heaven !) was infected. That house had been under a ban,
and was no doubt watched and guarded that no one came out alive :*

1609. Dec. Memorand : that four persons died of the plague in the house of
Robert Gawthorpe of Aberford, namely his daughter, December 5th ; his wife,
December 8 ; his son, December 12 ; and his mother-in-law December 13. Beside
these there died not any more in the said Town.

The Aberford registers also relate to other notable events and
circumstances, with many particular references to old local families,
such as the Wests, Hilloms, Milners, Thompsons, Alisons, &c., who
were resident in the parish as long ago as the time of Richard II.
There are also many early references to the extensive coal workings
at Parlington and Sturton. Such for example among the burials :

1629. Jan. II. Francis Lawson, slaine with a fall into a cole pitt at Parlington
Hollings.

1744. July 20. A woman, unknown, found dead in a coal pit at Sturton.

1750. Apl. 22. Wm. Smith, slain in a pitt at Sturton.

It would appear that at these times the pits were not adequately
fenced round, and must have been a source of danger, not only to
strangers, but also to the men and youths employed there. In some
districts, at this period, public complaints were made of the danger
of these unfenced coal -pits, t

In 161 5 there is a reference to the old tithe-barn, which is also
called tithe-lair at the Pig and Whistle, near Hook Moor, now pulled
down. In 1647, Henry Burne, the miller, was buried, and in 1707,
George Trickett, ** miller of Abbaford Mill,** was buried. Again in
1737, Edward Jackspn, miller, was buried. In 1827 a boy named
Michael Wood, aged 9 years, was killed by the machinery at the
Aberford Water Mill.

* During the great plague in I^ndon. in 1665. the infected families were
similarly dealt with. The inmates were compelled to remain under one roof,
communicating death to one another. Upon the doors of the stricken houses a
large red cross was painted, with the words " Lord have mercy on us."

t See my Old Bingley, page 337.

223

The registers contain also many references to the local clergy and
those connected with the parish. The following burial-entries appear:

1607 March 14. Mr. Christopher Newell, minister of Saxton.

1608 Feb. 9. John Bennet. clerk, late vicar of Abberford.

1630 Mar. 30. Sara, wife of George Thompson, clerke. vicar of Aberford,

1650 Nov, 18. George Thompson, vicar of Abberford. was buried.

1689 James Waters, vicar of Aberfoarth 38 years, aged loi.

171 1 Mr. Bains, vicar of Abberford, died at Sherbum, March 22nd, 1711-12,
and was buried there.

1732 Xber. 6 Mr. David Dawson, vicar of Abberford and curate of Barwick-
in-Ellmet. buried at Barwick.

1765 Feb. 15. Elisabeth Phillipa Bentham. daughter of the Rev. Mr. James
Bentham, minor Canon of Ely.*

Aberford had in former times a great reputation for the manufacture
of pins, — ^a trade now long extinct here, — and the registers contain
many entries relating to local pin-makers, or " pinners '* as they are
sometimes described. In 1708 I find the burial entry, on Jan. 3rd,
of one industrious pin-maker, named " John Hick, of Abbaford, a
Pinner ** who " left Fifty Pounds to ye Poor of ye p*ish of Abbaford ;
the interest or clear rent whereof (after a purchase made), is to be
divided amongst them three times every year for ever.** He was
ancestor of the famous " Sammy Hick,'* Methodist preacher,! who
died in 1829, aged 71, and to whom there is a well-deserved memorial
in stained glass in the church.

As illustrative of the various trades and occupations carried on
within the parish of Aberford for about 250 years (1600 to 1850), the
following compilation from the registers provides interesting matter
for reflection on life in our rural villages in former times. The dates
are those which occur in the registers.

Table of Occupations at Aberford.

Alekeeper, inn-holder, inn-keeper. Ganger. 1735.

1762, 1763, 1771, 1802, 1806. Hatter, 1772.
Apothecary, 1802. Heelmaker. 1746, 1747. 1771.
Basket-maJcer, scuttle-maker, 1746. Horse-rider. 1756.

1763, 1769. Labourer, 1766.

Baker. 1756. 1757. Miller, 1629. 1647, i707' i735'

Barber. 1747. Molecatcher, 1758.

Bitt-maker, 1788. Pinner, pin-maker, 1708, 1732, 1743, 1765,

Blacksmith. 1714. Porter, servant, 1607, 1624, 1632, 1634.

Canon, clerk. 1607, 1608, 1627. 1727, I749-

Curate, minister, vicar, 1630, 1643. Plasterer. 1843.

1650, 1710, 171 1, 1725, 1732, Rake-maker, 1755.

1 74 1, 1765. 1768. Roper, 1739.

Clothier. 1745. Skinner, 17 14.

Cook, 1752. Schoolmaster, 1804.

Clockmaker, 1767, 1769. Schoolmistress, 1767.

Drummer. 1733. Soldier. 1643, 1644, 1727, 1764.

Excise Officer. 1769. Tallow chandler. 1778.

Foot-post, post-boy, 1634. 1825. Weaver, 1733, 1743-
Farmer. 181 1.

* He was vicar of Aberford. See also Upper WharfedaU, page 426.
t See R. V. Taylor's Leeds Worthus, page 313.

224

Entries of the burial of "strangers" are numerous, and occur early
in the registers ; — in 1548 is the first, — and the same circumstance
happens in most places situated upon important high-roads. Aberford
lay on the great coaching-road between Doncaster and Wetherby,
and at the old Swan inn they generally changed horses. The old
Town Book bears silent witness to the importance of Aberford on
the great thoroughfares of traffic. In 1746, after the Stuart rebellion,
there is an entry, dated September 25th, of a payment of is. to
George Longley for carrying soldiers* baggage, and in 1 748 the sum
of 6d. is paid " to four soldiers following a serjeant.'* Then in 1762
" Mr. Warin" is paid £1 13s. fd. for going to Boroughbridge with
the King's baggage.

Other entries of a more domestic character occur, such as a
payment in 1746 of 6s. 6d. for wood, ironwork, and setting up of the
parish stocks; likewise in 1752 a new lock for the pinfold, is. 3d.
In 1768 a ducking-stool was provided at a cost to the parish of i8s.
It seems there were uproarious women at Aberford in those days,
who needed public correction by immersion in the ducking-pond.
The sum of 2s. was paid by the parish in 1754 for scouting the
neighbourhood about a " fond woman,'* who may have become the
victim of such a public ducking. In 1766 a letter was posted on
parish business to Durham, which cost 4d., and in the same year
Sylvia Bates is taken to the infirmary at York, and the parish pay
5s. I id. for "loosing" her clothes, which she had pawned. There
must have been something strangely wrong with the said Sylvia, for
the parish expend iis. on salve (ointment) for her. In 1782 two
wheels to spin at Barwick workhouse cost 7s. In 1751 the bridge
at Aberford is paved at a cost of £1 is., and in 1768 there is a first
payment of £2 los. 8d. for " bridge money." The terrible murrain
among cattle, which happened in the middle of the i8th century,* is
alluded to in the following entry :

1747. April 10. For 2 letters about the distemper in cattle. lod.

This was the most disastrous cattle-plague on record.

Happily in these days of universally better dwellings, and improved
sanitation and drainage, these fearful plagues and pestilences, of
which Aberford seems to have had more than its share in the past,
are now only matters of history. Indeed the natural situation of
Aberford, its soil and climatic conditions are exceedingly favourable
to health, and there are probably few parishes of equal extent and
population in England that have such a bede-roU of longevity as
this pleasant and picturesque locality. The following particulars
compiled from the registers give ample proof of this :

• Sff my Richmondshire, pages 336-7.

225

Aberford Longevity.

Date of Burial in Registers.

1778 March 4th
August 22nd
April 27th

December 2nd
November 7th
June 2ist
July 29th
December ist

January 31st

Name. Age at Death

John Hopwood, Tallow chandler .

. 98

Anne Smith, widow

Sarah Taylor, widow

Mary Braithwaite

lOI

Gabriel Tomlinson, sexton

Hellen Hick, undow

Mary Giles, widow

Ann Bloome, widow

Thomas Wood, innkeeper

Ann Smith, widow

Elizabeth CuUingworth, widow .

Ann Scholefield. widow . .

Mary Emett. widow

Mary Johnson, widow . .

William Cox . .

Elizabeth Hewitt, spinster

Elizabeth Dunbar, uidow

Hannah Taylor, widow . .

Elizabeth Battersby, widow

102

William Taylor

Robert Hick, mason

Mary Garnett, widow

Ann Wilson, widow

Abraham Stead

John Preston . .
Mary Paine

William Hirst (of Micklefield) .

107

Joseph Groves..
Elizabeth Johnson

1780

1783
1784

I79I
1795

1798

1802
1806
1807
I8I2
1822
1824

1833
1837

1838

1840
I84I

1843

1844

1845
1847

1850
I85I
1852

1853

i860

1863

We have here the names of 29 persons who have died in the parish
within a period of 85 years, whose age at death averages 93^ years,
and this remarkable record of longevity might have been very
considerably extended had all the octogenarians been included. It
will be observed that a large proponion of these aged persons
are recorded as widows who had survived, in many cases, their
octogenarian husbands.

The whole of this pleasant vale is well wooded and is fiill of
archaeological and historical interest. Some three miles above
Aberford is the ancient village of Barwick-in-Elmet, about which so
much has been written, while here and there along the green flanks
of the vale are old historic mansions enclosed with still older parks
and gardens.

Two miles north of Barwick is Kiddall Hall, which in 121 6 wa$
the property and home of William Ellis, whose famous descendants
continued to reside there down to the year 1725.* Hazlewood Hall,
the ancient home of the Vavasours, stands a short distance from the
Roman road, about two miles north of Aberford. About a mile
away in an opposite direction is Partington Hall, a large and

• See the author's Airedale, page 79.

226

beautiful mansion standing in a park of 200 acres, well- wooded and
stocked with deer. This is the home of the Gascoigne family, lords
of the manor and sole landowners.

The road hence to Aberford goes through a fine avenue of beeches
and elms, and on the opposite side of the valley we see the luxuriant
ascending woods about Potterton Hall (formerly the home of the
Wilkinson family, and now of Sir Theo. Peel, Bart., D.L.), and
Becca Hall. Eastwards stands Lotherton Hall. The Rap)er family
lived here for many years down to about 1835 when the Hall was
occupied by Capt. Wm. Ramsden, and afterwards the estate and
manor came to Frederick Mason, Lord Ashtown, whose second ^ife
was Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of R. Oliver Gascoigne, Esq.,
of Parlington Hall. His lordship died in 1880. Lotherton is in
the parish of Sherburn and a chapel-of-ease was erected here before
the Reformation. Bambow Hall and Sturton Grange are other old
houses to the south of Parlington.* Sturton is one of the townships
in Aberford parish, and is also the property of the Gascoigne family.
The estate anciently belonged to Holy Trinity Priory, York. The
Priors erected a chantry in their chapel at Holbeck, Leeds, and
endowed it with a rent from Sturton Grange. In 1379 there were
three carucates of land here belonging to this Priory, the greater
part of which is stated to lie in pasture, and to be then worth
/" 5 6s. 8d. annually, " and no more, because the said land is stony."
In the vicinity of the old Grange there were formerly extensive traces
of a moat, which at one period doubtless encompassed it.

Becca Hall stands in a park of about 100 acres, and is at present
occupied by A. T. Shreibner, Esq. This is a very ancient property,
spelled in early documents Beckhaw and Beckay. In 1243 Richard
le Gramary obtained a charter of free- warren in his lands at Bechaye
and Bykerton, and in 1248 he had a grant of a market and fair within
his manor of Aberford. The market and fair were confirmed to his
successor. Baron Despencer, as before related. Alan Sampson, of
York, had also granted from the house of Gramary, the sites of
certain wind and water-mills at Aberford and " Beckhawe.*' In the
17th century the Carvill family resided at Becca Hall, and more
recently the estate became the property and home of the Markham
family. The Hon. William Markham, of Becca Hall, who died in
1 81 5, was son of the Archbishop of York (1777 to 1807) ^^^ grand-
father of Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B., to whom reference has
been made on page 151. The Hon. William Markham's youngest

• Barnbow Hall and Shippon Hall, in the parish of Barwick. were places of
meeting of the plot for the establishment of the post-Reformation Nunnery at
Dole Bank in Nidderdale. See my Ntdderdale, pages 376-7.

237

daughter, Lucy, married Henry L. W'ickham, Esq., a native of
Cottingley in the parish of Bingley,* and their eldest son, William
Wickham, who was born in 1831, was High SherifT for the county
of Southampton, and died in 1897. Becca Hall is still the property
of this family, and is now held by trustees of the late Col. Markham.
Following the Cock rivulet downwards to the Wharfe, we may
pass Lead Hall to Towton, already described, and so on to the old
London road at Cock Bridge, a short mile from Tadcaster ; or we
may take the north road from Aberfbrd past the old Black Horse inn.

Becca Hall, ne,

This hostelry will always be associated with the name of Nevison,
the notorious highwayman, who used to make this house his occasional
retreat and where it is said he always called to bait his favourite
mare on his famous journeys from London to York.

The old bridge, at the embouchure of the Cock Beck with the
Wharfe, appears to be very ancient, and some have declared it to
be Roman. It consists of a single round arch without key-stone
and of undoubted early construction. The width of the arch is 13
leet and its height seven feet. The stones are squared after the

* Sri the author's Old BixgUy, pages 347-8.

228

Roman manner, and several of them bear old mason-marks. The
voussoir^ or wedge-shaping of the stones used in the construction of
the arch, is almost invariably present in Roman bridges, as is also
the projection of the piers supporting the arch below the springing-
line. Drake, I believe, was the first to designate the old arch in
Micklegate Bar Roman ; the superstructure having been repeatedly
rebuilt. The arch faces the old road to Calcaria (Tadcaster). It is
constructed of millstone grit, though here and there stones of another
kind have been inserted where the old ones have failed.

Locally this is known as Ketleun Bridge (sometimes written
Kettleman), but the earliest mention I can find of this interesting
structure is in 141 5, when the Dean and Chapter of York grant
3s. 4d. for the construction of a stone staith at " Ketilmyrebrygg,"
and again in 1432 the sum of 53s. 4d. is disbursed for the carriage of
64 loads of stones from the Minster quarries at Huddleston to
" Ketilbambrigg super aquam de Qwerff." The stone seems to have
been transported in wains to this spot and then conveyed by boat to
York.

229

CHAPTER XX.

Tadcaster in Pre-Norman Times.

Prehistoric Tadcaster — A British station — British footways — Situation of the early
church — The Calatum of Ptolemy — Celtic origin of the Roman Calcaria —
Discovery of skeleton and stone weapon — St. Heiv and Tadcaster — Kelcbar als.
Kelbar — Newton Kyme not Calcaria -Was •* Tatha " in 1066 Tadcaster ? —
Name of Tadcaster — Tadcaster on Ermyn Street— Position and extent of
Roman camp — " Castle Hill ' ' — Roman finds— A remarkable bronze ringed
celt found at Tadcaster — Other discoveries The " Street of Tombs" — Roman
interments — Details of direction of the Roman road through Tadcaster —
Notes on occupation of district by Saxon and Dane — Tadcaster a Danish mint
— The castle mounds — Evidences of a stone-built castle.

LL comparative evidence on the early settlement of our
country points clearly to the importance of Tadcaster
in prehistoric ages. Century after century, dynasty
after dynasty, have come and gone and left us with
but the husk of all their achievements, out of which —
the scattered record, the lost relic and forgotten tomb — we must try
and construe local life in the distant past. When the old Brigantian
cities of York and Aldborough were in their prime — ^at a period
dating back at least two thousand years* — Tadcaster, too, like
Ilkley in the Upper Dale I have elsewhere described,! was a place
of great esteem ; both Ilkley and Tadcaster being, no doubt,
important vanguards in the approaches to those cities. Between
each of these places lay well-beaten trackways over the natural earth,
for the Britons did not learn the art of paving until the Romans
came, and these old British foot-roads were, when laid between
important stations, utilized by the Roman conquerors as the lines of
their wonderfully - constructed highways throughout the realm.
Unlike the Saxons, the Romans too, conquered the British strong-
holds, appropriated the sites and raised their camps upon the older
settlements.

* Caesar's conquest of the Britons is given by Nennius as 47 b.c, but that
conquest did not extend to Yorkshire

t Sii upper Wharfedali, pages 185-90.

230

The Saxons and Angles rarely appropriated British or Roman
sites, but preferred to stake out tons or enclosures of their own, yet
in Yorkshire there are several proven instances, as at Aldborough
and Ilkley, where Saxon churches have been raised within the areas
of Roman camps. At Tadcaster, I opine, the original church wzs
erected outside the area of the camp, probably for the reason that
the site had been a pre-existing burial-ground, and so was chosen for
its sacred associations, as we know was the case for the same reason
in other places. Else there could have been no motive for erecting
the church in such a low-lying position beside the river (unless, as I
have explained elsewhere, the river was venerated), rendering the
building liable to inundations, when higher and drier sites could have
been got close at hand.* The Roman town at Tadcaster no doubt
extended, as at Ilkley and other places, beyond the walls of the camp.

It can, therefore, as I have said, hardly be doubted that Tadcaster
was a British outpost to York, connected with that city by an unpaved
road, and as such an outpost it continued during the Roman occupa-
tion. It has been conjectured that it was the Calatum of Ptolemy,t
though this is not confirmed by Nennius, no very reliable authority,
however, who flourished in late Saxon times. Nennius mentions 33
British cities, on the authority of " Mark, the anchorite,** a British
Bishop. Amongst those named in the north are Ccur Ehrauc (York),
Caer Daun (Doncaster), Caer Caratauc (Catterick), and C(ur LuUid
(Carlisle), but singularly there is no mention or suggestion of
Aldborough, in Yorkshire, which was beyond all question one of the
most important Brigantian strongholds. Some, indeed, hold it to
have been the capital settlement of the Brigantes, taking even
precedence of York.

Moreover, there is other evidence that Tadcaster was a British
city. I concur with Mr. Boyle in believing that its Roman name of
Calcaria was but a Latinised form of a pre-existing Celtic name ;
exactly as we know was the case with the majority of the Roman
towns mentioned in the Antonine Ititierary. In the first portion of
the word there is a marked suggestion of the Celtic calch, lime,
indicative of the character of the ground upon which the station is
built. Kelso, in Scotland, anciently Calkou, has a precisely similar
meaning, and so has Cealchythe, in Kent, where the great council of

• Sometimes, however, the nearest site to a pre-existing holy-well was selected,
as at Bumsall in Upper Wharfedale. I have not heard that the Popple Well at
Tadcaster, which is on the river-bank about fifty yards north of the churchyard,
had any sacred associations, though this well had formerly a great repute for the
coldness and purity of its water.

t But according to the latitude given by Ptolemy Calatum must have been
much further north.

231

Bishops was held in 8i6, and where the interesting enactment took
place that all new churches should have inscribed on the wall or
upon a tablet or else on the altar, the name of the holy person to
whom the church was dedicated. Again a trace of the Celt may
possibly be referred to the circumstance that about 1886 a human
skeleton was discovered in the neighbourhood of the Applegarth,
though the period to which it belonged cannot be stated with
certainty. It was unearthed in the vicinage of the Civil War
entrenchments, but as a stone adze or axe- head was found in the
skull, the interment may possibly belong to the Stone Age. The
discovery was made in the course of excavations at the extension of
Braime's (Victoria) brewery. Dr. TordofF, who examined the remains,
informs me that the skeleton was that of an adult male person, but
as the wisdom teeth were not cut, the unfortunate victim of the blow
would not be more than 20 years of age. The weapon is formed of
a hard bluish stone.

From the era of Antoninus (a.d. 138 — 161) to the time of the
Venerable Bede, who died in 734, we have no mention of Tadcaster ;
then we learn from this famous northern historian that the pious
lady St. Heiv, after she had established a monastery at Hartlepool,
ca, 649, retired to the city of Calcaria, which he states is called by
the English (Angle) people Kaelcacaestir (qua a gente Anglorum
Kalcacaesttr), where she founded another monastery (mansio), (See
Healaugh;) This is the only allusion to Tadcaster in Saxon times,
but it plainly shews that the place was known by its Roman-British
name in the 7th century ; Bede merely adding the A.-S. ceaster or
caster, meaning a city or site, " applied from the first to any place
that bore signs of Roman building or fortification."* Camden, who
appears to have derived some portion of his local information from a
Mr. Robert Marshall, of Bickerton, also observes that an eminence
near the town is called Kelcbar, which retained in his time (1551 —
1623) something of the old name of Calcaria.f This Kelcbar is at
Smaws, on the road to Newton, where is a very old quarry of
Hmestone. Bishop Gibson, the i8th century editor of Camden's
Britannia, refers to Newton Kyme as a probable site of the Roman
Calcaria, in which, however, he is not supported by modern authorities.
At Newton, he tells us, many Roman coins have been ploughed up,
particularly of Constant i us, Helena, and Constantine ; also an urn
or box of alabaster with only ashes in it ; melted lead and rings ;
one of which had a key of the same piece joined with it. The road
to York, he says, is firmer ground than that from Tadcaster, which

• See Pearson's Historical Atlas, page 40.

t Written by Thoresby in 1702, Kel Bar, vide Diary, i., 369.

232

would hardly be passable were it not for the causey made over the
common between Tadcaster and Bilbrough, and he further adds that
Newton was so called by the Saxons because they erected n^tt'
buildings upon the foundations of the Roman town. But this I hold
to be highly improbable for the reasons already stated ; the Anglian
settlers having chosen this site and named it Newton (new town) in
contradistinction to the old town of Calcaria, about a mile lower dcwTi
the river.* Some have even suggested that the old caster or station
at Tadcaster was called *'T'aud caster," which gave Calcaria its
later name ; the dialectal form of the A.-S. eald (old) being aud.
This rendering, however, is one which might be shortest described
as a good joke but a bad guess !

Our next probable reference to Tadcaster is in 1066, when,
according to one of the latest contributors to the Saxon Chronich,
King Harold advanced towards York with his army to opp>ose the
invasion of Tostig and Harald Hardrada. On Sunday, the 24th
September, he is stated to have reached " Tatha,** and the next day
marched to York, and afterwards to Stamford Bridge, eight miles
further east, where a great battle was fought. This " Tatha " is
presumed to be either Tadcaster or Pontefract, but as the former is
only 9 miles from York and as Pontefract is 22 miles from York, it
certainly seems more likely to be Tadcaster than the ha\ hall or
abode of one Tata at Pontefract, the Tateshalle of Domesday, \ But
this Tatha, if it be Tadcaster, is a great stumbling block in the
derivation of the Domesday name of Tatecastre (Tadcaster). If
Tadcaster were actually known by the name of Tatha so soon before
the Conquest (which I very much doubt), then the prefix Tate cannot
be a personal name, although I hold this Tatha as the place Tadcaster
not proven. I contend that in the prefix Tate is the name of the
pre-Conquest owner of the caster or camp at Tadcaster, equally ivith
the belief that Ebchester was Ebba's Chester, and Godmanchester
Godmund's Chester , or that Tatham in Amoundemess was the obvious
home or abode of one Tata or Tate, Thus we find in 1083-6 the old
names of Calcaria and Kaelcacaster as completely changed as were
those of Isurium to Aldburgh and Streanaeschalch to Whitby in the
Dotnesday survey. J

♦ This is further confirmed by the discovery of a mile-stone near the south end
of Beancroft road, Castleford. about twenty years ago. The stone, now in the
Leeds Museum, is inscribed M.P.XX., i.e., 20 Roman miles from Castleford to
York, which is exactly the distance measured by way of Tadcaster.

t In 1201 written Tateshal'. Surtees Soc.,vo\. xciv., page 10.

I I find that Dr. Bosworth, quoting Somneri (1659), gives Tadu as Tadcaster ;
in the original, " Tadi, = Tadcaster, oppidum in agro Eboracensis."

233

It is now almost needless to contend for Tadcaster as the Roman
Calcaria, in opposition to the opinion formerly advanced in favour of
Newton Kyme. There is no Roman road from Newton Kyme to
York. Newton Kyme lay on Watling Street, one of the four royal
highways called in the Norman laws Quatuor Chimini^ which traversed
the country from south to north, and which from Doncaster lay
through Aberford across the Wharfe at Newton Kyme direct north
to Aldborough (Lsurium), Tadcaster was on Ermyn Street, which
crossed Watling Street in the neighbourhood of Stutton, near to
Headley Bar ; the latter highway going due north by the road known
here still as Rudgate to St. Helen's ford. On the other side of the
river the name of Rudgate is also retained for the old road by
Wharton Lodge, east of Bickerton, which runs northwards through
Chapel Hill to Aldborough. Tadcaster consequently lay more than
a mile east of Watling Street, and this is confirmed by Leland, the
State topographer (ca, 1540), who remarks "Tadcaster standeth a
mile from Watling Street, that tendeth more toward Cairlvel
(Carlisle) and crosseth over Wherf at a place called St. Helensford,
a mile and a half above Tadcaster, and on the other ripe (bank) is
St. Helen's Chapel." Speaking of the situation of Tadcaster he
observes ** it standeth on the hither ripe of Wharf river and is a
good thoroughfare. The bridge over Wharfe hath eight fair arches
of stone. Some say that it was last made of part of the ruins of the
old castle of Tadcaster.* A mighty great hill, dykes, and garth of
this castle on Wharfe be yet seen a little above the bridge. It
seemeth by the plot that it was a right stately thing."

" The mighty great hill " mentioned by Henry VIII.'s observant
antiquary, has been unfortunately since his time so much destroyed,
altered, and encroached upon by the growth of the town that it is
at this day a matter of impossibility to define the precise extent and
appearance of the old Roman camp. It seems to have been utilized
by the Danes and converted into moated mounds, though originally
it may have extended about 100 yards north and south from the
river, a short distance above the bridge, but it is difficult to define its
limits east and west, as it has been destroyed on the east side, but
there is little doubt that the old Grammar School stands on its
eastern verge, and that the school-playground has been excavated
out of it. Judging from actual remains the camp or mounds do not
appear to have extended more than 140 to 160 yards to the eastwards
and not more than 100 yards towards the south : of similar extent,
in fact, to the camp at Ilkley, and in all probability from its small

• Dodsley, in his Road Book (1756), says the bridge was built out of the ruins
of the Castle 140 years ago.

5134

size built at the same time, on the first Roman invasion of Yorkshire
by Agricola in a.d. 79.*^

Whether the Tadcaster camp was re-constructed in stone in the
time of the Emperor Severus, as was the case at Ilkley and other
stations in Yorkshire, cannot now be determined. Every vestige of
foundation or of stone walling has disappeared, and the only evidence
of the existence of an ancient wall 1 have heard of is the discovery
some forty years ago of a strong and rudely -constructed wall, four
feet thick, bordering the river on the east side of the churchyard.
But this wall 1 judge was merely a stalth erected in later times to

upon the burial -grouDd. The

resist encroachments of the
present so-called " Castle Hilt "
extends from the north side of
the church parallel with the
river, and a good section of it
is exposed behind the Castle
Terrace. Itisa thrown-upbank
or earth-work, 30 to 30 feet high,
composed of soil mixed with
angular fragments of local stone,
and there are no indications of
its having been raised on an old
glacial-mound as is the case
in some places. It is wholly
artificial. I learn that many
Roman coins, urns, pottery, and
other relics of early occupation
have been found upon or near
the site from time to time, but
these have been dispersed. This
is much to be deplored, as a
single local collection possesses
not only an antiquarian interest,
but has historic value. But Tadcaster is not the only place
that has ^led to realize the importance of this, though doubtless here
as elsewhere were local museums formed, many private collectors
would be willing to part with their treasures to the care of places
where they were found. About a century ^o a very perfect bronze
* There can be little doubt that AgricoU was at Tadcaster, as well as at Yort-
during his governorship of the province of Britain. His main route from Chester
10 York lay through Tadcaster, where in all probability the 6fst camp wis
constructed under his direction. Two years ago a piece of lead-piping was
unearthed at Chester bearing the inscription : Cnakvs Jvlivs Agricola. This
is believed lo be the only known inscription to the Rreat Roman General in
Brilain. S« the Antiquary, vol. xxxvi., No. 251 (Oct.. 1900), page 19a.

235

celt was found near the town, and is now, I understand, in the

British Museum. It possessed the peculiarity of having a ring of

the same metal inserted through the handle of the celt, to which was

also attached a small bead of jet."^ The appended engraving shews

the combined objects exactly as found. It is hardly possible that the

celt could have been worn as a charm ; indeed Mr. Geo. Du Noyer

thinks the bronze ring which was looped to the ear of the celt, might

have assisted in fastening it, while the second ring might be applied

to either of two purposes, (i) as a catch for a string-guard to be

fastened to the wrist, or (2) to render the tying of the larger ring to

the handle more easy and direct.

Single coins, but no hoards, I understand, have been turned up at

different times, particularly in the churchyard while digging graves.

One of these, in possession of the vicar, I have seen. Though much

defaced I read it as follows :

Obv. IMP. c. M. CL rCaes. Marcus Claudius] Tacitvs P. [Pius] F. [Fel,]
AVG. (Head of Emperor).

Rev. TBMPORVM FELiciTAs. (Standing figure holding an ensign in right
hand and a cornucopia in the left) .

This is an interesting coin of the senator Tacitus, who traced his
descent from the great historian of the same name. The senate
elected him Emperor in 276, at the age of 75, but he reigned only
6 months and 20 days. His short reign, however, was one of great
activity, and though little historic value can be adjudged to the
record of a single coin, it proves however that Tadcaster was
occupied after the reign of this Emperor, and doubtless continued a
stronghold of the Romans until the evacuation ca, a.d. 418.

Furthermore a Roman wine or water-jug was found in Jan., 1893,
by Mr. Wm. Dyson, of the Britannia inn, Tadcaster, while dredging
for sand and gravel close to an island about 40 yards below Tadcaster
Bridge. Its greatest circumference is 38 inches, and height 18 inches.
The jar is enamelled a dark green colour, the enamel being almost
perfect, and there are looped handles on two sides. This relic is now
in possession of Dr. H. A. AUbutt, Leeds. In March, 1895, some
men in the employ of Mr. C. Hodgson, were also getting sand from
the river when they unearthed a similar kind of jar, but this was
made of rough earthenware, imglazed, and is 14 inches high, and
37 inches round its widest part. Mr. Hodgson also possesses a
smaller enamelled jar obtained from the same spot in 1897.!

* Su Dr. Evans' Ancient Bronze Implements, page 118.

t Since the above was printed I am informed that another large Roman water-
ing has been discovered (Oct.. 1901) about 150 yards below the bridge. This
also was found while digging sand at a depth of fully 15 feet below the river-bed.
It has a single loop handle, is 18 inches high, 41 inches at its grea^test circum-
ference, and around the upper half is enamelled a dark greenish yellow. It was
very soon afterwards purchased by Mrs. Fielden. of Grimston Park, and will
therefore happily remain in the neighbourhood. '

236

I may also add while discussing the subject of antiquities, that I
have seen an ancient anchor, also dredged out of the Wharfe at
Tadcaster. It is made of wrought-iron, much decayed ; the boiv of
the anchor between its two extremities measuring 35 inches, and the
shaft of oak being 57 inches long. It is evidently mediaeval.

It is very probable, for the reasons stated, that the site of the
parish churchyard was a burial-ground of the Romans, and of their
successors the Saxons and Danes, although many interments in
Roman times were made beside the highway leading betiveen
Tadcaster and York. So plentiful have been such discoveries on this
road that it has been called the "Street of Tombs." In 1897 ^ stone-
coffin was dug up in the grounds attached to the residence of
Mr. E. P. Brett, on this road. It is fashioned out of a single block,
and has a roof-shaped lid, and is now in the Museum at York. A
complete skeleton was found in it. Another tomb, no doubt containing
coeval remains, lies undisturbed beneath one of the houses in the
Mount, close beside the last-named.* A tomb, 7 feet 6 inches long,
composed of 18 ridged tiles, was also discovered in 1833 on the
same road near Dringhouses. The tiles bore the impress of the
Sixth Legion. t

The direction of this road, I may further point out, affords proof
of the position of the Roman Calcaria at Tadcaster and not at Newton
Kyme. The road came down Gamett Lane, Station Road, and
along the north side of the Parish Church, across the Wharfe, where
I am told remains of an old pavement have been observed, and up
Rosemary Lane on to the York Road, which it leaves at Tadcaster
Bar. Thence it continues in a straight line by the Old Street,
passing Street Houses, where it leaves the highway again, and
continues through fields to the north of Copmanthorpe, joining the
highway again at the inn known as the old Ginger Beer House, and so
into York by Micklegate Bar, and crossing the Ouse by a bridge near
the present Guild Hall enters Westgate, York.J All about Stutton
and Hazelwood are very ancient quarries, whence no doubt much of
the material was obtained for building Roman York.

* See Yorks. Archaological Jl., ii , 435.

t The Britons were slow to adopt cremation, and buried their dead entire.
Though many important interments of the body took place during the Roman
occupation of England, yet cremation was almost universally practised. During
the erection of the North Eastern Railway Company's Hotel, at York, a few
years ago, nearly 300 Roman cinerary urns were discovered.

I I learn that during the long drought in the summer of 1901 , the Wharfe was
so low that an ancient stone pavement was disclosed in the river below Easedyke,
between St. Helen's ford and Tadcaster. There appears to be no record of this
forgotten ford-way, but it is doubtless mediaeval .

237

I shall refrain from any lengthy reflections on the Saxon and
Danish occupation of the neighbourhood of Tadcaster, as at best the
evidence is obscure. Coins of Olaf, who reigned in Northumbria
between the years 940 and 951, have been found bearing the name
"Tod;" the place where they were coined. One such bears the
legend : Anlaf Rex Tod ; the moneyers being Radulf and Wadter.
The late Rev. Daniel Haigh thought that owing to the frequent
interchange of the letters a and o on these coins (cf, Anlaf, Onlaf,
Onlof ) there could be little difficulty in recognizing in the name Tod
the old city of Tadcaster. In this case the city having a mint proves
it to have been a royal residence, for the moneyers invariably
accompanied the King from place to place. A relic of Olaf or Anlaf,
I may observe, was discovered some years ago in the Leeds Parish
Church. It is part of a Runic cross bearing his name, and it would
appear that much of the time of this Danish monarch had been
passed between York and Tadcaster and Leeds.*

Mr. Geo. T. Clark, the well-known writer on military architecture
in England, observes that at Tadcaster there are a group of earth-
works, which he refers to the same Danish period. I will quote at
once what he says :

*' These earthworks are of considerable size and extent, and occupy a portion
of rather low land on the right bank of the Wharfe. a little above the town and
close to the parish church. The group contains three isolated conical mounds,
about 30 to 40 feet high, and about 40 feet in diameter on the flat top. The most
western of the three is very distinctly a moated mound, but it has been much
mutilated to supply materials for banking out the river. From the other mounds
it is divided by a very deep and broad ditch, which evidently was filled from the
river, and is still (1880), when the river is full, flooded by water which rises
through the gravelly bottom. t

The other two mounds are also separated by a very formidable ditch. Of these
the one nearest to the river is the most considerable, and probably bore the shell
keep of the castle, of which, however, no traces are now visible. In the skirts
of the third mound, that nearest to the church, are two vaults, entered through a
sort of pigstye or shed. Upon a very superficial view they did not appear to be
very old, but they may have been the receptacles beneath a garderobe."

Finally Mr. Clarke concludes that the earthworks are not British,
and notwithstanding the Roman history and name of Tadcaster, can
scarcely be attributed to that people. They are more likely, he says,
to be of northern origin and not improbably the work of Danish
settlers, " of whom Anlaf or Olaf seems to have had a residence here
towards the middle of the loth century."

• Su Calverley and Collingwood's Early Sculptured Crosses m the Diocese oj Carlisle
(1899). pa«es 267-8.

t It is so still (1900). Old inhabitants can remember three permanent
separate pools here, one of which had an outlet to the river.

238

The term ** castle hill ** applied to pre-historic earthworks, where
no castle of masonry has ever stood, is not uncommon in this county
and elsewhere. But in the case of the Tadcaster earthworks there
are just grounds for assuming the existence, at some time, of a stone-
built castle on these thrown-up mounds. A tradition of this kind
seems always to have prevailed in the neighbourhood, and Leland,
whom I have quoted a page or two back, refers to it in the i6th
century. It is very probable that the castle was of pre- Norman
date, but no documentary proof of a castle after the Conquest, nor
any evidence of a license to crenellate is forthcoming, though it is
not unlikely the Percies resided here before their local strongholds
were built at Spofforth and Bolton Percy. William de Percy's
famous grant to the monks of Sallay, before 1 168, was made in magna
placito apud Tadecastre, while King John, with his court, was at
Tadcaster in 1209. Also in a grant by Edward II. of certain lands to
the Priory of Knaresbro', in the year 1318, the document is signed
by the King at Tadcaster (Teste rege apud Tadcastre), which certainly
supports the idea of a strong house or castle here at that time.
Certain plants, now wild, also favour the idea that there were
cultivated gardens about the old Castle Hill. The green hellebore,
particularly, is said to be very partial to old ruins, and used at one
time to grow very plentifully on this spot.

239

CHAPTER XXI.

Tadcaster: Records of Eight Centuries. Part I.

Tadcaster a royal residence before the Conquest — The castle of King Olaf —
William the Conqueror at Tadcaster — His capture of York — Tadcaster spared
from devastation --Its rapid development — Donuiday testimony— System of
cultivation — No church at the Conquest — Manor of Malchetone -Large
grants to Percy — Early records of the Percies — Percy pedigree— King John
at Tadcaster —York Minster built of Tadcaster stone— Charter for market
and fair in 1270 —Grant of free warren in 1295 Antiquity of local quarries
— Leased by the monasteries - Early toll at Tadcaster Bridge— Local enquiry
in 1258 — Mills, manor-house, and public oven — Bond- tenants, &c.

T would also appear that Tadcaster was a royal residence
in Danish times from the extent and quality of
its manors on the Norman settlement. It is note-
worthy that it escaped the fury of the Conqueror's
vengeance, while the coimtry around York and the
county generally was sadly harried. The castle of King Olaf, if we
are to believe that it stood here, was, doubtless, also the resting place
of the English King Harold on his famous and victorious march to
Stamford Bridge in 1066. His conquest, however, was of short
duration, inasmuch as only three weeks later the fate of England
was decided by his fall at Hastings, in October, 1066. Three years
afterwards the army of the Conqueror, led by the monarch himself,
advanced northwards, and having taken possession of the moated
mound at Castleford and ordered the building of the castle at
Pontefract, he went on to Tadcaster.* If the castle or any part of
it existed then, he probably directed its renewal here too. Thence
he marched in the full vigour of conquest, to the capital city of
York, where the native garrison at once laid down its arms, and he
entered the city unopposed. Here also he ordered the castle to be
rebuilt, probably as at Tadcaster, upon a Roman or Danish foundation.
This was in 1069. Then followed that terrible devastation of our
county, to which the enquiry instituted some fifteen years later bears
such bitter testimony.

• Ste Ordericus Vitalis (Bohn's ed.), page 27.

240

From the time of Olaf (ca. 950) to the reign of Edward the
Confessor (1041 — 66) Tadcaster had been slowly progressing, but in
the twenty years following the death of the Confessor, the town had
advanced in importance by " leaps and bounds." From this it
would appear as if it had been intended to maintain the town as the
prime stronghold of the new Norman lords, ere the licence was given
to them to fortify their neighbouring manors at Spofforth and Bolton
Percy. The Domesday record is this :

Two Manors. In Tatecastre. Dunstan and Turchil* had eight carucates of
land for geld, where four ploughs may be. Now. William de Perci has three
ploughs and 19 villanes and 11 bordars having four ploughs, and two mills of ten
shillings (annual value), and one fishery of five shillings (annual value). Sixteen
acres of meadow are there. The whole manors, five quaranteens in length and
five in breadth. In King Edward's time they were worth forty shillings : now
one hundred shillings.

According to modern calculations these manors were cultivated on
the three-field system, and the eight carucates were equivalent to
1440 statute acres, one- third of which lay annually fallow, and the
other two- thirds, or 960 acres, paid tax.t The land, it should be
noted, had more than doubled in value within a period of about
twenty years, a period of great devastation and depreciation to the
bulk of the country. Singularly, no church is mentioned, although
in a place so prosperous and populous, having two mills, we may be
sure the worship of God would not be neglected. We may therefore
take it that services were then held, as they often were in early
times, in the open air, and that only a beautifully-wrought preaching-
cross stood here until the new lord found time to arrange for the
erection of a proper building after the completion of the survey in
1083 — 6. Had not Tadcaster been returned in the King's great
inquest as of such high value, I should have claimed a pre-Conquest
church for the town, as the laws of Canute and his successors
expressly support the view that in those reigns there were many
churches which, owing to the destruction and loss of revenue caused
by the Conquest, are not mentioned in the survey. But Tadcaster,
like Percy's manor of Sp>offorth, suffered no such loss4

In the Recapitulation the above 8 carucates are said to be still
held by William de Percy. But there seems to have been another
manor over the water, on the east side of the bridge, and this was
probably the Malchetone of Domesday, where Ligulf had four
carucates of land worked in the same manner by two ploughs.
William de Percy had these too, besides four acres of meadow here

♦ See Yorki. Archal.JL, vol. v., page 297. t See Upper Wharfedalt, page 134.
X See the author's NidderdaU, page 220.

241

and half a fishery. In 1065-6 this manor had been worth 20s., and
in 1083 — ^ ^^s value remained the same.

There seems to have been some uncertainty, as I have before
pointed out, ivith respect to the right of William de Percy to a
number of his Yorkshire manors, and the men of Barkston came
forward and affirmed that William Malet, the Sheriff, had "all
Stauton (Stutton), three manors, three carucates of land, and one
mill, and in Tatecastre (Tadcaster) two manors, two carucates, and
two bovates, and one portion of the land of Turchil." But as events
proved, all three manors on both sides of the Wharfe fell into the
hands of Percy, and Tadcaster became the most valuable of all his
possessions. This potent companion-in-arms of the Conqueror
received more than 100 manors in different parts of Yorkshire,
besides many others in Lincolnshire. His brother Serlo was Prior
of Whitby, and William gave to him " and the monks," the town of
Whitby and the port there, &c., wherewith to re-build and endow
the monastery in that town. William accompanied the famous
expedition to the Holy Land in 1096, but died at Mountjoy, near
Jerusalem, where he was buried, yet the heart of the great warrior,
say the old chroniclers, was brought back to Whitby. His eldest
son, Alan the Great, married Emma, daughter of Gilbert de Gant,
and from whom in the female line, the present Duke of Northumber-
land derives his descent.

Alan de Percy died in 11 20 and was buried at Whitby Abbey.
His eldest son and heir, William de Percy, married a daughter of
Everard de Ros,* and died in 1133, leaving an only recorded son
William, who was the founder in 1147 of Sallay Abbey, and died in
1 168. The pedigree in Whitaker*s Craven omits William, the father,
and names only one son of Alan, whereas Alan had at least eight
sons, as is shewn on the annexed pedigree.f William left two
daughters, co-heiresses, the elder of whom, Maud, married William,
Earl of Warwick, and gave Tadcaster Church to Sallay Abbey ; but
in a Calendar of Papal Letters, dated 1218, recently transcribed from
registers in the Vatican, it is stated that the right of patronage had
been granted to the monks by Matilda, Countess of Warwick, and
William de Percy, a document I shall refer to again in dealing with
the church.

♦ See my NidderdaU, page 171.

t I am not aware that any Yorkshire book contains a full or reliable pedigree
of the great land-owning house of Percy. I am therefore printing, bv permission,
the early descents of this family from Mr. Fonblanque's Annals 0/ tlu House of
Percy, privately printed for His Grace the Duke of Northumberland. Some
additional authorities are given, likewise the descent of Picot. reputed brother of
William de Percy, the original grantee, who figures so curiously in the early
history of Bolton Percy.

£ >2 g.2

Ifl

Iff

133

jiS

«i 113

•s ■ =

ih —

5si

lea

iiSSSji

5s .S jS^n :

l§ III,"

'« 'el

ij id

-=(5^1 s:

243

Whether the Percies still maintained the old castle at Tadcaster is
problematical, but on April 14- 15th, 1209, the town was visited by
King John, and there must have been a house of importance to
accommodate the monarch and his retinue. At this time the Norman
Barons were actually, if not in name, the greatest power in the land,
and they resented the grinding imposts laid upon them by the despotic
King. John's visit to Tadcaster would be countenanced but not
welcomed, and there is small doubt he would be received with mock
joy. The Barons were shortly afterwards in open rebellion, and the
King was compelled to acknowledge their power and many common
grievances, by publicly signing Magna Charta (12 15), which restored
and confirmed the liberties of his subjects in all cities, towns, and
ports in the kingdom. Suitors were no longer, by this grand
concession, compelled to follow the King in his progresses ; assizes
were to be taken in authorised places, and justice by fair trial, brought
home to every man's door. In 1206 the King's Court was at
Doncaster and William de Percy was one of the six justices who sat
there. In 1208 the Court was held again at Doncaster and also at
York, and among the eight justices present was Robert de Percy.*
This Robert was not lord of Tadcaster, as according to the Red
Book of the Exchequer giving Knight's Fees in 12th and 13th John
(12 10- 11), William de Percy is declared to be then seized of 15
Knight's Fees (a very large and remarkable holding) of the Honour
of Tadcaster.

There wa/a Robert de Percy living at Bolton Percy in 1276, and
he it was who granted to Archbishop John Romanus free passage
for the transport of stone from the quarries at Tadcaster to York.
The charter is printed in the Monasticon (iii., 163), and though
undated, must have been written before 1 290-1, when Archbishop
Romanus began the building of the noble nave of York Minster.
But long before this date the old quarry in Thevedale had been
granted to the Chapter by W^illiam de Percy for material to erect
the Minster, that is the south transept, begun early in the pontificate
of Archbishop Gray (1215 — 1255). A right of free passage along
an ancient cart-road to the quarry, was also granted to the Chapter
by Robert le Vavasour, about the same time. This William de
Percy, who was the justice, above mentioned, died in 1244, and his
son Henry, who died and was buried at Sallay Abbey in 1272,
obtained a charter from King Henry III. in 1270, to hold a market
and fair at his manor of Tadcaster. The charter, preserved in the

* Surtus Soc, vol. 94. pages xi. and xii. There was an Alan de Percy who
married Beatrice Ingram (living in 1224). See Mr. Brown's pedigree of Ingram
in Yorks. Archal. //.. xvi., 155.

244

Public Record Office, is so much stained and in such bad condition,
that I am unable to present a transcript of it. It is, however,
ratified to be held weekly, on Tuesday.

Henry, son of Henry de Percy, in 1295 obtained a further royal
concession, in that he had granted the right of free warren, that is to
take conies, pheasants, woodcock, and other game in his demesne
lands at Tadcaster. So jealous were the feudal monarchs of
encroachments upon the royal forests, that a Crown license was
necessary before any man could take as much as a rabbit off his
own land.

I have just mentioned the old quarries at Huddleston, which have,
doubtless, been worked, as already explained, from Roman times.
When the Minster was commenced, traffic along the old Roman
road, between these places, would be considerably increased, and a
bridge over the Wharfe at Tadcaster would be a necessity. Although
the bridge did exist, I find from the Fabric Rolls of the Minster that
the stone was conveyed in wains from the quarries in Thevedale to
the water-side at Tadcaster, and thence transported by boat to York
(per navem a Tadcastre usqtu Ehor). In 141 9 I find the large sum of
£6 paid for the transport by boat of 200 measures of stone from
Tadcaster to York. In the will of William Barker, of Tadcaster,
dated Oct. 22nd, 1403, a bequest is made to the fabric of the Minster
for ** caryyng unius shypfull p>etrarum per aquam ; ** a curious
admixture of English and Latin, by the way ; but the statement
shews that the river and not the road was the commoif highway of
goods traffic in those days.

The quarries named had a wide reputation, and stone from them
was sent to many other places in England besides York.* Sculptured
fragments of the Tadcaster stone may be found here and there in
Yorkshire, built into church and monastic walls of millstone-grit and
other stone. In the gritstone walls of Bingley Church, in Airedale,
are several such odd pieces. In 1281 the canons of the church of
Howden had a quarry "in Tevesdale, adjoining the King's quarry ".t
In 1 291 the Abbot and Convent of Selby obtained a charter, entitled
Carta de Quarera, from the Prior of Marton, in the Forest of Galtres,
granting them permission to work three acres of a quarry in Theves-
dale, near Tadcaster, between the quarry of the Abbot and Convent
of Thornton and that of the Prior and Convent of Drax.J We have

* These old excavations, locally known as Jackdaw Crag Quarry, are very rich
in plant life. Mr. Wm. Ingham. B.A., of York, tells me that he has collected
about 100 species of mosses at this one spot.

\ Ad. quod damn., gth Edward I.

I See Coucher Book of Selby, No. DL., vol. i.. page 317.

345

here evidence that at this time the quarries were being worked by at
least three monasteries, in addition to the Canons of Howden and the
Chapter of York. That Drax Abbey was one of them is interesting
because it shews that the fragments in Bingley Church, above
alluded to, came from these quarries, as the church, down to the
Dissolution, was a possession of that Priory.

But while discussing the subject of these quarries and the transport
of material, let me once more turn to the bridge. William de Percy,
I have observed, was lord of Tadcaster in 127a, and in the following
year, I find from the records in the Hundred Rolls, that upon a

Taocastcr Bridoe.

n issued and Edward II., it was found that toll was taken
by John le Vavasour, at his lime-mill at Sutton (? Stutton), near
Tadcaster ; also by Baldwin Wake at Kirkeby (W'harfe) ; while the
bailifr of the lady the Queen took toll at the bridge of Tadcaster,
but by what warrant the jurors know not. The bridge had, doubtless,
been erected by one of the early Percies, and on the death of Henry
de Percy, Queen Eleanor became the guardian of his heir, who was
a minor. But Magna Charta had, by one of its clauses, expressly
prohibited the erection of new bridges so as to burden and oppress
the neighbourhood, and it would appear that Tadcaster Bridge had

246

then existed "time out of memory," for the jurors, in 1273, were
ignorant as to the origin of the toll that was then levied upon those
who used it. It was not until 1530 that the first statute was passed
relegating the custody of the principal highways and bridges to the
county. Many of the old roads and bridges had been constructed
by private bounty, and their owners exacted tolls, which in some
cases have been maintained irrespective of successive statutes
regulating the conduct of more recent public highways. Thoresby,
in his Diary y says that he " returned by Scholes over another part of
Winmoor," where he ** observed the toll-gatherer*s booth, where the
agents of Sir Thomas Gascoigne are ready to receive toll of the
carriages, which at a penny a pair of wheels, amounts to a
considerable sum."

But to continue the story of Tadcaster from the prosperous reign
of Edward I. An enquiry had been held in 1258 to ascertain the
extent and value of the manor, from which it would appear that
many of the tenants had been enfranchised, and that a large part of
the estate had been disposed of. In 1 284' the Percies held only four
carucates of land in Tadcaster, where ten carucates make a knight*s
fee, which they held of the King in capite, paying 4s. annually to the
Sheriff's fine. When King Edward's eldest daughter was married,
in 1290, Henry de Percy contributed i6s., being his quota for
Tadcaster, of the levy of 40s. on every knight's fee in the kingdom.
Thus the Percies had been well disposed towards their Tadcaster
tenantry, giving them every encouragement, and they now owned
only half the quantity of land here which they did in 1083. There
seems to have been no local grants to the monasteries.

It is interesting to note that in 1258 there were three water-mills
here (two mills had sufficed for the population in 1083), which "with
fishing, yielded to the lord 8 marks annually. He had also a court
with garden, let out to farm, which produced 50s. yearly. Though
no hall, manor-house or castle, is specified by name, the reference to
a manor-court and garden, suggests the existence, past or present, of
a capital -mansion, perhaps then in decay, and worth nothing beyond
reprises. Six of the tenants were bond in body and goods to the
lord, just as the dog and his kennel are to his master at the present
day, to be destroyed or disposed of as the master pleaseth. The
lord had also an oven or bakehouse in the town, where the tenants
were obliged to bake their bread and pay for so doing. Many of
these old feudal bakehouses can still be traced, as at Leeds and
Skipton.*

* See the author's Old Bingley, page iii.

247

CHAPTER XXII.

Tadcaster : Records of Eight Centuries. Part II.

Local effects of the battle of Bannockburn — Invasion of Scots— Destruction at
Tadcaster in 1 318— Depreciation of the church living— A calamitous era —
The Black Death and its ravages— Social and economic comparisons with
Tadcaster — Fourteenth century taxation — Local taxpayers — Trade and
progress stifled —Vicar of Tadcaster succumbs to the Black Death — Terrible
mortality— No Parliament — Scarcity of labourers — The status of Tadcaster
in 1378 — Local breweries and hostilers — Tadcaster and the war in 1408 — A
local attainder — Wars of the Roses — Scene on Tadcaster Bridge — Edward IV.
at Tadcaster— Progress of Princess Margaret through Tadcaster — The
Catholic rebellions of 1538 and 1569— The Tadcaster gallows—The Duke of
Somerset and the Reformation— The manor of Tadcaster— Tadcaster in the
peerage— The Civil War— Lord Fairfax at Tadcaster — Local evidences of the
battle at Tadcaster— Plague in 1645 — Annihilation of feudalism— Progress of
Tadcaster— Local Protestantism— The rating of Tadcaster in 1690— The
Stuart rebellion— Importance of Tadcaster in coaching times — Local inns.

HE accession of the hapless Edward II. brought the

serpent out of his lair, and for a long period it hung

relentlessly upon mart and cross. The disasters of this

reign brought misery and poverty to the town. The

victory at Baniiockbum in 13 14 brought the marauding

Scots like locusts into the district, who ate up the best they could find,

carried off the cattle, and brutally ill-treated the inhabitants, many

of the stronger of whom fled for their lives, conveying as much corn

away as they could. The Scots also entered the church, sacked, and

nearly destroyed it ; the manor-house, with its chapel, in Tadcaster

East also went, as the pre-existing castle or manor-seat of the Percies,

near the church, would appear to have been not then in existence.

This was in 13 18, when the Percies had already, ten years before,

built and strongly fortified their castles jsit Spofforth and Leckonfield.

In the year of Bannockburn an inquisition had been made touching

the possessions of the Yorkshire lordships, when it was found that

Percy held Tadcaster of the King in capite by knight service. The

Percies were in the thick of the campaigns that followed, but the

English army, under the weak direction of Edward II., was unable

to stem the ever-flowing devastation of the stalwart Highland

248

invaders into north England. " The condition of Northumberland,"
observes Mr. Cadwallader J. Bates, "was terrible in the extreme.
For fifteen years after 13 16 the whole country remained waste, no
one daring to live in it except under the shadow of a castle or walled
town.*** The church at Tadcaster, which had been valued in 1290
at ;^43 6s. 8d., was reduced to ^'28 6s. 8d. in 1318, while the annual
value of the vicarage was worth only £b 13s. 4d. Owing to the
ravages of the Scots the inhabitants could not pay their accustomed
tithes and taxes. Old Froissart relates in graphic detail, the sorr)'
plight of Edward*s army during its expeditions in vainly endeavouring
to allay the waste caused by the marauders. Men and horses were
often without food or drink for days together, or they carried but one
ill-baked loaf strapped to their back. In the rage of hunger, men
in their madness fought and killed those who had been the companions
of their long and miserable marches. Nobles and knights fared
little better, and the whole country was in a state of despair and
anarchy. Such were the fruits of the second Edward's government.
The misery caused by all this loss was accentuated by an outbreak
of murrain among cattle ; the land had become soured by excessive
rains and the want of proper tillage. This had its effect upon the
people, and the annals of the next thirty or forty years abound with
the horrors of famine and pestilence, which carried off thousands of
the struggling poor. A special and new form of disease known as
the Black Death, which I have previously mentioned, was the means
of still further reducing the population, sparing neither rich nor poor;
it being especially fatal to the Yorkshire clergy. An extended
dissertation might be written on the social and economic changes thai
took place in the 14th century in parts of Yorkshire compared with
Tadcaster. I find it evident from certain hitherto unpublished Lay
Subsidies for Tadcaster at this period, that the town and district had
enjoyed a high degree of prosperity down to the beginning of the
14th century. Even the depredations caused by the incursions of
the Scots in 131 8- 19 did not leave the neighbourhood of Tadcaster
in that state of cruel bankruptcy so observable in many other places.
The tenths and fifteenths^ which were the temporary aids issuing out
of personal property, continued to be paid by the people of Tadcaster
with surprising regularity. The tenths are said to have been first
granted in the reign of Henry II. in order to defray the religious
exp>editions against Saladine, Emperor of the pagan Saracens,
whence it was at first denominated the Saladine tenth. Subsequently
a ninth was imposed by the Crown on all cities and boroughs, that is
to say the ninth part of all their goods and chattels were to be taken

* See Hist. 0/ Northumberland (1895), page 156.

249

and levied by lawful and reasonable assessment, ** in aid of the good
keeping of this realm as well by land as by sea." " Poor boraile
people," that is those who like the boors or farmers and labourers
had to live by the sweat of their brows, were exempt from the tax,
but all those who make profit by trade, as merchants, and " such
who dwell in forests and wastes," were to be taxed at 3, fifteenth.

Originally, says Blackstone, the amount of these taxes was
uncertain, being levied by assessments new made at every fresh
grant of the Commons, a commission for- which (a.d. 1232) is
preserved by Matthew Paris. This at length was reduced to a
certainty, when by virtue of the King's commission, dated 8th
Edward III. (1334), new taxations were made of every township,
borough, and city in the kingdom and recorded in the Exchequer.
This rate was at the time the fifteenth part of the value of every
township, the whole for the kingdom amounting to about ;^29,ooo,
and therefore it still kept up the name of a fifteenth^ when, by the
alteration of the value of money and the increase of p>ersonal property,
things came to be in a very different situation. So that when of
later years, the Commons granted the King a fifteenth^ every parish
in England immediately knew its proportion ; that is the identical
sum that was assessed by the same aid in 1334, was raised by a rate
among themselves and returned it into the royal Exchequer.*

The rateable value of Tadcaster was then, about fifteen years after
the Scottish ravages, 45s. 5d., made up of a fifteenth of all taxable
property. The following unpublished particulars give the names of
the inhabitants of Tadcaster who contributed to the levy, with the
amounts :

Rad' de Normanville.f 4s. id. ; Will* Call, J 5s. ; Thom. Ayr, 3s. 6d. ; Simon
Hardicors, 3s. ; Ad. Borcher, 5s. id. ; Thom. Frer, 3s. ; Will. Wynter, 3s. 6d. ;
Walt* de Batherton, 2s. 6d. ; Joh' Pollard, 2s. 6d. ; Marg'. his wife, 3s. 6d. ; Thom*
le Barker, 3s. 6d. ; Robert Pistor, 3s. 6d. ; Rog' fabro, 2s. 6d. Sum' 45s. 5d.

Assessors and venditors were appointed for every district to assess
and sell the movable goods ; and this came very hard in times of
scarcity or when great sickness prevailed. People in our own day
can hardly realize the severity of life, hard fare and impoverishment
which these constant drains on the goods of a township meant to its
upholders. Many sank under the burden, and famine and disease
followed. There had been great mortality amongst the poor
throughout the reign of Edward 11., and from the next assessments
1 meet with concerning Tadcaster, it is apparent that the parish had

• B\2ucksiotie*s Commentaries (1783), I., 309.

t See chapter on Old Families. J See also Yorks. Arckeel. //., vili.. p. 124.

250

a hard struggle to maintain its credit when the Bailiffs called upon
the town to deliver its quota of taxes in the i8th or 20th Edward III.
(1344 — 1346, the exact year is doubtful). William de Scargill and
John de Burton were appointed collectors, and this is their report for
Tadcaster :

Rad' de Normanvill, 5s. 4d. ; Thoma ffrere, 3s. ; Marg' wife of Ad' Barcar.
6s. 4d. ; Thom. Bercar, 4s. ; Robert le Bakester. 3s. ; Simone Hardicors, 4s. .
Richard de Kirkeby, 3s. ; Marg' wife of Joh', 3s. ; Ad* fabro', 3s. ; Will' de I^edes.
3s. ; Joh. Cokesford, i6d. ; ^umma. 38s. lod.

The amount thus paid in 1344-6 was 6s. yd., or about one-seventh
less than was raised about a dozen years earlier. It undoubtedly
indicates a diminution of population or a reduction of the trading-
class in the town to the condition of farm labourers. The status of
the town had unmistakably suffered. It exhibits, however, a very
different state of affairs from that which prevailed even four or five
years previously, when according to the Inquisitioncs Notiarum of 15th
Edward III. (1341), there were only two men in the parish able to
pay above is. towards the fifteenth of movable property. One was
Simon Hardicors, whose goods were worth 5 marks {£^ 6s. 8d), and
he contributed to the imperial taxes the fifteenth value of them, or
4s. 5d.; the other was Benedicto de Grymeston, who paid 2od. The
eleven others contributed sums from 3d. to lod. each. It will be
observed that the above Simon Hardicors contributed 4s. in 1344-6;
and there were ten other taxpayers. Everybody else in the parish
was either a farmer or a labourer, and thought too p>oor to contribute
to the imperial levy.

Then four or five years afterwards there broke out the terrible
Black Death, and our records of Tadcaster for many years following
are ominously silent. Three successive pestilences followed in this
century, but they were not so destructive as that of 1348-9 ; for one
reason the population was so much reduced there were fewer left to
destroy. One Tadcaster vicar, Richard de Sourby, died in December,
1 349, no doubt of this fell pestilence. The records of York shew a
terrible mortality among the local clergy at this time. In the city ot
York it must have been a difficult matter to find people to bury the
dead, as more than half the population is recorded to have succumbed.
No Parliament assembled between January, 1 349, and the same time
in 1352, and many p>eers were absent owing to the plaga pesHUnci^
mortalis. When the plague was over the Government made a serious
drain on the able-bodied men of the country, who were called out to
serve in the wars. As a consequence the land suffered greatly, men
were scarce, and the price of labour rose enormously. In places like
Tadcaster where there was a large number of freeholders, besides

251

villein -tenants who had their services to the lord commuted for a
fixed quit-rent, these warlike times were certainly in favour of such
freeholders and copyholders, as the fixed money payments did not
represent even a sixth part of the value of such services due to the
landlords, who had therefore good reason to complain. When the
Poll-Tax was levied in 1378, which is the next record we have of
Tadcaster, it is obvious that the contracted population had profited
by the scarcity of the preceding years, and many of the inhabitants
formerly in the position of mere labourers, were now tradesmen or
merchants of moderate standing in the town. It is not likely, however,
they were silent or neglected to demur to the oppressive taxation
which that warlike monarch imposed on his subjects. When the tax
was raised from a groat to three groats (equivalent to about 20s. of
present currency), on all able persons above 15 years of age, there
was a loud cry of resentment which ended in open rebellion ; and
when at length the insurrection was crushed the inhabitants of York
had to pay 1000 marks before a pardon was granted to them.

These Poll Tax returns of 1378, when compared with the subsidies
already cited, shew, that while Tadcaster had not escaped the terrible
ordeals of famine and pestilence of the preceding generation, it was
then, if not one of the most influential, at any rate one of the most
populous and opulent towns in the county. There were 60 married
couples then living in the town, besides 23 single adults; and allowing
for absentees in war, &c., the total population would be not less than
400. This enumeration includes the township of Tadcaster and
possibly Oxton and Catterton, which are not separately specified,
and their population may have been annihilated by the Black Death.
But Toulston is mentioned as having 1 1 married couples and 8 single
above the age of 16; likewise Huddleston-cum-Lumby had 12
married couples and 4 single adults, and Stutton had 24 married
couples and 5 single adults.

It is interesting to observe that the town, situated on a great
highway, was at this time (1378), famous for its brewhouses and
good inns, there being two breweries, mentioned in 1341, and no
fewer than five married hostilers^ each rated at i8d., in the town, and
one other at Toulston, but these hostilers were not exactly innkeepers
as the term is understood to day. There were also three merchants,
a draper, four wrights and blacksmiths, a walker or fuller, and a dyer,
a tailor, a mason, and two shoemakers. The rest were employed in
agriculture, and paid 4d. each to the war tax. One can understand
the presence of four blacksmiths on such a busy thoroughfare, but
these smiths also obtained a good deal of outside work, in the
manufacture of iron fittings for ox -wains, ploughs, chains, &c. In

252

1404, for example, I find William Marshall, of Tadcaster, was pjaid
6s. 2d. by the Chapter of York for 20 iron wedges for service in the
quarries, probably at Thevedale. It may be noted that there is no
suggestion of a castle or manor-house existing at Tadcaster at this
era.

The disaster of 1314, it has been said, put back the dial-hand of
civilisation fully two centuries, and during the whole of this [>eriod,
and even longer, the annals of Tadcaster are full of the records of
war and alarm, poverty and heavy taxation. It was hardly possible
to obtain more than the barest existence, so constant and oppressive
were the levies made upon the people during this long and troubled
era. Contrasting life at that time with events at present, well nxay
the English people rejoice at the wise counsels that have prevailed
during the era of our late Sovereign Lady Victoria, the close of
whose glorious reign found them in a condition of security and
comfort never equalled in the nation's history.

The close of the 14th century found Tadcaster again plunged in
the excitement caused by the downfall of Richard II. The Bloody
Assize, following the rebellions of Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, was
scarcely over, when the ill-starred King was thrown into Pontefract
Castle, and there, in the language of Shakespeare, he was " hacked
to death."* Henry of Lancaster had landed in Yorkshire, and from
Ravenspur, he reached London at the head of 60,000 men. The
Earl Marshal, Thomas Mowbray, who was lord of Wighill, near
Tadcaster, together with Archbishop Scrope, raised a rebellion in

1405, but through the strategy of the Earl of Westmorland, they
were taken prisoners, and both soon afterwards were beheaded at
York.f The execution of these nobles created much ferment.
Never before had an English prelate died by the axe of the public
headsman. Hot with rage the Earl of Northumberland, old Henrj-
Percy, mustered what men he could, and donning them in his livery
marched through Wetherby to Tadcaster, where he added to his
ranks, and thence on to Bramham Moor. J Here he was met by the
King's troops in command of the High Sheriff, Sir Thos. Rokeby,
when a sharp battle followed, and the Earl was slain, 19th February,

* But according to Sir John Froissart. the contemporary chronicler of Richard's
time, the King died a prisoner in the Tower of London and was buried at
Langley, " thirty miles from London." Some authorities, however, maintain
that the King escaped from Pontefract to Scotland, and in the Scottish accounts
of this era are entries for the maintenance of "the King of England." Sir
•• Historical Traditions of Pontefract Castle," in Kenrick's Archaological Paf^ers
(1864). pages 69—99.

t See Stubb's Co«s^/7. Hist., iii., 26. % Ibid., iii., 535.

253

1408. His lands were all confiscated, together with those of at least
one of his Tadcaster tenants, who had joined the Earl on his last
march. The following particulars relating to this disaster have not
before been printed :

Attainder of Robert Esyngwold, of Lands in Tadcaster, 1408.

Inquisition indented taken ex officio at Tadcaster xxvij. day of the month of
flebruary the eighth year of the reign of King Henry the fourth after the conquest
(1408) before Thomas Egmanton Escheator of the lord King in the county of
York. By the oath of Robert Dryffeld of Tadcaster, William Parson of the same.
William Skelton. William Marshall, Richard Ednel. John Colingham. John
Warde. William Walker, John Wryglye, John Bolton, John Warde, junr., and
William Banaster, jurors, who present that Robert Esyngwold traitor was in arms
against the lord King and his allegiance in company of Sir Henry Percy late
Earl of Northumberland the viijth day of the month of May the sixth year of the
reign of the Kiug above-said in the County of Northumberland and afterward the
said Robert about the feast of St. John Baptist the sixth year of the said King
was an adherent of the Scots enemies of the lord King against his allegeance
which said Robert Esyngwold was seized on the day aforesaid on which he as a
traitor rebelled against his King, of one waste piece of land, thirty acres of land,
two shillings of rent, three acres and three roods of meadow with their appurten-
ances in the township of Tadcaster in the County of York which piece of land,
thirty acres of land, two shillings rent, three acres and three roods of meadow,
with their appurtenances in Tadcaster aforesaid by occasion of the rebellion and
treason of Robert Esyngwold aforesaid belong and are forfeit to the lord King.
Also they present that aforesaid waste piece of land, xxx. acres of land, ijs. rent,
three acres three roods of meadow, are held of aforesaid Henry late Earl as of
his manor of Spoford by the service of paying to the said manor per ann. vijd.
ob. for all services and worth per ann. according to the true value of the same
beyond reprises xiijs. iiijd. Also they present that aforesaid piece of waste land.
xxx. acres of land. ijs. rent, three acres and three roods of meadow with appur-
tenances from the day of rebellion and treason of aforesaid Robert to the day of
this Inquisition have laid waste and are held in default useless and uncultivated.
In witness whereof to this Inquisition the jurors above-said have set their seals.
Given the day place and year above-said.*

The old Earl's valorous and famous son, young Harry Hotspur,
had fallen in the same cause at Shrewsbury in 1403 ; while his
younger brother, Sir Ralph Percy, had also been slain in battle with
the Saracens two years before. The great House of Percy was
therefore now all but extinct ; there being but one male heir left,
namely, Henry, son of Hotspur, who was restored to his grandfather's
honours and became Earl of Northumberland in 1414.! He fell at
St. Albans in 1455, leaving a son and heir, Henry Percy, Earl of
Northumberland, who as already related, died with his brother.
Sir Richard Percy, on the bloody field of Towton in 1461.

• Inq. ad. quod, damn., loth Henry IV., No. 35.
t Rot. Pari., 2nd Henry V., m. 12.

254

Never was excitement so high at Tadcaster as on the memorable
day of this terrible conflict between the White Rose and the Red.
The inhabitants of the town were kept in a state of supreme suspense,
awaiting the issue of this mighty battle, for the noble and valorous
Percy, who sided with Lancaster, was their lord, and many must
have thought that if the day was lost to him, their own lives would
be in peril. What was their consternation, then, on witnessing at
the close of that dreadful Palm Sunday, thousands of flying
Lancastrians swarming wildly into the town, many unarmed and
capless and covered with wounds, leaving trails of their blood in the
streets, crowding on to the bridge, then a much narrower structure
than it is now, and falling a prey to the savage onslaught of the
Yorkists. No quarter was given, it was useless crying for mercy.
Many of the oppressed, however, managed to reach York, others
shut themselves up in the old Priory at Helaugh. The Stapletons
at Wighill, being like many of their neighbours, staunch Lancastrians,
it is supposed took refuge in Cumberland.* Henry Percy, who was
a minor at his father's death in 1461, was restored in blood and
honours by Edward IV. He died in 1489 and was buried at
Beverley. He must have had a residence or strong-house at
Tadcaster, for after the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire rising, instigated
by Warwick, the King came to York, and, says St owe, reached
Tadcaster on 19th March, 1471, and next day proceeded to Wakefield.t
Within a month of this time fell the great Elarl of Warwick, the
king-maker, ** last of the Barons," by whose death was extinguished
the stirring age of feudal chivalry.J

Tadcaster, though crushed with heavy taxation during most of the
life-time of the above Earl Percy, seems to have felt something of
the effects of returning prosperity in the intervals of peace. Henry
Tudor was now on the throne (1485), and he decided to make a grand
tour through his dominions, with the object of conciliating the people.
He rode in great state, attended by numerous nobles and followers,
all glittering in scarlet and gold. What impression the ceremony
made upon the people of Tadcaster, as the lately-crowned King
and his retinue passed through the town, history does not relate.
The Earl Percy met his Highness on the road, as old Leland quaintly
describes it : ** By the way in Bamesdale, a little beyond Robin
Hudde stone, th*erle of Northumberland with a right great and noble

* See The Stapletons of Yorkshire (1897), page 189.

t See Chronicles of the White Rose of York (Bohn's ed.), page 42.

X The life of this puissant chief, at Middleham Castle, is recorded in my work
on Rtchmondshire (1897), pages 285-7.

255

company, mete an gave his attendance upon the King, with 38
knyghts of his fee*d men, besides esquires and yeomen * * * At
Tadcastel the King, richly besene in a gowne of clothe of gold furred
with erniyn, took his courser. His hensheman and folowers also in
goldsmythes work were richly besene. And so to York."*

Tadcaster has, indeed, had a large share of royal visits, for as we
have seen, monarchs and princes were here before the Conquest, and
for many centuries afterwards it continued to be a royal highway to
and from York. In the summer of 1503 the Princess Margaret,
wife of James IV-, of Scotland, passed through the town with much
pomp. She was atti^ided by the young Earl of Northumberland,
" with many lords, ladies, knights, esquires, and gentlemen," all
finely mounted and richly caparisoned, to the number of full five
hundred. The party dined at Tadcaster and then went on to York.

Tadcaster was also destined to occupy a prominent place in the
great religious rebellions known as the Pilgrimage of Grace and the
Rising in the North. The monasteries were threatened with
immediate destruction, when Sir Robert Aske, of Aughton, near
Howden, who was in the company that attended the Princess
Margaret, at Tadcaster, I have just mentioned, resolved to organize
a stout resistance to such a cruel and high-handed desecration as
that which the King's measure implied. It had also got noised
abroad that some of the parish churches were to be put down, so that
no two should be nearer than five miles apart. Either Tadcaster or
Bolton Percy was to be retained, but Wighill, Walton, and Thorp
Arch would have to be given up. A commissioner appearing at
Tadcaster and requiring the churchwardens to render an account of
the church -plate, awakened a suspicion that it was going to be seized
and chalices of copper substituted for those of gold.t

Sir Thomas Percy, younger brother of the Earl of Northumberland,
in common with most of the Yorkshire gentry, joined Aske in this
futile attempt to stem the tide of the Reformation. Speed says the
rebellious were all " rustics," but the castles of Scarborough and
Skipton alone in this county held out for the King, so universal and
bitter was the resentment of such an outrage on men's consciences.
Aske took York, and also Pontefract, while Skipton, too, appears to
have temporarily fajlen into the hands of the rebels. J Their success,
however, was of short duration, for within a few months resistance
became useless, and the leaders of the rebellion were taken ; the
Abbots of Whalley, Sawley, Jervaux and Fountains were all

* See Canon Raine's Historic Towns, York, page 193.
t Su The atapeltons of Yorkshire, page 208.
} See Dawson's Skipton, page no.

256

executed ; Aske was hanged at York ; Sir Thomas Percy, Sir John
Hammerton, and Sir John Bulmer suffered at Tyburn ; Lady Bulmer
was burnt ; Lord Darcy, of Templehurst, was hanged on Tower
Hill ;• Sir Nicholas Tempest was hanged at York ; and Sir Robert
Constable, of Flamborough, suffered at Hull.

But the rancour was still in men's hearts ; their bodies might be
smitten, but the spirit of old creeds could not be crushed. Again
they rose in rebellion ; this time Percy's son, Thomas, created in
1557 Earl of Northumberland, and Charles Neville, Earl of West-
morland, were in the forefront of the rising. At the very outset of
the campaign Earl Percy had been nearly taken unawares while
sleeping at his manor of Topcliffe, near Thirsk, but he escaped by a
stratagem. This was in the autumn of 1569. A large number of
brave, willing, and determined followers were soon gathered under
the banners of the two Earls. Their standard-bearer was old
Richard Norton, of the ancient family of Norton Conyers and
Rilston in Craven, to whom, in the words of an old ballad. Earl Percy
addressed a letter soliciting his assistance, —

Come thou hither, my little foot-page,

Come thou hither unto mee,
To maister Norton thou must goe,

In all the haste that ever may bee.

The letter is successful, for not only does the head of the house
decide to assist the Earl, but he is joined in his resolve by " his eight
good sons." The story of this family is full of tragic romance, and
their unhappy fate forms the theme of Wordsworth's beautiful poem,
The White Doe of Rylston.

Many of the incidents of this unfortunate rebellion took place
about Wetherby and Tadcaster, and many a local man paid dearly
for his temerity. The prime object of the movement was the
irrevocable restoration of the Catholic religion, and the placing of
Mary of Scotland on the English throne. Setting out with this
determination, they besprinkled their faithful army with holy-water,
as had confirmed and encouraged their forefathers in the brave days
of the monasteries. Then they marched triumphantly to Darlington
and Richmond and back to Ripon, where mass was said in the
Cathedral. Picking up fresh adherents as they went along, by the
time they reached Wetherby they were several thousand strong.
There they heard that a detachment of footmen was on the way to assist
the Queen's forces at York, so a strong, armed party set out from
Wetherby and intercepted the Protestants at Tadcaster, taking 200 of
them prisoners. Next day they mustered on Clifford Moor and their

* See the Rev. J.N. Worsfold's History of Haddlesey.

257

numbers were found to consist of 1600 horse and 4000 foot. But
they were not yet able enough to attack York, so they waited about
Tadcaster, gathering recruits, and Sir Thomas Wentworth writing on
Dec. 3rd, 1569, to the Marquis of Winchester, says they were "lying
between York and Tadcaster for a week or upwards.'* Their object
was eventually to capture York, which was then held for the Queen
by Lord Sussex, and they also sent out spies along the roads towards
Selby and Ferrybridge to intercept, if possible, the strengthening of
the York garrison by any fresh supplies from the south. On
Dec. 4th, however. Lord Darcy and Sir Thomas Gargrave agreed to
convey treasure and ammunition from Doncaster to York, and within
the next few days they succeeded in reaching that city.

The Papist army now retired northwards and laid siege to
Barnard Castle, which capitulated after a gallant stand made by
Sir George Bowes and his brother, Robert Bowes. Sir George
could have held out possibly until the arrival of reinforcements from
York, but the bulk of his men were at heart for the old faith, and
owing to the daily desertion of the garrison over the walls, he was
obliged to evacuate the place ; thence he proceeded with the remnant
of his supporters to York. Here a Council of War was held, and on
Dec. 15th the Earl of Sussex and Sir George Bowes returned with
a well -equipped army to Barnard Castle. The Catholics were then
put to flight, and their two leaders, with old Richard Norton, fled
into Scotland,* leaving their disconsolate adherents to make the best
escap>e they could. Earl Percy was afterwards captured and brought
to the scaffold at York 22nd August, 1572. Thus he died,Jeaving
four daughters, co-heiresses, but no male issue.

By the end of the year every spark of the rebellion had been
extinguished, and many hundreds of its unhappy partisans were
thrown into foul gaols. Wetherby, like Cawood and Sherburn, had
been a garrison of the Queen for some time, and on Jan. 6th, 1569-
70, Lord Admiral Clynton writes from there that " all the army is
discharged excepting 1500 men.** On Feb. ist, Captain Thomas
Leighton begs for allowance of conduct-money and other charges
for the officers and 500 common soldiers on a march from Wetherby
to London. Meanwhile the unfortunate victims of the rebellion
were sadly awaiting their doom. Sir George Bowes, who had charge
of "this business,** now ordered gibbets to be erected in nearly every
market-town and public place between Newcastle and Tadcaster.
He gave out warrants to the constables of the several townships
where gibbets were erected, and ere many weeks were spent, crowds
of anxious onlookers witnessed the sickening sight of hundreds of

• See Ferguson's Hist, of IVestmotland (i894>, pages 206-7.

25^

ill-starred men and youths " swinging for their religion.*' There is
an enclosure on the York road, just out of Tadcaster, called Galloivs
Field, which in all probability marks the site of some such gibbet.

During the month of February, Queen Elizabeth issued a
Declaration " to all her loving subjects," setting forth the malicious
libels both from abroad and at home, which led to the rebellion in
the North. The principles on which her government had been
conducted were pointed out, and the ** unexampled prosperity ''
enjoyed by England since her accession, as also her determination to
continue in support of the true Christian religion, and to administer
the laws with moderation, but at the same time with severity against
disturbers of the public tranquillity. She appealed to all classes to
continue in loyalty and obedience to the Throne and the laws of the
realm. It is needless here to dwell upon the troubles that follo^ved,
although England under the laws passed in the reign of Elizabeth,
was, no doubt, all the better for the new constitution.

To the able and steadfast Duke of Somerset, Baron Seymour ot
Hacke, must be attributed a large measure of the difficult work of
promoting the Reformation. The government needed a ** strong
man," who brooked no gainsay, and in his Protector Somerset the
King found a staunch and even destructive partisan. The great
Duke was ancestor of Charles Seymour, sixth Duke of Somerset,
who married in 1682 Elizabeth, only surviving child and heiress of
Joceline Percy, Earl of Northumberland, by whom he had Algernon,
seventh Duke of Somerset, whose only surviving child, Elizabeth,
wife of Sir Hugh Smithson, Bart., was mother of Algernon, fifth
Duke of Northumberland. By the above marriage of Charles, Duke
of Somerset, with the heiress of the Percies (who was twice a widow
before the age of i6*), the manor of Tadcaster came to this noble
House. The Duke of Somerset's daughter, Elizabeth, having
married Henry, 8th Earl of Thomond, and Viscount Tadcaster, the
property in Tadcaster passed to him. He died in 1741, without
issue, and was succeeded by his nephew, Percy, son of the eminent
statesman, the Rt. Hon. Sir Wm. Wyndham, Chancellor of the
Exchequer. He assumed the name of O'Brien, and in 1756 was
created Earl of Thomond, but dying in 1 774, unmarried, the Earldom
expired. The Tadcaster estates came to Col. George Wyndham, of
Pet worth, Sussex, who in 1859 was created Lord Leconfield, and he
sold the manor, with lands, together with the advowson of the church,
to the first Lord Londesborough, who died in i860. In 1873 the
manor of Tadcaster, with its royalties, fines, quit-rents, and
privileges, together with the advowson of the church of Tadcaster,
• See Coll. Top. et Gen. (1839), page 282.

259

was purchased by Colonel Fairfax, of Bilbrough, <or ;^23,ooo. The
trustees of the late Samuel Varley, Esq., are the present lords of the
manor as well as patrons of the church, but the land is held by
various owners.

In the 17th century Tadcaster was again one of the head-quarters
in the broil of Civil War. Century after century, era after era, her
peace had been destroyed and her progress impeded by entanglement
in war; the ancient town — on the highroad to York — having
always been regarded as a place of great strategical importance.
Here in November, 1642, was begun that fateful campaign which led
to the extinction of the English monarchy in 1649. Ferdinando,
Lord Fairfax, commander of the Parliamentary forces, " with an eye
on York," had entrenched himself on the west side of the bridge,
while his gallant son, Sir Thomas, afterwards the " great Lord
Fairfax,*' was sent with 40 horse and 300 foot to hold the bridge at
Wetherby. The Earl of Newcastle set out from York with a force
of about 8000 men, of whom 2000 were horse and dragooners, and
marching along the old Roman road by Street Houses, approached
with seven pieces of cannon the old bridge at Tadcaster. Lord Fairfax
had been obliged to relegate a considerable part of his force to Selby
and Cawood, and when the Royalists came in sight he had not 800
men in his call.* Nevertheless he resolutely commanded his little
army to stick to the trenches, and when the battle began in the
morning of Dec. 7th they maintained their ground till sunset with
deadly purpose, counting many dead in the fields on the opposite side
of the Wharfe. A sortie was then made by the Royalists to take
the bridge by storm, but in this they were repulsed, though in the
struggle, Captain Lister, one of Lord Fairfax's most gallant officers,
was shot through the head.t Henry Calverley, Esq., head of the
house of Calverley Hall, near Leeds, a staunch Royalist, who had to
compound for his estates, was probably captured in this engagement,
as we find him shortly afterwards a prisoner at Cawood Castle.J
Eventually the troops of the Parliament were obliged to withdraw
from sheer disparity in numbers, leaving the town in undisputed
possession of the Royalists.

Evidences of these past events are not wanting in the remains and

traditions of the fight existing at Tadcaster at the present day.§ The

* Drake says there were 2000 men in the trenches, but Sir Thomas Fairfax, in
his Memoirs, says only 700.

t A touching story concerning this incident is related by Thoresby in the
Ducatus Leodiensis. See also Markham's Life of Lord Fairfax, page 75.

} See Mr. Margerison's article on "A Yorkshire Royalist Squire" in the
Bradford Antiquary, vol. i., page 61.

§ A cannon-ball, discovered some years ago near the foundations of the old
Manor House, is in possession of Mr. J. Varley.

262

But as King his rule was not destined to live long. He had been
greatly influenced by reading Dr. Heylin*s powerftil History of ike
Reformation^ a work of much note at that time, which was the means
of winning many back to Rome, and the King now felt it his duty to
further in every possible way the interests of the Catholic religion.
He proceeded to convert one of the larger rooms in the old Manor
House at York into a Chapel, in which Roman Catholic services
continued to be celebrated for some time, and in other ways he
endeavoured to promote the amenities of Catholics in the district.
But the men of York and Tadcaster were not slow to resent such an
intrusion upon their growing liberties, and when the news arrived
that William, Prince of Orange, was about to land in this country,
in order to champion the Protestant cause, the soldiers of York and
Tadcaster were called out, and the cry went forth " A free Parliament,
the Protestant religion, and no Popery ! " Great was the rejoicing
when William, with his Princess Mary, was proclaimed at York on
Feb. 17th, 1688-9.* Bonfires blazed from many a Yorkshire hill-top,
and high festival prevailed in town and country, many a place in the
land being known to this day as Orange Hill, William's Hill, Orange
Rock, &c.t

Shortly after the accession of William and Mary a readjustment
was made in the rating of the inhabitants of Tadcaster. They had
no doubt suffered greatly through the inclemencies of war, and in
1653 the old lod. rate, based upon a statute of 44th Elizabeth, was
reduced to 6d., and the 4d. thus taken off was put on other places,
which had been less affected and had developed proportionately more
than had Tadcaster. Indeed there seems to have been no extension
of agriculture, in point of acreage, within the parish since the time
of the war, while a number of other places had sped on wonderfully.
This was the case at Drax, which had been all " tied land,** that is
held by the Priory of Drax, and after the dissolution of the house,
developed its resources amazingly. About 1690, Drax was stated to
be worth ;^i5oo annually. In the parish of Bume, again, it was
stated that there had been 200 acres of common lately improved,
which remained unassessed. So of other places. The West Riding
authorities therefore decided to make the following readjustment, and
Tadcaster was to continue a 6d. town. Drax was raised from i id.
to ii^d. ; Cawood gd. to 9^d. ; Wistow 9d. to 9jd. ; Barlow 3d. to
4d. ; Bume 4id. to 5d. ; Carleton with Camblesworth 7^d. to 8d. ;
while Selby was reduced from i2d. to iid.

The wars of the Succession kept the country in a state of ferment
for many years, and with the land and property tax now at 4s. in the

* See page 116. t ^^ the author's Airedale, page 177, &c.

263

pound, public progress was during this time thwarted. The cry that
Queen Anne was dead, and had left no heirs, once more gave the
Catholics their opportunity. Had any of the Queen's children lived
to be able to succeed to the throne (she had 18 children and all died
young), it is very probable that neither of the Jacobite rebellions,
with their terrible consequences, would have taken place. The people
of Tadcaster, whose town had always been imposed upon for military
purposes, and suffered accordingly, more than most other places, were
prevented from carrying ont many needed improvements. Wearied
with war and heavy taxation, public indifference grew into culpable
neglect. The roads about Tadcaster at the commencement of the
1 8th century, appear to have been left to take care of themselves
and in 1 704 I find that ;^2o was estreated upon the inhabitants for
the repair of Tadcaster Lane. When in 171 5 the spirit of religious
rebellion broke out, and James, " the Pretender," hoped to achieve
what the Pilgrims of the i6th century had failed in, the people of
Tadcaster were called upon to provide foot-soldiers for the militia to
serve in the King's service. Their names are enrolled in the
contemporary register of Sir Henry Goodricke, now at Bolton Abbey,
which I have previously alluded to.

During the second Jacobite rising of 1745 the army of Marshal
Wade appears to have passed through Tadcaster, or what seems
more likely, to have taken either the road from Leeds through
Harewood to Ripon,* or the North- Road through Wetherby to
Boroughbridge, where the forces arrived on Dec. 24th, en route for
Newcastle.f Wade, however, despatched a flying column under
General Oglethorpe from Wetherby, via Leeds and Bradford, J in
order to intercept, if possible, Prince Charles's northward retreat.
An old woman named Betty Jackson, who died at Holbeck, near
Leeds, in 1828, aged 106, used to relate that when she was a
young woman she accompanied the pack-horses with rations to
Marshal Wade's army, lying about Tadcaster. § The squadron, on
arriving at Leeds, was billeted upon the able inhabitants, and it is
said that the General was the guest of the Wades at the house now
known as Kirkstall Grange. I|

* Swindon Hall, near this road, in the township of Kirkby Overblow, is
traditionally believed to have lodged a troop of the King's horse on this march.
See post.

t See Ewald's Life and Times of Prince Charles Stuart, page 282.

J See Handbook 0/ British Association (Bradford Meeting). 1900, page 27

§ See Taylor's Supplement to Leeds Worthies, page 685.

II See Supplement to Leeds Mercury (N. & Q., 900), April 4th. 1896

264

A firm and wise-dealing government, led by Sir Robert \\'alpole,
gave much security to the country under the House of Hanover, and
many public works were now begun. Yet the bulk of the p>eople
felt little concern in these measures, and having begun to taste the
fruits of prosperity, were loth to part with that which they were
now reaping, on the improvement of roads and water-ways, and
other notable and important works. Roads were still in a wretched
state, and had we all the records of disasters on the great way to and
from Tadcaster at this time, a sorry tale it would be. The establish-
ment of coaches in the latter years of the reign of George H. led to
a widening and amending of the highways, to which, however, there
was so much opposition that gangs of violent men and youths, not
realizing the ultimate value of such improvements, destroyed the
new roads in many places, and wrecked the toll-bars.

But the new roads were certainly not " all loss,** as many had
foolishly imagined. It was found that the cost of transport was very
considerably lessened, and that trade and public business were
greatly facilitated. Tadcaster was one of the oldest post-towns in
the country, and when the coaches started nmning, its business
greatly increased. The town also obtained such renown that many
persons were tempted to settle here and in the neighbourhood, and
build houses for themselves, especially the gentry. Arthur Young,
in describing his six months* tour in the North of England in 1768,
speaks of the Tadcaster road as excellent. In the hey-day of the
coaches there were nearly fifty stage-coaches passing through and
more than thirty of them changing horses in the town daily ; the old
White Horse, now the Londesboroiigk Hotel, the Angel, and Rose and
Crown being the three great coaching-houses. But this number, as
Mr. Bradley tells us, was greatly augmented " by the usual contingent
of post-chaises and private chariots,*' while at Assize times, as was
the custom, ** the Lord Mayor of York and his attendant aldermen
and councillors, met the Judges at the boundary of the city, whilst
outriders were sent forward as far as Tadcaster to herald their
approach, and their lordships in their State carriages passed through
the town and over the old bridge, whilst the long, straggling street
would be literally lined on both sides from end to end with chaises
bearing barristers, lawyers and their clients, witnesses, constables,
and numerous other concomitants natural to crime and litigation.**

The subsequent development of the woollen industries in such
towns as Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, and Huddersfield, and the
introduction of railways, left the old historic town of Tadcaster behind
in the race for wealth. Of its later history and position I will
speak in the chapter on the Town and Trade of Tadcaster.

265

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Parish Church, Tadcaster

Roman Christianity— The church a foundation of the Percies— Supposed manor-
house chapel — Discovery of a piscina— Local chapels and oratories — Dedica-
tion of the church Chantry of St. John the Baptist at Bridge end— Situation
of the church and liability to inundations of the Wharfe— A memorable flood
— Historical records of the church — Tadcaster in the Vatican archives — A
curious indictment — Ordination of the vicarage — An unpublished .record —
A 13th and 14th century contrast — The tax of the Ninths— The Black Death
— A local jury — Some peculiar emoluments of the early vicars— The 17th
century : a scene in the church — Its present appearance— Some archaeological
features — The chantry-chap)els — Their foundation and history — List of
chaplains — Local family memorials — The registers — List of vicars, with
biographical notices — The old churchyard.

EMORIES of unnumbered centuries gather round the
Church of Christ in the old parish of Tadcaster. I
have elsewhere given evidence of the prevalence of
Christianity in York and in Wharfedale during the
Roman occupation.* Situated on the great military
way between Chester and York, and beside a river sacred to the gods,
as the Wharfe is known to have been, it is more than likely that a
temple in honour of pagan deities would be very early erected here,
and that this temple would be superseded by a Christian structure
before the Roman evacuation of Tadcaster in the fifth century. I
have said that the Roman town embraced the site of the existing
church and churchyard in Tadcaster, where in all probability burials
had taken place, if not in Roman, at any rate during the Saxon or
Danish hierarchy, though burials within the precincts of the church
are certainly as old as the 4th century. This would also form another
motive for the erection of the subsequent Norman church on such a
low-lying site beside the river.f

• See Upper Wharfedale, pages 30, 191, &c.

t Since the information resp)ecting the finds of Roman coins was communicated
on page 235. I have seen a number of Roman and other coins, in possession of
Mr. James Varley, of Tadcaster, which have been found at various times in the
vicinity of the church and Castle Hill, and particularly about the Applegarth.
The Roman coins range from Hadrian to Constantine, but several are obliterated.
Also while laying the cable for the electric light, in Oct. 1901, on the north side

266

This church owed its foundation to the benevolence of William de
Percy, or to his son, the great Alan, at the close of the nth or early
in the 12th century, as existing remains prove. The extent and
importance of the parish also led to the foundation of other chapels
and oratories in after times, and the discovery, in 1 881, of a i5tb
century piscina, while digging in the cellar of the old Manor House,
in Tadcaster East, belonging to Mr. Varley, leads me to believe that
a chapel was also attached to a later manor-hall of the Percies,
pulled down when the present house was built. The value of this
sacred object does not appear to have been sufficiently ascertained,
but I find it bears three shields of arms sculptured on three of its
four sides, the fourth being plain, from its having been erected against
a pillar or a wall.* One of the coats is the Neville saltire displaying
a crescent for difference, (both Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumber-
land, who fell at Bramham in 1408, and Henry, the second Earl,
slain at St. Albans in 1455, married daughters of the house of Neville),
another, the chequy shield of Warren (also a Percy match), while
the third bears the lion rampant of the Percies, a charge shewn in
the Roll of Arms to have been first borne by Henry de Percy, who
died in I3i8.t The Scottish ravages after Bannockbum were the
probable cause of the wreck of this chapel ; the Scots almost
levelled the church. J But the Percies, after 1309-10, resided at
Spofforth, where a chapel was attached to the castle.

Owing to the bad state of the roads in early times, and in low-
lying districts to the prevalence of floods, there were frequent petitions
for the erection of convenient oratories or new chapels, so that the
inhabitants might attend such places dry-shod in bad weather or when
the waters were out.§ One such chapel is mentioned at Catterton,

of the church, across the river, several portions of human skulls were foand
together with a small earthenware ball (? stone shot), near the Grammar School
steps, opposite the church tower, but from their proximity to the church>*ard it
cannot positively be stated that they are relics of prehistoric interment. Lower
down, nearer the river, a much corroded iron object, not unlike a spear-head, wis
dug up at the same time, five feet from the surface, by a man named McLea.
Mr. Galium, the Grammar School master, also informs me of the discovery of a
human skeleton in the garden behind the School.

* The stone is of a rectangular form, 2 feet 4 inches high, without baae. The
plain fiat top is 21 inches by 18 inches and has a circular holed cavity in the
middle. 9^ inches in diameter. Save for the smallness of the bowl it has almost
the appearance of a font, but there is nothing to shew that it has ever been in tbe
church. It may possibly have come from the old chapel of St. John close b).
Set post.

t Prior to about 1290 their arms were five fusils in fesse.

I Mr. J . Varley has a small silver coin of this period which was found io the
vicinity of the church. § Set Ninth Report Comm. oh Hist. Af55.. page 40.

267

and another chantry was built by private bounty at " Todecaster
Townesende, distaunt from the parysshe churche a quarter of a
myle." It was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and seems to have
be^n much needed, as it became very popular. In 141 4 licence had
been granted to the Abbot and Convent of Sallay to have the
dedication of Tadcaster Church translated from the 28th August,
upon which the feast was held, over to the Sunday next after the
feast of St. John the Baptist's decollation, then to be solemnly
celebrated every year, because of harvest time, in which it happened
before.* This chantry of St. John the Baptist was not, however,
built and endowed until 1504, through the piety of William Vavasour
of Cudsworth and William Cleveland, clerk, of Tadcaster. The
necessity for it arose from " that there is a great water between the
said parysshe and the chauntery, so that when it cresit with waters,
the people there cannot come to the said parysshe churche."

The unfortimate situation of the church so close beside the river
has always rendered it liable to inundations, and the damp and
vapours arising from frequent incursions of water must have been
the cause of many pains and rheums to those worshipping there. It
must be remembered that our Catholic forefathers used their parish
churches not on Sundays only, but every day of the week, and the
old chantry -chapel at Tadcaster town-end had services performed in
it four days in the week.f

I cannot trace any serious flood in the church previous to the
Reformation, though undoubtedly inxmdations must have been not
infrequent in early times. Among the West Riding Sessions Rolls
I have found the following record of an alarming state of the church
arising from these floods in 1 758. As will be seen water occasionally
lay in the church to a depth of three feet or more.

Petition respecting Inundations of Tadcaster Church.
(Ponte/ract Sessions, 3rd April, 1758.)

Upon the Petition of the Vicar, Churchwardens, and others, the Inhabitants
within the Parish of Tadcaster. in the said Riding, setting forth that the Parish
Church of Tadcaster aforesaid is situated very nigh the River Wharf, which very
often overflows its banks and frequently the Church yard, and breaks into the
said Church and makes such a depth of water therein that the petitioners cannot
assemble to Divine Service therein without imminent danger of their lives, the
water sometimes rising in the said Church to the height of three feet & upwards,
and breaks down, removes and displaces the Closets. Seats and Pews within the
said Church, and leaves so much wreck & dirt therein that the petitioners cannot
assemble therein sometimes for near a month after such overflowing, and that the
replacing the said Closets, Seats & Pews, and cleansing the said Church from

* See Bishop Kennet's Par. Antiq., page 611.
t See Yorkshire Chantry Surveys, ii., page 225.

268

dirt & wreck has frequently lost the petitioners large sums of money. That in
order to prevent the said river from overflowing and breaking into the said
Church it will be necessary to raise the floor, walls & roof of the said Church
three feet higher or more than the same are at present. That the walls of the
said Church, by reason of the overflowing of the said river, are decayed, marked
and shattered to such a degree that they are quite irreparable, and the roof so
much shattered that the same must entirely be taken down & rebuilt. & that the
pulling down, rebuilding & raising the said Church will cost upon a moderate
computation the sum of one thousand & eighty-nine pounds over & besides the
old materials, which sum the petitioners cannot raise amongst themselves without
the assistance of charitable & well-disposed persons. The Truth of the allegations
in which petition being proved to the satisfaction of this Court, it is ordered
that a Certificate be made thereof from this Court to the Lord Keeper of the
great Seal of Great Britain, in order to procure for the said petitioners His
Majesty's most gracious letters patent to enable them to ask. collect & receive
the contributions of religiously and charitably disposed people for the encourage-
ment & carrying on of so pious a work.

The Brief referred to in this petition was granted, and the church
was restored, but to what extent is not stated. In 1776 a faculty
was also granted to erect a gallery, and in 1802 another gallery ^^as
erected. A barrel-organ, at that time, stood in the chancel.

But before I describe the church, let me briefly review events
connected with its early history. The church, as I have stated, was
granted to Sallay Abbey by Matilda or Maude, Countess of Warwick,
ca. 1 180,* and confirmed by charter of Agnes, her sister. That
monastery had been founded by William de Percy, their father, who
died in 1168, and in the chapter-house of the Abbey many of the
family were buried with all the pomp and solemnity of ritual befitting
their high station. As one stands within the ruins of that once great
and stately monastery, and looks upon the place where neither stone
nor brass remains to mark their long- revered burial-place, how the
reflection is forced upon one of the vanity of all things human. The
deeds of the mighty great are often buried with them ; and well may
we see in graven brass or sculptured tomb the hands uplifted towards
Him who is their surest trust !

The grantee of Tadcaster Church to Sallay Abbey had also by
charter endowed the same and the Chapel at Hazlewood, with a
carucate of land in Catton, where the Lady Matilda was bom;
likewise a yearly pension for perpetual masses for the souls of her
husband and family " by the advice of the Lord Vavasour and other
of our faithful lieges, and of the whole court."! Had we but a full
catalogue of the magnificent series of Papal Regesta preserved in

• The Couchet Book of Sallay is now in the Harleian Library at the British
Museum.

t A very minute account of the ancient Chapel at Hazlewood has been written
by Dr. Leadman, F.S.A. See Yorks. Archaological Jl., vol. xiii., pages 537 — 54.

269

the Vatican at Rome, doubtless much of value and interest would be
forthcoming respecting our ancient churches in Yorkshire, and
particularly of those appropriated to the monasteries. There is at
Rome an almost unbroken series of contemporary letters, orders and
instructions of the Papal Court from the time of Innocent III.
(a.d. 1 198), contained in upwards of 2000 volumes.* This vast mine
of archaeological treasure has only partially been searched, and
through recent investigations I am enabled to present the following
interesting transcript relating to Tadcaster from one of the early
Papal Letters contained among the Vatican archives, and not before
published. It is a somewhat serious reflection on the depravity of the
times during the troubled era of King John. The clergy, it seems,
who ought to have been the guardians of public morals, were often
as bad or worse than the common people. Polygamy, to which the
paper alludes, had been strictly forbidden by canon-law at a remote
period, and in the early ages of Christianity, as we gather from
Tacitus {De tnor Germ, 18), it is plain that a plurality of wives was
then considered repulsive and incompatible with a well-ordered
State. He says, prope soli barbarorum singulis uxoribus contenti sunt^
being strictly accordant with the divine fiat at the Creation. And
upon this doctrine that a man must be content with one wife the
marriage laws of this and other countries were ratified at a very early
date, and he who broke this law was in some states punishable by
death. But let us see what our Tadcaster parson had done.

Decree 3RD Honorius III., a.d. 1218.

Mandate to the Abbot of Fountains, the Prior of Marton, in the Diocese of
York, and Master J. Romanus, Canon of York, to take proceedings on the showing
of the Abbot and monks of Sawley against Robert de Lelleia, clerk, of the Diocese
of York, who has had three wives and has publicly pleaded cases of bloodshedding
in the secular Courts, taking no notice of church censures, and presuming
unlawfully to hold the Church of Tadcaster. and many others, with cure of souls.

The document concludes by stating that the Pope had already
ordered them to report on the case, but his letters having been stolen
or lost in transit (a not uncommon occurrence at this time) they were
unable to act, and thus at the date of this order nothing had been
done. Whether the parson had been kept in prison in the interval,
or what was the ultimate verdict upon him, there are no present
records to show.

Among the same Vatican archives there is an order from Pope
Gregory IX., dated the 13th year of his pontificate (1239), authorizing
the Abbot and Convent of Sallay, in the diocese of York, to enter
into possession of, and hold to their uses, the church at Tadcaster, of

* See Foreign Quarterly Review, August, 1839.

which the right of patronage had been granted to them by Matilda,
Countess of Warwick, and William de Percy, patrons of the same,
the indult to take effect on the death or resignation of the rector. A
vicar's portion to be reserved enough to support all charges of the
Bishop, Archdeacon, and their officials. This hitherto unrecorded
testimony to the ordination of a vicarage is imp)ortant. Lawton
says the vicarage was ordained 7th Ides August, 1290, but this refers
to the Apostolic grant of certain tithes hereafter mentioned.

The living of the church was at this era very valuable, and in the
Taxation of Pope Nicholas IV. {ca. 1292) it is set down as worth by
the year 65 marks {£^'^ 6s. 8d.) ;* the grant of a tenth of the
possessions of the Church in England having been made to King
Edward I. towards the expenses of an expedition to the Holy L^and.
In the New Taxation of his unfortunate son and successor,
Edward II., made in 1318, the annual value of the church was reduced
to £2% 6s. 8d., and the vicarage was worth £6 13s. 4d., or about
;f 120 of present money. Hammer and torch had made a wreck of
Tadcaster; the church was "demolished and laid waste," these being
the words of Archbishop Melton to the King in 1 31 8. At the Reforma-
tion the vicarage was worth only £% 4s. 7d. per annum ; such was the
capacious maw of the monasteries, which left to the oft half-starved
vicars but the crumbs of their rich gains.

The reduction of the living in 1318 indicates the extent of the
Scottish forays into the affluent domains of the old parish of Tadcaster.
But despite this great havoc, the industry of the inhabitants soon
made the fertile lands yield their wonted stores ; and though many
districts in Yorkshire continued in a state of terrible poverty almost
all through this century, Tadcaster suffered less from the effects of
intermittent plagues and heavy taxation than most other places.
The Nonarum Inquisitiones of 14th — 15th Edward III. (i 340-1), exhibit
in the clearest manner the state of the parish before the irruption of
the Black Death. The commission directed by statute at this time
for a subsidy of the ninth lamb, the ninth fleece, and the ninth sheaf,
to be levied on the goods of all prelates, earls, and barons in the
realm, shews us that the value of the church had improved somewhat
since 1318. A jury composed of the best men of the district was
empanelled, their names being John Pollard, William Calle, William
Vint, Hugo fil Sym (Simpson), Thomas Person, W^illiam de Ledes,
William fil Thom (Thompson) de Strutton (sic)^ Richard fil William
(Williamson) of the same, Hugh fil William de Heslewood, Henry
Grayne of the same, Adam fil Ivonie^ de Oxton, and William
Chapman of the same, who affirm on their oath that the ninth of

• Lawton says ^36 13s. 4d.

271

com, wool, and lambs of the whole parish is worth this year
£'^0 3s. 4d. and no more, because the profits of the church are in
glebe-rents of the tenants. The tithe of mills was set down as worth
30s. ; tithe of hay 60s. ; in oblations, Lent tithes, and other small
tithes £6 1 3s. 4d.*

The vicars of Tadcaster enjoyed the fruits of some peculiar and
special tithes, such as servants in Lent, viz., " of mercenaries,
merchants, bakers, carpenters, stone-diggers or quarrymen, masons,
cupars, and lime burners, within the parish." Also by later grant
the tithe of malt-makers, together with bread offered at the altar,
with the tithes of the consecrated bread; also the siragef and candles
offered on the feast of the Purification, with mortuaries, espousals,
fishings, and the annual rent of I2d. in the chapel of Catterton.
Also the vicars had the tithe hay of Smaws, Scotton and Haslewood,
with the tithe meadow of Wm. le Vavasour in his meadow of
Tadcaster ; and the tithe hay of the " oxgang meadows on that side
of the water whereon the church is situated, but of the demesne
meadows and the meadow of the Grange he shall have nothing."
The vicars were also to have free use ** of that mansion for which
the Abbot and Convent of Sallay were wont to receive half-a-mark
yearly without pension." These concessions were made by Apostolic
authority in 1290.

In the Parliamentary Survey (ca, 1654) ^^® living is returned as

worth ^25 per annum, including a rent of i6s. 8d. out of Haslewood.

The Commissioners say that Mr. William Warren was then vicar,

"a constant preaching minister." There is a curious indictment

contained among the Depositions from York Castle, concerning this

vicar. George Barker, innholder, of Tadcaster, said that on 25th

July, 1654, beii^g ^ Sunday, Barbara Siddall interrupted Mr. Warren

whilst preaching in Tadcaster Church, " utteringe speeches of her

owne, soe much that the said Mr. Warren was forced to forbeare

preachinge, and to come out of the pulpit ; at whose comeinge forth

she told him that the Bible was not the Word of God, but onely a

dead letter." The incident, doubtless, refers to the difference that

existed at this period between the Evangelical party and the growing

influence of Puritanism. Evidently they were not all Puritans in

Tadcaster. The Puritan parson had probably been preaching on

the exclusive authority of the Bible as a guide to faith, whereas the

old church of the Episcopacy, which the woman thus boldly stood up

for, relied largely on the teachings and traditions of the Fathers.^

* I have referred in the previous chapter to the lay tax at this time imposed on
the Tadcaster merchants, brewers, &c.

t Ceragium, a payment to find candles in the church. Matth. Paris.

J SuDr. Stough ton's Religion in England, vol. i., page 42.

272

The floor of the church, as I have remarked, has been several
times raised, with the object of placing it above the reach of floods.
But this was not rendered perfectly effectual until the church was
rebuilt so recently as 1875-6. Inundations from the Wharfe have
been in past times not infrequent, and down almost (o the year of
rebuilding, the floor of the church has been covered to a depth of five
or six inches. At the time named the whole of the building was
taken down, and re-erected on the same site, with the same materia]
and in the same style as before. By this arrangement the floor was
raised nearly five feet, and the original level may be gauged by the
position of the capitals of two piers near the tower-arch in the church.
These columns were not disturbed at the rebuilding.

Tadcastef) Church before 1875

Originally the church was built in the form of a cross, but in 1398
a chantry was added which filled up the south-east recess, and in
'343 (' ^477)) '''s north-east angle had been similarly taken up with
the chantry of St, Catherine. There were also indications of a
parvise having been over the porch, which in pre -Reform at ion times
had doubtless been used as a school. The tower is high and massive,
rising in three tiers, and has double belfry -windows. The parapet is
handsomely embattled, with crocketed pinnacles at the four angles.

273

and the tops of the buttresses are also elegantly pinnacled, likewise
the buttresses round the church. On the south side of the tower, at
the intersection of the first and second stages, is a handsome canopied
niche.* The church is dedicated to St. Mary. It is rather unfortunate
that the ancient south doorway (Norman) was not restored to its
original position at the rebuilding in 1875. This doorway has been
patched up from an old doorway and other stones found in the walls,
and built up against the west wall of the south aisle, covering a
modern window fitted with fragments of old glass. It bears chevron
mouldings, and the shafts have square abaci supporting a semi-
circular arch. This doorway is doubtless in great part a relic of the
first building after the Conquest.

The interior also presents some other features of good antiquity.
On the north side the piers separating the nave from the aisle are
massive and circular ; those on the south side being octagonal, but
all the arches are pointed. The north aisle was enlarged four years
ago, by pulling down and setting back the out-wall to the extent of
eight feet. A beautiful five-light window was likewise inserted at
the west-end, and a leaden roof, with open oak rafters, was substituted
for the old slated roof. The two vestries were also enlarged, and
have now oaken doors, on which is carved a representation of the
Wise and Foolish Virgins, with traceried panels, designed by
Mr. Thorman and executed by Mr. G. W. Milbum, of York. The
cost of these improvements, about ;^I300, was defrayed by sub-
scription. A neat brass plate has been placed at the east end of this
aisle, commemorating the auspicious event. It reads :

This Aisle was extended by the Parishioners for the Service of God in the
Sixtieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria, 1897.

Near it has been fixed a very small and beautifully-incised 14th
century cross-slab ; its measurement being 27 inches by 10 inches.

The chancel is reported in 1623 to be in a state of " great decay."
It was subsequently amended, and it is now in excellent repair. The
large east window of five lights, which occupies almost the whole
width of the chancel, is filled with a very beautiful design in stained
glass. The subject of the window is the worship of Christ as King,
while the background is made up of foliage work symbolical of
Paradise. A brass beneath states that it was erected as a memorial
to Anna Elizabeth, wife of Alfred Harris, of Oxton Hall. She died
1 8th December, 1876. This handsome window is the work of
Morris & Co., and a framed description of it is kept in the vestry.

* The Sallay Abbey accounts for 138 1 shew an expenditure of £'^ 2s. at
Tadcaster, but the nature of the outlay is not explained.

274

In the chancel there are also a number of monuments of interest,
(i) a tablet inscribed to the memory of the Rev. Wm. Rhodes, B.D.,
who was 27 years curate of Tadcaster, 18 years vicar, and 38 years
master of the Grammar School. He died 31st Dec, 1829, aged 67
years. Also to Ann, his widow, who died 2nd March, 1848, aged 91 ;
(2) a tablet dedicated to the memory of Honor Shann, wife of
Thomas Shann, of Tadcaster, who died 3rd June, 1814, in her 40tb
year ; also of the above Thomas Shann, who died 9th Feb., 1852, in
his 84th year ; (3) an elegant brass plate placed to the memory of the
Rev. Theophilus Clarke, B.A., curate of this parish 15 years, and
vicar 22 years. He died 24th July, 1893, aged 82 years.

The east end of the south aisle, behind the choir screen, has been
a chantry-chapel, dedicated, like the chapel in Roman Ilkley, to
St. Nicholas. Upon the east wall is a curious old bracket, which no
doubt at one time supported an image of this saint. The chantry
was founded in 1399 by William Baker (? Barker*) and Agnes, his
wife, and before the Dissolution it was held of the King by reason
of the purchase of the late Earl of Northumberland, whose ancestors
had obtained it on the demise of the founders, temp, Henry VI. It was
endowed with certain lands and tenements in Tadcaster in the holding
of divers persons, one of the messuages being called the ** Sign of
the George," with nine acres of arable land, five acres of meadow,
and one close called St. John's Close, containing six acres of ground,
with appurtenances, ** within the town and fields of Tadcaster," in
the holding of Ottwell Warderope, paying by the year to the
incumbent of the chantry 76s. 8d. The total amount of the endow-
ment was £6 i6s. 8d., out of which was payable i8s. 6d., including
a charge of 5s. 4d. to the township of Tadcaster for the above-
mentioned close, called St. John's Close.

List of Chaplains of St. Nicholas's Chantry, Tadcaster Church.

12 Feb., 1400. Henry Tumor (presented by Wm. Barker).

25 Aug., 1418 Joh. Martyll (resigned) (Agnes Barker).
9 Nov., 1424. Tho. Gaynesburgh (resigned). Eadim.

23 Dec., 1437. Joh. Acastre (resigned), (Hen. E. of Nortkd.).
14 Nov., 1474. Joh. Atkynson (resigned), (Idem).

26 Jan., 1482. John Esingwald (resigned for a chantry in York

Cathedral), (Idem.)
I Apr. 1483. Tho. Copley (resigned). (Idem).

27 May, i486 Tho. Diconson (died), (Idem.)

24 May, 1505. Will. Warter, (died), (Idem).

6 June, 1523. Rad. Norham (resigned). (Idem)

28 July, 1534. Joh. Heworth, (Assignees of Hen. E. of Northd.).

• See Certificates of Chantries, part ii., page 223.

275

An altar and piscina were placed in this chantry, the piscina being
now in the wall of the south aisle. Prior to the re-erection of the
church in 1 875-6, the floor of this chapel was covered with memorials
of the founder's family, and these are now in the baptistery. Also
adjoining the chapel was a very rich carved oak pew, upon the frieze
of which was this inscription : ** This pew belongeth to their Graces
the Duke and Duchess of Somerset." The screen is now at the
west end of the church, and the escutcheon, which was fixed to the
wall at the east end of the pew, is now in the belfry.* There were
also some fragments of ancient glass in one of the windows, which
have been placed in the new window near the south entrance. In
this chapel the east window is of stained glass, being a memorial of
the Rev. William Rhodes, B.D., who died 31st Dec., 1829, aged 67
years, and of his widow, Ann Rhodes, who died 2nd March, 1848,
aged 91 years ; also of John Bromet, who died 9th March, 1850,
aged 60, and of his widow, Elizabeth, daughter of the above William
and Ann Rhodes, who died 13th March, 1861, aged 73. Near this
window is a brass inscribed to the memory of Wm. Rhodes Bromet,
bom 28th Nov., 1824, died 24th Aug., 1886. Another stained window
of three lights is dedicated to the memory of (i) Frederick H.
Ramsden, Captain Coldstream Guards, died 5th Nov., 1854 * (2)
Frederica Selina Ramsden, died i6th April, 1879; {3) Rev. Henry
James Ramsden, M.A., died 8th December, 1862.

On the north side was the chapel of St. Catherine, founded by
John Twybell, 17th Edward IV. (1477), to the intent to say masses
for the soul of the founder and Monden, his wife, and all Christian
souls.f It was endowed with lands and tenements to the yearly value
of £6 5s. 4d., which was ** put in feoffment to divers persons to find

* The chantry of St. Nicholas does not appear to have been dissolved at the
Reformation, but was recommended by the Crown surveyor, Henry Saville, to
be continued. See SurUes Soc, vol. 92, page x.

t In the Returns of Vorkshiref Chan tries at the Dissolution, this chapel is stated
to have been founded 17th Edward IIII. (1477), though I suspect it is an error
on the part of the scribe for 17th Edward III (1343). In the very remarkable
will of Sir Bryan Stapelton. of Wighill, dated i6th May, 1394, he requests to
have a '• herce " (a lattice or open frame- work of wood or metal placed round the
body while lying in state), with five tapers, each five pounds in weight, and
thirteen men in blue liveries, with thirteen torches. If the torches are not burnt
out they are to be distributed among various neighbouring churches, including
two to the chapel of St. Catherine at Tadcaster. The testator, it may be remarked,
who lived in an age of great superstition, evinces no concern for the traditionally
unlucky number 13. It is also curious to observe that all his servants on the day
of the funeral, and apparently others too, were to be dressed in blue.

The chantry returns also mention a hermitage or chapel, covered with stone, in
the parish, wherein a poor man. sometime hermit thereof doth dwell, a.d. 1548.

276

a priest.*' The property was situated in Tadcaster and Ulleskelf,
and there was also a barn belonging to the chantry, likewise two
chambers, and a ** mansion-house, with an orchard, of the said
incumbents." A sum of los. lod. was payable out of the revenues
of the chantry, including 3s. to the Archbishop of York, and 4d. for
siiit of court at Spofforth, the founder being a socage tenant of the
Percies. In the respond of the north pier of this chapel is a piscina,
a sure indication that an altar once stood there. The original
window here doubtless also contained the coloured representation of
St. Catherine, with black-letter inscription, which is now in the
window near the south doorway. For many years, I am told, this
interesting old fragment was preserved in one of the windows of the
dining-room at the vicarage, and was restored to its present p>osition
in the church at the re-erection in 1876. St. Catherine was the
patron of linen-weavers, an industry anciently of some consequence
in the district, and the portraiture in Tadcaster church shews the
wheel symbolical of the martyr-saint. It appears on the seal of
old Nun Monkton Priory, which lay some nine miles to the north-
east of Tadcaster.*

At the west end of this north aisle (rebuilt in 1897) is a stained
window, placed to the memory of Adelaide, wife of Edward Archibald
Ramsden, who died 20th Nov., 1879. Next to it is another memorial
window to the Rev. B. Maddock, who was nearly forty years vicar
of this parish, and who died i6th December, 1871, in his 90th year.
Another is dedicated to the memory of William Smith ; and a fourth
is a memorial of James Bradley, who died i6th Feb., 1877, aged 61.
There are eight memorial tablets to the families of Dawson, Blaydes,
Taylor, &c., restored to their former positions upon the north side of
this aisle. In the south aisle there are also two stained memorial
windows ; (i) to James Upton, of Tadcaster, who died i4tb Feb.,
1844, and to Mary, his wife, who died 7th Jan., 1845 ; (2) to Thomas
and Sarah Farrer, of Tadcaster, and Ann, their eldest daughter,
erected by their surviving children, 1877. Near the south door is a
handsome marble mural monument erected to the memory of
John Potter, of Tadcaster, who died in 1758, and of Ann, his wife,
who died in 1762 ; also to their sons John, and Sir Thomas Potter,
the latter of Manchester, and of his eldest son. Sir John Potter, who
died in 1858, and was then M.P. for Manchester, and had been
Mayor of Manchester three years in succession.

Built into the west wall of this south aisle are various fragments
of sculptured stone-work, some Norman, together with an early
Calvary cross, having a plain incised shaft with wheel head enclosing

• See the author's NiddenlaU (1894), pa|?e 117.

277

four obovate arms ; an interesting survival of the Celtic style in
Norman times. In the tower there is also a fragment of a later
cross, and in the same place is a quaintly-worded old brass plate,
which was formerly on the south side of the chancel-arch. It reads :

Elizabeth, the relict of Edward Marshall of this town, gentleman, and daughter
of W. Rowe, of Higham Hill, in Essex, esq,, who died March 9th, 1788, aged 83.
She could boast excellence of parts, when young she was beautiful ; when young
did I say, she was so till she was seventy-nine, and she was highly good.

There is a very beautiful font placed on the ground-floor of the

tower, which was presented by John C. E. Ramsden, Esq., in 1877,

in memory of his father, Henry J. Ramsden, late of Oxton Hall.

The old font is a plain octagon. The tower is well-lighted by a

handsome coloured window of five lights, which was erected in 1878

by the inhabitants of Tadcaster, as a deserving tribute to the many

benefits conferred on the town by the late Thos. Shann, Esq., and

his sons, the Rev. Thomas Shann, George Shann, M.D., and

Charles Shann, J. P. There are also here two marble memorial

tablets to members of this family ; (i) to the Rev. Thomas Shann,

7 years curate of Wighill and 16 years vicar of Hampsthwaite ; bom

26th January, 1807; died 4th March, 1869 at Boston Spa; (2) to

George Shann, M.D., born i8th May, 1809; died 3rd Oct., 1882.

A brass in the tower records that the clock was erected in the Jubilee

of Her Majesty the Queen, in 1887. There are six excellent bells,

which came from Skipton in Craven in 1760, when the parish church

of that town got a new peal. They were re-cast by Dalton, of York,

in 1784. In the belfry there is the following rhyming injunction to

ringers :

He that a bell doth overthrow

Shall two-pence pay before he go.

And he that rings with spur or hat.

Shall {ouT-pence pay. be sure of that.

And he that doth these fines refuse.

No less than six-pence shall him excuse.

The Registers of the church commence with the year 1570, but
there are some breaks, notably, from 1625 to 1652, which are wholly
missing. The first recorded vicar or chaplain is one Dom. Nicholas,
"parson of Tatecaster," who witnessed the charter of Agnes de Percy,
confirming the gift of the church to Sallay Abbey, ca, a.d. 1200.
Following this comes the nuncupative vicar, Robert de Lelleia,
mentioned in the Roman archives for 1218, previously quoted. Then
I find mention of a " Dom. Petro de Thadcaster, capellano,'' who was
witness to a charter, dated 1254, of his nephew Thomas, son of
William son of Gregory of Hunsingore, concerning lands, &c., in

278

Hunsingore belonging to the Knights Templars.* Torre supplies a
catalogue of the vicars from 1290 to 1662, and it will be seen that
there was a Roger de Hunsinghome (5k;), who was instituted vicar
in 1291.

At the dissolution and attainder of Sallay Abbey the rectorial
tithes fell to the Crown, and in 1542 they were granted out to
Sir Arthur Darcy, Kt., the same fine including the manors of Leeds
and Holbeck (parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster), and other properties.
The rectory of Tadcaster was next farmed by the family of Hungate,
of Saxton, and in the reign of James L, Francis Wood, of Tadcaster,
gent., was lessee of the rectory. Subsequently the Duke of Somerset
became possessed of the advowson, through whom it descended to
the Earls of Egremont, and in the middle of the 19th century it came
to the first Lord Leconfield, as related in the history of the manor.

List of Vicars of Tadcaster.

Date of Inst. Name of Vicar. Patron. How vacated.

28 May. i290..Rogerde Saxton .. ..Abbot and Convent

of Sallay . .

..Resjg.

24 Dec..

1291.

. Roger de Hunsinghome

Do.

22 Apnl,

1317-

. Galf . de Hoveton . . . .

Do.

. Job . de Patrington . .

Do.

. . Resig. for the vicar-
age of Wistow

15 Nov..

1341-

. Will de Shireburn . . . .

Do.

.Job. de Pathorne . . . .

Do.

..Diedf

23 Dec.,

1349.

. Ric. de Sourby . . . .

Do.

.. Do.:

18 Jan.,

1366.

.WilldeKaberry .. ..

Do.

.WilldePulhowe .. ..

Do.

..Resig. for the
church of Martoo

6 Sept.,

1 381.

. Ric. Rae de Blaktoft . .

Do.

.Tho. de Popilton . . . .

Do.

. . Resig. for the

church of Berwyk

4 Feb.,

1392.

. Rog. de Pykering . . . .

Do.

4 June,

1394-

. Robt. Bramley . . . .

Do.

..Died

23 Feb..

1411.

.Job. Montford

Do.

. . Resig. for the

church of Add

7 Nov.,

1426.

.Will. Catelyn, LB. ..

Do.

. . Resig. for the
church of Gerford

14 May,

1434-

. Robert Bedale . . . .

Do.

..Resig.g

23 Jan.,

1442.

.Job. Raper

Do.

. Job. de Redebume

Do.

..Diedtl

• $ee Yorks. Archal.JL, viii., 447.

t Probably of the Black Death, 1348-9. More than half the clergy in Yorkshire
succumbed to this dreadful pestilence.

I Nicholaus Soureby and Wm. de Soureby were farmers at Tadcaster in 1378

$ There was a Robert Bedale. vicar of Catterick. 1429. and of Garforth. 1430.
probably the same person.

II John Redebum dying intestate, administration was granted to William
Hungate. Esq.

279

DaU of Inst.

Name of Vicar.

Patron.

How vacated

9 May. 1467. .Will Ricroft Do.

22 Aug., 1467.. Ric. Lancaster .. .. Do.
12 June. i469..Will Clyveland, MA. .. Do.

23 Dec.. i504..Will Radclyff Do.

23 Feb., 1 527.. Tho. Parke Henry . Earl of North

umberland, by con-

..Died
. . Resig.
..Died*

14 Sept., 1557. .Tho. Swayne . .

. . Edw. Stampe . .

6 Aug.. 1575. .Roger Stowyng

9 Aug.
31 Dec.

19 Nov.

1609. .Henry Grene, M.A.
i6i3..Tho. Clyfton, M.A.
..WillToyer .. .
1660.. Joh. Holte

..Ric. Crossdale..

. .John Greenfield

. . — Gyrling . .

. . — Simcoe . .
1734. .John Wickens, D.D

. .John Crosley . .
1 790 . . Jon . Ashbridge
i8ii..Wm. Rhodes, B.D.
1830.. Benj. Maddock. M.A.
1869. .Theophilus Clarke. .

sent of the Abbot
of Sallay . . . . f
Philip and Mary . .

Died
Henry. Earl of North-
umberland . . . . Died J
Do. . . Resig.

Do. ..§

Diedll
Algernon, Earl of
Northumberland

Do. ..Died1[

Duke of Somerset .. Died in 1702

Do.
Earl of Thomond . .Died in 1734
Do. . .Died in 1744**

Do. ..Died in 1790

Earl of Egremont..

Do. ..ft

Do.
Lord Londesboro' . .

• 16 Dec., 1504. Will. Cliveland, vicar, to be buried in the church.— T(WTf.

t John Bell, Bishop of Worcester, had probably been vicar of Tadcaster
before the institution of Thos. Swayne. Thomas's Survey of Worcester Cathedral
says " he bequeathed very liberally to the poor of several places where he had
bc«n beneficed." His will is dated loth August, 1556, and fills nearly forty folios.
He makes bequests to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and amongst
others £$ each to the poor of Stratford-on-Avon, Tadcaster, Alchurche, and
Bromsgrove.

X 31 March, 1609. Roger Stowyng, vicar, dying, administration was granted
to the use of his children. — Torre

§ Sf# Yorks. Archceologicaljl., vol. v., page 401.

II " Mr. Wm. Warren" was " minister " during the Commonwealth. Seep. 271.

^ 10 Jan.. 1662. Richard Crossdale. vicar, dying, administration was granted
to Anne, his widow. — Torre.

*• He was the son of the Rev. Edmund Wickens, rector of Kirkby Thore,
Westmorland, and Canon of York, and his sister, Hannah, married John Head,
merchant, of Liverpool, and was mother of Sir Edmund Head, Bart.

ft Mr. Rhodes died in 1829, aged 67. He had been 27 years curate, and 18
years vicar of Tadcaster, and was Master of the Grammar School for 38 years.

28o

Date of Inst. Name of Vicar. Patron. How vatattd

1891 . . Francis Bartlett Proctor,

M.A Col. Fairfiax .. ..*

1 895.. Wilfrid Robinson, B.A. Trustees of late Sam.

Varley, Esq ..Resig. iQoit
1901 . .J. Rowland Jones, B.A. Do. . . Present vicar*

One might linger long in that sacred ** God*s acre/* where through
unnumbered centuries the fathers of the old town and parish have
found their last resting-place. Many of the head-stones unfortunately
have been carved from friable local limestone, and their inscriptions
are now in many instances illegible. One such memorial of a bygone
worthy formerly stood near the church porch. Miss Ann Bellhouse,
daughter of a former master of the adjoining Grammar School, tells
me that she well remembers the quaint and interesting lines that
appeared on this old sexton's tomb. They were as follows :

Beneath this Stone lies Thomas Wood.

Who Sexton here hath been.

And without tears, sixty-six years.

That awful trade hath seen.

At last grim Death did him assail.

And thus to him did say :

" Forsake thy Trade, lay down thy Spade.

Make haste and come away ! ' '

Without reply, or asking why,

The summons he obeyed,

And aged eighty-eight resigned

His shuttle and his spade.

The parish, in gratitude for his long services.
Erected this stone at his death in 1804.

He was by trade a weaver, and few sextons, long-lived as those
ancient patriarchs of the churchyard usually have been, can compare
with him in length of service. Old Scarlett, who died at the
wonderful age of 98, and was sexton at Peterborough Cathedral, and
where his effigy and epitaph may be seen, may possibly be the only
rival of our venerable Tadcaster sexton.

About fifty years ago the churchyard was enlarged and enclosed
with a wall and iron palisades, and a substantial entrance-gate was
erected. Before that time part of the old burial-yard was open.
The cost of these improvements was about ;^35o.

♦ Mr. Proctor resigned in 1895 on his appointment by the Archbishop to
Helmsley and Warthill, near Stamford Bridge.

t Mr. Robinson had been previously rector of East Acklam. near Maltoo
(1889-95), and vicar of North Cave (1883-89). He was instituted vicar of Kir4b>
Wharfe in November. 1901, in place of the Rev. G. S. Allen, who has retired
from advancing years. See page 191.

J Mr. Jones was curate of Tadcaster for about five years (1896 to Jan . 1901),
and afterwards senior curate of Rotherham Parish Church.

28 1

CHAPTER XXIV.

Tadcaster Nonconformist and other Institutions.

The Grammar School — Its origin in Saxon times — Originally held in the church
Re-founded by Bishop Oglethorpe — The Bishop's will — Some schoolmasters
and pupils — The Hospital or '• Bead Houses" — An ancient cross-slab —
Chapel of St, John the Baptist — The old Friends' Meeting House- Quaker
persecution — George Fox at Tadcaster — Some local Meeting Houses The
Presbyterians — Morley Hall - Oliver Hey wood at Tadcaster — Local Congre-
gationalism— John Wesley and Benjamin Ingham at Tadcaster — The
Inghamites — Wesleyans — Reform Methodists — Primitive Methodists —
Roman Catholics— Town Hall — Eight Schools in the town — The oldest
Sunday School in England — Present Schools — Tadcaster Union.

point of antiquity the Grammar School claims
precedence among local institutions after the church.
Though popularly founded by Bishop Oglethorpe in
1556-7, the school at Tadcaster was but a continuation
of a scheme of education which had unquestionably
been carried on from a very early period. I have shown how
important was the status of Tadcaster in the Anglo-Saxon and
Norman periods, and there can be little doubt that a school for the
instruction of the young was established here at that time. Indeed
the Anglo-Saxon law enjoined the mass-priests in properly authorised
towns to keep schools in their parish churches, and this custom was
confirmed by the laws of the Conqueror and his immediate successors.
Doubtless the school was originally held in the church, and after-
wards, as I have remarked in the account of the church, in the
ancient parvise over the porch. In the Trinity College Psalter there
is a curious and interesting picture of a Norman school, shewing the
pupils seated in a circular row round the master, who appears
lecturing to them from a long roll of manuscript. Also sitting
beside a desk are two writers, each of them occupied with a copy
similar to that in the teacher's hands. Subsequently these early
schools appear to have been held in a little room over the porch
called the parvise. Chaucer, in the 14th century, speaks of a serjeant-
of-law ** ware and wise, that had often been at the |>ervise."

282

The old free schools, often popularly described as of the pious
foundation of Henry VIII. or Edward VI., were generally the
outcome of the revenues of the dissolved chantries appropriated at
the Reformation. Where private greed rose above the good of the
community, as appears to have been the case at Tadcaster, such
schools were founded by the charity of outside and nwre considerate
benefactors. Dr. Owen Oglethorpe, the worthy Bishop of Carlisle,
continued the good work at Tadcaster, where, in all probability, he
himself had received the first rudiments of that eminent scholarship
which qualified him for the high position he afterwards held in the
Church. He was of the family of Oglethorpe of the ancient place
of that name, in the parish of Bramham, which I have described at
some length in a separate chapter. He obtained a license or grant,
dated at Westminster, 7th March, 4th and 5th Philip and Mary
(1556-7), to found at Tadcaster " one grammar school together with
a certaine hospitall or Almshowse nere unto the same scoole," and
in his will, proved at York 15th May, 1560, he recites the conditions
of his useful benefaction.

I the said Owyn fearing myne infirmitie and sickness and myndinge abo\'e all
things to have the saide grammar scoole and hospitall or almes howse to precede
or goe forwarde will and charge myne executors to erect and bilde one strong and
able howse yn Tadcaster aforesaide with xii lodgings in the same hansom and
warme for xii. yonge people, together with a common howse or hall to dine ya
and a common kitchen for the saide xii. poore people. The same howse and
other bildinge to be caste and devised a good distance from the scoole towards
the Castle hill with a retome at th'ende to make the same quadrant with a ^re
door into the Churchyarde betwixt the scoole and the hospetall above the place
where the holde barne standeth. and no other doore into thospitall but that with
a faire image of Christe stand inge upon the toppe of the doore and the same
howse erected made and finished to have to name and be cawled Christis hospital

My exors, to purchase lands to the clear yearly value of xl/. to the use of the
Informer or Scoolemaster. I give my exors. in plate and money 600/. to pay for
the bilding of the howse and also for the fuUe and absolute purchase of so mocbe
landes and tenements as will make the full som of xl/., with the manor of
Badcrofte in possession of the saide informer or scoolemaster and the rent of
Smedallie, co. York, towards makeing up the aforesaide rent of xU., which rent I
charge my brother Andrew Oglethorpe to limit and appoint as my exors. shall
advise.

According to the Report of the Charity Commissioners the school
was endowed with a farm at Womersley, let for ;^i2o per annum,
the whole of which was decreed to belong to the schoolmaster, who
is appointed by the Archbishop and Dean of York.

The schoolmasters were to be graduates and without cure of souls,
unless as vicars of Tadcaster. Under a scheme issued by the
Charity Commissioners in 1877 the old school-house was rebuilt, and
has now excellent provision for boarders. The management consists

283

of nine governors, chiefly represented by the Archbishop and the
Dean and Chapter of York, and the local magistrates. Since 1795
there have been but four head-masters of the school, viz., Rev. Wm.
Rhodes, B.D., 1795 — 1833 ; Rev. William C. Bellhouse, B.A.,
1833 — 1^73 J ^®v. J. Carter Browne, B.D., 1874 — 1^79» when he
resigned, and the present able and energetic master, Mr. William
Callum, B.A., was next appointed. Mr. Callum had been previously
master of the endowed school at Long Preston, in Craven. Among
pupils of distinction who have been educated at this school mention
may be made of Thomas Stothard, R.A. (1755 — 1834), of whom
some account will be found on another page, and Dr. Smithson
Tennant, F.R.S. (1761 — 181 5), the famous experimental chemist
and botanist. Dr. Tennant in 181 3 was appointed Professor of
Chemistry in the University of Cambridge, and was a man of wide
culture. It is also stated that Captain Maitland, who escorted the
Emf)eror Napoleon to St. Helena, was educated at this school.

The ancient Hospital mentioned above, originally consisting of
twelve almshouses, had at the time they were pulled down only four
dwellings for as many poor and aged men, two of them being chosen
by the Archbishop and Dean of York out of Tadcaster, Newton and
Bramham, and two by the heirs of the manor-house of Easthall, in
Rawdon, out of the poor of that township. There had been some
abuse of the charity during and subsequent to the Civil War, and in
1667 2tn enquiry, I find, was held at York Castle, when it was stated
that Francis Layton, Esq., late of Rawdon, co. York, by deed
dated 21st October, 1652, between himself on the one part, and
Walter Hawksworth, Esq., of Hawksworth, Walter Calverley, Esq.,
of Calverley, Robert Hitch, parson, of Guiseley, and others, on the
other part, did give to the same charity an annuity of ;^40 out of his
manor of Horsforth and out of all his messuages in Horsforth
between a lane leading from Horsforth Mill to Rawdon on the south,
and the Cold Well on the north. The said Francis Layton had
made his will, loth April, 1653, ^"^ whereas he had for some years
then past paid £^ 4s. per annum to the Hospital of Tadcaster for
the maintenance of two poor men, he had willed the same to be paid
out of the above. There were at the time of this enquiry £16 6s.
in arrears and in the hands of the trustees.*

* Francis Layton had been Keeper of the Royal Jewels in the Tower of
London, an appointment which he received from Charles L and which he retained
to the time of his death in 1661, aged 84. He aided the King in the martial
contest with the Parliament, and had to compound for his estates. In his petition
to the Commissioners he remarks that his estate " is burdened by an annuity of
;f2o, payable to Mrs. Frances Oglethorpe for life ; also by a rent-charge in
perpetuity of ;f 54 to the poor of the Hospital of I'adcaster ; and that he owed
debts to the amount of ;f3550.' See Bradford Antiquary (1886), vol. i., page 179.

284

The four almshouses, or " Bead Houses," as they were locally
called after the old Catholic style, were each endowed with is. per
week, charged as a fee-farm rent on an estate belonging to the Earl
of Cardigan. :■ On account of the distance of Rawdon from Tadcaster,
that township entered into an agreement about the year 1770 by
which it abandoned the claim to appoint two of the alms-people,
retaining instead the income of one of the houses, the occupant of
which continued henceforth to have no stipend. The houses
were pulled down some years ago, and part of the existing play-
ground belonging to the Grammar
School occupies the site. They were
very plain stone buildings, evidently
reconstructed at some time out of the
old material, and there was a very fine
12th century sculptured slab bearing
a floriated cross, built into the front
wall between two of the doors, but
what has become of this stone 1 have
not made out. An engraving of it is
here reproduced. The stone was only
30 inches in length, and about 10
inches in width. The design, es-
pecially in the banding, is very similar
to the cross figured upon the tomb-
slab of Archbishop Kinton (who died
in 1264) in York Minster. In the
latter sculpture, however, the flower
pattern appears in the centre of the
cross-head, and not below it. There
is also a similar one at Nun Monkton.

Following the records of the church,
castle or manor- house, grammar school
and hospital, the next building in
sequence of antiquity I find note of is

the ancient chapel of St. John the _

Baptist, which probably stood near c-.om-sl>b at T*dca,tw.
the east side of Tadcaster Bridge. It

was erected in 1504 by William Vavasour, of Cuddesworth and
William Cleveland, clerk, of Tadcaster, and was suppressed in 1547,
but how long the building continued in existence there is no evidence
to show. It was endowed with lands and tenements in Oxton, and
had a clear yearly revenue at the Dissolution of ^4 3s. 6d. It is not

o the Koyi

285

improbable that the piscina in Mr. Varley's garden, opposite, came

from there.
About twenty years ago, an old decayed building at the corner of

Mill Lane, near the Bridge, was pulled down in order to enlarge the

yard belonging to the adjoining Bay Horse inn. The material, I am

told, was used in building the existing shed there. I gather that at

one time it was used as a place of worship by the Unitarians, and

afterwards by the Society of Friends. When it was abandoned by

the latter body, the old building was converted into a smithy and as

such continued in use many years.

The Friends are the oldest of the Nonconformist societies in the
town, and at one time they were a rather numerous and influential
community here. They have an ancient burial-ground in Oxton
Lane, not far from the Grange, though it is nearly a century since
any interment was made there. No stone is now to be seen and the
ground has long been occupied as a garden and orchard, which for a
number of years has been in the tenancy of the Fairboums of
Tadcaster. I have inspected the old Books of the Society at York,
and find that in 1670 Tadcaster was included in the York Monthly
Meeting, but a complaint was laid, in the year named, that the
Friends of Tadcaster had neglected to attend that Meeting and were
to be requested to do so in future. Early in 1677 the indefatigable
George Fox visited Tadcaster, and soon afterwards he sailed for
Holland to " spread the truth " in that country. Before the end of
the year he had visited, preached, or attended meetings at upwards
of 150 towns at home and abroad. His mental and physical vivacity
were marvellous, in spite of twenty years' persecution and frequent
imprisonment in an age hardened with civil broil, when ignorance
and bigotry were pitted against the nobler gospel of toleration.

But at length good sense prevailed, and at the Quarter Sessions
held at York, the last day of July, ist year of William and Mary
(1689), I fi"^ that a licence was granted, according to the Act ordained
for that purpose, that ** the people of God called Quakers," shall have
and hold one Meeting House, ** in ye ffar Water Lane in ye parish
of St. Mary's in Castlegate in this city, and one at Tadcaster in the
county of the same city [that is within the Ainsty], and one in
Tockwith in the parish of Bilton in the county of the same city."
As the outcome of a proposal to hold week-day meetings, the house
of Alex. Hopwood, in Tadcaster, was registered in 1694 ^^r Quaker
assemblies, and so was the house of John Wharton in the same place
in 1696.* The Tadcaster register of births, marriages, and burials
extends from 1654 ^^ i792»

' See Hey wood's Noncon. Registers, ed. by J. H. Turner, pages 152-4.

286

A Monthly Meeting was held at Tockwith on the 6th day of 6th
month, 1697, when it was agreed that the Friends of Tadcaster
particular meeting do keep their week-days meeting every sixth day
of the week as follows ; namely, at Wetherby one day, at Tockwith
the next day, at Wetherby next, and at Tadcaster next, and so to
continue from week to week, and that Friends ** do take care to
observe ye same and yt these meetings doe begin at ye tenth hour in
ye forenoon." But at the Monthly Meeting held at York in the 4th
month, 171 1, it was stated that the particular meeting at Tadcaster
had formerly and until this time gone by the name of " Tadcaster
Meeting.*' Inasmuch, however, as Wetherby lay in the centre of
the said Meeting or near it, and as there was a public Meeting House
provided in that town, it was recommended and agreed that in future
it be called by the name of " Wetherby Meeting,*' and so entered in
the Books.

The Friends at this time were numerous in York and the Ainst}',
as well as in Barkstone Ash, and they had places of worship not only
in York and Tadcaster but also at Sherbum, Tockwith, Skipwith,
and Selby, with a burial-ground at the latter place in Lundscroft.
Though now practically extinct about Tadcaster, the Society has
increased somewhat in other places, and according to a recent return
their total membership throughout the world is now 114,006, or 446
more than in 1890.*

On the whole the Fairfax country does not seem to have been
much noted for its nonconformity after the Uniformity Act of 1662.
When Charles II. issued his famous Declaration of Indulgence in
1672, many thousands of applications were made to the local
authorities for licenses to assemble and preach. In that year the
Justices granted two licenses in Tadcaster ; one certified for the
house of Robert Morley for Presbyterian worship,! and another for
meetings in the house of John Tod, Congregationalist. This
John Tod, or Todd, was most probably a brother of Cornelius Todd,
of Healaugh, only three miles from Tadcaster. He was one of the
ejected ministers. The Presbyterians and Congregationalists had
during this era of persecution stood well together, and had in fact,
says Mr. Peel, in many places united in one communion.} Oliver

* It appears that the Friends had erected a Meeting House at York as early ts
1674. Many honoured names are connected with the York Society. In their
hurial-ground in Bishophill, rest the remains of Lindley Murray, the grammariao,
and good John Woolman. who first roused public attention in America to the
crying disgrace of slavery. S^e Mr. J. S. Rowntrec's brochure and the newii/'
of Samuel Tuke, by Charles Tylor.

t Is this the old " Ark " in Kirkgate. at one time known as " Morley Hall " '

J Nonconformity in the Spen Valley (1891), page 75.

287

Heywood, however, himself the pioneer of Independency in the
West Riding, made no distinction between the two bodies. At
Tadcaster it would appear that only one denomination was recognized
under the evangelical labours of Heywood. Heywood came to
Tadcaster on August 26th, 1695, ^"^ again on Sept. ist in the year
following he was at York, and in the evening went on to Tadcaster,
where he lodged at a Mr. Taylour's. For some years after this I
find no mention of Independency at Tadcaster, but in 171 5 an old
Nonconformist congregation is alluded to at "Tadcaster and Clifford,'*
as sustained partly by the funds left by Lady Hewley.

During the great religious awakening in the middle of the i8th
century public enthusiasm ran very high. John Wesley and
Benjamin Ingham, of Ossett, roused the languor of religious life by
their fervid oratory. Both these dons of the great republic of
Dissent were early at Tadcaster. In April, 1759, John Wesley
preached to " a well-behaved congregation in a garden" at Tadcaster,
and again in August of the same year he visited the town, and
" distant thunder did not lessen the number of his congregation.***
In 1 765 he again preached in Tadcaster. Eventually the Wesleyans
built a large chapel in the High Street in 1827, at a cost of about
^3000.

The Rev. Benjamin Ingham, too, was instrumental in forming in
1762-3 what became a very flourishing community in the town. He
himself settled at Tadcaster as minister of the new organization. A
convenient place of worship was erected in 18 14 in Chapel Lane,
which has a small burial-ground attached. The Reform Methodists
have a chapel in Kirkgate, which originally belonged to the Primitive
Methodists, and subsequently to the Independents. The Primitive
Methodists were inaugurated here about the year 1835, and they have
a neat chapel in Rosemary Row, Tadcaster East.

In 1864 the Congregationalists, whose existence at Tadcaster, it
has been shown, goes back to the time of the ministrations of Oliver
Heywood in the 17th century, erected a place of worship in Chapel
Street, under the auspices of the West Riding Home Missionary
Society. Its minister was then the Rev. B. B. Haigh, LL.D., who
was bom August 17th, 1803, at Gunthwaite Hall, near Penistone.
He was educated at the Rotherham Independent College, and became
highly skilled in languages. Eventually he founded the well-known
Middle Class School at Bramham, called Bramham College. He
died in 1869. After his removal to Bramham in 1844 the chaf)el
was sold and the proceeds applied, according to the trust deeds, to

• Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., by the Rev. L. Tyerman (1890),
page 330.

the Colleges of Kotherham and Airedale. In 1889 the Congregational
minister at Boston Spa, the Rev. P. M. Eastman, gathered a small
congregation, and rented the old Inghamite Chapel, near the bridge,
the Inghamites at this time having joined the Congregationalist&-
In a few years, however, this was given up, and the old building, as
before stated, was pulled down, and the Congregational body is now
practically extinct in the town.

The Roman Catholics have never, I believe, been wholly extinct
in the parish of Tadcaster, and are now a flourishing community,
having a handsome church on the west side of the town. The church
(St. Joseph) was opened by Archbishop Manning, 3ISI August, 1869,
There was Pontifical High Mass in the forenoon, the Bishop of
Beverley being the celebrant.

Old Sunday School, Tadcaster,

Of Other buildings and institutions mention must be made of the
Town Hall, in the High Street, which was erected at the cost of the
first Lord Londesborough. The County Courts are held in the
Town Hall bi-monthly. The Kirkgate Room was built by the late
Charles Shann, Esq., J. P., and the Petty Sessions were transferred
here from the Town Hall in May, 1880. There are also four branch
Banks in the town. In 1820 there were eight schools in the town,
viz.; (1) the Grammar School ; (2) Ladies' Boarding School at the
Vicarage house, kept by the Misses Tasker, and six day-schools, one
in Vicarage Lane, another in High Street, two in Chapel Street, one
at Bridge Foot, and another in Rawcliffe's Yard on the east side of
the Bridge.

Tadcaster moreover claims the distinction of having the oldest
Sunday School in England. It was expressly erected for that purpose
by subscription in 1 788, and remains to day almost the same as when

289

first built, close fo the left of the road on leaving Westgale towards
the station. Although it was originally built for a Sunday School it
was for many years used as a Church of England Day School. A
correspondent observes that " among the many painstaking masters
who laboured here with unflagging industry, may be mentioned
Messrs. Thompson, Woodward, and Fletcher, gentlemen held in the
highest esteem by the scholars. The last master who officiated at
the school (Mr. Philip Howell), was transferred to the Board Schools,
shortly after the Education Act necessitated the erection of more
commodious buildings. Its continuity as a Sunday School, however,
has remained unbroken. The weekly attendance ultimately became
so large that it was decided to make more adequate provision for the
scholars, and a handsome Sunday School was erected near the Parish
Church. Since then the old building has been used as a Sunday
School for girls.***

The present Middle Class Girls* School originated from a bequest
of Mrs. Henrietta Maria Dawson, who was a daughter of Edward
Marshall, Esq., of Tadcaster, and wife of Thomas Dawson, Esq., of
Clare Castle, Ireland. She died in 1795, leaving the dividends of
;^ 1 1,629 14s. 5d., reduced three-per-cents, and ^915 i8s. consols, to
be applied to various charitable uses, including the education of 40
girls to be taught by four of the pensioners of the charity. Through
measures inaugurated by the Charity Commissioners, the trustees
received power to ** build, endow, and efficiently carry on" the school
as at present constituted, and with the aid of voluntary subscriptions
the new scheme was put into effect in 1890.

A Catholic School was erected in 1875, and another at Wingate
Hill, Stutton, which had been built in 1831, was reconstructed in
1877. A School Board for Tadcaster, consisting of seven members,
was formed in 1875, and the Schools (for boys, girls, and infants),
together with master's residence, were erected in 1877, ^^ the
Wetherby Road, at a cost of about ^4000.

Tadcaster Union comprises 41 townships, embracing an area of
nearly no square miles. The present rateable value is close upon
^200,000. The Workhouse, occupying a very pleasant site on the
Leeds road, was erected in 1872 for 120 inmates, and for thirty years
has been under the management of Mr. and Mrs. John Constantine.
The public Cemetery, also in a pleasant spot on the Leeds road, was
opened in 1876, and covers an area of over six acres. There are two
mortuary chapels, and the place is very nicely kept.

This completes the history of public buildings and institutions in
Tadcaster from ancient times to the present.

• Yofkshire Weekly Post, (N. & Q.. No. 477). July. 23rd. 1898.

CHAPTER XXV.

Tadcaster Old Families.

The Percies and De Tadcasters — Baron and Viscount Tadcaster — Some loo]
families deriving theiT names from local trades and places— Two Tadouier
merchants—The Norman vi lies. Hardys, and Barkers — Will of John Barker.
i6So— The Tukcs and Battys - A local pedif(ree— The Marshalls— The Fosten
of Smaws — Hartleys, Sheriffs of York-Family of Morley and " Morlei
Hall ■■ The Bellhouses and Woods— An unpublished pedigree— Olhei local
families^ Sid del Is and Moorhouses — Family of Potter — An Archbishop of
Canterbury Families of Sbann, Smith. Bromet, &c. — 1-ocal celebrities.

OLLOWING the famous Norman record of the locaJ
possessions of the great house of Percy, we have
mention of a family of some consequence who took
their name from the town. This was the family of
Tadcaster. In 1295 a Peter de Tadcaster occurs in
an action against Walter de Wessington and other members of the
same family for trespass. A William de Tadcaster, shipman, was a
freeman of the city of York in 1310. In 1321 William, son of John
de Tadcaster, of Bubwith, gave 15 acres in Gunby to Selby Abbey.
There does not appear to be any evidence of the family having at
any time held lands in Tadcaster ; they were no doubt originally
vassals of the Percies, some of whom would appear to have settled
at a subsequent period on the Percies' estates in Northumberland.
In the Hexham Court Rolls for 1547 there occurs among the copy-
holders in that manor the name of Gilbert de Tadcaster, who with
two others, holds two tenements called Netherley, Spetell and
Watthouse.* The family-name has long been extinct at Tadcaster,
but the town gave title in 1714 to Henry O'Brien, the last Earl of
Thomond, in Ireland, who was created Baron and Viscount Tadcaster.
He died in 174a, without issue, when the title became extinct. He
was succeeded in his estates by his nephew, Percy, youngest son of
Sir Wm. Wyndham, by Catherine, his wife, second daughter of
Charles, sixth Duke of Somerset, and who in 1756 was created Earl
of Thomond, but dying unmarried in 1772, the Earldom expired.
The Barony of Tadcaster was again conferred by patent, 3rd July,

■ S« Hodgson's Norlhumbrrttvid (iSgg\ lol iii.. page 72.

291

1826, on William, second Marquis of Thomond, but he died without
male issue, 21st August, 1846, when the dignity expired, but his
Irish honours devolved upon his brother, James, third Marquis of
Thomond, who dying without issue in 1855, ^^^ Marquisate also
became extinct.

Most of the old families of Tadcaster took their patronyms from
the places whence they sprung, or from the occupations they or their
ancestors had followed. In the time of Edward III. we have such
names at Tadcaster as Thomas of the Brewhouse, Richard of the
Brewhouse, William the Carter, Robert the miller, William son of the
smith, Thomas the Chapman of Sutton, William the Chapman of
Oxton, Benedicto de Grymeston, &c. In 1378 we have the names of
two Tadcaster merchants, Wm. Dryffeld and Wm. Hardy, each of
whom paid 2s. to King Richard's war-tax, and they were the highest
taxed in the town.* Before this time the Normanvilles appear to
have settled at Tadcaster. I have already mentioned them in the
Lay Subsidies of Edward III. They were of an old Yorkshire
family, long seated at Kilnwick Percy and Little Haughton.
John Normanville lived at Smaws Hall, and made his will 13th Oct.,
1408, desiring his body to be interred in the church of the Blessed
Mary at Tadcaster, nigh unto the tomb of Brian Normanville, his
father. The family were benefactors to Appleton Nunnery. f The
Hardys were also important folks at Tadcaster in the 13th and 14th
centuries. One Robert Hardy, master carpenter, was buried in the
middle of the nave of Tadcaster church in 1428.

The Barkers were also settled at Tadcaster at an early period.
Thoma* le Barker of Tadcaster, occurs in the Lay Subsidies of
Edward III., and Wm. Barker and his wife were kostilers in Tadcaster
in 1378. It was William Barker and his wife, Agnes, who founded
the chantry of St. Nicholas in Tadcaster church in 1399. He died
in 1403,$ and the Fabric Rolls of York Minster record a payment by
his widow in 141 5 of 2s. 11^. to the Dean and Chapter for one
tenement in Tadcaster. The family continued amongst the most
prominent in the town for several centuries. The following
hitherto unpublished will is of one John Barker, of Tadcaster, dated
7th Nov., 1680:

Will of John Barker, of Tadcaster, 1680.

In the name of God Amen. I John Barker of Tadcaster in the County of York
husbandman being sick and weake of body but in perfect memory blessed be God
i^voakeing all former wills and deedes doe hereby make & ordaine this my last

• For list of Tadcaster taxpayers at this time ue Yorks. Archal Jl., vol. vi., p. 142.
+ Set also Hunter's Hallamshire, vol. ii., page 127.
J See York Wills, Surtees Soc, vol. iv , page 327,

292

will and testament in manner and forme as followeth first I give and bequeath
my soule into the handes of Jesus Christ my onely Saviour and Redeemer and
my body to be buried in the parish Church yeard of Tadcaster aforesaid. Item
I give and bequeath unto my sister Isabell Rawson ten shillings a yeare to be
paid her yearly and every yeare dureing her life out of the rent of my house in
the back laine in Tadcaster aforesaid. Item. I give unto Anne and Mary
daughters of my aforesaid (sister) Isabell Rawson either of them twelve pound
Item. I give unto George Barker sonne of my sister Mary Barker twelve pound.
Item. I give unto Grace Parkinson five shillings. Item. I give unto Francis
Saintor twenty shillings which he oweth me upon bond. I give and bequeath
unto my sister Jane Barker one Cottage hoifse or tenement in Tadcaster aforesaid
now in the tenure and occupation of Richard Young with all the premises and
appurtenances whatsoever thereunto belonging and to her heires & assignes for
eyer onely paying ten shillings a yeare to my sister Isabell as before bequeathed.
Item. All the rest of goods and Chattels moveable and unmoveable undisposed
of my debts and funerall expenses discharged I give and bequeath unto my said
sister Jane Barker and doe make her full and sole executrix of this my last will
and testament. Witnesse my hand and seale the seaventh day of November in
the 32th yeare of his ma' ties Raigne anno dom 1680 witnesse hereof John Barker
his X Rob.rt Ruddall his X Grace Parkinson her X Francis Saintor.*

The testator would seem to have been piously attached to the
** murdered monarch," Charles I. ; it is noteworthy he dates his will
in accordance with the royal practice, " in the 32th yeare of his
ma*ties Raigne, anno dom' 1680.*' These Tadcaster Barkers were
probably connected with the York and Otley family, from whom
descends the present Viscount Halifax.f Thomas Barker, Elsq., of
Otley, studied the law at Lincolns Inn, in the time of Charles II.
He afterwards settled at York, where he practised successfully until
his death in 1724.$

The Tukes and Battys were other old families in the district.
The Tukes are well known for their many charitable works in
connection with the Society of Friends. A John Tuk, tavemer, was
a freeman of York in 1323. The chief seat of the family wss,
however, at Kelham, near Newark, where, as well as at many other
places in the county of Notts., they had held land from the time of
Richard I. to that of Henry VI. A tabulated lineage of the family
is given in Foster's North and East Riding (Yorkshire) Pedigrus :
likewise another of the Tukes of Thorner, near Leeds, and also of
Stillingfleet, where they were resident in 1374 ; also one beginning
with a Robert Tuke of Scot ton, near Knaresborough, temp. Elizabeth,
from whom descend the Darlington and Bradford Tukes. The
annexed original pedigree has been kindly supplied by Mr. William
Murray Tuke, of Saffron Walden.

• The family of Francis Saintor mentioned in the will most likely gave oaxne
to the thoroughfare known as Senter Lane.

t See my Upper Wharf edale, page 86. J Yorks. Archai. Ji., xv.. page 145.

293

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Perhaps the oldest local family continuously resident in Tadcaster
is that of Marshall, who as deriving their patronym from the ancient
and important vocation of smiths and forgemen, have been settled in
the neighbourhood from near the time of the Norman Conquest.
William Marshall, tnarschall, occurs in the Tadcaster Poll Tax for
1378. The family supplied many of the implements and iron- work
required in the construction of York Minster, about this time. There
are some late memorials of this family in the church.*^' The Hartleys
another old Tadcaster family, intermarried with the Marshalls, and
were, in conjunction with the Backhouses, the real founders of the
brewing trade in Tadcaster.f Thomas, son of John Hartley, inn-
keeper, of Tadcaster, married (i) Jane Colbeck, who died in 1742,
and (2) Margaret, daughter of Edward Marshall, gtnt,, of Tadcaster.
By the latter marriage, which was celebrated in York Minster,
April 2 1 St, 1743, there was an only child, Edward Marshall Hartley,
bom in 1744. John Hartley, innkeeper, brother of the above
Thomas, died at Tadcaster in 1804, ^^^ 93* ^® ^^^ ^ family of
sons and daughters ; two of the sons, Stephen and Thomas, joined
the old brewing business in Tadcaster, and grew very rich. Thomas,
who died in t8o8, was Lord Mayor of York in 1789 and 1803, ^uid
he was Sheriff of York in 1791-2. His son held the same office in
1810-11.

The Fosters, too, were another respectable old stock, seated in the
district in early times. They held land at Tadcaster in the time of
Queen Elizabeth. Robert Foster, gent., of Tadcaster, was buried in
the church there in 1567. He was living at Smaws, near Tadcaster,
which estate he had purchased from the Normanvilles in 1560, and
he also bought a messuage and land at Oxton the year before he
died.f By his will he left £^ " towardes the mending of the cawsey
and hyeway from my house in Tadcaster unto Bowebrigge.'* When
the family left Smaws I have not learnt, but the following indenture,
dated 1658, shews they were living there at that time.

Sale by the Foster Family of a Cottage and Premises

IN Tadcaster, 1658.

This Indenture made the twelfth day of March in the year of our Lord God
1658, Between Thomas Foster of Smaws in the County of York gent, and Robert
Foster sone and heire apparent of the same Thomas Foster on the one ptie.
and John Barker of Tadcaster in the County of York on ye other ptie. witnesseth
that the said Thomas F. and Robert F. for & in consideratn. of the some of nine

* See also page 289 (Dawson Charity).

t William Backhouse kept the White Horse inn, about 1820—1830, and he had
about a dozen men employed in the yard for posting and like purposes. This
inn was the principal coaching-house.

J See also Surtees Soc, vol. 41, page 32.

295

pounds of good & lawful money of England to them in hand paid by ye said
John Barker his heirs ... by these present have granted sold . . . and
do sell . . . unto ye said John Barker all that cottage or tenement situate
. . in Tadcaster in one Laine comonly called ye backe Layne comonly called
Flockton Cottage & now in ye tenure & occupn. of ye said Jn. Barker or his
assignes And all and every the houses orchards gardens and waiesides thereunto
belonginge .... and all deeds writings wh. touch or conceme the said
premises ... to be made at the coste . . of the said John Barker his
heirs . . To have & to hold the said cottage . . . to the onely proper use

& behoofe of the said J. B. his heirs & assignes or ever Soe the

said Thomas Foster Elizabeth his wife and the said Robert Foster be not
compelled to travell further than the city of York or Castell of ye same for doeing

& executing of the same In witnesse wherof ye above said

. . . have sette ther hands and seales the day and yeare first above written
Tho. Foster. Robert Foster.

(seal) (seal)

The Morleys of Tadcaster and York were no doubt of the same
stock as the Morleys of Wennington in Lonsdale, and Beamsley in
Upper Wharfedale, as both families bore the same arms : sabUy a
leopard's face, or, jessant-de-lis, argent, and the Newton-on-Ouse
family quartered (1665-6) gules, a fess between three Catherine wheels,
argent,* (Streete), though in the earlier Visitation Morley bore sable,
three Catherine wheels, or. The first recorded of this family is
William de Wennington, lord of Wennington near Lancaster, about
A.D. 1260. A descendant of this early landowner was Francis Morley
bom at Wennington in 1588, and he married Cassandra, daughter
and co-heiress of Josias Lambert, Esq., of Calton-in-Craven,t and
cousin to the celebrated John Lambert, Commander of the Parlia-
mentary Forces in the great Civil War. His grandson Josias Morley,
settled at Scale House, Rilstone,f which in the 17th century became
an important centre and scene of one of the early General Meetings
of the newly-formed Society of Friends. This Josias Morley was
bom in 1651, and purchased the manors of Beamsley and Clapham,
CO. York. He died in 1731, aged 80. Robert Morley, of Tadcaster,
also took an active part in the religious revival in the middle of the
1 8th century, and 1 have already mentioned the family's probable
connection with the " Ark " or " Morley Hall," in Tadcaster, which
was licensed for a Dissenters' preaching-place in 1672. Robert
Morley of Newton- upon -Ouse, was a famous barrister in his day,
and died in 1651, leaving four children ; the eldest son, James, being
aged 38 when the family lineage was recorded by the Heralds in

* See Dodson of Kirkby Overblow.

t See my Craven Highlands (1892), page 314.

X See upper Wharfedale (1900), page 341.

296

1665.* Robert Morley and Robert White, of Tadcaster, were
among the score Wharfedale gentlemen who were appointed in 1657
under-conservators of the Wharfe for the protection of the fishing.t
At this time the Taylors were people of some standing in the town,
and one John Taylor, was with the exception of Sir Walter Vavasour
of Hazlewood, the only landed person in the neighbourhood of
Tadcaster, who was in arms against the Parliament in the great Ci\4l
War. He had to compound for his estates, but prayed to be freed from
sequestrations as his whole property was declared to be not worth
/'200. Some of this family, in the next century, were well-to-do
provision merchants in Tadcaster, and supplied groceries to lesser
shops for many miles round.

Another family of old standing in the district, was the Bellhouses,
Bellhuses, or Bellars, as variously spelled. A William Bellars was
a freeman of York in 141 3. In the Recusant Roll of 35th Elizabeth
(1592), John Bellhouse and Jenetta, his wife, of Saxton, appear along
with William Bellhouse of the same place, among those who were
fined for non-attendance at the Parish Church. The family is
believed to derive its patronym from Bellhouse, in Essex, but a
branch of the family has been long settled in Yorkshire. A John de
Belhous was rector of Whiston, near Rotherham, from 1316 to
1 3 18. Francis Bellhouse was the first Town Clerk of Leeds under
the charter of incorporation, granted to that town by Charles I. in
1626. The accompanying descents are derived from a larger pedigree
I have compiled of this family, and shew various connections of the
Woods of Tadcaster, together with the ancestors of the Rev. Wm.
Cocker Bellhouse, who was educated at the Leeds Grammar School
and was for more than forty years Head Master of the Tadcaster
Grammar School. The Woods, I may add, were a very respectable
family, settled in Tadcaster before the Reformation. They were lay
proprietors of the rectory early in the 17th century.

Many other old Tadcaster families, such as the Chapmans, Carters,
Hillams, Aldersleys of Paper Mill Bar,J Milners, Ryders, Siddells,
&c., might be noticed at more or less length. Sarah Siddell, of
Tadcaster, who died in 1799, married Christopher Moorhouse,
surgeon, of Keighley, who inherited considerable property on the
death in 1780 of his brother, John Moorhouse, a wealthy lawyer.
According to the Marriage Bonds of the Archbishop of York,
15th Nov., 1750, he is described as of Keighley, gent., bachelor,
licensed to be married at Hunslet to Susanna Fenton, of Hunslet,
spinster, then aged 23. He had an only son, Thomas, bom 1752,

* See Surtees Soc, vol. 36, page 176. f Sec Yorks. Archal. Jl., xv., 466.

J See my Airedale, page 215, and Upper Wharfedale, page 339.

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298

who married Mercy Fenton, and their only son, Fenton Moorhouse,
died in 1809, leaving an only son, Thomas, who died an infant in
1809. Their extensive properties about Keighley and Utley by some
means got into the hands of the Cravens, of Keighley, on the death
of Stephen Moorhouse, who died an imbecile, without issue, at
Tadcaster, in 1825, aged 75.*

Other families of more recent connection with the parish are the
Potters, Shanns, Smiths (of brewing fame), Bromets, Harrises,
Varleys, &c. The last-named purchased the manor. The Potters have
long been seated about York and in the Forest of Knaresbro*, and
one Thomas Potter was a freeman and chamberlain of York in
1346-7. In recent times some of the family settled at Wingate
Hill, near Tadcaster, and from them descend Sir Thomas Potter, of
Manchester, and his son, Sir John Potter, M.P. for Manchester, who
died in 1858. There was a John Potter, a native of Wakefield, bom
1664, who became Archbishop of Canterbury, and died in 1747, but
whether connected with this family I am unable to say. An account
of the Manchester Potters will be found in Mr. H. R. Fox-Bourne's
English Merchants. The name of Shann is as a " household word "
in Tadcaster, and I have already referred to the well-deserved tribute
to this family in the church. They had a freehold near Tadcaster
Bridge in 1755, and were sometime owners of the great tith^ of
Tadcaster. The Bromets are now among the principal landowners
at Tadcaster, and in various capacities members of the family fill
useful positions in the town. Mr. John Addinell Bromet is Clerk to
the Rural District Council, and he has also been Clerk to the Board
of Guardians for the long period of forty years.

The town does not appear to have produced many persons specially
distinguished in the arts or sciences. But one may be mentioned,
the celebrated Professor of Music in the University of Cambridge,
Dr. Charles Hague, who was born here in 1769, and died in 1821.
His eldest daughter, Harriet, also an accomplished pianist, died in
1 81 6, aged 23. On page 160 of my Upper Wharf edale^ I refer to ** the
Wharfedale poet, Charles Kirby," about whom it is stated nothing
is known. I gather, however, that he was a native of Tadcaster, and
for many years, about 1840 — 50, lived with his parents in a cottage
on the west side of the churchyard, where now stands the Parish
Room. He afterwards removed to Leeds, and in addition to his
Harp of Wharfedale (now a scarce little book) he wrote and published
in 1874 ^ similar volume of verse, entitled Wayside Flowers, which
was dedicated to the then Mayor of Leeds, H. Rowland Marsden, Esq.

* For pedigree of Moorhouse see Upper Wharfedale, pages 338-9.

299

CHAPTER XXVI.

The Town, Trade, and Old Inns of Tadcaster.

The parish of Tadcaster and Parliamentary Divisions^ — The Bridge, originally of
timber- Its re-erection in stone — The bill of costs — Families of Etty and
Cockshott — Alterations about the Market Place — Former aspects^ — The old
Market Cross - Gunpowder Plot celebrations— The coaching-days — Old inns
— The Ark and its history — Other pre-Reformation inns— Some proceedings
in Chancery — Ancient inn-signs— Local survival of Roman inn custom —
Queen Elizabeth and the " savage "—Armorial signs —Warburton at the
Roebuck — Some local innkeepers - Tadcaster an ancient post-town— The old
post-office — The first mention of Tadcaster post-office — The old "running-
post " — Royal messengers — Horsemen and archers guard the King's treasure
through Tadcaster— Local ancient breweries - The assize of ale — Local
industries - The manufacture and dyeing of cloth — The markets and fairs —
Decline of Tadcaster— Opening of local railways— Revival of brewing and
malting trades— The Smith family — Tadcaster water — '* Popple- wel Is " —
Local longevity — Events, customs and traditions— John Wilkes and Tad-
caster.

|S at present constituted the parish of Tadcaster includes
Tadcaster West, Stutton-with-Hazlewood, Tadcaster
East, and Oxton. West Tadcaster and Stutton are in
the Parliamentary Division of Barkston Ash, while
Tadcaster East and Oxton lie within the Ainsty of
York and Parliamentary Division of Thirsk and Malton. The centre
of the Bridge over Wharfe forms the boundary of the two divisions.
This large and massive stone bridge, which has consumed, it is
said, more material in its construction than any other bridge in the
county, consists of nine arches, and was originally built in 1698-9.
It was subsequently, through the increase of coaching traffic,
widened, as appears by the difference of the masonry under the
arches. Some early references to the bridge, which was originally
of timber, have already been given. Subsequent to the Reformation
the bridge of stone was maintained in repair, the east half by the
Ainsty and the west half by the Riding. The expenses of the
rebuilding at the end of the 1 7th century were raised by a general
tax of 3d. in the pound, laid by Act of Parliament on all lands, &c.,
within the city and Ainsty of York and the West Riding. John Etty,
of York, ancestor no doubt of the celebrated painter, was appointed

300

superintendent of the work, and at the Pontefract Sessions, held in
April, 1699, the bill of costs was certified amounting to ;^ii24. It
is doubtless the same John Etty whom I find commemorated in All
Saints' Church, North Street, York :

To John Etty, Carpenter, who died Jan. 28th, 1709, aged 75.

His Art was great, his Industry no less.
What one projected, th 'other brought to pass.

Whether the Cockshott family had a hand in building any previous
bridge here, there are apparently no records to prove, but at least
one local member of the family had a reputation for this kind
of work. When Harden Bridge was swept down by the flood of
1674,* Thomas Cockshott, of Tadcaster, agreed to rebuild it for
;^66o. There seems to have been some obstacles to the speedy
undertaking of this work, and whether Cockshott actually rebuilt
this bridge is not very clear. The Cockshotts are an old family
in the neighbourhood of York.

After the rebuilding of the Bridge extensive structural alterations
appear to have taken place in the town, and its old aspects changed.
Doubtless many of the antique half-timber dwellings and old thatches
surrounding the Market Place would be swept away and the existing
buildings erected on the site. There is every appearance that the
original Market Place was a large open square, extending some fifty
yards northwards from Bridge Street along Kirkgate, and the modern
character of the houses on this side of Bridge Street fully confirms
this. About half-way between the bottom of Kirkgate and the
Bridge, there is a narrow passage on the north side of Bridge Street
which runs parallel with Kirkgate about the breadth of four houses
or shops, and then becoming wider, turns at a sharp angle to the left
and comes out into Kirkgate, nearly opposite the ancient tenement
known as the Ark. All the buildings below there on the west side
of Kirkgate to Bridge Street are also of modem date, and the space
is still kept open opposite Askey's shop. This was the ancient
Market Place where the markets were held weekly by charter
mentioned on page 243. Whether the old stone base now standing
in Westgate at a place called The Cross, is part of the original
market-cross no one now knows. But the old stone cross was
certainly existing little more than a century ago, and is referred to in
a scarce little book printed at Wakefield in 1782. Some lines in
rhyme, by ** J. Fretwell, mercer, Tadcaster,** appear in the form of a
Letter from the Cross at Wingate Hill to the Cross at Tadcaster,
and begin as follows :

* See Upper Wharfedale, page 357

30I

Dear Cousin Cross, my near relation,

I'm sorry for thy situation ;

'Mongst brawling, fighting, yelping, clamouring,

And Vulcans at their horse-shoes hammering ;

With •• haave," " gee-up," and " wo-a-aa," stop.

But holy water not a drop !

Thy steps heap't up with whins and sticks.

And scaling-rods and broken bricks.

Thy bonfires, too, of stolen wood,

Disturb me and the neighbourhood.

And so on for more than a half-a-hundred lines in like refrain. The
old Gunpowder Plot anniversaries would appear to have been
celebrated in the Market Place, near this old Cross. This venerable
relic I find alluded to as far back as the time of Henry III. In an
inquisition, dated 1260, of the properties of William de Kyme, of
Newton Kyme, &c., one of the jurors was " Thoma* ad Crucem "
(Thomas at the Cross), of Tadcaster, shewing that a cross existed
even before the markets were established by charter in 1270.*

In the height of the coaching days, about 1820 — 30, there were no
fewer than 24 registered inns and posting-houses in the town, and
some of these are or were of high antiquity. The old Falcon,^ the
most ancient building now remaining in Tadcaster, is a quaint pre-
Reformation structure, having its lower story built of stone while
the upper portion is of timber and plaster. The antique wooden
corbels projecting from the roof in front of the house are curiously
carved with a male and female head. I give a view of this interesting
old building. It is often irreverently called " Noah*s Ark ** or the
" Ark,** but formerly, when Mr. England owned it, he always spoke
of it as " Morley Hall," probably because the old Independents
assembled here when Robert Morley had his house in Tadcaster
licensed for public worship in 1672.

Another pre- Reformation inn was the George, which is probably
now represented by the George and Dragon, opposite the Post Office.
In one of the windows of this inn there is preserved a piece of old
painted glass bearing a Tudor rose and a representation of cupids,
&c., while below are the initials and date, " W. K., 1592.'* This
seems to be the "syne of the George" mentioned in 1548 as
belonging to the chantry of St. Nicholas in the Parish Church,
previously mentioned.

* See observations on Market. Wayside, Weeping and Corpse Crosses, in ray
Nidderdak, pages 365-70.

t This sign probably carae into existence after the Wars of the Roses, the
falcon and fetterlock being a Yorkist badge. Edward IV., who had the falcon
with the lock closed, ordered his son Richard to bear it with the lock open.

302

The White Hart is another sign of uncertain antiquity at Tadcaster,
but there can be little doubt that it, too, was existing before the
Reformation. TheWhiteHart was the favourite badge of Richard 11^
whose reputed mysterious end at Pontefract 1 have before alluded to.
The sign is one of the oldest recorded in England, and its existence
may be traced back to the days of ancient Rome, The legend of the
White Hart, collared with gold, appertains to several districts in
England and on the Continent. One is supposed to have been
caught at Rothwell Haigh, an old park of the Lacies, about a dozen
miles to the south-west of Tadcaster, 1 find the Hart at Tadcaster
mentioned as apparently an old patrimony in the time of Queen

Elizabeth. In some unpublished Proceedings in Chancery it is
recorded that Jane Bailey was seized in fee of " a messuage called the
Hart in Tadcaster," and other tenements there, and after her decease
the premises came to one Francis Bailey, son and heir of the said
Jane, But the deeds concerning the same having come casually into
the hands of one Thomas Belbroke, yeoman, he in 1569-70 had
entered into the premises and refused to give them up. Litigatign
followed, and Thomas Bilbrough came forward and affirmed that

303

one-third of the " Hart ** with the other premises which were divided,
was rightfully possessed by Robert Blancherde, gent., who by his
deed enfeoffed the defendant thereof.* And another third part the
said defendant holds at will of one Leonard Foster, to whom the
inheritance belongs, and the residue Robert Hudleese and his wife
were seized of, and about St. Martin's Day two years since demised
the same to defendant for a term of years now enduring. How the
matter ended is not stated, but Francis Bailey wholly repudiated the
statements of the defendant.

As five innkeepers are mentioned in Tadcaster in 1378, it is more
than likely that the White Hart was one of the signs then in being.
But whether we are to refer the existence of this or any other
Tadcaster inn to the time when the Romans ruled here, as above
suggested, is highly problematical. It is, however, deserving of record
that a conspicuously Roman inn custom prevailed in the neighbour-
hood of Tadcaster, at any rate down to the 1 7th century. This was
the hanging out of a bush or garlanded " ale-pole" over a house door
to indicate the sale of meat and drink ; or the bush might be painted
or cut in wood and so portrayed above the entrance, as is recorded
to have been found in Rome, and also among the ruins of Pompeii.
Chaucer, writing in the 14th century, says :

A garlond hadde he sette upon his hede,
As gret as it were for an alestake.

I have mentioned this usage in Wharfedale elsewhere,t but the
following is the first record I have met with of its actual occurrence
upon a Roman highway in Yorkshire. The reference to it will be
found in the Depositions from York Castle,J wherein one Abraham
Ibbitson, of Leeds, was charged in 1674-5 with feloniously taking
away two geldings belonging to Wm. Hutchinson, Esq., and also
one gelding the property of Joseph Ibbitson. gent.§ It appears that
a man named Bancroft persuaded him to turn highwayman, and they
went together to a certain ale-house at Street Houses, " in the way
betwixt Tadcaster and York, where there was a bush as a signe.*'
Although it is not distinctly stated that a green emblem was hung
out in front of the door, yet the wording of the indictment does not

• See also Yorkshire Fines (1570), vol. i., page 377.

t See upper Wharfedale, page 433.

X Surtees Soc, vol. 40, page 214.

^ Horse-stealing was a common offence at this time. I find in the same records
that a man named Joseph Hetherington was executed at York for stealing four
horses at the Hand and Whip public-house in Tadcaster. on the night of March
4th, 1623.

304

lead us to believe anything to the contrary. It does not say that the
inn was called the Sign of the Bush, but that a bush was used as a
sign. This Roman bush, which was generally of ivy, no doubt
originated the present name of the inn, the Wild Man, Nicholls in
his Progresses of Queen Elizabeth (vol. i., page 494), says that ivhen
Queen Elizabeth was at Kenilworth Castle in 1574, " on the x. of
Julee met her in the Forest as she came from hunting one clad like
a savage man all in ivie/* who addressed Her Majesty in a neat
speech. The man " clad like a savage in ivy," was intended to
typify the Roman Bacchus, to whom the ever-green ivy-plant ivas
dedicated, hence our inn signs of the Bush and Wild Man are
synonymous.

After the Wars of the Roses Henry Tudor visited Tadcaster, and
perhaps left us the sign of the Rose and Crown as a consequence of
that visit. It was the royal badge of the Tudors. The inn, an old
coaching- house, previously referred to, is not now existing. The
Roebuck was another good old inn, and it was here that Warburton,
the antiquary, lodged during his Yorkshire tour in 1718. Other
well-known hostel ries were the Angel and White Horse, the latter
sign being almost invariably associated with coaching in our old
Yorkshire towns, and perhaps elsewhere. The White Horse at
Tadcaster, which was the head posting-house in the town, has lost
its famous sign, the inn having been transformed into the Londesborough
Hotel, now the principal open house in the town.*

Besides the White Horse and Rose and Crown there were other
coaching-houses in Tadcaster, notably the Angel and White Swan,
The latter was kept for many years by the late Mr. Jos. Middleton,
who entered upon the premises during that busy era when licensed
houses were kept open all night. Few Englishmen have been able
to boast that they have lived in five reigns in this country.
Mr. Middleton, however, claimed that distinction. He was born in
18 1 5, a fortnight before the famous battle of Waterloo, and died at
Wetherby Feb. 13th, 1901, having therefore lived in the reigns of
George HI., George IV., William IV., Victoria, and Edward VII.
He was always very temperate in his habits, and, I am told, never
smoked an ounce of tobacco in his life. The old coaching- houses
needed steady managing men, who knew the wants of their customers,
and were prompt and active in emergency. None of the old
school of landlords possessed these qualities more than the late
Mr. Matthew Kidd, who was born at the Angel in 1815, the same
year as Mr. Middleton, and lived through the busiest era of Tadcaster
coaching. Afterwards he became landlord of the Londesborough, and

* See Mr. Bradley's Coaching Days in Yorkshire, pages 62— 63.

305

remained there until about 1879, when he retired into private life. He
was well-known to commercial travellers and others, almost through-
out the country, and was greatly respected, having filled various
public offices, and for many years he had officiated as a sidesman at
the Parish Church. Many another well deserved tribute might be
penned about similar worthies of the old cpaching times did space
permit.

The old Post Office at Tadcaster, the house afterwards occupied
by Dr. Ireland, was, says Mr. Bradley, almost as important as any
of the coaching inns in the town, and there were large stables
connected with the place. In 1786 the mails began to be transmitted
by coach ; before that time they were conveyed by mounted carriers
to and from Tadcaster. The Post Office was on the east side of
the Bridge, and the cost of letters from Tadcaster to Bradford or
Doncaster, in 1820, was 6d. t to Halifax the postage was 7d., and to
Leeds 4d.

Tadcaster is a very old post-town, though it would not appear to
have had a registered post office before the time of Charles I.,
when regular communication was established between London and
York. The " running-jxjst," between London and Edinburgh, was
inaugurated in 1635, but it was not until the accession of Charles II.
that the General Post Office was established by Act ot Parliament
(1660). The earliest distinct reference to the Tadcaster Post Office
I have met with, is in a letter of Robert Fairfax, dated Feb. 27th,
1685, and addressed to " My Honoured Mother, Mrs. Katherine
Fairfax, at Newton, near Tadcaster, to be left with the Post Master
of Tadcaster."*

The first English postmaster, of whom there is any particular
account, is one Sir Brian Tuke, but whether he is of the York and
Tadcaster family I do not know. He is described in 1533 as
*• M agister Nunciorum^ Cursorum^ sive Postarum ; " though in the 13th
century there are entries in the wardrobe accounts of the English
sovereigns, of payments to royal messengers for conveying letters and
packages to various parts of England. In the Rolls of the Exchequer
for 7th Edward III. (13 13), there is a record of a messenger who
was despatched from Berwick to London, and performed the journey
in nine days. He travelled by way of Newcastle, Darlington, and
Poundsborough {sic)y to Wetherby ; thence to Rouford, Leicester,
Northampton, and Dunstable. In 13 19 the sum of 2050 marks was
conveyed from London to York; ten days being occupied in the
journey from Huntingdon to York. From London to Huntingdon
eight horsemen acted as guard, but on reaching the town of ** Robin

* Markam's Life of Robert Fairfax, page 46.

3o6

Hood," or ** Robert ye bolde Erie of Huntingdon/* the guard to
York, through Doncaster and Tadcaster, was increased to eleven
horsemen and twelve able archers on foot, all armed and equipp»ed
with tipped arrows. But for five or six miles out of Huntingdon a
special guard of six score men was delegated to accompany the
bearers of the royal treasure, with the object of overawing the
desperate outlaws in those parts from following in pursuit. The whole
journey was apparently performed without any serious encoimter.
Safe lodgings on journeys of this kind must have been a source of
concern, but no doubt two men, in turns, would act as watch through
the night, while the others snored heedlessly in tavern or manor-
house.

I have already mentioned the ancient Tadcaster inns. There were
also two brew-houses in 1341, evidently doing a good business. One
of them paid 8d. to the imperial taxes in that year, and the other 4d.
In some places the lord of the manor at this period imposed a fine
or charge of 4d. or 6d. upon every brewing of ale, according to its
strength,* but I cannot find that the Tadcaster brewers were ever
subject to such a toll. At Tadcaster, however, the lord had mulcture
of corn and furnage or toll on the bread obliged to be baked at the
manorial oven.

There were also many kinds of artificers, at an early period,
flourishing in the town. The weaving, fulling, and dyeing of woollen
cloth was carried on in the town in the 14th century, as also at other
places in Lower Wharfedale, particularly at Wetherby. There was
usually in the principal towns a fulling-mill and a corn-mill, some-
times together or they might be a little distance apart. The Tadcaster
mills are mentioned in 1245.! Tallow-chandling was also an old
local industry, which continued to flourish here down to the
introduction of gas. The Mountain family were widely-known
tallow-chandlers in Tadcaster in the middle of the i8th century.
There were also other minor industries, such as the hat and cap
trade, which for many years was carried on here by the families of
Bean and Crossley, down to about the middle of the century just
closed. At the same time a good many straw hats and bonnets were

• Some time previous to the Reformation only two kinds of beer were allowed
by statute to be made, namely, "strong" and "double" (meaning probably a
double quantity of water) : the latter being sold at exactly half the price of the
" strong." About the year 1400 the best ale sold for i^d. a gallon and a century
later the price was fixed at 3d. a gallon. In 1600 the West Riding Justices
ordered that no ale or beer was to be sold at more than one penny per quart.
Set Yorks. Archal. ]l. (Rec. Ser.), vol. iii , p»ge 59. See also my Richmondshire,
page 130.

t See Yorks. Inquisitions, vol. i., page 4.

307

made in the town. The printing trade was also introduced here in
1855, and is still carried on. But in an agricultural district there is
little inducement to develope this industry, and the local newspaper,
the Tadcaster News, has long been printed at Wetherby.

Of course the inhabitants have mostly lived by agriculture, and the
weekly (Wednesday) markets at Tadcaster, for the sale of agricultural
produce, at one time attracted large gatherings from the surrounding
districts. About 1850 an attempt was made to revive the market,
and the day was changed to Monday, but it did not continue very
long. A fortnightly fair was established for all kinds of cattle, on
alternate Mondays, and this is still kept up and is well attended.

With the passing of the coaching-days Tadcaster began to decline.
One by one, old inns that once did a thriving business, had to close
their doors, and many houses were without tenants. A great change
came over the place, and for a time the town wore a slumberous and
lethargic aspect that boded ill for the future. The last forty years,
however, have witnessed a resuscitation of life and activity, and the
old town of Roman and mediaeval England appears again to be as
flourishing as ever. Since the opening, on August loth, 1847, of the
North Eastern Company's railway from Church Fenton through
Tadcaster to SpofForth,* and between Leeds and Wetherby (opened
May I St, 1876), connecting Tadcaster with all the main arteries of
railway traffic, the town has become accessible from every direction,
and there is no reason why it should not have a very prosperous
future.

But the chief incentive to local prosperity has been in the marked
revival in the brewing and malting trades, for which Tadcaster was,
as I have shown, famous in the Middle Ages. There are now four
or five extensive breweries in the town, besides several malt -kilns
and a large corn-mill. Though Messrs. Backhouse and Hartley had
established a brewery in Tadcaster so long ago as 1 758, it was not until
the representatives of that firm disposed of the business, in 1847, to
the late Mr. John Smith, that any headway was made in developing
this great local industry. When Mr. John Smith died in 1879, he
left the brewery to his brother William, who died in 1886. The
business had then wonderfully developed, and has done so still more
under the capable management of his two nephews, Messrs. Herbert
H. Riley-Smith and Frank Riley-Smith, who are now the proprietors.
New concerns have sprung into existence, and the total output of
the Tadcaster breweries, I am informed, now amounts to about
10,000 barrels per week. The great success of this important

* The extension from Spofforth to Harrogate was not opened until the following
May (1848).

308

industry is no doubt largely due to the excellent and suitable quality
of the water, of which the supply seems practically inexhaustible,
and is derived from numerous wells sunk in the magnesian limestone
strata. The water is naturally rich in sulphate of lime, and in p>oint
of hardness is said to be superior to that of Burton-on-Trent. Some
of these springs come up very copiously at the surface, and for
centuries have been the source of water supply to the town. The
springs are locally known as ** p)opple-wells," and one of them,
situated about fifty yards from the north side of the wall of the
churchyard, and close to the river, had such repute, that in the
coaching-days, the people at one or two of the principal inns would
use no other than this ** popple-water *' for the table.

In our walks about Tadcaster certain odoriferous breezes make us
conscious of the presence of these famous breweries. But if Tadcaster
ozone is surcharged with the extract of malt it has certainly not
proved prejudicial to either the animal or vegetable life of the district.
On the contrary, few districts in England are more fertile, or have
produced a larger number of instances of human longevity. For its
size and population, Tadcaster has probably surpassed, for a long
period, every other place in the broad-acred shire in the number of
its octogenarians, Aberford not excepted. Many have also reached
the century. Two of the most notable instances may be recorded,
namely, John Shepherd, of Tadcaster, who died in 1757, aged 109,
and William Hughes, of Tadcaster, who died in 1769, aged 127-
The time and place of their birth or baptism I am unable to verify,
the Tadcaster Registers for the Civil War period being missing.
My authority for these cases is the Mirror for Dec. nth., 1822.

But if the inhabitants of Tadcaster have been long-lived, they
have also been, so far as past history sheds light on the subject,
a right-lived, law-abiding people. They have rarely been charged
with crimes of a serious nature, and in the space of nearly five
centuries (1379 to 1862) there are but four recorded instances of
persons resident within the parish having suffered the extreme
penalty of the law. Perhaps the most memorable of these cases
was that of George Foster, a young man of 25, who had been taken
and tried for false coining at Tadcaster, and being found guilty,
he was executed at Tyburn, without Micklegate Bar, York, April 8lh,
1582. The circumstances excited considerable interest at the time,
and it is said that fully 10,000 people were present to witness the
culprit's untimely end. There are, however, records of many
highway and other robberies committed within the limits of the
parish by " foreigners '* who had followed in the wake of the coaches
that daily passed through the town. For example, on the evening of

309

November loth, 1801, a Mr. Wm. Midglev, of Tadcaster, was riding
home from Leeds Market, when he was stopped by two foot-pads at
Bramham Lane End, about three miles from Tadcaster, and robbed
of bills to the amount of /*55. The rascals got clear off. This road
had a bad repute in the coaching times. A story is related of a
Mr. Scott, an attorney, of Knottingley, who while on his way to
York was attacked by two armed footpads on the London road about
a mile out of Tadcaster. He at once gave them what money he had
in his pockets, but knowing the evil character of the locality had
taken the precaution to put a number of bank-notes, &c., into one of
his boots. Happily in our days of pleasure-tours, and driving and
cycling, the times, like the public roads, have greatly improved (about
;^8,ooo,ooo per annum having been of late years expended on the
maintenance of streets and roads in England and Wales), and there
is little to fear from such marauders on our old rural turnpikes.

The subject of crime is not the most attractive to dwell upon,
though it is unfortunately an element to be reckoned with in the life of
most communities. But if we except the lawlessness consequent upon
rebellion, political and religious (of common occurrence in former
times), the parish of Tadcaster has in the past a good record. Even
the dissolution of monasteries — that most corrupt of all revolutions
— does not seem to have inveigled the inhabitants into rebellion as
in many other places, notwithstanding its always-unfortunate position
as a gravitating centre of the opposing parties. Perhaps this may
be owing in a large measure to the early enfranchisement and
consequent independence of the bulk of the inhabitants, who declined
submission to either cause, and were content to abide by the issues
of the unhappy feud. There can, however, be no doubt that for a
lengthened period this revolution fermented much poverty and
distress in the district. The times, indeed, were long out of joint.
Men, and women too, declined to follow any useful occupation, and
the roads were full of rogues and idlers. Rewards were offered for
the apprehension of all beggars, gipsies, fiddlers, pipers, tinkers, petty
chapmen, and others wandering abroad. Indeed many such were
sham-peddlers and freebooters, who went about in the disguise of
strolling minstrels.

I may mention a very remarkable incident illustrative of these
troubled times, which is related in the old chronicles ol York Castle. It
appears that a man named Bartendale, a piper or strolling musician,
had been apprehended for felony, and was condemned to be hanged
at the York gallows. The penalty was actually carried out on
March 27th, 1634, and when the man had hung the better part of an
hour, he was cut down and interred near the place of execution. A

3IO

short time afterwards one of the Vavasours, of Hazlewood, neax
Tadcaster, while riding with an attendant to York, thought he savw-
the earth move at the spot. Both he and his man dismounted, and
proceeding to remove the earth, they found to their dismay the
unfortunate victim alive, and looking them in the face ! They
conveyed him to the Castle, where he was tended, and at the next
Assizes he obtained a reprieve. That eccentric rhymer, ** Drunken
Barnaby," alludes to the incident when he says :

Half alive or dead he rises,
Got a pardon next assizes,
And in York continued blowing.
Yet a sense of goodness showing.

But the real facts seem to be that he discontinued " blowing,** but
became a hostler at a local inn and lived honestly afterwards.

Much might be written on other local events, customs, stories and
traditions of a neighbourhood boasting the antiquity of Tadcaster.
These may sometime form the subject of a separate volume. One
event of more than a century ago may, however, be recalled, as it
helps to typify the strong democratic spirit of the j)eople at a time
when local Nonconformity was rousing the people to a right under-
standing of the national freedom. John Wilkes, the self-elected
** champion of the people ** had been outlawed for his libellous
opposition to measures of the Government, but in 1768 he was
reinstated and elected by a large majority member for Middlesex.
But being again expelled, the indignation of the people rose to such
a pitch that they returned him again and again, and in 1774 the
House of Commons allowed him quietly to take his seat. The joy
of a great many of the inhabitants of Tadcaster knew no bounds.
A meeting was called, and afterwards a procession, with music,
was formed at the old Cross. A "hymn of rejoicing," sj)ecially
composed for the occasion by a local poet, was sung to instrumental
accompaniment, the crowd cheering at the conclusion of every verse.
The verses are now rarely met with, but the following must suffice
as a sample of the rest :

Ye honest hearts of Tadcaster,

Come hither, with us join,
And drink to Wilkes and liberty

In bumpers of good wine ;
And merry we will be, will be,
We will, now Wilkes gains liberty !

Come hither, Sons of Liberty,

Here's wine and punch and ale ;
Come hither to number 45

In hopes the cause won't fail !

And merry, &c.

311

CHAPTER XXVII.

Around Tadcaster.

Pleasant scenery —Wealth of vegetable life — The nightingale, a visitor —The road

to Oxton— Ouston and Oxton - The old Hall — Local families — Wild flowers

— Smaws Hall — A notable quarry — Meaning of Smaws — Its ancient families

— About Stutton - Geological aspects— Thevesdale — Antiquity of Stutton corn-
mill — Lxx:al families and celebrities— A famous painter— A monumental work

- History of Toulston — Ancient inn at Toulston - Local families — The
Fairfaxes — Sale of Toulston — The old Hall — Toulston Lodge — Present and
former aspects- Its owners— George IV. at Toulston- Recent extens on and
improvements of the mansion — Some old yews.

HE district of Tadcaster is, as I have said, exceedingly
healthful and pleasant, and from the higher parts of
the parish there are delightful prospects over a
luxuriant and well-wooded country, almost park-like
in its aspects. It also abounds with plant-life. There
are trees, wild flowers, and mosses in great variety, many of the
rarer species occurring here in comparative profusion. At one spot
five or six species of orchids have been collected within a radius of
a few hundred yards. In the Naturalist for 1881 there is also a list
of 104 species of fungi, collected by Mr. George Massee and others
between Church Fenton and the famous Jackdaw Crag Quarry, near
Tadcaster. To the ornithologist and conchologist there is likewise
provided a rich field of investigation. In bird life many uncommon
species have been observed or taken here. The nightingale has
visited the neighbourhood three years in succession, and on fine
evenings it has often been a great treat to listen to the flowing
cadence of this most musical of English songsters : —

The night- warbling bird, now awake,
Tunes sweetest his love-labour'd song,

as Milton describes it.

The walks about Tadcaster also contain much of historic interest,
as already pointed out. There are likewise a number of interesting
houses which may be conveniently mentioned in this place. Crossing
the Bridge and following the road to Oxton, we pass the Grange, for

312

many years the residence of the Smith family. The District Council
has lately secured about ten acres of land between the Oxton Roa.d
and the Wharfe for the purposes of a sewage farm. It was previously
the property of Mr. Saml. Smith. About a mile beyond the Grang^e
is the single farmstead of Ouston. Whether there has ever been
more than one house here is uncertain, but in ancient times it was a.
place of considerable importance, and was a large well -cultivated
farm long before the Norman Conquest, It is mentioned in Donusday
under the names of Ulsitone and Wlsintone, and in the 13th century
was held by the family of Kyme, of Newton Kyme, &c. In the
time of Henry III. it was subfeud to the Vavasours, and William le
Vavasour, in 1260, held it immediately of William le Kyme. It
would appear that the family then resided here.* Later the ancient
local family of Hill was living here, and in a deed dated at
Wadlandes (parish of Calverley) the signature (interlined) of Johanne
de Hille de Wulstone, appears among the witnesses.f

Oxton, or Ositone, Ossetone, and Oxetone, as it occurs in three
different forms in Domesday fV/SiS in two holdings. Osbern de Arches
had four carucates which were in the soke of Marston, and William
de Percy had half-a-carucate, which was given to Sawley Abbey.
In 1 28 1 Symon de Kyme was lord of the manor, from whom it
passed through the Percies to the Duke of Somerset, The manor-
house is a very ancient foundation, but of its early history little can
be related. In the 17th century the Hill family lived here, and one
John Hill, son of Robert Hill, of Oxton, received from Lord Fairfax
in 1 67 1, a legacy of ;^io towards his maintenance at the University,
— another instance of the old Fairfax interest in education. The
Dawsons were also an old yeoman family long resident at Oxton, one
of whom married the eldest daughter of William Hill, of Oxton, and
had an only child, Eliza, who was born there in 1 770. She was a
very attractive and highly accomplished lady. Having broken off
an engagement with Lord Grantley she married at Tadcaster church,
in 1 791, an able lawyer named Archibald Fletcher, with whom she
lived happily for nearly forty years. She died at Edinburgh in her
89th year. Her Autobiography was published at Edinburgh in 1875,
under the editorship of her only surviving child, the widow of
Sir John Richardson, the famous Arctic explorer. A pedigree of the
Fletchers of Towton is recorded in the Visitation of 1665, but I have
not been able to connect this family with the Oxton Dawsons.

The present Hall has for many years been the property and residence
of the Harris family, whose lineage is entered at Heralds* College.

* See Upper Whar/edale, page 169.
f See Archal. JL, xviii., page 65.

313

Prior to 1872, when it was sold, it was the property of the Ramsdens
of Byrom and Longley Hall. William, second son of Sir John
Ramsden, Bart., was born in 1789, and resided at Oxton Hall after
his marriage with Annabella, daughter of the Marquis of Winchester.
He was a distinguished naval officer, and died at Byrom Hall,
Dec. 30th, 1853. His brother, Henry James Ramsden, sometime
Captain in the 9th Lancers, afterwards lived at Oxton. He had a
family of sons and daughters ; three of the sons were in the army,
and the eldest, who was a Captain in the Coldstream Guards,
displayed great heroism in the Crimean War, but was mortally
wounded at the Battle of Inkerman, 5th Nov., 1854. One of his
sisters, Isabella Anne, was married in 1858 to Richard Silver
Oliver, Esq., of Bolton Lodge, elsewhere mentioned.

The road from Oxton by Hornington Bridge to Bolton Percy
station (three miles) is very pleasant. At one time the wild white
hyacinth used to grow rather plentifully near this old road. But going
this way we enter the large parish of Bolton Percy, which I have
elsewhere described ; therefore let us return either by the pleasant
walk along the south side of the river to Newton Kyme, about two
miles from the church, or we may take the highway by Smaws and
Toulston, obtaining fine views of the surrounding country.

Smaws is a very old estate, and though long reduced to a farm
house, it was in former times the seat of several notable families
Portions of the old Hall (pulled down 25 years ago) are still standing
at the back of the present dwelling. I give a view of the building
as it was in 1718 from the original in the Lansdowne Collection in
the British Museum. The house stands on the crest of an eminence
on the south side of the railway. Round about the scenery is very
picturesque, due to the hilly and uneven surface of the denuded
limestone as well as to a narrow defile extending some distance on
the east side of Smaws Hall. Near here the rock has been
quarried at a very early period. The Smaws limestone is a very
durable stone of fine grain, and has long been used in the repair of
York Minster. This celebrated quarry now belongs to Mr. Samuel
Smith. The depression named is all grown up with trees and a thick
vegetable undergrowth, and there is no doubt, that to the peculiar
configuration of the ground here, Smaws owes its name. It is an old
Scandinavian word, observes Mr. Boyle, brought hither by the Danes
who colonised so largely in Yorkshire in the 9th century. In Icelandic
its form is " smuga," defined by Fritzner as a " narrow opening,
through which one can come forth ; a hiding-place or haunt, a nook,
comer, a by-place." Cleasby and Vigfusson give the definition " a
narrow cleft to creep through,** and Aasen, "a hole made by

3^4

excavation." How the "g" was lost and the word softened to Smaws
may be found explained in Prof. Skeat's Principles of English Etymology
first series, page 364.

In feudal times Smaws was the seat of two important local families,
the Normanvilles and Calls. I have mentioned William Call in the
Tadcaster Lay Subsidies of the time of Edward III. Alan Calle,
of Smaws, was one of the jurors at an enquiry held in York
concerning a rent due to the Prioress and Nuns of Appleton from
the mill at Newton Kyme in I268-9." In 1260, as appears from the

Smaws Hall, two centuries aoo.

inquisition previously quoted of William de Kyme, Ralph de
Normanville held of the said William, 3^ canicates of land in Smaws
and in Cold Coniston, in the parish of Gargrave in Craven. Other
records of this family I have already given. Smaws now forms part
of the property belonging to the family of Varley, and is rented by
Mr. Francis Colley, who resides in a good house on the Station Road.

It is a very pleasant walk hence to Stutlon, or we may continue
the road to Newton Kyme between the rich parks of Toulston Lodge
{H. H. Riley Smith, Esq., J.P.) on the left and Newton KymeHall
(Misses Bethell) on the right. Many kinds of wild flowers may be
gathered in season about this pleasant neighbourhood ; the sweet-
odoured, large-leaved violet occurring in some profusion in many
sheltered places about Smaws and Stutton. The pretty autumn
crocus also grows wild about here.

• Set Yorkshiri Inquisiliotn . vol. i., page 106.

315

Around Stutton the landscape assumes a very picturesque character,
and where the historic Cock Beck flows towards the Wharfe, on the
east side of the railway, the ground rises to a considerable elevation
and is nicely wooded. A somewhat important * fault * may be traced
northwards towards Tadcaster, keeping parallel with and close to the
railway, which from the north of Towton to Tadcaster, runs over
the Middle Red Marls and Lower Magnesian Limestone. This fault
throws out several beautiful springs in the neighbourhood of the
village, and it seems to be the cause of the remarkable (dry) little
valley which extends for about a mile south-west to Headley Bar,
and embraces the ancient Jackdaw Crag quarry. It is, I have no
doubt, the Thevedale or Thevesdale, so frequently mentioned in the
early records of York Minster. The picturesque little dale and
quarry are on the Hazelwood estate of the Vavasours, but the
quarry has not been worked for many years. It was formerly a very
p>opular place for picnics. From it an ancient road led down to the
Cock Beck, whence the stone for the Minster was transported by
boat to York from the staith at Kettleman Bridge {see page 228). A
little below Jackdaw Crag is another smaller abandoned excavation,
locally known as the " Abbey Rash " quarry, a name that carries
with it a suggestion of its having been worked by one of the
monasteries mentioned on page 244.

Stutton in Saxon times consisted of three separate manors, after-
wards held by the Percies and the De Arches families. The old
corn-mill below the village on the Cock Beck (where it still stands)
api>ears to have been in working order in 1085-6, and was then worth
5s, There are now no houses of any particular antiquity in the
village. In former times several notable families resided here, and
the place also gave name to the ancient family of Stutton. Stutton
Grove, at one time the residence of Captain Markham, was about
fifty years ago converted into a Boys' Boarding School, conducted
by Mr. Wm. Stacey, but it is now a farm-house.*

The Masons, Milners, and Williamsons, were living here at least
two centuries before the Reformation, and resided here long after-
wards. Many of them are buried within the old church at Tadcaster.
The Stothards, too, are an old local family, recorded in the Poll Tax
of 2nd Richard II. (1378) as living at Wighill-cum-Esedyke.
Members of the family were resident at Stutton nearly two centuries
ago, and produced several remarkable men. Thomas S tot hard was

• In the spring of 1901, while ploughing near here, in a field belonging to the
Wingate Hill farm of Mr. J. Cundall, an iron spear-head, about a foot long, was
turned up. It is now in possession of Mr. J. W. Deans, of the Steam Plough
Works, Selby.

3i6

a farmer and innkeeper at Stutton, and in 1754 removed to Lx>ndon,
to the Black Horse inn, in Long Acre, where he died in 1760. His son,
Thomas, who was bom in 1755, was sent to be educated at Stutton,
and he remained there till he was of age to be apprenticed. Having
a liking for art, he studied drawing and painting with great assiduity,
and subsequently achieved considerable distinction as an artist. He
was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1794. He died in
1834, and afterwards his Life with Personal Reminiscences, was
written by his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Bray, and published, with
portrait, in 185 1. His son, Charles Alfred Stothard, F.S.A., who
married Eliza Kempe, a well-known authoress (afterwards the wife
of the Rev. E. A. Bray, rector of Tavistock), became a celebrated
antiquarian draughtsman. His magnificent work. The Monumental
Effigies of Great BritaiUy embraces drawings of all the important
historical monuments dating from the Norman Conquest to the
Reformation, and was published in 18 17 at 19 guineas. A writer in
the Gentleman's Magazine^ speaks of the minuteness, delicacy, and
accuracy of Mr. Stot hard's representations, which he says, " cannot
be surpassed. They are specimens of sculpture, which for grandeur,
simplicity, and chastity of style, are not to be surpassed, if equalled,
by any nation in Europe." He was also author of a work entitled
Seals Illustrative of the Reign of Elizabeth, He died in 1 821, at the
early age of 35.

About a mile to the west of Stutton is the famous Smaws Quarry,
whence a road runs to Toulston, a very old property, mentioned in
Domesday as Togleston. Osbem de Arches had seven carucates and
seven bovates in Toulston, Newton Kyme, and Oglethorp, and there
was also a carucate here within the fee of Laci. In the 1 3th century i ^
carucates in Toulston were held by William de Elkenton immediately
of the superior lord, William de Kyme, who died in 1260. At the
same time Thomas de Katherton held also a carucate of land in
Toulston of William de Katherton, and the Prior of Helaugh held
another half-carucate there of the said William de Katherton, and
he held of William de Kyme. The boundaries of Toulston were
afterwards the object of extended litigation, as will be related in the
next chapter.

In 1378 there were twelve married couples and seven single adults
living at Toulston, of whom Oliva Danyl, hostiler, was the chief tax-
payer. From the high rate at which she was assessed (i8d.) she must
have been something more than an innkeeper; in all probability she
was a general brewer as well. Her husband was dead before 1378,
and the business seems to have been then carried on by herself and
children (apparently), two of whom, Cassaunder and Tefian, are

3>7

mentioned in the same Poll Tax, The Arthingtons, or Ardingtons,
were also seated at Toulston before the Reformation, and probably
were a branch of the family long settled in the parish of ^naith.
John Ardington of Wolston (Toulston), died in 1562, and his widow
Jane, died at Toulston in 1 564. Francis Ardington and Janet, his
^vife, were both buried at Tadcaster in 1604.

Toulston eventually came to the Fairfaxes, and the gallant
Sir William Fairfax, shortly after his marriage in 1630, took up his
residence here with his beautiful and accomplished lady, who was a
daughter of Sir Thomas Chaloner, of Guisborough, in Cleveland.

Toulston Lodoe >n 1828.
In 164011 was sold to Sir Robert Barwick, the Recorder of Doncaster,
who was knighted by Charles I, in 1641. and died in 1660. His
wife. Lady Barwick, was Ursula, daughter of Walter Strickland,
and sister of Sir Wm. Strickland, Bart. Robert Barwick, their son
and heir, did not marry, and was accidentally drowned in the
Wharfe, on June 16th, 1660. Lady Barwick died Oct, 4th, 1682,
aged 81 ; the eventual heiress of Toulston being her daughter,
Frances, who married, Henry, fourth Lord Fairfax.* The estate was

• S« Markham's Lift of Hsbtrl Fairfax, page 12. For pedigree of Barwick at
vol. iv, of Hunier's Familia Mmonin Gmlium. ediied by Mr. J . W, Clay, F.S.A..
for Ihe Harleian Society. S« also GinlU«iaii'i Maganw. vol. xxi. (1S44), page 18.

3I8

kept in the family till about the year 1775, when, in consequence of
the American War, it was sold by the Hon. George William Fairfax,
of Belvoir, Virginia, who died at Bath, iD April, 1787.* He was
half-brothei to Brian, 8th Lord Fairfax, to whom the title was
confirmed by the House of Lords. His son Thomas, of Varcluse,
was 9th Baron, and he was father of Charles, loth Lord Fairfax,
who was Speaker of the House of Commons in California, and Clerk
of the Supreme Court of that State from 1857 to 1862. He died in
1869. Through the courtesy of the present Lord Fairfax I am
permitted to append his portrait.

The village of Toulston is now reduced to a couple of farms, the
Old Hall Farm (Mr. W. D. Stephenson), which was tenanted by the

Chanles. Tenth Lord Fairfax.

late Mr. Wm. Smith for about fifty years ; and St. Helen's Grange
(Mr. John Watson). There is also an old abandoned smithy, standing
beside the now little-used thoroughfare leading into Rudgate. The
old Hall of the Fairfaxes was pulled down many years ago. From
the particulars given in the great boundary dispute, elsewhere
mentioned, it appears that it was erected by Sir Thomas Fairfax
* At Toulston Lodge I have seen an interesting pian of the Toulslon estate,
dated 1760. at which time il belonged to the same George William Fairfax, On
this map all the old field-names and boundaries are clearly indicated.

319

about the year 1603, and the material for the purpose was obtained
from the neighbouring Robshaw Holes quarry. The house stood
upon an elevated site a little to the south of the present Hall Farm,
and on a piece of open grassy ground below, are a number of old
fruit trees, survivois no doubt, of the home orchard. On the gable
of an old cow-shed appeared the date 1653, ^^^^ ^^® initials of
Barwick, and a drawing of this, made in 1841, is at Toulston Lodge.

Toulston Lodge, doubtless a dower-house of the Fairfaxes, is a
pleasant old-fashioned country mansion, having an extensive front
very prettily covered with creeping plants. It has been much
improved and enlarged during the last century, and particularly
during the past few years, by the present owner of the estate. The
view on page 317 exhibits the south front as it appeared in 1828,
and another view, from a recent photograph by Lemaire & Co.,
prefacing this chapter, depicts the same front as it is at present.
A shield of arms, formerly over the north door, and now inserted
in the south front, exhibits Barwick empaled with Strickland.
There is also in the yard behind, a large alarm-bell, inscribed
"Hy. Fairfax, of Toulston, 1773,"* which is inexplicable, as
Henry Fairfax died in 1759, and his brother George William, who
settled in America, succeeded to the property, which passed out of
his family, as stated above, about the year 1775.

About the end of the i8th century, Peregrine Wentworth lived at
Toulston and he appears to have occupied the house for a period of
over forty years. He was of the family of Wentworth of Woolley,
a branch of which was long seated at West Brett on. f Sir Butler
Cavendish Wentworth, Bart., who died without issue in 1741, married
Bridget, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, Bart., of Halnaby, She
was married again in 1748, in York Minster, to John Murray, Esq.,
and died in 1774. Sir Frederick Milbank long resided at Toulston
Lodge, and he is stated to have been honoured with a visit by
George IV., who dined at the Lodge, and a large portrait of whom,
painted in oil, hangs in the handsome entrance hall. Afterwards the
house was occupied as a ladies* school, kept by Mrs. Stoney, and
subsequently as a boys* school. At that time it was the property of

* During a recent visit to Toulston I had pointed out to me an oaken door
lintel, which had formed part of a beam in the old stable, and had cut upon it :
•• 17 H. F. 33," obviously the initials of the same Henry Fairfax.

t Peregrine Wentworth was the eldest son of Matthew Wentworth, of Wakefield,
and was born in 1722, and was sometime Captain of a Company of Grenadiers in
the Fourth Regiment. He died in 1809 and was interred in York Minster, having
married (i) Mary, eldest daughter of Beilby Thompson, Esq., of Escrick, co.
York, and (2) Mary, eldest daughter of Ralph Ashton, Esq., of Cuerdale, co.
Lane, and widow of the Rev. John Whitton, of Lupsett.

320

the Brown family of Leeds. From them it descended to the trustees
of Yorke Scarlett, Esq., of the island of Gigha, West Scotland, who
about 1890 sold it to the present owner and occupant of the Lodge,
Herbert H. Riley-Smith, Esq., J. P., principal of the great firm of
brewers already alluded to. Mr. Riley-Smith has very largely
extended and improved the house, as well as laid out and beautified
the surrounding grounds. He also added the present porch on the
principal or south front, and placed his arms, cut in stone, above it.
In this porch has been placed a small stone inscribed " E. C. 1729,"
found in a rubble-wall of the old stable, pulled down about five years
ago. In the grounds, to the east of the mansion, are two very large
old yew-trees, an apparent indication of the site adjoining having
been occupied at an early period. The planting of yew-trees by the
side of dwellings and in churchyards was greatly encouraged by our
feudal monarchs and landowners, as the wood of that tree was highly
esteemed in the manufacture of bows, and in several of our early
statutes the yew is specially mentioned for this purpose.

The present mansion, as suggested, in all probability occupies the
site of an older building. A coin of Queen Elizabeth, perhaps lost
by a former resident on the site, was dug up in front of the house a
few years ago. I have already remarked that the present proprietor
has very greatly enlarged and beautified the old house, and the modem
fittings and decorations of the interior are such as few English country
houses may rival. These extensive improvements display wonderful
versatility and executive skill, and it is worthy of note they are the
sole design of a local architect, Mr. Thorman, of Tadcaster. The
ornate and massive oak-carving in the grand entrance-hall is
particularly handsome, and bears many a suggestion of the sturdy
Puritanism of the former historic owners of the estate, the Fairfaxes.
Standing, for example, on the staircase newels, are to be seen, carved
in heart of oak, " moss-troopers *' of the Cromwellian period and
quaintly-garbed Puritans, holding lamps of light, and seeming to act
as sentinels to the rooms above. The oak-panelled walls and
carvings, ornamental ceilings, and mantel-pieces of rarest marble and
alabaster, are all treated in the same antique and expressive manner,
and in a variety of original forms.

321

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Tadcaster v. Newton Kyme : A Great Boundary Dispute.

Protracted dispute — Purchase of Toulston in 1640 — Reputed encroachments by
Sir Robert Barwick — Toulston warren-house — The Fairfaxes at Toulston —
The Earl of Northumberland's claim — An action for trespass — Reputed
boundaries of Toulston manor — Toulston coney-warren — Evidence of 28
witnesses — Riding the bounds — Some old boundary-marks — Sir Thos. Fairfax
rides the bounds — ^Trial at the Assizes — Enclosure of the common in 1790 —
The dispute revived — Rev. Henry Wray and his tithes — The case put to
arbitration — Settlement of the dispute.

HE following particulars of a protracted disagreement
respecting the boundaries of the parishes of Tadcaster
and Newton Kyme, at Toulston, I have gathered
and abridged from some rather voluminous records
preserved among the Parish Papers at the rectory of
Newton Kyme. The dispute began in 1654, ^^^ ^^^s not appear to
have been finally adjusted until 1809. Apart from the historical
importance of the controversy, the documents are instructive for the
information they afford on the many old yeomen and other families
then living in the district, as well as for the many interesting allusions
to ancient boundary-stones and other places and objects, which, in
some cases, may happily still be identified.

As stated in the previous chapter. Sir Robert Barwick had bought
the manor of Toulston in 1640, at which time he was living at York.
In the Bill of Complaint which was brought against him in 1654, ^Y
Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, it appears that certain encroach-
ments were reputed to have been made on the wastes of the manor
of Tadcaster. The complainant did not admit that the manor of
Toulston had any wastes at all. But Sir Robert claimed to be well
acquainted with the history and aspects of the place long before he
purchased it, affirming that one, Edmund Fairfax, Esq.,* son and
heir of Sir Philip Fairfax, of Steeton, died seized and possessed of
the manor or lordship of Toulston, and as parcel thereof of an
important coney-warren, with burrows stored with coneys, also the

• He married a daughter of Sir William Irwin, and died in 1636, leaving a
daughter, Mary, who died in infancy. Sir Philip Fairfax died in 161 3.

322

lodge or messuage called Toulston Warren House, which had then
as now ( 1 654) a warrener's dwelling there.* Then the same descended
to William Fairfax, his brother and heir, and that in the right of
these two brothers, or the survivor of them, from the year 1618 till
1630, when Sir Wm. Fairfax married and came to live at Toulston.
Sir William Sheffield, as lessee or farmer, had enjoyed the said lodge
and warren, and disposed thereof without interruption, and received
a yearly rent for the same of his subfarmer thereof.

It was, however, contended for the Earl, that the said coney-warren
was on the wastes of Tadcaster, and yet it appears that matters were
allowed to proceed as formerly for many years after the purchase of
the estate by Sir Robert Bar wick in 1640. Ultimately, however, on
some provocation, it was decided to test the validity of Sir Robert's
title to the waste which he claimed as parcel of the manor of
Toulston. Henry Favel, gent., his lordship's steward, and William
Moorefield, his bailiff of the manor of Tadcaster, authorised about
a score men to assemble on the said waste and there to dig up and
destroy some of the burrows belonging to the said coney-warren, for
the doing of which the said Sir Robert was obliged to bring an
action for trespass at the common law in order to maintain his rights.

The real issue of the dispute was whether the Earl's manor of
Tadcaster extended, as was affirmed, to a certain point called the
Ox Pasture hedge, and so included the coney-warren. Sir Robert,
however, held that his manor of Toulston extended southwards to
an ancient boundary-stone or meetstone, erected in the form of a
cross composed of two great stones, called Emcross,t and which
had stood in its then (1654) position ** before ye memory of any man
now living,'* about half-a-mile distant from his enclosed grounds of
Toulston. He further affirmed that ** overthwart the said wastes of
Toulston there doth lie a common highway leading directly from
Headley Grange to the end of Rudgate Lane, which way is yearly
much frequented by country people, especially in the summer season,
both night and day, with carts and wains for carriage of coals from
the coal-pitts in sundry places beyond Headley aforesaid. And in
that space, namely between the highway and the said enclosed ground
of Toulston do lie all the said coney-burrows and Lodge, and there
neither is nor can be any abiding or burrows conveniently for conies
whereby to enlarge the warren beyond that highway."

Sir Robert also denied that he had erected a tenement or cottage
upon any part of the said wastes, for such cottage as he hath is the

♦ The old warren-house is still standing, but has been raised a storey, and
converted into two cottages.

t A very similar old cross is illustrated in my Upper Wharfedalt, page 24J.

323

ancient Lodge of the said coney -warren. " anciently builded before
the time of his memory, and being the habitation of the warriners
there for the time being.'* He also denied that the said Warren
House or coney -burrows were or ever were parcel of or belonging to
Tadcaster, or formed any part of the demesnes thereof. And
Sir Robert prays for a fair trial.

The Earl of Northumberland brought forward sixteen witnesses
to dispute Sir Robert Barwick*s statements. They were sworn and
examined nth January, 1655, and their depositions fill about thirty
folios of MS. George Badman, of Wakefield Outwood, yeoman, then
aged 60 years, had been formerly warrener at the said Warren House
for about 20 years, and John Barker, of Askham Richard, yeoman,
aged 66 years, declared that he had heard Thomas, late Lord Fairfax,
say that he would ask leave of the Earl of Northumberland to build
a house for a warrener, and if the same should be noisome or
troublesome to the said Earl or his tenants, he. Lord Fairfax, would
pull it down. Thomas Cawood, of Askham Richard, aged 56, said that
when he was a schoolboy, about 40 years ago, at the town of Tadcaster,
he did with his then master and a great many other inhabitants
of the said township go on perambulation for two or three years
together from certain thorns near Headley, over the Moor leaving
Robson Holes on the left hand and Smaws quarry on the right hand,
and so over to the dwelling called Smaws House, and he supposed
that to be the boundaries of the manor of Tadcaster for that " ye
ancient men then (161 5) walked the said Perambulation, and declared
the same so to be." Robert Boone, of Tadcaster, yeoman, aged 82
(in 1655) declared the perambulations for 40 years and above to be :

'* From the White Quarry to Headley Thorns and so to a place called Humes
Nooke, and from thence down to ye Moor within six score yards of a parcel of
ground called ye Oxclose. and then down to ye place where ye Warren House
now standeth, ye same being within the bounds of Tadcaster. on ye right hand,
and from thence to ye Quarry called Robson Holes, ye same being within ye
bounds of Toulston, he conceiveth. and so all along ye moor to ye place called
Smaws Sheep Loane, and he further saith that the burrows of the defendant
have been made or cast at least twelve score yards within the manor of Tadcaster. ' '

William Turpin, of Stutton, yeoman, aged 63, and George Dibb,
of East Keswick, yeoman, aged 54, confirmed the above. Anthony
Homer, of Tadcaster, yeoman, aged 61 ; Matthew Daniel, of Wighill,
grassman, aged 61 ; Joshua Haworth, of Wressell, gent. ; and
Robert Beane, of Oust on, yeoman, aged 58, gave similar evidence,
stating that the Warren House was always taken as being about a
hundred yards within the limits of the manor of Tadcaster. James
Dallamore, warrener, of Bramham, aged 40 ; Thomas Hudson, of
Stutton, aged 47 ; and George Turpin, of Stutton, aged 60, said that

324

the acre of ground enclosed belonged to the inhabitants of Tadcaster.
who had privilege for their cattle to take common by bit of mouth.
Ottiwell Wilson, of Tadcaster, aged 62, and Wm. Bell, of Tadcaster,
linen -Webster, aged 76, said that 60 years ago (i\^., before 1600) there
Was no warren- house standing on the ground now (1655) occupied.
He further said that he had perambulated the bounds with the
minister and parishioners of Tadcaster, and they first went to Stutton
and so to Wingate Cross, and then came down Hesslewood Warren
to the White Quarry, and thence to Headley Thorns, and there set
several marks on the trees, and so to a hill called Earle Hill, leaving
the place where the said Warren House now standeth on the right
towards Tadcaster, and then hard by Robson Holes, leaving them
on the left hand, to the Smaws. Edward Morley, of Newton Kyme,
blacksmith, aged 73, said the parishioners of Tadcaster took the said
Warren House within the bounds of the parish of Tadcaster, and
the parishioners of Newton Kyme on their perambulations did also
take the same within their parish.

Twelve witnesses were sworn and examined (same date, 1655) ^^
behalf of Sir Robert Barwick. George Boardman, of Wakefield
Outwood, yeoman, aged 60, said that 24 years ago he had farmed for
six years the said coney-warren at a yearly rent of 4s. a year, paid to
Sir Wm. Fairfax, the reputed owner thereof, without interruption.
Francis Jefferson, of Eskrigg, yeoman, aged 70 years, said he '* did
know Sir Thos. Fairfax, Kt., then of Denton (about 1605), afterwards
Lord Fairfax, and grandfather to ye Lord Fairfax that now is (1655),
and that the said Lord Fairfax, ye grandfather, about fifty or sixty
years ago, and after him Sir Philip Fairfax, of Steeton, Kt., and after
him Sir William Fairfax, of Steeton, Kt., son of ye said Sir Philip
Fairfax, were several and successive owners of ye lordship and manor
of Toulston, and of ye coney-warren upon Toulston Moor, as parcel
of the same, and had the profits thereof in their several times.** He
further declared ** the said coney-warren was kept by one Thompson
as a warrener and servant to ye said Lord Fairfax, ye grandfather,
to his own use, and that afterwards ye owner of Toulston lett ye same
coney-warren to farm to divers persons, as namely to one John Dibb,
and after him to one Weatherhead, and after him to one Boardman,
and divers others, and that during the same time the burrows were
kept up by ye several and successive owners and farmers of the said
warren, without any interruption of any of ye Lords or owners of
Tadcaster that ever he heard of.** He further saith "that ye
Lordship of Toulston and ye Lodge and Warren be within ye parish
of Newton Kyme, and that he hath ridden ye bounds about 47 years
ago, and ye said warren and lodge were taken in as belonging to
Toulston in ye said parish.**

325

The rector of Newton Kyme, Thomas Clapham, clerk, aged 60
years (bom 1595), said he was induced to believe that the said coney-
^rarren is within the parish of Newton Kyme, for that the late
inhabitants of the Warren House have buried such as did die there,
and have published marriages of such as lived there, in the parish
church of Newton, and they also were accustomed to receive the
sacrament at the same church of Newton, and not at Tadcaster,
during those four years last past that he was minister at Newton.
He also stated that the inhabitants of the Warren House do pay
assessment within the parish of Newton, and that he claims to have
a right of common in Toulston and Newton in respect of his glebe.
John Laycock, of Steeton, yeoman, aged 72, said that he was servant
to Lord Fairfax fifty years ago (about 1605), and about forty-three
years ago Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, afterwards Lord Fairfax,
did on the occasion of some difference betwixt himself and the
inhabitants of Headley, call the most ancient freeholders and tenants
of Newton and Toulston to set forth the boundaries of the said
manor of Toulston by him claimed, and to distinguish the same from
Tadcaster Moor. Accordingly the said Sir Thomas Fairfax, in his
own proper person, did with the said freeholders and tenants, ride
and go the said bounders, that is to say, " from a bounder-stone near
unto Emcross up towards Headley to another bounder near Headley
Lodge, and so to Oglethorpe Moor, and he saith that from the said
bounder-stone near Emcross to ye enclosed ground of Toulston called
Oxclose is near half-a-mile, and that the said coney -warren and lodge
lie betwixt ye said Oxclose and ye bounders aforesaid." William
Armstrong, of Bramham, aged 62 ; Anthony Homer, of Tadcaster,
yeoman, aged 60 ; Matthew Daniell, of Wighill, grassman, aged 61,
confirmed above, and the latter stated that about 43 years ago he
was Parish Clerk of Newton for several years, and did receive his
yearly clerk's wages from the inhabitants of the Lodge belonging to
the said coney-warren. George Dibb, of East Keswick, yeoman,
aged 54, said that the assessments payable within the constabulary
of Newton -cum-Toulston have been usually paid for the said coney-
warren and lodge to the Constable of Newton-cum-Toulston, and
never to the Constabulary of Tadcaster that he had ever heard of.
Richard Burley, of Bramham, mason, aged 61, said that he was
accustomed to join the processions of the parishioners of Newton on
their perambulations yearly, ten days before Whitsuntide, and they
went to a place called ** Wool wha Gap,** and thence to Emcross
and so towards Headley Lodge and " ye Windmill Nooke, and so to
Toulston Oxclose End, and in these perambulations or walks they
did always take in Toulston Lodge and Warren,** and so it hath

326

been yearly and anciently continued. William Kitchingman, of
Toulston, aged 22, deputed he was present at a trial at the Assizes
held in York Castle last Lent [1654], when after two or three hours
spent in debating the matter, Sir Robert Bar wick had obtained a
verdict. But whether the controversy in 1655 ^^^ ^ similar
termination the papers before me do not clearly indicate.

Matters seem to have gone on pretty much as before, and it
was not until the great common was enclosed in 1790, that any
serious dispute arose. The parishioners of Tadcaster then laid claim
to the whole common, and in consequence proceeded to lay and leN'y
their parochial rates and assessments on many acres of land claimed
by the people of Newton Kyme to be within their parish. The
latter who, time out of memory, had right of common before the
enclosure, and afterwards had allotments of fields, and those
allotments as also the whole of the enclosed lands, their more
powerful neighbours claimed to be in their parish to the great
injustice and detriment, it was declared, of the inhabitants of Newton
Kyme.

Since the enclosure of the common and the commencement of
proceedings in 1804, the minister and inhabitants of Newton had
frequently travelled their parish boundaries, and had always given
public notice of their intention to the minister and churchwardens
of Tadcaster. And their perambulations had never been disputed
until the present year, when the inhabitants of Tadcaster for the first
time since the enclosure had traversed their boundaries and had
taken in all the allotments belonging to Newton Kyme. The
minister and inhabitants of Newton seem to have been well aware
that if they had assessed the occupiers of the disputed lands, the
said occupiers who live in the town and parish of Tadcaster, would
refuse to pay the assessments, and would refer to the judgment of
the Justices at the Quarter Sessions. But the Justices would certainly
have refused to determine the case, as they were, by law, not
empowered to determine the boundaries of any parish.

It was evidently a very anxious time to the then rector of Newton
Kyme, the Rev. Henry Wray, in whose name the proceedings were
instituted and with whom most of the correspondence concerning the
dispute was carried on. He appears to have been indefatigable in
his efforts to prove the justice of the claims of his parishioners, and
as the sequel shews was largely successful. In 1797 he had tithed
certain corn lands in front of Toulston Lodge by setting a bough in
every tenth stook of corn, but next morning one James Heptonstall
carried away the tithe, so marked, to Tadcaster. For several years
about this time, it may be observed, Mr. Wray had taken tithe in

327

kind, and for the three years last past, Peregrine Wentworth, who
had lived at Toulston Lodge now (1802) forty-two years, compounded
and paid Mr. Wray for the tithes thereof.

The late Mr. Girling, who was vicar of Tadcaster 22 years, and
afterwards rector of Newton Kyme 42 years, and other rectors since,
had perambulated the boundaries, and they had always included the
lands they now claimed to be within the parish of Newton Kyme.
The bowling-green belonging to Toulston Lodge, lying south-west
some distance from the front of it, was, they affirmed, always
included in Newton Kyme.

Finally it was proposed to submit the case for arbitration to two
counsel. The Earl of Egremont, patron of the living of Tadcaster,
Mr. Ashbridge, vicar, Messrs. Shann and Todd, impropriators of the
great tithes of Tadcaster, were to nominate one counsel on their
part, and Robert Fairfax, Esq., patron of the living of Newton
Kyme, Henry Wray, rector of the same, were to nominate the other
counsel. Lord Egremont wrote from Petworth, Feb. 23rd, 1802,
proposing one legal gentleman to be agreed upon by all parties, as
not only less expensive, but avoiding the chance of disagreement of
the two. The difference, however, was still in abeyance in 1807-8,
when the vicar of Bramham, Mr. Bownas, objected to a settlement
before the boundary of the parishes of Bramham and Newton Kyme
had been settled over part of the common near to Headley Warren
House, and the Enclosure Commissioners were called on to settle
the point.

At length the whole matter terminated by the equal division of the

disputed lands between the two parishes of Tadcaster and Newton

Kyme, as appears by the following note :

Tadcaster, 13 Oct., 1808.
It is projxjsed that for settling the Boundary on Tadcaster High Moor at
present disputed between the Vicarage & Parish of Tadr. & the Rectory & Par.
of Newton Kyme, the Lands containing about 170 acres comprised within the
Line of Boundary disputed between the two parishes on their differt. perambu-
lats.. be divided in equal moieties as to value between the Parishes & Tithe
Owners of each Parish & that the comparative Value & consequent extent & the
situation of each moiety of the Land so to be allotted to the several Parishes be
referred to an indiffert. Person to be agreed on by the Patron & Vicar of
Tadcaster and Messrs. Shann & Todd, as owners of the great Tithes of Tadcaster
and the Patron & Rector of Newton Kyme.

Present : Rev. H. Wray.

Mr. Thos. Shann.
Mr. Tyler.
Mr. Addinell.

Messrs. Thorpe & Gray, of York, were the solicitors for the
Rev. Henry Wray, against Peregrine Wentworth, Esq., George

328

Addinal, Leonard Jewison, and James Robinson, and Messrs. Thorpe
and Gray's Bill of Costs from Dec. 17th, 1807, to Jan. 25th, 1809,
amounted to £2"^ 6s. gd. On the last-mentioned date there is this

entry :

•• On receiving draft of intended agreement for dividing and assi^^ing the
disputed lands to the respective parishes, perusing the same on behalf of yourself
(Rev. H. Wray) and Mr. Fairfax. los."

Toulston Lodge is now, as heretofore, within the parish of Newton
Kyme, but the land is in Tadcaster ; and Headley Warren House,
also mentioned above, is included in the parish of Bramham.

329

CHAPTER XXIX.

About Wighill.

Pleasant approaches to Wighill — Antiquity of Easedyke — An ancient peel-tower
— Hay Dike — Plan of Easedyke — A separate manor — Feudal reservations —
Imjxjrtance of Wighill before the Conquest — Its character and p>opulation in
Saxon times — Old field-names — Manor of Hagenby — Meaning of Wighill —
Conjectured murder of an Earl of Northumbria at Wighill — Moat House —
Early history of Wighill — Knights Templars at Wighill — The Stapleton
family — Some interesting records — The Stapletons hold Wighill for nearly
450 years — Its sale to the Wilsons — The Hawke family — Ancient aspects of
Wighill — Curious customs — The church — Its History and architectural
description — Recent vicars — The Rev. Dr. Hiley's Memories of Half-a-Ceniury.

OUND about Wighill the country is very charming, and
in approaching the village from Walton the waysides
are rank with wild flowers, the golden -rayed fleabane
(Inula dysenterica) being especially conspicuous. From
Tadcaster, too, the road to the village (2 miles) is very
pleasant, and tall trees offer an agreeable summer screen over a great
part of the way. Going over the bridge and ascending the hill, we
take the first turn to the left, and crossing the site of the old Roman
road at the tope of Rosemary Lane, follow the open highway past
Fircroft (J. H. Ingleby, Esq.), and a little beyond is Healaugh
Manor (Edward Brooksbank, Esq., J.P.)» which is situated in an
extensive park containing some magnificent timber. A great fire
took place here on July 20th, 1901, when nearly half the hall was
burnt down.

Next we pass the large farm of Easedyke (Mr. M. Thomlinson),
lately the property of Lord Hare wood, and now of Mr. Brooksbank.
The tithe from this one farm amounted to a full third of the
emoluments of the living of Wighill. Easedyke has been an
important place in former ages, and no doubt derives its name from
having formed the eastern boundary of the old parish of Tadcaster.
The dyke, known as Hay Dike (A.-S: hage, a hedge, boundary) runs
into the Wharfe on the east side, and is crossed by a foot-bridge to
the site of an old manor-house or peel-tower, illustrated on the

33°

accompanying plan. Standing between the woods ot Healaugh
Priory and a bend of the river Wharfe, the site, observes Mr. H. E.
Chetwynd-Stapyhon, was well chosen to guard the road between
Wighill and Tadcaster against cattle-lifters and forays. In front of
the long-demolished tower, and just below it, are traces of extensive
buildings, being the remains of the ancient stronghold of the
Fitz Alans and Stapletons, and this building appears to have been
occupied down to the commencement of the 17th century.

Sir Brian Fitz Alan, whose father was Sheriff of Yorkshire from
1235 to 1247, had the Easedyke property, together with estates at
Healaugh, Wighill, &c., from his mother, Agnes Haget. whom
Dodsworlh calls Agnes of Bedale, daughter or granddaughter of
Scolland, lord of Bedale.* Clarkson states that Sir Brian died in
1301, and was buried with his wife Anne, daughter of John Baliol,
King of Scotland, in the south aisle of Bedale church, under a
mausoleum very beautifully covered with gold and various colours.1
Easedyke subsefjuently came, with Wighill, to the Stapeitons, and
in the assignment of dower to Joan, widow of Sir Miles Stapelton,

* Sm my RichnKiidshiri. page 56,

I 5m History of RichmoKd, page 54 n., and Blore's Monnmailal Rimaint.

331

A.D. 14CX), it appears that the tenants of the manors of Easedyke and
W^ighill were obliged to bake their bread, as at Tadcaster, in the
lords' ovens. Easedyke was quite a separate manor from Wighill,
and each had its public bakehouse; in Wighill there was also a wind-
mill and a forge. The tenants of these manors were therefore, for a
long period, under the feudal obligation to grind their com, bake their
bread, repair their ploughs, shoe their horses, &c., for the particular
benefit of the lord, and these separate offices produced a yearly
revenue, one-third of which formed part of the dower of widow
Stapelton in 1400.* According to the inquisition of Sir Robert
Stapelton, taken after his death in 1606, he was living and apparently
died at Easedyke, and was buried at Wighill on October 3rd. His
wdow was living at Easedyke in 1607, but the time of her death is
not recorded. She was Sir Robert's second wife, and was daughter
of Sir H. Sherington and widow of John Talbot, Esq., of Salwarp.
The eldest bom of this marriage was Brian Stapelton, of My ton,
who married Frances, daughter of Sir Henry Slingsby, of Scriven
and Red House, near York. A letter from Queen Elizabeth to
Mrs. Talbot will be found in the second volume of Nichols' Progresses
of Queen Elizabeth^ page 628.

From the large area of land that was under cultivation before the
Norman Conquest, it is evident that the parishes of Wighill and
Healaugh have been occupied and farmed at a very remote period.
The Domesday inquest tells us that Hailaga (Healaugh) and two
Wicheles (Wighill) formed orginally one manor, and that one Tochi,
son of Outi, an English thane, in the time of the Confessor, had 18
carucates of land there taxed. The land was for 9 ploughs. In
1 083 -6 it was held by Goisfrid Alselin, a wealthy Norman, who had
2 ploughs there and 18 villanes and one bordar with 7 ploughs.
There were, too, very large and valuable wood pastures for swine, &c.,
comprising together an area of two square leugae, or by estimate 2880
acres. The cultivated lands within the manor also embraced a similar
area, tiyo square leugae. In the Confessor's time the whole was
worth 8 pounds, now (1083-6) 60 shillings. No church is mentioned,
but it is improbable that in so important a centre of population there
was no Christian place of worship. The church, most likely, was
included in the wasted area and not valued.

The parish of Healaugh contains 2800 acres of land, and that of
Wighill 2320 acres, together 5120 acres. According to Canon Isaac
Taylor the manor must have been worked on the three-field system,
each field containing 60 acres, one of which lay annually fallow.
The geldable carucate was therefore 120 acres, making a total of

• Rot. Claus., ist Henry IV., ps. 2, m. 7.

332

3240 acres, or 2160 acres annually cultivated and taxed in 1066.
Twenty years later the cultivated area within the manor comprised
two square leugae, or 2880 acres, according to Mr. Pell.* It may be
possible to approximate the population of this important manor from
a calculation of the extent of the taxable lands. Assuming, as we
must, that one-third of the sown land went to the manufacture of
beer, or in other words that every human mouth annually consumed
the wheat of two acres and drank that of one acre, an estimate based
on carefully-adduced averages in the 12th century ,t there must have
been 700 persons living in the two parishes shortly before the
Norman Conquest. But this is probably too high an estimate, as
allowance must be made for the feed of oxen, sheep, and horses.
These, however, were poor and lean, and subsisted largely on straw
and stubble, while the swine also for only one part of the year were
turned into the woods. The latter also yielded pottage and fruit for
human consumption, and in times of scarcity the woods, indeed,
constituted an important reserve. At any rate it is evident that
Healaugh, with the two Wighills, was an ancient and populous
holding even in Saxon times.

There seems to have been two large open fields at Wighill, and
the third probably lay northwards nearer Healaugh. These were
the Westfield, towards Walton, and the Eastfield, towards Healaugh
Priory. These fields were subsequently divided and bore such names
as Wranglandes, Kelbergh, Uplandes, Bawling-flatt, Langrengates,
Shortgrengates (the Healaugh road is still called Green Lane), and
other lands rented by the Prior of Healaugh Park.J Then there
was the Hall demesne, and near the village a plot of five acres,
" between the church and the windmill ; '* and two acres called
Hobbercortlane, now Hob Lane, lay also near the village on the east.
There were in addition several large holdings, amounting to three
carucates, or 540 acres, the chief of which was possessed by the
Abbot and monks of Kirkstall. There was also in Hagendebi
(Hagenby) three carucates of land which before the Conquest had
belonged to Archil, son of Ulf, and afterwards came to the Percies.
This place, evidently a settlement of the Danes, is now lost, but
from an undated charter, conveying ten acres of land in territorio dt
Haggandebi from the Prior and Convent of Healaugh to William de
Percy, it was situate to the east of Wighill, between the Foss and
Catterton Beck and Wood.§ One of the carucates lay within the

* Domesday Commemoration (1888), page 227 et seq..

t Maitland, Domesday Book, page 440,

X See H. E. Chetwynd-Stapylton's The Stapeltons of Yorkshire, page 180.

§ See Kirkby's Inquest (Surtees Soc.), page 26 n.

333

soke of Healaugh. Within the area named there are traces of a
large rectangular moat, which, no doubt, has at one time protected a
hall, house or grange of some consequence.

Mr. H. E. Chetwynd-Stapylton, in his exhaustive and very
valuable treatise on the Stapletons of Yorkshire,* thinks that the
name of Wighill comes from its situation " on a hill overlooking the
Avindings of the Wharfe ;'* and the same opinion is held by the
present respected vicar of Wighill.f But had this derivation been
possible, the two elements composing the name would, I think, have
been reversed, namely, as Hill-wick, or " hill-village," not ** village-
hill."{ The prefix Wig occurs as a single place-name near Bangor
in North Wales, § and I am of opinion that it is to be interpreted by
the very common A.-S. wig^ meaning war, warfare, which in its
various compounds of wigmann (a warrior or soldier), wigrdd (war-
road), wighus (a war-house, tower, or fortress), Wigsteal (a war-place
or stronghold), &c., is also often met with. Hence I take Wighill,
or Wyghall, and Wicheles, as otherwise spelled, to be the halls or
seats (for there were two) of war, or recognized places of military
strength in pre-Conquest times.

But in the elucidation of ancient place-names assistance is often
afforded in the appositeness of the site, or other local circumstance,
to the meaning given, and in this respect the A.-S. wigy in its double
meaning of holy, applies with equal fitness to Wighill. The old
Norman church on the hill here, it is quite possible in view of what
I have said of the early peopling of the district, may occupy the site
of a pagan temple, and the name we know as Wighill may have its
origin in the hall or hill of the idol or temple ^ just as wig-hedd means
an altar-table or place of an idol, and wig-gild^ holy tribute. In
Kemble^s Glossary to the Anglo-Saxon poems on Beowulf, we have
the compound word, wig-weorthungy meaning temple- worship or divine
service ; and Wigan, in Lancashire, is no doubt from this source,
being anciently written Wibiggan, that is, holy building. But from
the excellent military position of our Wharfedale site, commanding

• Published by Longmans, Green & Co. (1897), pp. 333, and Append. 51 pp.

t Vidg Memories 0/ Half-a-Centtiry, by Richard W. Hiley, D.D., page 313.

J The adjective precedes the substantive, e.g. , Wigton. the war-town or enclosure,
situated between the two Roman stations of Maryport and Carlisle. Wigton, in
the parish of Harewood, has probably a similar meaning ; coins and urns having
been found there, and two stone coffins were also dug up in the vicinity, at Black
Hill, in 1760. At Wigmore, near Leominster, there is a large moated eminence
upon which stand the remams of an old Norman castle ; no doubt previously an
Anglo-Saxon stronghold.

§ See Saga Book of the Viking Club, vol. ii., page 20.

334

a wide extent of the surrounding country, I am disposed to hold that
war and not religion has to do with the origin of Wighill. It is also
important to add that it was at a place called Wiheal (which
Sir James Ramsay thinks may be our Wighill) that Uchtred, third
Earl of Northumbrian was treacherously slain by Thorbrand and a
posse of armed men, who had secreted themselves behind a curtain
in the audience-chamber of the Hall of Cnut, whither the Earl had
come to render homage, a.d. 1016. It may be noted that Earl Uchtred
had a house in York, and that one Kilvert, son of Ligulf (p)ossibly
the Ligulf who was lord of Rigton in the parish of Bardsey at the
Conquest), took Ecgfrida, daughter of Bishop Aldun (990 — 1020) to
wife, " when Earl Uchtred had sent her away," to quote Simeon of
Durham.

Perhaps the ancient Moat House, now a cottage on the Walton
Lodge farm, situated about a mile south-west of the village, and not
very far from St. Helen's Well, near the Roman road to Aldborough,
may be the site of one of these Anglo-Saxon war-halls or fortresses.
Nothing is known of the origin or history of the place, but that it
has been anciently a place of consequence is evident from the groumi
enclosed by the moat covering fully half an acre. There is also
another moat situated behind the farm- buildings at Parkgate, but
this is much smaller than the above, being square, and measuring on
the outside little more than 20 yards each way. The centre forms a
small island, and the enclosing dike is ten to twelve feet deep in
water, being fed by never-failing springs, which in the warlike
Middle Ages, would prove a strong inducement to the selection of
such a site.

Goisfred Alselin, the first Norman owner, left a daughter and
heiress, married to Robert de Calz or Caux, who shared her father's
extensive possessions with the descendants of his nephew, Ralph
Alselin or Halselyn. This daughter died before 1131, as Robert de
Caux, her son, had her lands, and the same year Ralph Halselin
renders account of 200 marks of silver and one of gold to have relief
of his father's lands.f This Ralph, says Mr. Ellis, was evidently
the heir of the.nephew.f It is not very clear how Wighill came into
possession of the Mowbrays and Fitz Alans. But Gundreda, grand-
daughter of William de Warrene, married Nigel de Albini, of the
house of Mowbray, and Gundreda, wife of Bertram Haget, founder
of Healaugh Priory, was probably her daughter. § In 1185 ^^®

* For pedigree of Earl Uchtred see my Old Bingley, page 74.
t Pipe Roll, 31st Henry I.

X See Mr. Stapleton's Preface to Liber de Anttquis Legibus (Camden Sec), page
xcix.n. This Preface, observes Mr. Ellis, is a very valuable genealogical memoir
§ See Yorks. Archal. Jl., iv.. page 152.

6^J

Pediqhee of Stapeltoh, or Wioi

33^

Knights Templars held three carucates of land in Wighill of Robert,
Lord Mowbray ; * and about 1 200, Lucia, daughter of Bertram Haget,
inherited part of Wighill and Easedyke from her father. She
married Turet, grandson of a Saxon lord of that name at Wroxeter,
in Salop, and demised her estate to her son Bartholomew. This
Bartholomew dying without issue, his sister, Lucia Turet, succeeded
to Wighill, and conveyed it by marriage to the Blancmonsters, an
old Cornish family, long resident in the Scilly Islands.! With this
family it remained for about 150 years, when Guy de Blancmonster,
clericus, sold it to Sir Brian Stapleton in 13754

Sir Brian, in all probability, built the hall at Wighill, which, with
the estate, he gave to his second son. Sir Miles Stapleton, who was
living at Healaugh in 1 378. The sale to Sir Brian included the manors
of Wighill and Calneton in Ryedale (Carlton, near Helmsley), with
appurtenances, and certain rents in Wyghall (Wighill), Edlyngton,
Skelbrook, York, and Soureby-juxta-Thresk (Thirsk), for which he
paid Blancmonster one thousand pounds sterling, equal to nearly
;^20,ooo of present value. § He had also other estates, namely the
manor of Clifford, in Bramham parish, held of the Earl of Kent ;
two parts of the manor of Farlington ; the manor of Langton Parva
on the Swale, opposite Kirkby Fletham ; and lands and houses at
Skelbrook, Frythby and Askham Brian, but all these afterwards
went to the Stapletons of Carlton, near Snaith, now represented by
the family of Lord Beaumont.^T

The Stapletons of Bedale and Norfolk were of the same stock as
the Wighill family, and by a singular reversion of the family property,
Wighill, which had anciently belonged to the Fitz Alans of Bedale,
was afterwards, by purchase, the property of their descendants,
the Stapletons, for nearly 450 years. Sir Gilbert Stapleton, of
Cotherstone, second son of Sir Miles, the first Baron, married Agnes,
one of the daughters and co-heirs of Brian Fitz Alan, lord of
Bedale, and from this match the Stapletons of Bedale and Norfolk,
Carlton, Wighill, and Myton are all descended. In the valuable
Memoirs of the family of the late Mr. H. E. Chetwynd-Stapylton, a
descendant of the family, the history of its various branches are
carefully and succinctly traced. The family at Wighill did much to
improve the estate, and shortly after their purchase of it, in 1375, it
was set down as worth only ;^io a year, while in the Subsidy Roll of
1523 it is valued at ;^8o. In the will of "Christopher Stapulton, of

* Dugdale's A/o«. vi., page 830.

t See Parker's Domest. Archit., iii., page 107.

J See the Stapeltons oj Yorkshire, page 173.

§ Ibid.. Append.. 30. ^ Ibid., page 174.

337

Wyghall," proved in 1538, are many interesting references to family
heirlooms and furnishings of the old church at Wighill. The testator
was twice married : (i) to Alice, daughter of William Aske, of Aske,
near Richmond, and {2) to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Neville,
of Liversedgei co. York. See illustrative pedigree on page 335.

To Robert Stapullon, his son and heir, he bequeaths a gilt cup
with a cover, called a pear, and another cup covered in the fashion
of a nut called grypeg, both of which are to remain from heir to heir
as long as they will endure. The seal of his arms in silver, and a
ring called a signet, with a Saracen's head graven on it, are also to
remain as heirlooms. Likewise to his said son, two new cups of
silver gilt, with covers, -for ale. To the parish church of Wighill he
gives a pair of organs, " that standeth in the high quire of the said

WlQHILL H*LL ■ CEHTURY AQO.

church."* He also mentions a " vestment of red damask with a
cross of green satin brigges, embroidered with flowers of gold, and
an albe, an amice, a stole, and a faynell thereto belonging,'" in his
chapel of Our Lady within the said church, where he is buried. In
the will of Mary, widow of Henry Stapleton, of Wighill, dated 9th
Feb., 1656, she bequeaths to her grandchild. Miles Stapelton, Esq.,
one great silver bason and ewer and two silver cans (probably the
two ale-tankards mentioned in 1538), and her will is that the Library
left by Mr. Richard Burton shall continue Co the heirs of the house
of Wighill. The last male descendant of the Wighill family was
Henry Stapelton, a Captain in the Yorkshire Militia, who died in

33^

i779> leaving an only child, Martha, who married, in 1783,
Capt. Granville Anson Chetwynd, second son of the fourth Viscount
Chetwynd. He then added by royal license, the name of Stapylton
to his own, and in 181 1 the estate at Wighill was sold by him to
R. Fountayne Wilson, Esq., of whom Dr. Hiley relates some amusing
anecdotes in his Memories, Mr. Wilson was High Sheriff of Yorkshire
in 1807, and M.P. for the county in 1826, but he resigned his seat in
1830. He was succeeded in his estates by his son, Andrew, who
took the name of Montagu, and who long resided at Ingmanthorp
Hall.* The Hall, which was rebuilt on higher ground in the park
in 1 79 1, was afterwards tenanted by the York family, who remained
there till the death of Mrs. York in 1871, when the house was taken
by the Hawke family, the present tenants. John Warburton, the
antiquary, visited Wighill in 1718, and made a poor drawing of the
Hall. The annexed cut shews its aspects shortly before its removal
in 1790. Warburton's sketch is similar in outline, shewing the
square form of the building, with four leaded turrets at the angles.
He remarks on the size of the park, which had then (1718) ninety
head of deer in it.

The original 14th century Hall of the Stapletons was, no doubt, a
picturesque half-timber structure, as in 1400 there is particular
mention of a "great stone chamber behind the Hall," proving that
wood formed the chief part of the main building at that day.
Mr. Chetwynd-Stapylton describes the then aspects and position of
it, remarking that " the outer-gate would face the village green and
the road to Healaugh," and that the " messuages *' purchased of
Blancmonster [1375] are still represented by modern cottages on
the green. The name of an old cottage called " The Vicarage,'*
pulled down twenty years ago, points to the ** Lodge in the garden,'*
as the priest's lodging ; and " Parsonage Lane,*' which leads from it
to the village green, " may have been the passage through the house
from the outer gate, free to the parishioners to use when they visited
the Father Confessor at the Hall.**

Wighill Park, since 1874, has been the residence of the noble
family of Hawke, a family that was raised into distinction through
the great naval successes of the famous Admiral, Sir Edward Hawke,
previously alluded to, upon whom the title of Baron Hawke of
Towton was conferred in 1776. The present and seventh successor
to the title is the well-known cricketer, Martin Bladen, Lord Hawke, t
whose prowess in that healthful pastime is of almost world-wide

• See my Ntdderdale, page 217.

t Second son of the sixth Baron, whose eldest son, Edward, died in i«7i. On
page 213 he is erroneously stated to be the seventh Lord Hawke.

339

renown. The game of cricket, as at present played, it may be
interesting to note, does not date beyond the year 170a ; while the
present form of the bat only came into use in 1746, and up to 1775
the wicket was composed of two stumps only; the third stump being
added in that year. The first recorded cricket match in Yorkshire
ivas played on Chapeltown Moor, near Leeds, in August, 1765,
between gentlemen of that town and gentlemen of Sheffield. It is
stated to have been won by the latter " with great difficulty."

In the York Visitation Books are many references to past events
and customs of the parish. One of these, under date 1590, alludes

PUAN OF WlQHILL.

to the prevalence of sports and pastimes that were tolerated in and
about the churchyard in monastic times, but which the laws of Queen
Elizabeth rigorously repressed. Robert Potter, Percival Atkinson,
Richard Skelton, Thos. Bewyke, Jas. Taylor, Anthony Symson.jun.,
Wm. Watson, John Scarr, and Richard Stryngfelowe, are all charged
for that they did dance after Percival Grave, a piper, oF Walton,' on
Sunday, the 3rd of May, 1590, in service time. They were ordered
to repair to the churchyard and there to declare their offences before

340

the curate and six honest persons. No doubt this had often occurred
before, and the vicar, as head of the reformed Church, was determined
to put a stop to such "heathen practices." In 1596 Christopher
Thwaites, of Wighill, was declared to be a recusant, and in 1663
Roger Stowin, and Elizabeth, his mother, were charged for not
coming to church, because they were Quakers. The village contains
few other buildings of interest besides the old Norman church. There
is one inn, the White Swan, and a Wesleyan chapel was erected here
in 1828.

The church at Wighill (All Saints) was appropriated to the Priory
of Healaugh, and a vicarage ordained, which was endowed with the
** tithes of Esdyke and Folihyt," in or before a.d. 1288. The same
monastery had also two oxgangs of land in Wighill, and Alice,
daughter of Henry, clericus, of Wighill, formerly relict of Benedict
de Merston, sold two acres of land here to the same Prior and
Convent for two marks (26s. 8d.). In Pope Nicholas* taxation, ca.
1292, the church is valued at 12 marks or £S, but the district suffered
greatly by the invasion of the Scots after Bannockburn, and in 13 18
its value was reduced to £^ 6s. 8d. The Inquisitioius Nonarnm of
1340 show that the ninth of sheaves, wool, and lambs were then
worth £6 13s. 4d. per annum, but the place could not supp>ort a
merchant, and there was no one living in the parish except by
agriculture. Matters however began to improve, and forty years
later a merchant named William Russell, was established at Wighill,
and there were also a brazier, a smith, and an arrow-maker, living
in the village at the same time. The oldest register book runs from
1 71 7 to 1749 but has been missing many years, so that there are
now no available registers of the parish prior to 1750.*

The ancient fabric stands upon an eminence composed of glacial
drift, and commands a very wide and beautiful prospect. Its venerable
tower is an object of interest for many miles round. The church is
entered by a very fine soutli doorway, having a semi-circular arch of
four orders supported upon cylindrical shafts with square abaci,
three of them richly sculptured. The outer arch has a bold flowing
chevron ; the next consists of a beak-head ornament, whilst the third
arch is sculptured with various devices of human heads and animals ;
the fourth or innermost being plain. There is a holy-water stoup in
a rather curious position cut out of one of the shafts upon the right
side of the door on entering. From the sculptures of this fine
Norman doorway, though the tooth of time is apparent upon them,
we are still able to glean something of the habits and costumes of
the Conqueror's day. The masonry of the south wall has also a

' See Dr. Hiley's Memories of Hiilf-a-Ceutury (1899), pages 373-4

3+1

Norman look about it, and the wall is fully a yard thick, but the
windows are later (Perpiendicular) insertions. Above the Norman
door there hangs an ancient shield of Stapelton, in oak (argent, a
lion rampant, sa.), square in form, and of unknown antiquity.

The interior of the church consists of a nave and north aisle, a
chancel and north choir or chapel of Our Lady, which for a long
period was the burial-place of the Stapletons. A vestry was added

Norman Doorway. Wiqhill Church.

about 1850. The aisle is separated from the body of the church by
four circular arches, supported by massive cylindrical columns,
having octagonal capitals. The tower arch is pointed. The
Perpendicular east window consists of three coloured lights, and is a
memorial to Richard York, Esq., who died in 1843, aged 64, and his
wife, Lady Mary Anne, daughter of Edward, Earl of Harewood.
She died in 1831, aged 55. As Dodsworth notes the arms of
Pickering {or, a Hon rampant, azure) in the " north quier east
window," it would appear that the fabric of the church was restored

342

subsequent to 1459, when Sir Wm. Stapleton took to wife, Maxg^aret,
daughter of Sir James Pickering, of Oswaldkirk. Sir William died
in 1503. The glass was all apparently perfect in 1661. In the south
window of the chancel is a shield, argent, three lozenges, gulss
( ), and in the east window of the chapel appears €fr^ a

maunch, gules ( ). No doubt long after vicar Burton left

I OS. for the paving of the choir in 1498, the body of the church
retained its hard, earthen floor, without provision for seating axiy but
the aged and infirm. Although the church needs judicious restoration,
it is interesting to discover in these days of universal renovations
and modem church-furnishings, a building which still retains the
original oak seats. On one of the old worm-eaten oak p)ewrs I
observed the initial and date " 1674 P.**

Drake gives transcripts of the ancient monumental inscriptions in
the church, including one of the above-mentioned William Burton,
vicar of Wighill, who died in 1498, and six inscribed tombstones of
the Stapletons. Vicar Burton made a will ordering his body to be
buried in the churchyard of " AUhallows, Wighall, a litell from the
qwher dore, opon the sowth sid." He left los. to the paving of the
choir, and los. to the buying of a chalice ;* also los. to the high
altar of the monastery of St. John of Healaugh Park, and to the
adornment thereof 20s. He was a canon of the monastery, and had
been presented to the living of Wighill by the Prior and Convent
thereof in 1481-2. The Stapleton slabs have been placed in the
north aisle to make way for the Hall pew. The oldest of them has
a black-letter inscription, as follows :

®ratc )}ro antma tiom. dSiUtelmi fitaptlton mtlttus et pro anitna bnr
ifnargarrte uxoris sue qui quttiem tDEtlltelmus obitt ibt. tit mmstft Beccm.
an Worn ifi.B. tertio 2Duju0 ate ppttietur Seus.

There is also a fine 17th century altar-tomb, with cumbent effigy,
now within a railed enclosure at the west end of the aisle, which was
also removed firom Our Lady's chapel to make room for the Hall
pew. This monument represents Robert Stapleton, Esq., who
served on the Continent in the cause of the Protestant Elector
Palatine, son-in-law of James I. He married in 1622 Catherine
Fairfax, of Walton, and died nth March, 1634-5, ^^ ^^^ early age of

* This chalice is evidently the same that is mentioned in an inventory of
church goods, 7th Edward VI. (1553), wherein the commissioners say they have
left in the parish church of " Wighell in the Aynstie," one chalice of silver,
•* pondring by estymacion iii. unces, to remayne for th'administracon of the Holie
Comunion in the same, and also iii. belles, pondring by estimacion twenty
hundreds." There are still three bells, dated respectively 1636, 1658, and 1699
The two latter were re-cast in 1840.

343

33- He is represented clad in the armour of the period ; the feet
resting against a large Saracen's head, that being the crest of his
family, for we are told, " Sir Bryan Stapilton, Knight of the Garter,
slew a Saryson in plane batell, in the presence of three Kings, of
England, Fraunce, and Scotland, and for that Acte, desiring for
Beauty his head in his Creaste forever moor."* On the south side
of the tomb are four Ionic columns in dark marble, with an inscription
in Latin, and on either side of it are the kneeling figures of three
boys and three girls. The least of the boys is shewn holding a skull
intended no doubt to indicate the second born of his family, Henry,
who died in infancy. The eldest son, Sir Miles Stapleton, the
" unparalleled Roialist," succeeded his father at Wighilt, and died in

Tomb of Robert Stapleton, Wiohill Church.
1668, being buried for some unaccountable reason at Fewston in the
Washhurn valley. At the east end of the monument is a shield of
nine quarterings, with supporters.

In the chancel is a mural monument to the last of the Stapletons
of Wighill. The inscription states that Henry Stapylton, of Wighill
Park, Esquire, died 4th April, 1779, aged 38, and Harriet, his widow,
died in 1791, aged 53, leaving an only daughter, Martha, who married
Captain Granville Anson Chetwynd, as previously related. She
died in 1822, and was buried at Hadley in Middlesex, being the last
of the ancient name of Stapleton whose family had lived at Wighill
almost uninterruptedly from the year 1375.

• Harl MSS.. 1412, fo. 63 {sub. a.d., 1530),

344

Adjoining this tablet is another inscribed to the memory of
Helen Webb, of Beverley, second daughter and co-heiress of
Bernard Webb, Esq., of Clovenmilcon, co. Cork, descended by
Elizabeth, daughter of George Healey, Esq., of Burringham, co.
Lincoln, and relict of Henry Stapylton, Esq., of Wighill Park. She
was born in 1755 and died in 1777. ^" ^^® south wall is a memoriaJ
to the above Henry Stapylton, Esq., who died in 1746, aged 23. In
the chancel, on the south side, is a sedilia of three seats and a
piscina, covering a blocked doorway. There is also a memorial
tablet to Christopher Wilson, Esq., of Oxton House, Tadcaster, who
died in 1842, and was interred at Fulham, Middlesex. Also another
to John Dawson, of Wighill Grange.

The east end of the north aisle was the chapel of Our Lady, where
many generations of the ancient lords of Wighill are interred. I
cannot find that this chapel was ever separately endowed. It has
been furnished with an altar, and a piscina is yet there. Probably it
was served by the lords' chaplains of the private oratory at the
manor-house, for the founding of which license was granted to
Wm. Stapleton, Esq., in 1456. In 1459 there was a further Jicense
from the Archbishop to have " an oratory for three years at Wighall '*
and other places. The grants were renewed from time to time
subsequently.

There is a beautiful window on the south side of the church to the
memory of the Rev. Thomas Jessop, S.T.P., vicar of Wighill from
1839 to 1863. He was a man of great culture, and many accomplish-
ments ; his skill in languages being especially remarkable. He was
not only an excellent Latin and Greek scholar, but almost equally
well read in Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic. He was succeeded by
his son-in-law, the present esteemed vicar, the Rev. Richard W.
Hiley, D.D. Dr. (then Mr.) Hiley, had for two or three years
previous to 1863, managed the Thorp Arch Grange School, established
by his father. He continued the school for many years (to 1889) ^^
the same time as he held the living of Wighill. But during this
period he was assisted by his brother, the Rev. Alfred Hiley, M.A.,
who was resident curate at Wighill, and who, for the past twenty
years, has been the respected vicar of the adjoining parish of Walton.

The long and useful life of Dr. Hiley has been one of untiring
energy. He has recently published an excellent volume of Memories y
a well-printed book of over 400 pages, in which he recounts the story
of his career, interspersed with incident and anecdote grave and gay,
and many interesting personal recollections of events of the past
fifty years.

345

CHAPTER XXX.

Healaugh: St. Heiv's Monastery.

Numerous local dedications to St. Helen — Local continuance of Celtic monasti-
cism — St. Heiu settles at Tadcaster in 649 — Annexation of Elmete by King
Edwin — His acceptance of Christianity in 627 — St. Heiu's monastery
supposed to have been established at Healaugh— St. Hilda's ancestry
Meaning of Healaugh— Supposed memorial of St. Heiu at Healaugh — A
curious discovery — Comparison with other early memorials — The early
dioceses and growth of monasticism.

HE many dedications to St. Helen, — both churches and

holy- wells — in the vale of the Wharfe, and particularly

around York, — the church at Healaugh being amongst

them — strongly suggests local obedience to the desire

of the Emperor Constantine, to honour his revered

mother on the legal establishment of Christianity in 325.* It is of

course impossible to assign any definite dates to these dedications,

but the probability is that most of them are very early. Moreover,

from the remarkable five-fold dedication -names preserved on a pre-

Norman tablet in the church of St. Mary, Castlegate, York, previously

alluded to, it is clear that the old Celtic method of forming groups

of churches, often widely separated, under one mon^istery, continued

in this neighbourhood apparently after the synod of Whitby abolished

the Celtic priesthood in 664.

The Abbess Heiu, or St. Heiv, daughter of Hereric, who was the

first woman in Northumbria to embrace the monastic life, founded

the monastery at Heruteu (Hartlepool) shortly before 649, in which

year, we further learn from the venerable Bede, she retired and fixed

her abode at Kailcacaestir, or Calcaria (Tadcaster). At Heruteu she

was succeeded by St. Hilda, who is stated to have been bom in 614,

and of whom an interesting account will be found in Miss Amold-

Forster's recent Studies in Church Dedications, "f Hereric, the father of

* See post, KiRKBY Overblow.

t It is believed by some that the name of this famous abbess, Hilda, is retained
in the ancient Heldetunes of Domesday. &c. Like the chapel at Hartlepool,
dedicated to St. Hilda, there was a chapel at Wistow also dedicated to St. Hilda,
which in the Fabric Rolls of York Minster, is stated to have become " almost an
utter ruin " in 1481. It was embraced in the great Liberty of Cawood. Wistow,
and Otley, which formed part ot the grant of Athelstan to the See of York.

34^

Hilda, and according to Dr. Bright, also of St. Heiu,* is recorded
to have been waylaid and poisoned in the country called Elmete,
governed by Cerdic or Ceretic, and this treachery, resulting in the
death of the noble Hereric, led Eadwin to expel Cerdic and annex
Elmete to his kingdom of Deira, ca, 620. The following descents
shew the relationship of St. Hilda with Eadwin or Edwin, King of
Northumbria, who, with his whole court, embraced Christianity by
public baptism in the church or small wooden oratory (parent of the
great Minster) specially erected for the purpose in York, a.d. 627.
iELLE.

Eadfrith

Eadwine, b. 586,
King of Northumbria, Bapt. 627,. slain in 633.

L-

Hereric^ Breguswith Oswin=t^ Eanflaeda.

King of
Deira, slain by
Oswy, A.D. 651

Erected a monastery at

at Collingham on the Wharfe.
A.D. 651.

Athelric^T^Hereswith
a nun at
Cale in

647.

Adulph

(SurUes, Vol. 51.

page 205.)

Hilda.

Abbess of

Strenaeshalh

(Whitby),

founded in 657.

She died 680.

iElfflaeda.
successor of
S. Hilda at
Strenaeshalh

Ahlfrith
Acgfrith
^Ifwine

Aldfrith.=p
King of
North-
umbria.
d. 705.

Eadulf, Osraed,

reigned 2 months over succeeded

Northumbria, a.d. 705 Eadulf as King
(mentioned by the Abbess of Northum-
iElfled at the Council of Nidd), see Stainburn. bria in 705.

The annexation of Elmete and the establishment of Christianity
throughout Northumbria, had probably induced St. Heiu to found
cells and extend her influence in various parts of our Yorkshire, and
herself to quit Hartlepool and reside nearer York, the scene of
Edwin's triumph.! Bede says she chose Kaelcacaestir or Tadcaster,
and there opened a monastery, but whether this was actually in
Tadcaster, or somewhere in the neighbourhood, will probably never
be known. The opinion was hazarded by the late Dr. Bright, and
also by the late Rev. D. H. Haigh, the well-known Runic scholar,
that Healaugh, about three miles north-east ot Tadcaster, was the
site of the original monastery, and that in the name of Healaugh
lurks the name of the woman who made the place famous.J This
" Heiu-laeg,*' or Heiv's territory, is also believed to be at the root of
other places of the same or similar names in Yorkshire, such as

• Early English Church History, page 164.

f Remembering, too, that the illustrious Bede founded the monastic school at
York, which afterwards sent out Alcuin to reconstitute European learning under
the fostering hand of Charlemagne (see Encyclopedia Brttannica, s.v. " Monachism."
page 707), it is very likely the district had already attained some fame for its
Christian piety and institutions.

I See Dr. Bright 's Early English Church History, page 164.

347

Healaugh (Ha-le in Domesday) in Swaledale (the river Swale being
the scene of great baptisms by Paulinus), Heeley near Sheffield,
Healey near Batley, and Healey near Masham, as well as other
places in the ancient Northumbria bearing perhaps corrupt forms of
the original name of Heiu.*

In the exterior walls of the church at Haile, in Cumberland, is a
fragment of a cross-shaft of the spiral typ)e, like that of St John's
(Beckermet) and St. Bees, and there is also in the vestry of the same
church, a " Roman-looking ring-cross, part probably of a mediaeval
grave-slab/ *t Ii^ the churchyard at Healaugh, near Tadcaster, the
subject of this chapter, there was dug up in 1842 a curiously incised
grave-slab, bearing, according to the Rev. Father Haigh, the name
of St. Heiu, in Roman lettering, whose monastery he supposed had
stood upon the site in the 7th century.
" In the course of digging a vault in

the cemetery at Healaugh many years

ago," observes Father Haigh, ** the

broken tomb-stone of which the figure

is here given, was found six feet below

the surface. The design is very peculiar,

— a composition of circles, all scratched

slightly with a compass, and a cross

roughly formed by triple lines. The

inscription gives two names, disposed

like those of

VER

TORHT

MVND SVID

on one of the Hartlepool tombstones to
be noticed in the sequel. The name to
the left is madug, certainly Celtic, and
(whether it be British or Scottish) as
certainly referring the antiquity of this
monument to the seventh century, when
some British population may be believed
to have still remained in the not very
distant territory of Elmete, and Scottish
monks, at least before a.d. 664, formed
a part of the community in many of the Northumbrian monasteries.

• See also the author's Old Bingley, of. St. Ives

t Illustrated in Calverley and Collingwood's Early Sculptured Crosses in the
Diocese of Carlisle (1899), pages 180. 182. In the Life of S. Begu, written in the
I2th century by a monk of St. Bees, the two Christian ladies, Heiu and Begu are
identified. Yorks. Archal. Jl., v. 349.

The St. Heiv stone found
AT Healaugh.

348

The name to the right wants but one letter (to correspond with those
on the left) to complete heiu, and thus confirms what I have
advanced with regard to the locality of St. Heiu*s latest settlement/**
An inscribed stone of St. Begu, who died in 68 1, the year following
the death of St. Hilda, was found at Hackness in 1140. It tx>re
these words : Hoc est sepulchram Beghu, a remarkable inscription
(if original), for a 7th century grave-cover. The Runic alphabet
was then in use, though during the 7th century the Roman character
appears to have been employed in inscriptions, yet it is not until the
beginning of the following century that we meet with parchment
manuscripts. It is also noteworthy that the form of the lettering on
the Healaugh stone greatly resembles that of the mixed Latin and
Saxon inscription on the St. Mary's stone at York. The six parallel
straight lines probably represent the six censings, and there also
app)ears the celebrant's wafer on a paten and behind it the chalice,
and behind it again the five wafers for the people on a large paten.
The large bread is in front of the chalice, the five smaller behind ;
just as two breads, one before the chalice and the other behind,
appear on the altar in the representation of the typical sacrifice of
Melchizedek at San Vitale, Ravenna. f

• Yorks. Archal. Jl., vo\. iii., page 365. One has continually to lament the
removal of relics from the places or neighbourhoods where they were first found.
What has become of this interesting Healaugh monument of (apparently) the
time of S. Heiu, no one now seems to know. The late worthy vicar of Healaugh
(the Rev. R. H. Cooke) greatly lamented its removal from the church. He
informed me that the stone was found while digging a grave for the burial of a
parishioner who was interred Sept. 27th, 1842. Mr. Cooke had never heard of
the stone until he was visited by Professor G. F. Browne (now Bishop of Bristol)
about five years after he had been settled at Healaugh . The interested Professor
had come to see the stone, but it could not be found. This would be about the
year 1879. Mr. Cooke thought there might be a possibility of recovering it, as
at that time there was living at Boston Spa an old clergyman (Rev. E. Peacopp)
who had been curate of Healaugh for 30 years, and who had officiated at the
funeral of the person who was interred in the grave where the stone was found.
Unfortunately, however, the aged parson could throw no light on the matter.
He clearly remembered the circumstance of the discovery, but like everyone else
who also remembered it, did not know where it went, or who had removed it
It was a small stone, barely two feet long.

t See Yorks. Archal. JL, vol. v., pages 223—6,

349

CHAPTER XXXI.

Healaugh : Its History, Church, and " Bible Lands."

Antiquity of socage rights — Comparison with Beverley — Domesday testimony —
Extent of soke of Healaugh— Descent of the manor — Records of the church
— Its original dedication to St. Helen — The Norman doorway — Description
of the church— The late Rev. R. H. Cooke— The Whartons of Healaugh—
Philip, fourth Lord Wharton— His great Bible Charity — Wrongful diversion
of the trust — Memorial of the Rev. Bryan Dale— Rearrangement of the
charity — The present trustees — Sale of the "Bible Lands" — Purchase of
Healaugh by the Brooksbank family —Picturesque aspects — The old "castle."

UCH were the extensive and important socage rights
belonging to Healaugh at the Conquest that their
existence anterior to the survey of 1083 — 6 cannot
be doubted. They may be also applied with equal
certainty to other places in Yorkshire, whose
ecclesiastical history sprang from the seeds of the old monasticism of
St. Heiv's time. St. John of Beverley, for example, who had been
trained under the venerable Abbess of Strenaeshalh, the good
St. Hilda, is reputed to have founded a monastery at Beverley, where
he is said to have died in 721.* A charter of the Conqueror notifies
" to all the men of Yorkshire, Norman and English," that he has
" given to St. John of Beverley sac and soc over all the lands which
were given to the church of St. John in the days of King Edward,**
&c.t The soke of Healaugh, there is little doubt, was confirmed in
1083 by virtue of a similar pre-existing heritage.

Domesday tells us that in Hailaga (Healaugh) and two Wicheles
(Wighill) there was a manor of 18 carucates of land for geld, held
by one Tochi. Now Goisfrid (Alselin) has it. William de Percy had
also 3 carucates in Hagendebi and Hailaga. To the soke of Hailaga
belonged one carucate in Haghedenbi (Hagenby), now Easedyke),J
also half a carucate in Ulsitone (Ouston) ; 5 carucates in Bodeltune

* See Surtees Soc, vol. 98, pages 15—28.

t Ibid., page xxxi., also pages 253, 257.

J Haghedenbi is ascribed by Mr. Stapleton to Angram, in the parish of Long
Marston, in the Memoirs of the Meeting of the Archaeological Institute at York in
1846. page 140.

350

(Bolton Percy) ; 12 bovates in Waletune (Walton) ; i carucate in
Acastre, i carucate in Ruforde (Rufforth), and i carucate in Ascham
(Askham Bryan). All these lands, now comprised in various
parishes, were, as appears by this valuable testirfcony, originally
within the great soke of Healaugh.

At the time that St. Heiu settled in the neighbourhood of Tadcaster
the dioceses were coextensive with the Heptarchic kingdoms, but
shortly afterwards the subdivision of the dioceses was followed by a
great development of monasticism. There were then but few village
churches. In this district there can be no doubt the influence of
St. Heiv*s monastery, — be it at Tadcaster or at Healaugh — was very
wide and effective, and on the suppression of the Celtic church in 664,
it had already sown the seeds of a devotion which grew and clung to
the district continuously afterwards. Of course there were interv^aJs
of repression, as when the heathen Danes, in the 9th and loth
centuries, destroyed all or nearly all of these early monasteries. But
considering, as Bishop Stubbs has so ably expounded, the thorough
harmony of Church and State in these ages — the parish being but
the civil township in an ecclesiastical sense,— one may be tempted to
believe that the wide franchise extended to the township of Healaugh
in Norman times arose from its early importance in an ecclesiastical
sense. Socage tenures were undoubtedly the relics of Saxon liberty,
and what had existed in Saxon times was not withdrawn by William
on the settlement of property at the Conquest. And in the case of
ecclesiastical holdings, observes Mr. Freeman, the will and seal of
Edward the Confessor stood inviolate and was reckoned in all
transactions as good as William's.*

The half carucate in Ulsitone (Ouston in the township of Oxton)
was held of Percy by one Fulk, son of Reinfrid, who with the help
of Earl Hugh and William de Percy re-established the old monastery
of St. Hilda.f The above Tochi, who was lord of the manor, with
its soke rights, of Healaugh before the Conquest, was son of Outi,
and a large landowner in Northants., Leicestershire, Derbyshire,
Notts., and Lincolnshire, with his chief seat in Lincoln. J

The lands of Goisfrid Alselin descended to his daughter and
heiress, wife of Robert de Calz or Caux, by whom they were divided
with the descendants of his nephew, Ralph Halselyn.§ Healaugh
came to the Hagets, and in 1201 William fil Hugh de Lelay
quitclaimed to Jordan de S. Maria and Alice his wife, three hundred

* See Surtees Soc, vol. 98, pages xv. — xxviii.

t See Yorks. Archai. Jl., vol. iv., page 154, and v., page 302.

J Yorks. Archai. Jl., vol. iv., page 227. § Ibtd., page 227.

351

acres of woodland in Helage (Healaugh) Park, tor which the said
Jordan and Alice gave to the said William 20 marks of silver.* This
Alice is stated to be a daughter of John de Friston, or Fryston, by
Alice, one of the four sisters and co-heiresses of Geoflfery Haget,
lord of Healaugh, and founder of Healaugh Priory in I2i8.t But
in the particulars of the coats quartered in the Earl of Strafford's
achievement J the above Alice, daughter and heiress of John de Friston
is stated by Mr. Ellis to be the [first ?] wife of Sir Richd. Walleys.
Then he says Sir Richard Walleys and Agnfs had Stephen Walleis,§
who married Nora, daughter and co-heiress of Robert de Umfraville,
** Earl of Angus," descendant of Robert de Umfraville by Aveline,
daughter and co-heiress of the Just icier Richard de Lucy, through
their grandson Gilbert de Umfraville of Prudhoe, and Matilda his
wife, daughter and heiress of Gilchrist, Earl of Angus, in Scotland.
Nicholaa, sister of Sir Richard Waleys, married Sir William le
Vavasour, of Hazlewood, and in 13 15, she then a widow, with John
Waleys, was returned as joint possessor of the manor of Helaugh.
In 1282 Sir Stephen Waleys received a grant of free warren in
Burgh Waleis, Newton Waleis, Hauley (Healaugh), Cottingeley,
and Dunesford, and his grandson, Stephen, son ot Richard de Waleys,
obtained a similar charter in 1331. Elizabeth, daughter and heiress
of the above Stephen Walleis, was twice married, (i) to Sir William
Neville, and (2) to Sir John de Depeden, Kt., and her daughter and
heiress, Margaret Depeden, married Sir William de Mowbray,
grandparent of Sir Alexander de Mowbray, whose daughter Elizabeth
married the famous Judge Gascoigne of Gawthorpe.|| Sir John
Depeden was lord of Healaugh, and in 1402 left by will to the
Prioress and Convent of Esholt in Airedale, to pray for his soul and
that of Elizabeth, his consort, and those of all the faithful departed,
the sum of 20 shillings. For a like purpose a similar sum is also
left to each of the Nunneries of Arthington, Kirklees, and others, as
well as bequests to Healaugh. Sir John was one of the executors of
the will of Sir Brian Stapleton, of Wighill, in 1394.

The church, says Torre, formerly belonged to the patronage of the
family of W^aleys and from them to the Depedens. It was afterwards
appropriated to the Priory of Healaugh by Sir John Depeden and
Elizabeth his wife, the King's license being first obtained therein
5th February, a.d. 1398, and a vicarage ordained, which was

• Surtees Soc, vol. 94, page 10. f Jbid., page ion.

J Harl. MSS., 1047, fo. 48.

§ Sir Stephen le Waleys, of Burgh Waleys, was living in 1294. He was
returned in 1284-5 as joint lord, with Alice le Vavasur, of the manor of Bilton.

II Yorks. Archal.JL, vol. vi., page 371.

352

augmented 27th April, 1425. According to Pope Nicholas's Taxation
(1292), the church was valued at 10 marks (£6 13s. 4d.) In the
King's Books the vicarage is valued at £6 per annum ; and in 18 18
at between ;^8o and ;^ioo per annum. In the Survey, authorised
during the Commonwealth, it is stated that there is at Healaugh
" neither parsonage nor vicarage, nor any maintenance for a minister,
save that Philip, Lord Wharton, formerly paid gratis £^ to a curate
for reading there. Mr. Oxley doth now officiate there every Lord's
Day at the benevolence of the said Lord Wharton. We find cause
to enlarge this parish. The town of Catterton we find in the parish
of Tadcaster, a mile and a half distant from Tadcaster, and bad
ways, oftentimes stopped by the overflowing of the river of Foss,
running betwixt. Which said town of Catterton is not half-a-mile
off Healaugh, therefore we think fit it be divided from Tadcaster
and annexed to Healaugh, and made of that parish, together with
the profits thereof."

Torre supplies a catalogue of the vicars to 1530, and " since the
Dissolution," says Archbishop Sharp (1691 — 1714), ** no vicar hath
been instituted." In 171 5 the living was augmented with ;^2oo, and
in 1 761 with a further ;^2oo, both by lot ; and in 1763 with ;^2oo to
meet a benefaction of ;^2oo firom the executors of the Rev. M. Buck,
and in 1798 again with ;^2oo by lot. The registers begin with the
year 1687. The present patron and impropriator is Edward
Brooksbank, Esq., who is lord of the manor and resides at Healaugh
Manor.* In the gardens of the Old Hall, near the church, are a
number of sculptured stones, many of them ornamented with coats
of arms.

Like most of the churches in the generally-flat and low-lying
district of the Ainsty, the church at Healaugh has been raised on the
highest and most commanding site in the village. It is a very old
and interesting structure. The original dedication appears to have
been to St. Helen,t which Father Haigh identifies with the name of
St. Heiu.J It is now, and probably has been for many centuries,
dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and is entered by a descent of one
step {see page 97). The principal or south doorway is a rich
example of Norman sculpture, consisting of a semi-circular arch of
four orders supported by cylindrical shafts having square abaci,
enriched. The outer arch bears a fine chevron moulding terminating
on plain corbels unsupported by shafts ; the next is compKDsed of
various grotesque figures and human heads ; the third consists of

* Mr. Brooksbank has proved himself a good Churchman as readers of
Dr. Hiley's Memories may learn. See page 386 of that work.

t Yorks. Arch. Jl., vol. ii., page 185. J Ibtd., vol. iii., page 364.

NoHMAN Doorway, Healauqh Church

354

beak-heads, and the inner arch is plain, with enriched capitals. The
dragon -twist on the capitals shews a Scandinavian influence, and one
of the capitals bears a design of several animals, which may be
explained by the ancient bestiaries or books upon creatures with a
religious symbolism. The old oaken door is noteworthy, and bears
marks of what may be bullet-shots. Dr. Leadman records a tradition
of a dragoon who, while hastening to Marston Moor, cast a shoe, and
stopped at the village smithy to get it replaced. Bullying the
blacksmith over his tardiness he soon galloped off, and terrified the
villagers by discharging his carbine at the church door ! Above the
doorway there is a shield of the Wharton arms, but the strong ivy-
plant now climbing in front of the entrance needs keeping in check,
part of the sculpture being overgrown. Much of the building, it
should be stated, was taken down and restored about 1790, and the
church was further repaired in i860, and a new organ added in 1890.
The interior consists of nave, chancel, and north aisle, the latter
being separated from the body of the church by three circular arches
carried upon columns formed by the union of four large cylinders,
each of the capitals bearing a transition leaf ornament. The chancel-
arch is also of similar age, the supporting shaft being ornamented
with a beautiful design of true-lovers' knots and net-work. The east
window is of three pointed lights, with cinquefoil heads. This window
and two others are filled with beautiful stained -glass, and are
memorials to members of the Brooksbank family. A single arch of
wide span separates the chancel from its north aisle, and here is a
fine altar-tomb bearing the cumbent effigies of Thomas, first Lord
Wharton (1495 — 1568) and his two wives, (i) Eleanor, daughter of
Sir Bryan Stapleton, of Wighill, and (2) Anne, widow of Lord Bray
and second daughter of Francis Talbot, fifth Earl of Shrewsbury.
The tomb bears this inscription :

Gens Whartona genus, dat honores dextera victrix
Tres Aquilonares regni finesque guberno
Bina mihi conjux. Stapleton juvenem Eleonora
Prole beat ; fovet Anna senem, stirps clara Salopum.
Nati equites bini. Thomam Sussexa propago
Anna facit patrem. Sine prole Henricus obibat.
Binae itidem natae, Penletona Joanna Gulielmo
Agnes Musgravo conjux secunda Ricardo.*

The handsome brass lectern is also a notable object in the church,
and was designed and made by the late venerable vicar, the Rev. R.

• Sir Thomas was Lord Warden of the West Marches, and " gave so great a
defeat to the Scots at Solemn Moss, ad. 1542, that their King, James the Fifth,
soon after died of grief. With 300 men he not only defeated their army but took
above 1000 prisoners, for which service he received several marks of honor."
Bishop Gibson in Camden's Britannia.

355

H. Cooke. It is of very chaste design, being composed of beautifully
fashioned emblems of the Evangelists, and is suitably inscribed.
Mr. Cooke was an adept in all kinds of metal work which he practised
almost to the end of his life. The lectern in Bolton Percy church
was also his work. He took a deep interest in his ancient church
and had studied its every feature, and being of affable and engaging
conversation, his presence was always welcomed by all who knew
him. He had been vicar of Healaugh about 25 years and died
November 5th, 1899, in his 8oth year. He is succeeded as vicar of
Healaugh by his son, the Rev. R. H. M. Cooke.

The Whartons were living at Healaugh about the time of the

Reformation. Thomas, the first Lord Wharton had, it is stated,*

in 1 53 1, bought the manors of Healaugh and Catterton from the

Earl of Northumberland for ;^5oo, and in 1541 he purchased from

Sir Arthur Darcy, Kt., the rectory of the church of Healaugh, with

all the tithes, offerings, oblations, profits, and emoluments of the

same church and the advowson of the vicarage thereof. He also

purchased at a later date many other estates, including the site of

the monastery of Sinningthwaite, and lands in Walton, Bickerton,

and Bilton, which were long afterwards known as " Bible Lands."

His chief seat was Wharton Hall, in Ravenstonedale, which had

belonged to the family " beyond the date of any records extant,""!*

and which he rebuilt in 1559, that date being over the great gateway.

A few years after this time he found it expedient to leave that quarter

and settle at Healaugh, near Tadcaster, where he died in 1568, as

mentioned above. J Philip, the third Lord Wharton, who died in

1625, and who was buried at Healaugh, sat in the House of Lords for

more than forty years. His younger son. Sir Thomas Wharton, who

became heir to the Wharton title and estates, resided at Aske Hall,

near Richmond, in the North Riding, and died there in 1622, in his

fiather's lifetime. The successor to the title and property, was Philip,

fourth Lord Wharton, elder son of Sir Thomas, of Aske. He was

born in 161 3 and was thrice married, leaving a numerous progeny.

He was a zealous Puritan, " much concerned," says Carlyle, " with

preachers, chaplains, &c., in his domestic establishment, and full of

Parliamentary and politico-religious business in public." He was

very friendly with Cromwell, and it was intended to marry his

daughter Elizabeth with Henry Cromwell, but the event never

came off", owing to some "just scruples of the lady," who eventually

became the wife of Lord Willoughby.

• But see Feet of Fines for 1536-7.

t Camden's Britannia, page 988.

J Su The Good Lord Wharton, by the Rev. Bryan Dale (1901), page 13.

356

Lord Wharton, who occasionally resided at Healaugh, died in
Feb. 1695-6. He will always be remembered for his great Bible
Charity, founded by indentures dated nth and 12th July, 1692, by
which 1050 Bibles, " with the singing Psalms bound up therewith,"
were to be yearly purchased and distributed among children of p)oor
people in certain specified towns in Yorkshire, Westmorland,
Cumberland, and Buckinghamshire. The income appropriated for
this purpose was derived from an estate of about 470 acres, situated
in Sinningthwaite, Bilton, Walton, and Bickerton, which lands had
been purchased by the family in 1560. (See above.) It was truly a
noble gift, or as his lordship's firiend, Thoresby, the antiquary, who
was at that time a Protestant Dissenter, describes it, " a most
excellent spiritual Charity, whereby many poor families not otherwise
provided, became acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, which are
able to make them wise unto salvation." Oliver Heywood, one of
the founders of Independency, was deeply interested in the Charity,
and in the summer of 1693 visited Lord Wharton at Healaugh, and
says that he " prayed four times with my lord."* At Healaugh and
Catterton 30 Bibles were to be annually distributed, but if the poor
children of these places were sufficiently supplied the surplus copies
were to go Bilton. Tadcaster, Wetherby, and Knaresbro' were to
have 10 each, and other towns in proportion ; the largest number
(100) going to the city of York.

Down to 1782 the Bibles were regularly sent to Dissenting
ministers, and the trustees were composed partly of Dissenters and
partly of Churchmen. But after the date named there appears to
have been a serious diversion of the Charity to the exclusive use of
members of the Church of England, contrary to the instructions
of the original Trust and the intentions of the founder. This
appropriation by the Church of the Establishment has continued
without contradiction almost to the present time. But in January,
1897, ^^6 Rev. Bryan Dale, M.A., Secretary of the Yorkshire
Congregational Union and President of the Bradford Historical
Society, published a short history of the Charity, and eventually laid
a memorial before the Charity Commissioners setting forth the main
facts of the case and urging further enquiry. This led to a new scheme
being established for the regulation and administration of the Charity
under an Order of the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division),
dated 5th August, 1898, by which half the funds of the Charity, after
payment of necessary expenses, is henceforward to be distributed by
a Committee of Church of England Trustees, and half by a
Committee of Nonconformist Trustees. The Trustees are to be nine

* See also Rev. M. Pearson's History of Northouram (1898), pages 168-9.

357

in number ; five members of the Church of England, and four
Nonconformists, representing respectively the Presbyterian Church
of England, the Congregational Union, the Wesleyan Methodist
Church, and the Baptist Union. But until the next vacancy among
the six existing Trustees there shall be only three Nonconformists.
The following were the names admitted under the New Trust (1898) ;
the first six being members of the Church of England :

Lieut. -Col. the Hon. C. Rowley Hay, Sunninghill, Staines.

Rev. Canon F. H. Murray, Rector of Chislehurst.

J. A. Shaw-Stewart, Esq.. London.

Col, Francis Hay garth, London.

J. G. Talbot, Esq., M.P., Westminster.

John Stewart, Lord Medway, Benenden, Kent.

Wm. Carruthers, Esq., F.R.S. (Presbyterian), Norwood, London.

Robert Wm. Perks, Esq., M.P. (Wesleyan), London.

Rev. Bryan Dale, M.A. (Congregationalist), Bradford

Rev. John Howard Shakespeare, M.A. (Baptist), London.

The " Bible Lands ** at Sinningthwaite and neighbouring places
were sold in 1871 to A. F. W. Montagu, Esq., of Wighill Park, for
;^3o,ooo, and the total income of the Charity for the year ending
December, 1900, amounted to ;^i323 4s. 8d., and the expenses of
management amounted to £g% 15s. One half of the residue in this
year, viz., ;^6i2 4s. lod., was applied by the Church of England
Trustees to the purchase and distribution of 2800 Bibles, and the
same number of Prayer Books ; the other half by the Nonconformist
Trustees to the purchase and distribution of 6600 Bibles.

Lord Wharton in 1658 removed to the old Manor House of
Wooburn, which had been at one time a Palace of the Bishop of
Lincoln. He is said to have expended nearly ;^40,ooo in its
enlargement and repair, and to meet this great outlay he was obliged
to mortgage his Healaugh estate. He died at Wooburn in 1696,
and was buried in the parish church there. His estates at Healaugh
had been managed by the Rev. John Gunter, LL.B., who had
formerly been " minister " at Bedale, in the North Riding. This
valuable benefice had been given to him by Oliver Cromwell, who
also made him his chaplain, and who said, according to Calamy, that
he respected his name for his uncle Gunter's sake. Mr. Gunter, at
the Restoration, lost Bedale, and eventually retired to Healaugh.

In the year 1673, Philip, Lord Wharton, had settled upon the
marriage of his eldest surviving son, Thomas, the fifth Lord Wharton
and first Marquis, with Anne, daughter of Sir Henry Lee, Bart.,* the
manors of Healaugh in the county of the city of York, called the

• Vide Schedule of Papers in Trustees' Book, communicated by the Rev
Bryan Dale, M.A.

358

Old Manor and the rectory of Healaugh, and the advowson of the
vicarage there, and the tithes of corn, grain and hay, and other
tithes, &c., within the parish or precincts of Healaugh. The
Marquis died in 171 5, when the manor and estate of Healaugh were
subsequently purchased by Stamp Brooksbank, Esq., of Hackney,
Middlesex. He was of an old Nonconformist family of Elland, near
Halifax, Yorkshire, and was baptised at the Independent Chapel,
Stepney, in 1694, «^^ became a Governor of the Bank of Kngland
and M.P. for Colchester and Saltash. In 1747 he was appointed a
trustee of Lord Wharton's Bible Charity, at which time he resided
at Hackney. His father, Joseph Brooksbank, who married Mar>'
Stamp, of Reading, was also the founder of a Bible Charity, he
having in 171 2 given certain property in trust ** to pay £10 yearly
for the teaching of 40 poor children at Ellaild, and £^0 for the
distribution of Bibles." This charity was afterwards supplemented
by a provision made by his son Joseph for a schoolmaster, and ;^io a
year to the Protestant Dissenting minister there. The Brooksbanks
still own the Healaugh estate.

The village of Healaugh, only 80 feet above sea level, lies warm
and sheltered in a picturesque, well-wooded district. Almost every
house has a large garden in front, prettily stocked with flowers and
fruit-trees. Standard roses may sometimes be found in nice bloom
here when the blustering winds and night frosts of " chill October "
have blighted every flower in the higher parts of the dale.

Near the vicarage is the stump of an old cross, having a square
base and octagonal shaft, and a little to the north-east of the church
are the remains of an old castle or manor-house, the same apparently,
referred to by Leland in the following note (about 1538) : " From
Helagh Priory scant a mile to Helagh village. There I saw great
ruins of an ancient manor-place of stone, with a fair woodid park
therby, that 'longed to the Erl of Northumberland. It was as far as
I can perceive sumtyme the Hagets lande." This old-time antiquary
also speaks of the country between Healaugh and York as " meetly
woody " and *' fruitful of corn and grass."

,Xx ' I

\ I

359

CHAPTER XXXII.

Healaugh Priory.

An alien Priory - The present manor-house erected from the conventual buildings
An Early-English Chapel — Early records of the Priory— Timber used in its
erection brought from Idle— Appropriation of Healaugh Church — Local
families — The 15th century jvicarage — The Dissolution and sale of the estate.

^ p/r>ujAiaya

T is now difficult to form any correct idea of the plan
and extent of this once stately religious house. It
was originally founded in the 12th or early 13th century
as an alien hermitage or priory, connected with the
great abbey of Marmoutier at Tours in France. The
conventual buildings were in great part pulled down at the Dissolution
and used in the erection of the existing i6th century manor-house,
formerly the home of the Lords Wharton. It is now a farm house
and in its original state must have been a very handsome and spacious
building. The design is that of a quadrangle, the east side of which
alone remains. It consists of two stories, having good square- headed
windows, each of three lights, and the parapet above is embattled.
The appended view of it is from an original sketch by Miss Cooke,
sister of the present vicar of Healaugh.

There are remains of a large moat, enclosing about three acres,
and within it is another house, erected about 1830; the two
homesteads being known by the names respectively of the East and
West Manor House. In the West Manor House there were formerly
good evidences of an Early English chapel, but no traces of this are
now visible. In the surrounding gardens many skeletons and other
remains have been found, attesting probably the site of the Priory
cemetery.

In 1203 the monks of Marmoutier disclaimed any right in the
hermitage of Healaugh, whereupon a church was built to the
honour of Saint John the Evangelist, and some religious were
established here by Geoffery, son of Bertram Haget, the original
founder. Some years later, about 121 7, an Austin Priory, or house
of regular Black Canons, was begun and in due time completed and
endowed by Jordan de St. Maria and Alice, his wife, who was one of

360

the four sisters and co-heiresses of Geoffrey Haget.* Healaugh was
her portion. The Priory was defined as situated in the wood or
park, " towards the east, as the water runs from the bridge called
Lairbrig to the passage anciently called Langwat.'* Placed about
two miles north of Tadcaster and a mile south of the village of
Healaugh, it is not unlikely that the site, partially cleared, was
chosen by virtue of its early associations with the religious settlement
of St. Heiu in the district in the 7th century. The Celtic monasteries
did not consist of a single cell but of groups of cells or churches,
often widely separated, as already explained on page 193. This w^s
no doubt within Heiu*s lagh, or jurisdiction, which seems to justify
Father Haigh*s deducing the existing name of Healaugh from this
circumstance.

The possessions of the Priory lay principally in the neighbourhood
of the house. But it is somewhat singular that in a district anciently
so abundantly wooded, a large part of the timber used in the
construction of the monastic buildings should have been transp)orted
from the neighbourhood of Idle, beyond Leeds, a distance of more
than twenty miles. The canons evidently found themselves short,
so enlisted the generosity of their friend and patron, Robert de
Plumpton, who gave them all the timber they required for their
church and choir out of his wood at Idle. His brother, Peter de
Plumpton, who was one of the Barons who opposed King John, had
given the advowson of the church of Cowthorpe to the Canons, a
circumstance not noticed by Burton in the Monasticoii, Robert's son
Nigel de Plumpton, had a son and heir, Robert de Plumpton, who
questioned the Canons' right to the said church, and eventually by
charter dated at Healaugh in 1274-5, they released all their right and
claim to the same. Among the witnesses to this release was
Sir Stephen Waleuse, or Waleys, lord of the manor of Healaugh,
whose heiress married Sir John Depeden.f

Sir John Depeden in 1391, and Elizabeth his wife, obtained the
King's license to give the parochial church of Healaugh to the Canons
de Parco (Helagh Park), and Richard le Scroop, Archbishop of York,
in 1398 appropriated the same, and ordained that the said Prior and
Convent, after they had possession of it, should receive the fruits
thereof to their proper use, and then should sustain for ever out of
the same, two of their canons regular in priests' orders, over and

• How long their descendants remained in the neighbourhood is uncertain,
but the Hundred Rolls for 2nd Edward I. (1273) contain the entry of a plea
against the Lady Nicholaa de St. Maria of obstructing the road between Healaugh
and Wighill.

t See Plumpton Cartulary, No 90.

36i

above the number of five other priest canons regular of their house.
These should celebrate daily divine service at St. John's altar, and
St. Anne's, for the good estate of the said Sir John Depeden and
Klizabeth, his wife, during their lives, and after their decease for
their souls. And also they should celebrate their obits yearly on the
days of their deaths, with exequies of the dead, commendation and
solemn mass, in the choir of their conventual church, and on each
of these obits distribute to the poor parishioners of the church 13d.
The Archiepiscopal Register (1352 to 1426, page 146), continues
this note with reference to the appropriation, as follows :

In recompence of the damage done to the Cathedral church of York, the
Archbishop reserved out of the fruits thereof, to himself and successors, the
annual pension of 6s. 8d. and to his Dean and Chapter 3s. 4d., payable by the
said Prior and Convent at Pentecost, by equal portions. Furthermore he
appointed and ordained, that there be in the parish church of Halagh, a perpetual
vicar, who shall be one of the Canons of their Priory, and have cure of souls of
the said parishioners, and celebrate all divine offices of the church, presentable
by the said Prior and Convent to the Archbishop, to be instituted and admitted
upon every vacation ; which said vicar canon, for the time being shall have and
receive for his i>ortion. his victuals, clothing, and other necessaries entirely, as
much as any other canon of their Priory has allowed to him, and £\ over and
above the same, payable by the said Prior and Convent at Martinmas and
Pentecost yearly. And as to the burdens ordinary and extraordinary, incumbent
on the church, the said Prior and Convent shall bear them for ever ; and also
shall distribute among the poor of the parish 3s. 4d. per annum, out of the fruits
of the church.*

But in 1425 the Dean and Chapter, ordered that the vicar by
virtue of the above ordination of his portion, shall have instead £^ at
Pentecost and Martinmas, and " he shall also have for his habitation
that house or place in Helagh with half of the garden on the east
side of the town, which the Prior and Convent had assigned to the
vicar before." And the Prior and Convent shall build to the said
house, with six posts for kitchen and stable, and shall cause to be
made to the vicar's use likewise, a draw-well, and a way to it. And
with this portion the vicar shall be content, and receive no fruits,
profits, oblations, or emoluments, appertaining to the church.f
Burton cites the donations to the Priory, and the Priors had also the
right of fishing in the Wharfe. J

Among the testamentary burials within the precincts of the Priory
occur the names of Sir Stephen Waleys in 1347; Sir Brian Stapleton,
lord of Wighill in 1394: Sir John Depeden, lord of Healaugh manor,

* Register of Archbishop Henry Boivet, page 23.
t Regist. Vacat. Archiep. Ebor., a.d. 1297 to 1554.

I Vide Mon. Ebor. (1758), pp. 281-4 ; see also Surtees, vol. 49, page 26, and
Mr. Chetwynd-Stapylton's Stapeltons of Yorhshite^ page 173, &c.

36=

1402, and John Russell, rector of Harworth in 1+77. Sir Brian
Stapleton, sometime about 1350, had married the Lady Alice, widow
of the above Sir Stephen Waleys, of Healaugh, who was daughter
and coheiress of Sir John St. Philibert. When the f»ll tax was
levied in 1378 he was living in his wife's dower-house at Healaugh,
near the church ; the building, perhaps, that is mentioned by Leland.
He with his wife, is taxed at 20s., and his son, Sir Miles Stapleton
with his wife was also living at Healaugh at the same time. Sir Miles
had married the rich heiress, Joanna, relict of William BreckneUs.
and daughter of Sir Gerard Usflete, by Lora, sole heiress of the
second branch of the Lords Furnival, of Worksop.

At the Dissolution it is recorded there were 14 canons in the
Priory, and the net revenue was ^"72 10s. 7d. The site, with
buildings, was granted in 1539 to James Gage, and in the same year
license was granted to the said James Gage to alienate the same to
Sir Arthur Darcy, Kt. According to the Patent Rolls of 32nd
Henry VIIL, the latter on Dec. ist (1540), had license to alienate
the Priory, with its appurtenances, to Sir Thomas Wharton, whose
family continued in possession until the sale of the manor and estate
of Healaugh to the Brooksbanks about 1715.

The Chartulary of Healaugh is among the Cottcn MSS. Vesp. A.iv.
in the British Museum. The first few folios contain entries of the
election of Priors, the body of the volume being filled with various
grants of lands to the Priory, for the record of which I am unable
to find space.

3^3

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Newton Kyme.

Picturesque aspects— ;-The old castle — "Black Tom's" well -Early history —
Family of De Kyme— Reputed descent of Robin Hood from the lords of
Kyme — Family of Talbois — Local families in the 14th century — The manor
obtained by the Fairfaxes in 1602 — Their long residence at Newton Kyme —
Admiral Robert Fairfax— Records of the church — The rectors — Description
of the church — The church-plate— The old churchyard — Descent of the
manor— The Hall rebuilt The avenue in the park — Former aspects of the
Hall — The arms of Queen Elizabeth, and autograph at Newton Kyme..

[ARELY can we claim for Old England a fairer shrine
of rural beauty than that which lies about the quiet
domain of Newton Kyme ! The handsome old Hall
in its ancestral park, the ruins of the ancient castle of
the Kymes, the venerable church, hallowed with the
history of the ages, the pleasant rectory, mantled over with blossoming
greenery, and the quiet fields and lanes that lie around them are full
of a wholesome charm.

In the bright sunshine of a summer's day, how sweet and restful
it is to feel the influence of such a rural spot as this, away from the
bustle and grime of town, the hurry and rush of the crowded street !
We stand awhile beneath the tall spreading trees which cast their
shadows over the smooth verdure of lawn or gravelly path, while no
sound breaks the wonted tranquillity of the place save the sombre
cooing of doves or the hum of bees among the flowers. About us
far extends the well -wooded park, with well-kept lawns and paths,
stately trees and luxuriant gardens, too, gay with m)n:iads of bloom,
the whole giving to the place such an air of privacy that one feels
something of an intruder in approaching even the time-honoured
House of God.

The old castle or manor-house of the Kymes still stands, a long
crumbled fragment near the present Hall. The following lines from
the great Lord Fairfax's poem on Solitude might fitly apply to this
deserted place :

3^4

These ancient ruinated towers.
'Gainst which the giants did of old
With insolence employ their powers.
Now satires here their sabath kepe.
And spirits which our sense inspire
With frighting dreams whilst we doe sleep.
In thousand chinks and dusty holes
Lie ugly bats and scritchinge owles !

And harths, that once were used for fires,
Now shaded o'er with scratchinge bryers.

The ruins, of which I present a view from Mr. Hepworth's
photograph,* have an early pointed doorway and the walls are of
great thickness, in one place they are 4 feet 7 inches, and these well
attest the original strong character of the building. The principal
remains consist of an outer wall about 25 feet high, containing two
pointed windows. The buildings have extended a good way south-
wards, and have been enclosed with a moat, which appears to have
included the church also. A considerable portion of the moat has
been preserved to the south of the Hall and church. The top stone
of a large quern or stone hand-mill, found among the ruins, may
also be seen here.

Below the castle is Black Tom's Well, a curious, low, dark building
covering an ancient well, which is approached through a passage of
stout masonry, having an arched roof. Whether the well has ever
been within the old castle courtyard, or has had any sacred associations
with the church, which is not far away, no one now knows. When
I visited the place some years ago, I was told that " Black Tom "
Fairfax had once hid himself in this watery vault when he was being
closely pursued, and that old people had often heard uncanny sounds
there, and they even averred that Black Tom's ghost haunted the
placet A large block of freestone forming the lintel of the entrance
to the old well is inscribed with the family motto : Fare ^ fac.

The history of Newton Kyme goes back far into the past, although
I have already disproved its claim to be the Calcaria of the Romans.
Its annals properly commence with the Conquest, and the Domesday
inquest tells us that there were four manors and berewicks in
Togleston (Toulston), Neuueton (Newton Kyme), and Oglestorp

* All the views illustrating this chapter have been specially taken for this work
by Mr. George Hepworth, of Brighouse.

f I have heard the same doubt cast upon the last resting place of bold Tom
Fairfax as upon that of his great compeer Cromwell. No one, the knowing
country-folk tell you. can say positively that " Black Tom " was buried at
Bilbrough. although his tomb there distinctly records that the bodies of himself
and wife lie beneath it.

36s

(Oglethorpe), where four thanes had seven carucates and seven
bovates of land for geld. Also there were five manors and berewicks
in Newton and Oglestun where five thanes had three carucates of
land for geld. The whole of these lands were given to Osbem de
Arches, lord also of Thorp Arch, and were subfeud by him to one
Fulk, son of Reinfrid (first Prior of Whitby), and sewer to Alan de
Perci, Fulk, on these previous nine holdings, employed 12 villanes
with 3 ploughs, and he had also himself 2 ploughs and 24 acres of
meadow and the site of one mill. He died about 1 125. Robert son
of Fulk, of Newton, by his wife Adeliza de St. Quintin (founder of

The Old Tithe Barn. Newton Kyme.

Nun Appleton Priory), had a son Robert Daplfer, who married
Roesia, Countess of Lincoln, and whose two daughters, coheiresses,
married two brothers, William and Simon de Kyme. The powerful
Count of Mortain had also soke of one carucate in Newton belonging
to his manor of Bramham, a claim no doubt based on some pre-
existing holding.

By these descents the manor of Newton came thus early to the
family of De Kyme. William de Kyme, grandson of the above
Simon and Roesia, daughter of Robert Dapifer, married Matilda,
daughter of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, and was coheiress of

366

her mother Sybill, coheiress of her brother, and daughter of William
Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, a house greatly distinguished in the
peerage of England. Robert the Dapifer, and Roesia, wife of Simon
de Kyme, werie benefactors to Sallay Abbey, and Philip de Kyme,
their son and heir, appears as witness to a charter granting the
monks of Sallay certain property and rights in their manor of Ilkley.
Simon de Kyme died about 1220, and the manor of Newton descended
to William de Kyme, who died in 1260. The latter had subfeud
much of the property at Newton, and at the time of his death the
following were his tenants there, viz. : Hugh de Brinkel, John de
Oykumbe, Elias, son of William the clerk, John Broket, and John
Clerk. Lucy, his widow, was living in 1268-9.* Philip de Kyme,
probably a son of William and Lucy, was Lord of Newton Kyme
in 1284-5. The said William de Kyme had also an estate at Newton
in Craven (Bank Newton in the parish of Gargrave), where William
de Katherton held of him in 1260, four carucates of land, and at the
same time Ralph Darel held at Elslack in Craven two carucates of
the said William de Catherton, and he of William de Kyme. In
1 315 Simon de Kyme held the manor of Newton Kyme of the family
of Brus. Philip, lord of Kyme, was trained to arms and bore himself
bravely in the wars of the first Edward. He was with the famous
Sir William de Rither {see page 66) at the siege of Carlaverock
(1299), and his shield was "rouge un chevron de or croissillie tot
environ,'* that is red with a chevron of gold surrounded with
crosslets.t The Kymes were large landowners in Lincolnshire, and
in Dr. Stukeley's PaUographia Britannica (ii., 115), is a pedigree of
Robert Fitzooth (commonly called Robin Hood), pretended Earl of
Huntingdon (died 1274), shewing his descent from these lords of
Kyme.J

On the death of the second Baron de Kyme in 1338, the heiress of
the Kymes married into the family of Umfraville, Earls of Angus,
through whom the manor of Newton Kyme passed also by marriage
to the Talbois. Sir Henry Talbois, Kt., was lord of Kyme, co.
Lincoln, in right of his wife, Alianora, daughter and heiress of
Gilbert de Burdon by Elizabeth his wife, sister and heiress to Gilbert
de Umfraville, and niece and heiress of William de Kyme. He

• See writ touching the mill of Newton-upon-Querfte, 53rd Henry III,, Yorki.
Inquisit. vol. i.. page 106.

t See Nicolas's Siege of Carlaverock in the xxviii. Edward I., with the Arms of the
Earls, Barons, and Knights, who were present on the occasion, with a Translation,
a History of the Castle and Memoirs of the Personages commemorated by the
Poet (1828).

I See also Ritson's Robin Hood, page xxviii.

367

died in 1369, and was succeeded by his son Sir William Talbois, Kt.,
who died seized of various lordships, including the manor of
Newton Kyme, 141 y' His grandson. Sir William Talbois, Kt., lord
of Hephale, and Otterburn, Northumberland, Hur worth -on -Tees,
Newton Kyme, &c., sided with the house of Lancaster during the
Wars of the Roses. He was in action at Towton but escaped with
his life and was attainted ist Edward IV. {1461). He died in 1464.
His lands being confiscated the manor of Newton Kyme was granted
to Brian Talbot.f Sir William died in 1464. and his younger son,

AowiHAL Robert Fairfax

Sir Robert Talbois, died in 1494. He was seized of the manor and
advowson of Newton Kyme, worth 20 marks, which he held of
Sir Thomas Metham, Kt. ; likewise six acres of meadow in Uskell,
worth 8s., held of the same, and he gave these lands to the Bishops
of Durham and Lichfield, to perform his last will. J George Talbois,

• S« Harl MSS.. 54 G.. 22. t Vide MSS at Bitbrough Hall.

I Vidt Cat. Iiiquis p.m.. lolh Henry VII

368

then aged 28, was his son and heir. He married a daughter of
Sir William Gascoigne, of Gawthorpe (Harewood).

The old manor-house or castle of the Kymes had now long ceased
to be occupied, and for a long period no family of note resided at
Newton Kyme. In 1378 there were 18 married couples and 14 single
adults living within the township, evidently upon farms, for all of
them paid the agricultural tax of 4d. each. There was no lord or
squire resident here at that time.

In 1602 Lord Burleigh transferred the manor and estate to
Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, and in 1609 Sir Thomas again
conveyed them to Sir Philip Fairfax, of Steeton, who died in 161 3,
and with whose descendants the property remained for 275 years.
The Fairfaxes, observes Sir Clements Markham, were descended
from the Talbois and Kymes ; Sir William Fairfax's mother, Lady
Frances Sheffield, was a daughter of the Earl of Mulgrave, by Ursula,
daughter of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, and Sir Robert's grandmother was
Maud, daughter of Sir Robert Talbois, of Newton Kyme, and so
descended from the Burdons, Umfravilles, and Kymes.

From 1630 to 1641 the Rev. Henry Fairfax was rector of Newton
Kyme.* Undisturbed by the commotions of the Civil War, his
quiet home became " a refuge and a sanctuary to all his friends and
relations." Here, too, he was occasionally visited by his old college
friend, the "gentle Christian poet and parish priest,'* George Herbert.
Good- parson Fairfax was younger son of the first Lord, and he
afterwards became rector of Bolton Percy. He was succeeded at
the rectory of Newton Kyme by the Rev. Thomas Clapham, and
afterwards by the Rev. Nicholas Rymer, who died in 1725, and who
had married Frances Fairfax, against the wish of her father, the
fourth Lord Fairfax. The old manor-house and rectory must have
been very dear to the Fairfaxes, where generations of them were
bom, and where happy days of childhood and youth were passed,
carrying with them in times of estrangement memories of the
beautiful old Wharfedale homes.

It was in the same dear old manor-hall at Newton Kyme that the
Admiral, Robert Fairfax, was bom in 1666, and where he passed the
first years of his life. Says Sir Clements Markham, " in the summer
he made hay with his brothers and sisters, in his mother's rich
pasture fields ; in the winter he found amusement on the frozen floods
of the " Ings." Mr. Clapham taught him the first rudiments of
learning, and his mother instilled into him the principles of religion.
But he appears to have been of a roving disposition, and was no
doubt fonder of the boat moored to a stake at the end of the garden

* See Add. MSS., 1795-6, British Museum.

3^9

than of his books at the rectory."* A portrait of him as a young
man, for a long time hung in the rooms of the Hall, and is reproduced
on page 367.

The Rev. Nicholas Gyrling succeeded Mr. Rymer at the rectory
in 1725 (the ye£r that Admiral Fairbx died), and he died in 1767, at
the age of 92. He was a good classical scholar and great reader,
and had collected a large number of valuable books at the rectory.
These he left to Thomas Fairfax, the Admiral's son. He also left
money for recasting the three ancient bells of the church. His
successor was the Rev. Guy Fairfax, grandson of the Admiral, who
was bom in 1725 and died in 1794 while pierforming service in the

The Rectory. NEvn-ON Kvme.
church. It was he who built the present rectory -house, and the
faculty authorising its reconstruction is dated 5th December, 1768.
Subsequently the Rev. E. Duncombe, rector, greatly improved the
house and added the kitchen wing, and he also restored the old tithe
baru, illustrated on page 365.

In Pope Nicholas' Taxation (1291), the church is valued at
£"13 6s. 8d., and in the King's Books at £"14. In the Parliamentary
Survey (en. 1650), the impropriate rectory is stated to be worth £$0
per annum, and to belong to General Lord Fairfax. A portion of

• Viii Li/i e/ Robert Faitjax. pifie 41}.

370

tithes, worth ;^io per annum, called St. Mary's tithes, are said to
belong to William Jackson, of Leeds. The patronage continued with
the Fairfax family until 1884. It is now held by the representatives
of the late Samuel Varley, Esq. Torre supplies a catalogue of the
rectors, to which I may add the name of Elyas, ckricus, of Newton
(Kyme), who was one of a jury sworn to try a case of trespass on
lands belonging to Roger le Peytevin, 53rd Henry III. 1269.* The
late respected incumbent, the Rev. J. W. Chaloner, was succeeded
in 1894 by the present active rector, the Rev. Henry Toovey, M.A.
(Oxon.). In the cause of religious education he has rendered
good service as Diocesan Inspector of Schools for the Archdeaconry
of York, an appointment which he has held since 1879. He is also
chaplain to Lord de L*Isle and Dudley, and was installed a Canon
of York Minster, January 25th, 1899. Canon Toovey is a native of
Wiltshire, and was curate of Helmsley in Ryedale from 1868 to 1870,
and from 1870 to 1880 he was vicar of Ingleby Greenhow.

The interesting old church is dedicated to St. Andrew, an ancient
ascription in the North of England, which some have supposed due
to Scottish influence across the border. This inference is, however,
scarcely likely, as the dedications to St. Andrew in the northern
counties are quite 50 per cent, below the average of the rest of
England. Moreover St. Andrew's, Hexham, was so named by its
seventh century founder, St. Wilfrid.f A small cross possibly a

consecration -cross (of rare occurrence in York-
shire), J appears on the right side of the porch on
entering the church at Newton Kyme. It is
^^^1 incised iii the stone, and is one inch long and the
same in width, as represented on the annexed cut.
Above it is a small canopied niche, nine by five
inches, containing a rude sculpture in relief of
the Virgin and Child. Adjoining this is a shield
bearing the arms of Talbois, a saltire cross of St. Andrew, with
three escallops in chief. On the left side of the porch app)ears a
mutilated figure of the patron saint of the church, St. Andrew.
There is also here a rude device of a St. Andrew's cross in relief,
together with an incised representation of a boar's head with its snout
pierced by an arrow. All these remarkable sculptures I judge to be
of 14th century date.

The inner Decorated doorway is ornamented with a small four-
leaved pattern and the hood-moulding is finished with a male and
• Yorks. Inquisit., vol. i., page no.
t See Miss Arnold-Forster's Studies in Church Dedications.

I In this part of Yorkshire the only other consecration crosses known to the
writer are at Spofforth and Collingham churches.

371

female head, presumably of the builder or patron and his wife. The
interior comprises a chancel and nave with north aisle. There is,
too, a west tower, which prior to the restoration of 1894 was so
thickly covered with ivy, that scarcely any portion of the masonry,
■with the belfry windows, was visible. The excessive growth of the
ivy had also obscured other features of the building, including a
small arched recess above the priest's door in the chancel, which has
no doubt at some time contained an efBgy. The restoration inside
likewise brought to light another interesting feature, namely, an
opening or " squint," about 18 inches deep, commanding a view of
the high altar from th« west aide of the Hall Chapel. It had been

NewTON Kyme Haul,

bricked up and plastered, evidently for a considerable period. Some
mutilation of the column at the west end of the aisle had also been
made by the erection of a gallery, now happily removed. This
column consists of two engaged shafts with plain capitals and square
abacus. The other two columns separating nave and aisle are
octagonal, and carry semi-circular arches all chamfered. The chancel
arch is lofty and pointed. Within Ihe chancel are two Early English
windows, having pointed heads and broad inner splays. Beneath
the south light is a flat-headed piscina, and a sedilia of two seats,
divided by a circular shaft, detached, moulded, and on a square base.

372

West of these is another pointed light ; but not so deeply splayed as
the others named. Adjoining is the ancient priest's door, which
shews on the outside marks like old arrow-grooves.

The east window, in the Decorated style, consists of three beautiful
stained lights, having trefoil- heads and quatrefoils in the intersections
above. In the chancel is a coat-of-arms in stone (Barwick empaled
with Strickland), and there are numerous memorials here and in the
nave of the Fairfaxes and other families. The Fairfax or Hall
chapel, which is separated from the choir on the north side by a
nearly round arch of considerable span, contains many other family
memorials. Among them is a lengthy inscription to Admiral Robert
Fairfax, previously referred to, who died at Newton Kyme in 1 725,
in his 6oth year.

The east window of this chapel contains three beautiful coloured
lights, and commemorates (i) Louisa Emma Lane-Fox, wife of the
Hon. Chas. Lane-Fox, who died in 1870, aged 32 ; (2) Thos. Fairfax,
who died in 1875, aged 71 ; (3) Isabel Augusta, wife of Edward A.
York, of Hutton Hall. She died in 1875, aged 32. In the windows
of this chapel, as well as in those of the north aisle, are various
fragments of ancient coloured glass, some with shields of arms, &c.
One of the stained windows is a memorial to the Rev. John Chaloner,
rector, and his wife, parents of the late rector, the Rev. J. W.
Chaloner, who was instituted in 1851 and died in 1894. The font
(Norman) is a plain circular bowl, its external circumference 7 feet
2 inches, and thickness 3 inches. The edge is chamfered. The base
is modern. The church plate consists of the following pieces: (i) a
large silver chalice, the gift of Robert Fairfax, Esq., inscribed,
Calicam salutis accipiam et nomen Domini invocahile ; (2) a small silver
chalice, inscribed. Ex dono Elizahethee Marshall^ vidua, de Newton Kynu,
ad ecclesiam ibidem, Ohiit 29th Die Octobris, Anno Dni, 7708; (3) a
large silver paten, on the edge of which appears, Deo et Altari de
Newtofi (then the arms of Fairfax), Kime, D.D.D.^ F,F,, 1704; (4) a
small silver paten, inscribed round the middle of it, " The gift of
Robert Fairfax, Esq., to the Church of Newton Kyme in Yorkshire,
1704," and on the under side. Quid tibi reiribuam Domine pro omnibus
misericordius tuis 1704.

In the venerable tree-shaded churchyard there remains the stump
of an old cross, and there are several ancient floriated cross-slabs.
The following note respecting the churchyard I find preserved among
the parish papers :

This is to certify that during the incumbency of the Rev. Edward Duncombe,
Thomas Fairfax, Esq.. did alter the churchyard wall on the north side of the
Parish Church of Newton Kyme, and did take unto his pleasure-grounds about

373

300 square yards of consecrated ground and thai the boundar^'-stones to the said
ground were in existence on isth June, 1873, and finding upon looking at the
Tithe Map that there is an error in the said Map, it being tnade to appear that the
above-mentioned consecrated i^und belongs to T. Fairfax, Esq.. I think it my
duly as the present Rector of the Parish to attach this Memorandum to the Tithe
Map or place it in the Iron Chest containing the Parish Registers.

John William Chaloner.
Jane iStb. 1S73. Rector of Newton Kyme.

On the death of William Fairfax at Steeton, in 1695, his brother
Robert, the Admiral, became possessed of the estates at Steeton and
Newton Kyme. The old manor-house at Steeton was, however,
abandoned, and Newton Kyme henceforward became the family home.

The story of the Admiral's life has been well told by Sir Clements
Markham. The Admiral's name will always be memorable in
connection with the capture of Gibraltar by the English in 1704 ; he
was also present at the battle of Malaga and at the siege of Barcelona.
An Order Book belonging to him is preserved at Bilbrough, and it
contains autographs of the principal Admirals of the reign of Queen
Anne, including Sir George Rooke, Sir Cloudsley Shovel, Sir John
Leeke, &c., and also of Prince George of Denmark.

Having about 171 1 given up his naval career. Admiral Fairfax
settled in Yorkshire. In 1713 he was elected M.P. for York, and he
was some time Lord Mayor of that city. He made many improve-

374

ments on the family estate at Newton Kyme. In 1712 he obtained
from Lord Fairfax at Denton, a number of young lime tress, which
he planted in a double row from the Tadcaster highroad in a straight
line to the Hall, and these trees form the noble avenue still existing
across the park.* Formerly this avenue was the principal approach
to the house, but it was long ago abandoned and the way throughout
its length is now covered with the same rich sward that distinguishes
the park.

Robert, son of Thomas Fairfax, and grandson of the Admiral,
built the school at Newton Kyme in 1787. He died unmarried in
1803, aged 71. The school is supported by money derived from the
original endowment of 17 acres of land at Bilbrough, and now
vested in the Funds in the names of the Charity Commissioners
and the rector. Lady Ursula Barwick, whose daughter and eventual
heiress, married the fourth Lord Fairfax, also left money to purchase
land to provide for a weekly distribution of bread in the church, and
also for apprenticing poor children of Newton Kyme. She died in
1682, aged 81, and Mr. Corlase preached her funeral sermon,
commending her for piety, humility, and charity. She was a daughter
of Walter Strickland, and sister of Sir William Strickland, Bart.,
and she married Sir Robert Barwick, who died at Toulston in 1660.
A monument to Sir Robert and Lady Barwick is recorded by Torre
as being in the church at Newton Kyme, but it is not now there.

The bread dole is still distributed, but the old cupboard in the
church, in which the bread was kept, is no longer used, being now
concealed by the organ.

Admiral Fairfax built the new Hall, and placed the shield of
arms of Queen Elizabeth above the entrance, which also bears her
initials at the upper angles. This east end of the present enlarged
mansion, was sketched by Warburton in 1718, and is here reproduced
from the original in the British Museum. The south front, built by
Thomas L. Fairfax, Esq., has a handsome portico formed by a
colonnade of Ionic columns, and since Warburton*s time additions
have also been made on the north side, giving this side a much
longer frontage than that shown in his sketch. The Hall for some
years past has been tenanted by the Misses Bethell.

The arms of Queen Elizabeth on the Hall, were, perhaps, placed
there to commemorate the Queen's visit to the neighbourhood in
1572. The good Bishop of Carlisle, Dr. Owen Oglethorpe, was a
native of the parish, and on the refusal of Dr. Heath, Archbishop
of York, to act at the Queen's coronation. Bishop Oglethorpe
performed the ceremony. He was subsequently deprived of his See

• Not€s and Queries, vols, v., page 490, and vi. (1852), page iii.

375

for adhering to the Roman Catholic religion. There is preserved
at the rectory a rare old Commentary, dated 1534, which is always
included amongst the belongings of the rectory of Newton Kyme,
and which it is not improbable was a gift from the Queen, at the
time of her coronation, to Bishop Oglethorpe, who may have left it
to his native parish. It has been si^gested in an early part of this
work (page 40) that the old Commentary may have been presented
on the occasion of the Queen's visit. But it must have been before

NewTON Kyme Hall in 1718.

this time, as Bishop Oglethorpe died in 1560. On the fly-leaf of the
book is the Queen's signature, apparently her own autograph, the
form of the letters being identical with her well-known writing,
although the letters do not display the vain and inordinate flourishes
so characteristic of her later years. The signature is noteworthy,
and a tracing which I have been permitted to make of it is here
reproduced.

376

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Oglethorpe.

Antiquity of Oglethorpe - Parcel of the lordship of Bramham and Newton Kyme
— Ancient family of Oglethorpe— The 12th century homestead — Some notable
scions of the family — Bishop Owen Oglethorpe— He built Headley Hall—
The Brandesby family- Pedigree of Bishop Oglethorpe— The family property
—The founder of Georgia— General Oglethorpe's antecedents — Arms of
Oglethorpe— Oglethorpe acquired by the Fairfaxes— Oglethorpe Hall two
centuries ago — Recent history,

BOUT half-a-mile south-west of Newton Kyme station
stands Oglethorpe Hall, now a large and valuable
farm, which for the past three generations has been in
the occupation of the Wright family. Although little
or nothing has been recorded of this place, its history
goes back into distant centuries, and around it cluster memories of
departed greatness. For more than five centuries Oglethorpe
continued the residence of a family of the same name, until fortune
was denied them, and ruin fell upon their house for their loyalty in
the unhappy wars of King Charles' time.

Oglethorp, or Ocelestorp and Oglestorp as it appears in Domesday,
had long before the Conquest been parcel of the lordship of Bramham,
and its inhabitants owed suit to the lords of that manor. But, as
related in the history of Newton Kyme, there was also an undefined
quantity of land in Oglethorpe appurtenant to that manor held of
the family of De Arches. Nostell Priory subsequently acquired a
small estate in Oglethorpe which was given to the canons by Ralph
[Ryther] , son of John de Touton, and confirmed to them in
8th Edward I. (1280).* The earliest mention of the famous family
that derived its patronymic from the place, is of one who is said to
have been reeve in the county of York at the time of the Conquest.
The next record of the name which I have met with is in the
person of one William de Occlesthorp, who with Ranulph de Rigton
and William de Withetuna (Weeton), and others, appears as a
witness to a charter of William de Paganel granting land in Cookridge
to Kirkstall Abbey, a.d. 1172.+

• Vide Rot. Hund., 2nd Edward I. f Thoreshy Soc. Pub.^ vol. iv., page 263.

377 .

The home or farm-hold of the family is mentioned shortly after
this time, and also in 1282 when Nicholas de Okelestorp pleads
against Peter de Mauley (Malolacu) and John de Reygate, that they
and the Abbot of St. Mary's, York, and the Prior of Nostell should
permit him to have the common of pasture in Bramham which
l>elongs to his free tenement in Okelstorp.* Nicholas claimed his
farm as freehold, but by what license is not stated. Two or three
generations before, his family were certainly in bondage to the
Stutevilles, for in a charter of the first year of King John (i 199) that
monarch confirmed to William de Stuteville, Bramham, with the
appurtenances, and with the essarts of the gift of Ranulph de
Glanville and of William Paganel, together with the services of
certain tenants, including the service of William de Oglethorpe of
the whole tenement which he held of William Fossard in Bramham
and in Oglethorpe. t It would, however, appear that his land in
Oglethorpe had by 1282 become freehold, and the family having been
enfranchised was consequently in a position of honourable standing
at this early date. And with respect to the above Nicholas, it is
stated in the inquisition p.m. of Nicholaus fil Domini Anketini
Malore that Nicholaa, wife of Nicholas de Oclestorp' and Sarra,
wife of William de Glenton' and two others, are his next heirs and
are of full age.J

The head of the family was evidently living at Oglethorpe in 1378
when the capitation tax was levied for carrying on the war with
France. Johannes de Okilsthorp, marchaunt, and his wife, were
rated at 2s., being the second highest taxpayers in the township of
Bramham-cum-Okelstorp. Sir Thomas Oglethorpe was curate of
Bilbrough in 1506, and he is probably the same person who was
rector of Ryther from 1506-13. His will is dated 3rd Nov. 151 3. One
of the family became vicar of Bramham and in 15 10 he is charged
with neglecting the duties of his office. It is stated that **ye chauntre
is not occupied nor servyd as it aght to be by parson Oglethorpe,'*
and moreover he " hays beyne absent fro his benefys a yer and
more."§

The exact relationship of Bishop Owen Oglethorpe, with the parson
of Bramham, I have not been fortunate enough to discover. He is
stated in the Dictionary of Natiottal Biography to be a son of Owen
Oglethorpe, but it is more probable he was the third son of George
Oglethorpe, of Newton Kyme, and was bom there about the year

• De Banco, loth Edw. I., m. 32.

t Memoirs of the Meeting of the Archal. Inst, at York in 1846. page 119.

X Rot. Fin., 4th Edw. I. in Calend. Geneal., vol. i., page 221.

§ Fabric Rolls of York Minster, page 266.

378

1500, was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford ; B.A. in 1524;
Fellow in 1526; M.A. 1529; D.D. in 1536, and was made President
of his College in 1550, Canon and Dean of Windsor, and in 1557
Bishop of Carlisle. As previously recorded he officiated at the
coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1558, and was deprived of his see
for refusing the oath of supremacy in May, 1559. He built Headley
Hall, now a good farm house on the east side of Bramham Moor,
afterwards a seat of the Winns, one of whom, Sir George Winn, in
1797, was created in the peerage of Ireland, Lord Headley, Baron
Allanson and Winn. The house, situated in the midst of a large
and well-cultivated estate, is conspicuous from the Leeds and
Tadcaster highroad, opposite Headley Bar, and is still the property
of Lord Headley.

Bishop Oglethorpe died Dec. 31st, 1559, and was interred in the
church of St. Dunstan, Fleet Street. In the Calendar of State
Papers, there appears a letter, dated from London, Sept- 27th, 1550,
from Wm. Turner to Sir Wm. Cecil (Lord Burleigh), praying to be
preferred to the Presidentship of Magdalen College, Oxford, if the
Archdeaconry of the East Riding of York, vacant by the death of
Thomas Magnus, should be given to Dr. Oglethorpe. The latter,
however, received the Presidentship, as stated.

From the Bishop's will,* proved in London, 15th May, 1560, it
appears that his father had at least one brother, in all probability
John, of Oglethorpe, whose son Robert was living at Rawdon, in
1585. This Robert, cousin to the Bishop, was one of the executors
to the will. The descents of this branch of the family are recorded
in the Visitation of 161 2, and I have found a very similar pedigree
amongst the Hailstone Papers in the Minster Library at York.

The family at Brandesby was also descended from John of
Oglethorpe, as recorded in the Visitation of 1665. This John had
Richard, of Oglethorpe, and a son Thomas, of Beale. The latter
married a daughter of Vavasour, of Haselwood, and two sons are
recorded of the marriage, William Oglethorpe, rector of Kellington,
and Henry, of Beale, who married Eleanor, eldest daughter of
Francis Percy, of Scotton, near Knaresbro*, of the family of Percy,
of Stubbs Walden.t Henry Oglethorpe by this marriage had two
sons, Richard and Thomas. Of the latter it is recorded in the
Calendar of State Papers, May loth, 1579, that he has left Douay,
and entered the English seminary at Rheims. He encloses in the
letter addressed to his father, Henry, of Beale, —

* Printed in the Yorks. Archal. J I., vol. xiv., pages 402-3.
t See Clay's Addits. to Dugdale (1894), page 28.

379

An Exhortation to his well-beloved uncle, Mr. William Oglethorpe, parson of
Killington, advising him to consider his woeful and damnable case, to leave vice
and follow virtue and honestness, whereby he may come to the eternal and
everlasting Kingdom of Heaven.

This is scarcely the language one might have expected to find
addressed by a young college student to his parent at home, and still
less does it appear creditable to the moral status of the parson of
Kellington.

The following descents (see page 380), compiled chiefly from his
will, indicate Bishop Oglethorpe*s immediate kindred.

From these particulars it appears that Bishop Oglethorpe had four
biothers and four sisters, who lived to be upgrown. The Roundhay
family held considerable property at Clifton, near Brighouse,* and
they also succeeded to a good deal of property at Steeton in Craven,
formerly held by Wm. Bevercotes, whose widow afterwards married
Clement Oglethorpe. When the spendthrift Earl of Cumberland,
lord of the honour of Skipton in Craven, sold a great part of his
estates in 1599- 1600, William, son of Clement Oglethorpe, bought
from him the manor of Glusburn and one- fourth part of the manor
of Steeton. These he soon afterwards disposed of, chiefly to the
Garforths of Steeton Hall.

The descent of William Oglethorpe, of Oglethorpe, is given in
the Visitation of Sir Wm. Dugdale (1665). He would appear to
have been a younger brother of Bishop Oglethorpe, and was living
in 1585. He married in 1580, Anne, daughter of Robt. Sotheby, Esq.,
of Pocklington, co. York (an alliance not given in the Visitation), and
his arms : argent a chevron between three hoars' heads couped^ sable, are to
be seen empaled with those of Sotheby, on a monument in Pocklington
Church. From him descended the Oglethorpes who suffered so
disastrously for their loyalty to King Charles during the Civil Wars,
and also the distinguished General Oglethorpe, the colonist of Georgia,
who was the third and youngest surviving son of Sir Theophilus
Oglethorpe, a native of Oglethorpe on the Wharfe, and afterwards
of St. James's parish, London. A long account of him will be found
in the Dictionary of National Biography. He was 32 years M.P. for
Haslemere. During the Jacobite conspiracy in 1 745, he was suspected
of covertly assisting the aims of the Young Pretender, and was
eventually tried by court martial (Sept. 29th, 1 746) but was acquitted.f
His father. Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, was in 1681, Gentleman of
the Horse to the Duke of Richmond, and married Eleanor Wall,J
an Irish lady, who is frequently mentioned by Swift in the Journal to

• See Yorks. Archl.Jl., vol. vi., page 78.

t Hist. MSS. Comm. (1900), page 346. J Ibid., page 49.

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Stella, The pedigree on page 382 is taken from the Visitation of 1665,

>vith additions continued to the time of the General's death in 1785.

Soon after the birth of Sir Theophilus, in L650, the family left

Oglethorpe, after a residence there of probably not less than six

centuries. On the sequestration of the estate after the Civil War,

it was given to General Lord Fairfax, who sold it to Lord Bingley, and

with whose descendants, now the Lane-Fox family, it is still vested.*

Upon their acquisition of Oglethorpe the Fairfaxes lived at the

Hall some time. The Rev. Henry Fairfax, second son of Sir Thomas

Fairfax, first Lord Fairfax, of Denton, removed from Bolton Percy

to Oglethorpe in 1662, "and there," says Brian Fairfax, his son,

** spent the remainder of his life in a pious and contented solitude."

He died April 6th, 1665, aged 77.

Oglethorpe Hall two Centuries ago.
John Warburton, F.R.S., Somerset Herald, visited Oglethorpe in
October, 1718, and made a rough sketch of the old Hall, which is
here reproduced. He speaks of it as " belonging to Burnet, seated
amongst trees.'* In this or the year previous it had been rented by
Mr. Richard Waddington, of an old family long resident in the
neighbourhood of Boston Spa. Mr. Waddington's grandfather, also
named Richard, was married at Bardsey in February, 1625, but it is
not known where he was born. It has been suggested that he may

• The arms of the Oglethorpe family, as recorded at the Visitation of 1665,
are : argent, a chevron between three boars' heads couped, sable. The arms of
the Brandesby branch, entered at the same time, are : argent, a chevron engrailed
between three boars' heads couped, sable. But in the west window of the
Founder's Chapel in Magdalen College, the arms of Bishop Oglethorpe are shewn
thus : argent and sable a cross ermines and erm. counterchanged between four
boars' heads, proper, each bearing in his mouth an oak branch, being empaled
with the arms of the See of Carlisle. See also Thoresby Soc, vol. ii., page 117.

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have been the Richard Waddington, baptised at Gisburn in 1601,
who belonged to the same family as Dr. Waddington, Bishop of
Chichester (born in 1670), and that of Walter Waddington, of
Waddington, whose daughter Alice married a Tempest, about the
year 1260. A son of Mr. Richard Waddington continued to occupy
the old Hall for about 40 years after the death of his father there
in 1744.

Subsequently the house was taken by the Wright family, who have
lived there during the greater part of last century. Mr. John Holmes,
the ^ell-known railway contractor, who built the North Eastern
railway-bridge over the Wharfe between Newton Kyme and Thorp
Arch, was uncle to Mr. Richard Wright. He rebuilt the central
portion of the Hall about 70 years ago, and is said to have used
over 60 tons of grey stone in the re-slating of the extensive roof of
the building. It is of two stories, but with the exception of portions
of the outer walls at the east and west ends, the whole house has been
re-constructed, and its aspects have quite changed since Warburton*s
time. It is now approached from behind through a massive Jacobean
gateway, enclosing a spacious yard, while to the front or south side
of the house lie the gardens and orchards ; the front walls of the
dwelling being completely covered with luxuriant fruit trees.

In the gardens are some fragments of old gable finials, the stand
of an ancient sun-dial, and a much-used stone quern, or hand corn-
mill. There was also dug up some years ago a much -decayed iron
prick-spur, apparently of the 12th or 13th century, doubtless a relic
of some early armour-J>earing member of the house. In a field on
the east side of the house are indications of extensive foundations,
with traces of a wide moat, which has possibly enclosed the original
homestead of the family in feudal times. About half-a-mile to the
east is the site of another Fairfax home, old Toulston Hall, of which
I have already furnished an account.

CHAPTER XXXV.

kouND ABOUT Walton.

Roman road— Discovery of Roman relics— SI. Helen and CliriBtianit)-—
Si. Helen's Church at York— Si. Helen's Well and Chapel on the WhaHe -
A local shrine - Dedicalions lo Si. Helen in Wharfedale— Moat House and
Nevison— Walton, the first home of Ihe Fairfaxes- Walton Old Hall-
Remarkable mounds —Wal Ion durinp the Civil War— Mill Hill -Asyecls of
the village— Early history— Records of the church — Old custom— Scone i6th
century families- The last Fairfaxes of Walton— Vicars of Walton-
Description of the church— Ancient bells— A curious symbol Restoration of
the church — Parish School— Opening of a local tumulus —Thorp Arch
School and the Hileys.

HAVE already alluded to the Roman road wliicli

crossed the Wharfe at St. Helen's ford, about a mile

north-west of the village of Newton Kyme (see page

233). In this neighbourhood have been found many

Roman silver and copper coins, as well as an urn of

alabaster which contained ashes, melted lead and rings. 1 cannot

learn what has become of these relics. The coins were chiefly of

Constantius, Helena, and Constantine, who re-founded Christianity

early in the 4th century. Much honour was done to St, Helena in

Yorkshire and in many places elsewhere in celebration of the State

sanction of Christianity by her august son in the year 312.

Many old pagan holy-wells were re-dedicated in her name, and
her fame and repute lingered for centuries afterwards, so that many
churches, particularly in the neighbourhood of York, were likewise
dedicated in her honour. The old York church of St. Helen-on-the-
Walls traditionally claims to hold the tomb of her husband, the
Emperor Constantius, who died at York in 306. It is stajted that the
urn containing his ashes was discovered in a vault about the time of
the Reformation, along with an "everlasting lamp," but the lamp,
so the old folk used to say, immediately disappeared on daylight
being admitted to the tomb !'

* Several Roman lamps, with the Christian monogram, found about York, are
preserved in (he Museum in that city. Sir illustration on page 138.

3^5

On the north side of the Wharfe and close to Rudgate (the
Roman road above mentioned), stood St. Helen's (or St. Helena's)
Cross, which is somewhat crudely represented in Dr. Whitaker's
History of Craven. It is 23 inches high and nearly rectangular, each
side being from 8 to 10 inches wide (similar in size to the cross of
St. Heiu found at Healaugh), and is sculptured on all four sides.
On one side engraved appears the figure of a female (presumably
St Helen), holding in her right hand a cross. In the top of the shaft
is a hole or mortice for the cross-head, i\ inches deep. This
interesting relic of the ancient faith was discovered here, hidden
among brushwood near the celebrated spring which bears St. Helen's
name. Whitaker thinks that the distinguished lady had crossed the
ford of Wharfe, and that in all probability she had drank at this
well, which for centuries afterwards became a very popular resort of
religious votaries, particularly from the vicinity of York. Subsequently
a chapel was erected on the spot, which was standing in Leland's
time, but the Reformation did away with most of these wayside
oratories, and not a stone now remains.'*' Such, however, was the
fascination of this time-honoured spot, that down even to our own
time pilgrimages continued to be made to the holy fountain, and bits
of metal or pins were thrown into the water, or ribbons were attached
to the adjoining bushes (as many as forty or fifty have been seen
within living memory), in propitiation of the good cause of St. Helen
and Christianity. The water is beautifully soft and clear, and in
former times was much resorted to as a specific for sore or weak eyes.
There are two other springs close by, which were also held to be
sacred, but they do not bear any particular dedications. An old
plantation a little north of the well is known as Chapel Wood, which
commemorates St. Helen's chapel and the ancient church at Bilton,
three miles further north, and about a mile to the east of the Roman
Rudgate, is also dedicated to St. Helen.

In Yorkshire there are more than forty ancient churches and holy-
wells consecrated to St. Helen. Many of these lie about York, which
was the early capital of Christianity in the north, and the centre of
Constan tine's greatest influence In the Wharfe valley I have noted
too, the following St. Helen's Wells, viz. : near Newton Kyme,
Kirkby Overblow, Bramhope, Denton, and Burnsall. There is also
another at Adel. Possibly others are now lost.f Whitaker, more-

* In outlying districts one may occasionally find an old shrine of St. Helen.
At Park Farm at Dalton in Fumess, is an ancient holy-well, and the remains of
an early 13th century chapel dedicated to St. Helen. It is illustrated in the
Trans, of the Barrow Naturalists* Field Club, vol. 3, No. 2 (1900), page 37.

t Thoresby believes the old medicinal spring at Holbeck, I.eeds, near St.
Helen's bridge, had been dedicated to the same saint, and that St. Helen's Chapel,
close by, had been built in consequence.

386

over, affirms that to the fame of St. Helen of Tadcaster may be
attributed the dedication of the two sister springs at Eshton (with
its chapel), and Farnhill in Craven. All these ancient dedications
bespeak the zeal that was manifested in promoting Christianity in
early ages.*

Following Rudgate towards Walton we leave at some distance on
the right the Moat House, where were formerly traces of a large
rectangular moat, which has no doubt enclosed a building of some
consequence in former times. The house is now a farm -cottage, and
has memorable associations with the bold outlaw, John Nevinson, or
Nevison as generally pronounced, who was called by Charles 11.
" Swift Nick.** Dr. Hiley tells us that when the Government offered
a reward for his arrest, the whole of the population of Walton sallied
forth, armed with sticks, forks, spades, &c., with the object of
surrounding the moat-house and taking the highwayman alive. On
hearing the noise Nevinson came out and forthwith presented his
blunderbuss, when the whole body turned tail and fled ! This is
said to be the reason why the people of the village were afterwards
called " Walton Calves," or in the dialect of the district, " Woaton
Coves." Nevinson, who was hanged at York in May, 1684,! was of
respectable parentage, and there are many tombstones of his family
in Wortley churchyard, near Barnsley.

Round about Walton the aspects are very pleasing, and here is the
original home of the great house of Fairfax, where the senior line
was seated for several centuries, and from whom descended the
Viscounts Fairfax of Gilling Castle, a branch of the family now
extinct. As early as the reign of Edward HI. William Fairfax
obtained from Peter de Brus nine oxgangs, one acre, and three
p>erches of land, with tofts and crofts in Walton of the fee of
Mowbray.J William Fairfax was living here in the reign of
Edward III., and his widow, Elena, appears in the poll-tax as
contributing 3s. 4d. in 1378. At this time Walton was evidently a
place of good trade, and its taxable value was at any rate equal to
that of Thorp Arch. One man followed the occupation of cissor
(tailor) et pandoxator (brewer or beer-seller), two others were tailors,
another was a miller, another a shoemaker, two were carpenters, and
three were weavers. As I have stated in the records of Steeton it
was from the house at Walton that the famous Sir Guy Fairfax

• For some further account of these early influences of local Christianity, stt
the author's Upper Wharf edaU, pages 29 — 31, &c.

t But see Surtees Soc, vol. 65, page 457.

I See Drake's Ebor., page 360, &c. ; Surtees Soc, vol. 49, page 220 n, and Yorks.
Archl. J I. (Rec. Ser.), vol. 17, page 233.

3«7

descended, who was proniineDt in the Wars of the Koses, on the
Yorkist side, and from whom sprang a race of men who had much
to do in the moulding of the future England.

Walton Hall occupies the site of the old Fairfax home. Much of
it was rebuilt out of the material of the former homestead early in
the i8th century, and the west end was added afterwards. For a
number of years down to about 1885 it was used for a ladies'
boarding-school, conducted by the Misses Treadwell. Their father,
Mr. James Treadwell, was for many years huntsman to the Bramham
Moor pack, and when he died in 1865, the members of the Hunt
placed a neat granite monument on his grave in Walton churchyard.

The original portion of the homestead has walls five feet thick,
and the old worm-eaten oaken staircase remains, together with some
17th century oak-panelling in the rooms above. The ancient bake-

house is also standing. The original hall has been built over an
arched cellar containing a well of excellent water, a safe provision
often found in old halls. Formerly there was a small slab here (now
at Bilbrough), exhibiting a shield of six quarterings, successively :
(i) Fairfax, (2) Malebis, (3) Etton, (4) Mauley, (5) Calthorpe, (6)
.\rghom, and above it the date, 1684. The house is completely
environed by earthen banks, which extend for some hundreds of
yards, and have the appearance of a breastwork or earthwork, on
the south side coming close up to the building. They are doubtless
lateral moraines of the Vale of York glacier, and belong to the same
series as the Healaugh mounds. Near the road side, north-east of
Walton village, a good section is exposed shewing about 30 feet of
dark clayey marl, full of various rocks, many well rounded, and
including sandstones, grits, trap, and carboniferous limestone. The

388

long bank or mound here, beyond Walton House, extends northward
for several hundred yards, and rising in a double scarp, with inter-
mediate terrace, presents the appearance of having been artificially
treated for occupation by primitive races. A large protuberance or
knoll rises prominently from the centre of the bank, and from it
there is a splendid look out over the generally flat landscap>e for
many miles around. This knoll is known locally as Mill Hill, and
possibly at some time a windmill may have stood here. The level
terrace approaching has the appearance of having been a cart-road
to and from the village.

I have heard no tradition of Walton Hall having been occupied
by the King's troops during the Civil W^ar, though it is not unlikely
that it was. When Fairfax was at Selby in the spring of 1643, ^^^
had decided to fall back on Leeds, the Earl of Newcastle despatched
a part of his army from York to invest both sides of the Wharfe
near Thorp Arch. A portion of the force lay at Walton, and it is
very probable that these gravel mounds were utilised by the soldiers
upon the investment of the place. Sir Thomas Fairfax was sent to
engage the King's troops near Tadcaster, endeavouring by this means
to foil the enemy, while his father, the Lord Fairfax, was moving
with his men and ordnance towards Leeds. In this he succeeded,
although in an encounter, on the retreat over Whin Moor, he lost a
good many of his men.*

There are some very old thatched houses in the village, some of
them having stone foundations, with a superstructure of bricks and
stout old oak props. The bricks are small, hard, and apparently as
durable as those fashioned by the old master Romans. Several of
these thatched cottages, which gave an air of much quaintness to
the village street, and which are depicted on the next p>age, were
pulled down about twelve years ago, and some spick-and-span
cottages erected on the site. The history of the place goes back to
Saxon times, when it was held by six thanes in as many manors, and
these in the Confessor's time were worth ;^4, or just as much as the
three manors of Thorp Arch. The whole of this territory came at
the Conquest to Osbern de Arches, whose descendant Ivetta, daughter
of William de Arches, carried the estate by marriage to Adam de
Brus, who died about the year 1200. Peter de Brus, his son,
confirmed to the canons of Healaugh Park, a croft and certain rights
in Walton, which his mother, the Lady Ivetta, had given them, and
he also gave the same canons eight acres here in his new essart or
clearing beside the Wharfe, for the good of the soul of his said mother,

* See Fairfax's Short Memorials, pages 2j — 28.

38y

Ivetta de Arches." Most of the land in the parish, with the manor,
is now held by the Lane-Fox family, of Bramham Park,

The ancient church here (St. Peter's), appears to have been
originally a chapel subject to the motlier church of Thorp Arch, and
was served by the vicars of Thorp Arch. The first mention of it
occurs in a grant, made about the middle of the 12th century, to the
Nunnery at Monkton, by William de Arches and Ivetta, his daughter,
afterwards wife of Adam de Brus, of lands in Monkton and
Hammerton, with the churches there and at Askham, and the chapel
of Walton. This grant was confirmed, about a century later, by

Ouo C0TTAQE8. Walton.

John de Bella Aqua, who married one of the heiresses of the house
of Brus.t In 1226 Archbfshop Gray confirmed an agreement made
between the sacrist of St. Mary's in York, and the convent of Monkton,
concerning certain claims made by the latter.J

The church was originally appropriated to the chapel of St, Mary,
and the Holy Angels in York, but no vicarage was ever ordained.
In 1369 a composition was effected between the said sacrist and the

' Cottim MSS.. Vesp. A iv.. 54.

t Dodsaiorlh MSS., vol. H., pa^e 57.

( Cited in my Niddrrdali, aidt tivs Monkton. page ici.

390

convent of Monkton, from which it appears that children bom at
Walton, and the bodies of the deceased there, had anciently been
baptised and buried in the parochial or mother church of Thorp
Arch. Considering, however, the distance between the two places,
and the difficulty of passing to the said church with their children
and corpses, it should be lawful for the chaplain of the chai>el of
Walton to baptise and bury. For this concession the convent of
Monkton agreed to pay lo the vicar of Thorp Arch an annual pension
of 3s. 4d.

In the Parliamentary Survey {ca, 1650), it is recorded of the
church :

A parish Church, heretofore a chapel to Thorpe Arch, now a Vicarage, the
profits consisting of small tithes, amounting to about ;^io per annum. The great
tithes are impropriate, belonging to Sir Wm. Snawsdell. Mr. Robert Chambers
is incumbent there, a man of evil life and conversation, who preacheth not above
four times in a year, and he frequently useth the book of Common Prayer. We
think fit that Thorp Arch be annexed to Walton and made both in one parish,
and Walton Church to be the Parish Church, and the other church to be
demolished.

This was not the first time that the old historic church at Thorp
Arch had been threatened with destruction. After the Pilgrimage
of Grace in 1538, William Stapelton, one of the Captains of the
general insurrection is reported to have said that "divers parishe
churches in that countre (Yorkshire) shulde be putt downe and taken
to the King's use, so that of severall parishes shuld be but one.
And it was named that the paryshes of Wyghell, Walton,* and
Thorp Arche shuld be putt downe, and they to be eyther of [united
to] the parishes of Tadcaster or Bolton Percy." t

There were a good many Papists in the District long after the

Reformation, and many old Catholic customs were kept up. The

Visitation Books at York contain many entries of local recusancy

down to the end of the 17th century, and from an entry in 1575 it

would appear that services were held at Walton only once in three

months, and a complaint was then lodged that they could not even

get that. This apparently justifies the affirmation of the Parliament's

visitors some seventy years later, that there were sermons at Walton

** not above four times in a year." This is the record in 1575 :

Walton They have not their quarter sermons, the living is so small . Sir John
Page, their curate, is vicar of Thorp Arch.

In 1523 Dame Anne Fairfax, widow, paid 20s. subsidy on lands

• Sir Nicholas Fairfax, of Walton, joined the same insurrection. He was
High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1532, 1545, and 1561, and died in 1570.

t Chapter House Papers, vol. B. 2-21, also vol. A. i-2i (in the Public Record
Office).

391

at Walton worth £^Q. In this year the following contributed to the
same subsidyat Walton : John Walker, Wm. Ellys, Robert Farand,
Richard Hewe, Wm. Shastun, Lyonell Cowper, Wm. Snay, Richard
Jackson, John Chamb", and Thos. Thirlthorp, The total amount
raised in this township was 32s. 6d.

In 1590 Percival Grave is charged with piping at Walton in
service-time and drawing people after him. He did the same thing
at Wighill. His family were perverse Papists, and in 1674 Thomas
Grave and his wife Grace, are returned among a score others at

Walton Church before the Restoration.

Walton for absenting themselves from church and not receiving the
sacrament. At this time the old Hall at Walton was occupied by
the Lady Alathea, one of the recusants, widow of Thomas, second
Viscount Fairfax. She died in 1677 and was buried at Walton.
Probably her son John and his wife, who was a daughter of Francis
Hungate, of Saxton, also lived at the Hall at the same time. He
died, leaving no issue, and was also buried at Walton, January 26th,
1692-3, and his widow, Mary, followed him to the same grave about
four years afterwards.

The living of Walton in 1707 was valued at £■] 13s. 4d. In 1744
it was augmented with £100 by lot, and in 1761 with a further ^200

392

to meet a benefaction of ;^2oo from the Rev. Christ. Atkinson. This
was again increased in 1770 with ;^2oo to meet another benefaction
of ;^2oo from the Rev. Christ. Atkinson, and in 1828 with a further
;^2oo by lot. The patrons are the Lane-Fox family. No catalogue
of the incumbents has been preserved. The Rev. John Wilson
Atkinson was vicar at the time of his death in 1836 (see Atkinson
pedigree), and the Rev. Thos. Wilson was vicar for about 20 years
to 1879, when the Rev. W. H. Gooch, M.A., was instituted, and he
was succeeded in 1882 by the present vicar, the Rev. Alfred
Hiley, M.A., brother of the Rev. Dr. Hiley, vicar of Wighill (su page
344). Baptisms and burials have taken place here since 1369, but
the earliest register-book of the parish commences with the year 1619.
The old church stands picturesquely on an eminence in the village,
and consists of chancel, nave, porch, and west tower, the latter
having been raised and its summit embattled and pinnacled. There
are no buttresses, and the tower-arch with its plain, chamfered
imposts, looks distinctly Norman, and the foundations are also very
shallow (a circumstance of frequent occurrence in Norman buildings),
but the tall massive plinths are continuous from the tower round the
west end of the church. On the north side of the tower, about ten
feet from the ground, is an incised cross, about two inches long each
way, but the lower limb has partly weathered away.*

There are three ancient bells in the tower, one of them inscribed

" Jl^ugo/' preceded by a small shield bearing the
singular device of a fylfot, Thor*s hammer, or mystic
cross of the pagans, but in this and other instances
where it occurs on church bells, as at Owston and
Bads worth in Yorkshire, it is clearly intended as a
Christian symbol.f Dr. Brinton traces this remark-
able symbol back to the Neolithic or New Stone
Age period in Europe, and it was discovered beneath
an accumulation of peat on a rock upon Rumbald's Moor above Ilkley.J
There is an ornamental holy-water stoup at the south entrance into
the nave. The south doorway into the chancel was built up about
twenty years ago, and the north or "deviPs doorway,** has been
bricked up at some time in the last century.

The church underwent a thorough and much -needed restoration
ten years ago, when the roof was raised to its former pitch and new

♦ Consecration crosses are usually in the east wall of the church beneath the
east window.

t It may be seen upon the bells of many of our parish churches in places settled
by the Northmen, as at Appleby in Lincolnshire. Mexborough, Waddington.
Bishop's Norton, &c., where it was placed as a magical sign to subdue the vicious
spirit of the tempest. See page 13 of Mr. Waring's Ceramic Art in Remote Ages.

I Described and illustrated in the author's (Jpper WharfedaU, page 237

393

slated. The very commonplace flat plaster ceiling was also taken
down, a vestry and organ-chamber added, and other improvements
effected. Altogether the work was completed in a very careful and
efficient manner, and credit is due alike to the architect and present
vicar, to whose efforts the scheme of restoration is largely due. The
principal contributors to the expense incurred, — about £^1250, — were
the patron and landowner, the late George Lane-Fox, Esq., of
Bramham Park, the late Thomas Fielden, Esq., M.P., Walton
House, his wife, Mrs. Fielden, now of Grimston Park, and the late
W. C. Vincent, Esq., the Lodge, Boston Spa. When the work was
commenced the exterior walls were almost entirely concealed by an
old growth of ivy. The restoration also brought to light a small

Thorp arch Qranoe.
pre- Reformation squint, commanding a view of the altar from the
north angle of the nave. Above this interesting opening a neat brass
plate has been fixed, inscribed as follows :

This church supposed In have been built early in the 14th century was enlarged
and restored in 1890-T. al a cost of about £i2oa. Alfred Hiley, M.A.. vicar,
W, M. Fawcett. MA., archiieci, CamliridKe; J. G. Blanshard, I, CInugh,
churchwardens.

But from historical proofs already given, and the existing evidences
in the tower, it is clear that a chapel had existed at Walton long
before the 14th century. On the north side of the chancel there is

394

an unusually large canopied niche, holding a cumbent effigy of a man
in armour. The recess is 7 feet 3 inches wide inside, and 7 feet
9 inches high, or measured to the top of the iinial, the total height is
12 feet 4 inches. The effigy is six feet long, and is represented with
hands uplifted as in prayer ; clad in a close-fittirig short tunic, or
jupon, fringed on the lower edge, with a camail or tippet of chain -
mail covering the neck and shoulders, and plain, acutely -pointed
bascinet or (steel) cap. The head is laid upon a tilting helmet, but
the crest is unfortunately broken off. The feet rest against a lion.
The sword is broken away on the left side, but the misericorde, or
dagger of mercy, remains on the right or dexter side. There are no
armorial signs now visible, nor are there any records that enable us
to identify the monument. The style is of the latter part of the
reign ot Edward III. (1327 — 77), when Sir John Fairfax, Kt., died
seized of the manor of Acaster Malebisse, &c., and whose father,
Thomas Fairfax, of Walton, by marriage with the heiress of lv6 de
Etton, had acquired the castle and manor of Gilling in Ryedale.-^

Sir Nicholas Fairfax, of Walton and Gilling, was High Sheriff of
Yorkshire in 1532, 1545, and 1561. He died in 1570 and was interred
at Gilling, where his recumbent effigy may still be seen. His son,
Sir WiUiam Fairfax, was Sheriff in 1557-8. He was twice married,
leaving issue by his second wife, a son and successor. Sir Thomas
Fairfax, created Viscount Fairfax in 1626. He died at Howsham
23rd Dec, 1636, and was interred at Scrayingham in the East Riding.
His son. Sir Thomas, the second Viscount Fairfax, died in 1641 and
was buried at W^alton Sept. 25th., according to the entry in the register.
He married Alathea, second daughter of Sir Philip Howard, Kt., of
Naworth Castle, by Mary, daughter of Sir John Carryl, Kt., which
Sir Philip was eldest son of Lord William Howard, commonly
known as " Belted Will." The Lady Alathea was also interred at
Walton. A slab (now illegible) in the church was inscribed :

Here lyes the bodye of Thomas, Lord Viscount Fairfax, who dyed Sept. 24th.
1641, and of Alathea, his wife, who dyed the second of the same month, 1677.

Those who read this pray for their souls.

* There is a monument of similar age in the old church at Gilling. On the
dexter side is a hind's head erased (probably intended for Malebisse). and on the
sinister is a shield bearing 3 martlets on a bend within a bordure engrailed. A
bend between 3 martlets was formerly to be seen on old glass in Walton Church,
probably intended for Anne of Frickley. Christopher, son and heir of John
Anne, Esq., of Frickley. married {ca. 1544). Ann. daughter of Nicholas Fairfax,
of Gilling. See Clay's Addits. to Dugdale, part v.. page 86. But in the Arras of
Yorkshire Knights who went with Edward I. to Scotland, the arms of Anne are
given as: gules 3 bucks' heads, cabossed, or; and in the Visitation of 1384-5 the
arms of Anne are given thus : Quarterly, i and 4. gules, 3 bucks' heads, cabo5»^
or; 2 and 3, arg. on a bend sable, 3 martlets of the field.

395

Their son, Sir William Fairfax, the third Viscount, died in 1648,
and was also interred at Walton. By his wife Elizabeth, daughter
of Alex. Smith, Esq., of Stutton, co. Suffolk, he left a son Sir Thomas,
the fourth Viscount Fairfax, but where he died or was buried I
have not learnt. At least two of the Lords Fairfax were, however,
interred at Walton, as also the Hon. John Fairfax, younger brother
of the third Viscount, who died in 1692-3.

Near the above-mentioned effigy there was a floor-slab inscribed
to the memory of Nicholas Fairfax, nephew and heir of Charles,
\'iscount Fairfax, of Gilling Castle, who died in February 1702-3,
aged 44. He was the last of the Fairfaxes buried at Walton, and it
was probably he or John Fairfax {see page 391) who rebuilt or greatly
restored the old home, ruined during the Civil W^ar.'*' This slab had
been carelessly placed close above the crocketed recess, which it had
partly destroyed, but was removed to its present position on the north
side of the chancel in 1893, when the canopy was restored. At the
top of the tablet is a scroll over a knight's helmet, enclosing a crest
of a lion couchant, with a lion rampant represented beneath. The
following arms were also to be seen in a window on the north side of
the nave, but they are now gone :

(1) Or, three bars gemelles, gu., surmounted by a lion rampant sable [Fairfax] ;
(2) Argent, a chevron between three hinds' heads erased gules [Malebisse] ; (3)
azure, a lion rampant, argent :t (4) gules, a lion rampant azure ;J (5) barry of
six. argent and gules, on a canton, sable, a crosslet. or (? cross moline. or) [Etton];
(6) or, a bend, sable ;§ (7) vaire, a bend gules ; (8) per pale, azure and gules, a
lion rampant, argent ;|| (9) as No. 6 ; (10) argent, a bend between three martlets,
sable [? Anne] ; (11. 12, 13) gone ; (14) argent a fess between three lions passant,
sable ',% (15) argent, a lion rampant, sable [Stapleton] ;*• (16, 17, 18) gone.

* The Walton registers contain the entr>' of the burial of his first wife Elizabeth,
August 31st. 1665. His second wife was Mary, only daughter of Nicholas
Weld, Esq.. of Lull worth Castle, Dorsetshire.

t These arms were also in the south window. The arms of Peter de Brus
(ob. 1272) were : argent, a lion rampant, azure, but it may be noted that successive
generations of the family of Hrus or Bruce bore different coats. See Yorks.
Archal. Jl., vol. xiii., page 258.

X The arms of Roger de Mowbray (1240-5) were : gules, a lion rampant, argent.
See Ellis's Antiquity of Heraldry, page 207.

§ Lord Hawkesbury thinks this is not correctly recorded, and should be, or, a
bend, azure, the arms of Caythorpe. whose coheiress brought this quartering to
the Fairfax family about 1400.

II Per pale a;^ure and gules, a lion rampant, guard, or (Hatton). See Whitaker's
Craven, 3rd edition, page 393.

^ Lord Hawkesbury also suggests a possible error in this record, for argent, a
fess between two lions passant gardant, sable (Folifait). The Rev. Christopher
Atkinson (1671-1736), vicar of Walton, bore a chevron between three lions passant.

*♦ Robert, son of Henry Stapleton. of Wighill. married at Walton, in 1622,
Catherine, daughter of Sir Thos. Fairfax, of Walton. The Stapletons in the 14th
century were also joint lords of the manor of Thorp Arch

396

In the north wall of the chancel is a small locker or aumbry, to
hold the sacred vessels. It is 24 inches long, 15 inches high, and 18
inches deep, and was formerly lined with oak and had an oaken door
with lock. There are similar curious lockers of wainscot in the
chancel of Selby church.

There are also memorials to the families of Goodall, Wright of
Cattail Grange (formerly of Walton Manor House), Fielden of
Walton House (now of Grimston Park), &c. There is an interesting
Jacobean oak pulpit (restored by Mr. Vincent in 1890), probably the
first pulpit ever used in the church, and the 14th century font
(octagonal) has a singularly shallow bowl.

In the vicinity of the church is the Parish School built by the lord
of the manor in 1847. Walton House, a modem mansion, was some
years the seat of Mathew Amcotts Wilson, Esq., and recently of
Thos. S. Brogden, Esq. It is now tenanted by George Jackson, Esq.,
son of the Rt. Hon. W. L. Jackson, M.P. There is little else of
interest in the village. A large garden attached to the house now
occupied by the verger, Mr. James Waite, fifty years ago had a good
reputation for the superiority of its roses and variety of other bloom,
the soil being apparently well adapted to the culture of the rose.
Mr. Joseph Richardson, the then tenant, who died in 1859, took great
delight in tending this beautiful garden, and in the summer season it
was much frequented by visitors from Boston Spa.

Midway between Walton and Thorp Arch station stands the
Thorp Arch Girls' Industrial School. The pleasantly-situated
buildings were originally erected for a boys* boarding-school, known
as Thorp Arch Grange (see illustration on page 393), erected by
Mr. Hiley, and subsequently managed by his son, the Rev. Richard
W. Hiley, M.A., now D.D. and vicar of the adjoining parish of
W^ighill. Ably assisted by his brother, the Rev. Alfred Hiley, M.A.,
now vicar of Walton, the school was very prosperously maintained
for a period of nearly thirty years (1861 — 1889), and many an old
scholar, now settled in distant places, must cherish happy recollections
of his early life and training at this once famous Yorkshire school.
Its history has been related in a graphic and interesting manner by
Dr. Hiley in his recent volume, Memories of Haifa Century , previously
referred to on page 344.

In 1890 the buildings, with an estate of 14 acres, were sold to the
Leeds School Board for the sum of ^3500. Their internal arrange-
ments having been to a large extent reconstructed, the premises
were re-opened for their present purpose on Jan. i6th, 1896. The
school is certified to accommodate 100 girls.

Norman Doorway

397

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Synningthwaite Priory.

A Cistercian Nunnery — Existing remains — Early history - Local possessions —
Other properties - Some interments within the Priory — Grant at Dissolution
Later history — Family of Synningthwaite.

ETWEEN Walton and Wighill Park, a little to the
east of Rudgate, stood the small Cistercian Nunnery
of Synningthwaite, in the parish of Bilton. The
establishment was destroyed some time after the
Dissolution and the present farm-house was erected
on the site. The Priory was surrounded by a moat enclosing about
eight acres, but of all tbe original buildings only a single doorway,
with adjoining masonry, remains. It has been a principal entrance,
and exhibits a very rich example of late Norman work, as shewn in
the accompanying illustration. This beautiful doorway undoubtedly
dates from the original building of the Priory, about the middle of
the 1 2th century.

The Priory was founded 6th Henry II. (ii6o), by Bertram Haget,
the founder of Healaugh Priory, and father of Ralph Haget, Abbot
of Fountains, who died in 1203, ^^^ ^^^ buried in the chapter-house
there.* Bertram Haget gave the site of the monastery at
Synningthwaite, a gift that was confirmed by Roger de Mowbray,
chief lord of the fee. Pope Alexander III., in 1172, granted to
Christian, then Prioress, and to the convent, a confirmation of their
then possessions, with what might afterwards be given to them, and
enjoined that none of the sisters, once professed, should depart
without license, and they were to be exempt from the payment of
tithe on all land they occupied or tilled at their own costs. This was
confirmed by Pope Lucius III. in 1185, who also decreed that none
should commit any theft within their cloisters or granges. And King
Henry II. further confirmed the founder's donation, forbidding all
persons from doing them any injury. As the nuns were of the
Cistercian order, they believed themselves to be exempt from any
visitation of the Diocesan, or his commissary, and in 11 76 they

* Surtefs Soc, vol. 42. page 124

appealed to Pope John XXI., against Walter, Archbishop of York,
who died in 1179, but this action, says Burton, does not seem to
have been in favour of the nuns, because in an original deed, dated
loth Edward I. (1282), mention is made of avisitation by Archbishop
Walter Giffard, and also of his successor, William Wickwane, laying
down very strict rules to be observed by these nuns.

E PRionr Fahm,

Burton enumerates the lands, rents, and liberties enjoyed by the
house, which lay principally in the immediate neighbourhood, and
included the advowson of the church of Bilton. Only a small part
of their property was situate at a distance, and this comprised lands

399

and pasturage at Esholt, Menston, Alwoodley, and Bedale, and at
Berwic-upon-Teyse (Ingleby-Barwick, near Yarm). Alice, daughter
of Adam de Staveley, gave, with her corpse, nine oxgangs of land
there, which afterwards the nuns exchanged. Alice de Staveley was
interred within the Priory cemetery (the site now known as Chapel
Garth), likewise Agnes, daughter of Ralph Fitz Hugh, of Borough-
bridge, and Richard de St. Maria, a descendant of the Hagets. The
Fitz Hughs of Richmondshire, had a keep- tower at Cotherstone in
Teesdale, the ** Pendragon*s lonely mound,*' of Sir Walter Scott's
Rokehy, The Fitz Alans of Bedale, whence the nuns derived a small
annuity, were also descended from the Hagets.

At the Dissolution the Priory was returned as of the annual value
of £60 9s. 2d., and the site was granted in 1539 to Sir Thomas
Tempest, Kt., to hold of the King in capite by military service.
Subsequently it became the property of Lord Wharton, by whom it
was bequeathed to Nonconformist trustees for the support of a
Bible charity, as related in the history of Healaugh. There is a
Synningthwaite, Synethwaite, or Swinethwaite, as variously spelled,
in Wensleydale, which gave name to a family of some consequence,
several of whom were witnesses to charters in the time of Edward \lr'
At this place, near West Witton, the Knights Templars had a
preceptory, to which the family of Siclinghall, originally of
Sicklinghall, near Wetherby, were benefactors.!

The Priory Farm at Synningthwaite was for many years early last
century in the occupation of Mr. John Wilson, whose son, Francis
Wilson, also farmed the adjoining lands of Wharton Lodge. They
were active Methodists, and an unmarried daughter of Mr. John
Wilson, named Isabella, became well-known as a v6ry pious, self-
denying, and benevolent woman, who rendered lasting service to the
cause of Methodism. She was born at Synningthwaite, and her
biography was written by a Mr. J. S. Pipe, and printed at Manchester
in 1825. It includes many of Miss Wilson's letters, and fills a small
octavo volume of 180 pages. It is now a scarce book. There is a
copy of it among the Hailstone collections in the Minster Library
at York.

The Wilsons had been settled at Synningthwaite for at least two
centuries. From them spring several families who have produced
men who have worthily served in various capacities in the Wesleyan
body. Also the Haswells, of North Shields, and Metcalfes, of
Pateley Bridge, are maternally descended from the same stock.

• Surtees Soc, vol. 67, p. 65, &c. ; Harrison's Gilling West, pp. 47, 59, 62, &c.
+ See the author's Rtchmondshire, page 420.

400

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Around Bramham.

The Bramham Moor grit-rocks — Special stone for York Minster — Early occupation
of district — Local discoveries — Domesday testimony — A church and priest in
1083 — The soke — Manor-house at Clifford — Count of Mortain — His portrait
on the Bayeux tapestry — Bramham subfeud to the Fossard family — Curious
grant — ^Early history — A valuable property of Nostell Priory — The Winn
family — IjDtd Headley — Antiquity of the church — Some architectural features
— The vicars — Bramham Park — The famous Bramham Moor Hunt — The late
Mr. George I^ne-Fox — His geniality and popularity — A magnificent
testimonial — His death and funeral — Recognition by the Prince of Wales -
l^wcliffe House — The Battle of Bramham Moor A pleasant country — Some
notable mansions — Bramham College.

ROM the middle of Bramham Moor, observes an old
writer, a man may see ten miles around him, and
within those ten miles he claims there is as much
freestone as would build ten cities, each as large as
York. The freestone of Bramham is extensively
developed, and has an old repute for special classes of stone- work
where quality and durability are essential. It was used for the
pendants or hanging ornaments on the vaults and ceilings of York
Minster, and in the records of the building of the Minster the
Bramham Moor stone is specially referred to as being employed for
this purpose.

Before Bramham Park was made early in the i8th century, a great
part of this famous hunting country was unenclosed, with no villages
upon it, and little population to speak of. Nearly 2000 acres were
then taken in and improved ; a wild uncultivated tract that had long
remained a silent witness to the many changes in local life and
manners which had taken place since the first peopling of the district.
Native Briton, Roman, Saxon, and Dane had each in turn left
indications of their presence in the neighbourhood. In 1675, five or
six British brass celts were ploughed up in a place called Osmond
Thick, near the moor,* and at the enclosure referred to a very

* Described and figured in Hearne's ed. of LelantVs Itinerary, vol. i., and sa
also vol. iv. (1711) Preface ; also Thoresby's Diary for 1709.

40I

remarkable ** magic-ring," inscribed with Scandinavian runes was
turned up, which in 1790 passed into the possession of Mr. T. Gill,
of York.* This and the curious '* magic-ring " of later date found
near Wetherby, are singularly interesting relics of early local
superstition.

From having been the vantage-ground and highway of the Roman
legions travelling between Castleford, Aldborough, Tadcaster, &c.,
Bramham Moor remained a " no-man's land," until the great Count
of Mortain claimed it as part of the fief bestowed upon him by the
Conqueror at the survey of England in 1083-6.! An English village
community had, however, been settled at Bramham long ere this,
and around the village the land had long been tilled. Says Domesday :

In Bramha' (Bramham) Ligulf had one manor of twelve carucates for geld,
and eight ploughs may be [there]. Nigel [Fossard] has three ploughs there, and
fifteen villanes with five ploughs and a half. The site of a mill is there. A church
and a priest. Wood, pasturable, two leugae in length and half [a leuga] in
breadth The whole manor, two leugse in length and one leuga and a half in
breadth. In King Edward's time it was worth eight pounds ; now fifty shillings.

To this manor belongs soke in MonechetJ ( ) one carucate ; in Toglestun

(Toulston) three carucates. in Ocelestorp (Oglethorpe) one carucate, and in
Niuueton (Newton Kyme) one carucate. Together six carucates for geld.

The importance of the manor in the Saxon times is attested by
the high value at which it was rated. A mill was about to be built,
to which the tenants of the lands within the soke were bound to bring
their corn to be ground. The places named were probably at that
time single farmsteads. There was an endowed church, but
singularly no demesne lands. The lord's demesne was at Clifford,
where he had two ploughs, and three villanes with two ploughs, and
one mill worth annually two shillings. There must have been a
manor-hall at Clifford at the Conquest. There was a Ligulf who
was permitted to retain his manor of Rigton, and who had a priest
there. He was probably the same Ligulf who was dispossessed of
Bramham.

Robert, Count of Mortain, in A v ranches, to whom the Conqueror

* Si€ Archaologia, vol. xxxi., pages 25 — 30, and Yorks. Archal.Jl., ii., 286 ; Drake's
Ebor., page loi. For Notes on Coins found on Bramham Moorsr^ Trans. Lanes,
and Chesh. Antiq. Socy. (1887). An example of gold ring-money or rude ear-
ring, weighing 336 grains, was found in a ploughed field at Cawood. It passed
into the hands of a goldsmith at Leeds, See Proc. Geol. <?v Polytech. Soc. 0/ W. R.
Yorks., vol. V. (1869-70), page 35. See also Dr. Whitaker's edit, of the Ducatus
Leodiensis, Curiosities, page 31.

t He was a younger son of Herleva, mother of the Conqueror, by her husband
Herlwine de Conteville.

X [Nun] Monkton appears in Domesday as Moneehetone belonging to Osbern [de
Arches]. See my Nidderdale, page no.

402

gave Bramham, fought at Hastings, and he is represented on the
Bayeux tapestry {see illustration facing page 401),* sitting upon
the left side of his great chief at the royal feast ; Bishop Odo, his
brother, appearing on the right (their names being over them).
Though owning immense properties in England his possessions in
Yorkshire were comparatively few, and were before 1083 subfeud to
Richard de Sourdeval and Nigel Fossard, the latter being lord of
Bramham. The Fossards held a good deal of property about York
and Doncaster.t The heiress of the family, Johanna, daughter of
William Fossard, was married to Robert de Tumham, a great soldier
and crusader, who in 1191 was one of the commanders of the fleet
at the siege of Cyprus. Shortly after the death of Coeur-de-lion,
King John, his brother, restored to Robert de Tumham the lands
that had been taken from him. But it was not until 1208 that he
appears to have recovered Bramham. In that year he presented the
King with two beautiful Spanish war-horses, whereupon the King
was pleased to grant his manor of Bramham to its former owner.J

Bramham has long been famed for its hunters, but it cannot be
known that the whole of its valuable lordship was once obtained at
the price of a couple of chargers. Where are the two horses now
that would purchase the manor of Bramham ? Robert de Tumham
lived to enjoy his estate but a short time after this gift. He died in
1210, leaving a daughter, Isabella, who in 1214 became the wife of
Peter de Malolacu or Mauley, § a famous man in his time. His son,
also named Peter, married the eldest daughter of Peter de Brus, lord
of Skelton in Cleveland. In 1284-5 Peter de Malolacu was lord
of the manor, and in 13 15 the Prior of Nostell, Peter de Malolacu,
and John de Ocklesthorp were returned as joint lords. The
manor or some part of it had belonged to the Hertlingtons, but was
forfeited by Henry de Hertlington, who joined the victorious King
of Scotland, Robert Bruce, and was treasonably associated with
Gilbert de Middelton at the spoliation of the Cardinals, legates of
Pope John XXII., in 1314, while on their way to Durham. He died
in 1335. William de Hertlington, his son, had in 1368 the whole of
the family inheritance restored, which included the manors of

• The second illustration depicts the future Lord of Bramham, &c., directing
the raising of the fortifications before the decisive battle of Hastings. These
illustrations are reproduced by p)ermission of Messrs. Geo. Bell & Sons, from
Mr. Fowkes* interesting monograph on the Bayeux Tapestry.

t See Hunter's South Yorkshire, vol. i.. page 12, &c.

X Rot. Jin. temp. John, page 419.

§ See Surtees Soc, vol. 94, page i, 44, &c., and Archaologia, xxxi., pages 238-48^
for pedigree, &c., of Malolacu, <S:c.

403

Bramham and Hertlington in Upper Wharfedale, and lands in
Bumsall, Thorpe, Rilstone, &c.*

By this time the canons of Nostell Priory had acquired considerable
property at Bramham, including the advowson of the church, given
to them, with 14 oxgangs of land at Bramham, by Robert Fossard.
William, his son, also gave them the mill,t and they had also the
mill at Hertlington. It is also recorded by Dodsworth that Nigel
Fossard, father of Robert, had given to the church of the Holy
Trinity at York a certain site in Bramham Wood called Hedley, and
all the ground to the hill at Oglethorpe. This was early in the 12th
century, as Robert, the son, appears in the Pipe Roll of 31st Henry I.
(1130).$ It also appears that Alexander, son of Ralph Paganel, or
Paynel, who married Agnes, daughter of Robert Fossard, gave after
the death of the said Robert, 20 acres of land in Bramham to the
canons of St. Oswald, Nostell, in compensation for certain tithes of
corn owing. 5 Hedley, or Headley, became a cell to Holy Trinity
Priory, York, and the same was confirmed to the Prior and brotherhood
by Pope Alexander HI. (not Alexander H. as stated by Drake), who
died about 1180. || In 1254 ^^^ monks obtained a grant of free
warren here, and having stocked the ground with conies, it continued
a valuable preserve for many centuries.^

In 1409 King Henry IV. granted license to William Nicholas,
Richard Gascoigne, John Amyas of Shitlington, Robert Mauleverer
and John Mauleverer, to give that part of the manor of Bramham
not held of the Crown, to the Prior and Convent of Nostell.
Eventually Bramham became the most valuable of all the possessions
of the Priory, and at the Dissolution the rents, &c., accruing from
the Bramham property amounted to £^2 17s. lod. per annum.

At the Suppression the site of Nostell Priory, together with much
other property that had belonged to the monastery, was granted at a
low price to Thomas Legh, LL.D., one of the Crown commissioners
appointed to visit the religious houses. This grant included the site
of the manor of Bramham called Bramham Bygginge [A.-S. hyggan,
see page 91] , with its appurtenances, and all lands and tenements

♦ See my Upper Wharfedale, pages 379-80.

t See also Yorks. Archal. Jl., vol. xiii., page loi.

J According to Tanner the Priory at Headley was founded by Ypolitus de
Braam, temp. Henry I., or at least " he was an early and considerable benefactor."
Su also Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., pages 213-14.

§ Set also Rot. Hund., 2nd Edward 1. (1273), and Suttees Society, vol. 94, p. 23.

H St. Robert, of Knaresbro', was a friend to the same fraternity, and by the
record of his visit to the *' monks of Adley," is no doubt meant the cell of Hedley.
See my Nidderdale, page 262, and also Surtees Society, vol. 42, page 167.

^ Yorks. Archoel. JL, vol. v., page 316, and vol. vii., page 278.

404

belonging to the manor. Also pasturage for 360 sheep on the
common moors of Bramham, together with the rabbit-warren
belonging to the late monastery of St. Oswald, Nostell. Also two
parts of one meadow called the Applegarth, in Bramham, and the
wood called the West Wood and the wood called the Rakes in
Bramham.

Dr. Legh, who had no interest in Bramham beyond the mere land
speculation, soon afterwards disposed of the property to Sir James
Blunt, Kt., who in 1566 sold it to John Browne, Esq.* Subsequently
the descendants of Sir John Winn, Bart., of Nostell, acquired the
property, and of this family Edward, second son of Sir Rowland
Winn, Bart., of Nostell, was long resident at Bramham. He died,
unmarried, in 1832, aged 92. George Winn, Esq., son of Pelham
Winn, Esq. (whose mother, Elizabeth Allanson, was great grand-
daughter of Sir William Allanson, Lord Mayor of York in 1633),
succeeded in 1763 to the estates of his cousin, Mark W^inn, Esq.,
of Little Warley, co. Essex, and in 1775 to those of his cousin,
Charles Allanson, Esq., of Bramham Biggin. The latter was some
time M.P. for Ripon, and died at Bramham, September 17th, 1775,
aged 54. He was buried in York Minster eleven days later with
great funeral pomp.f Mr. George Winn was created a Baronet in
1776, and assumed in that year by royal licence the name and
arms of Allanson. Sir George, as previously related, was raised
to the peerage in 1797, by the style and title of Lord Headley,
Baron Allanson and Winn, of Aghadoe, in the county of Kerry.
Lieut. -Col. Charles Mark Allanson- Winn, fourth Lord Headley,
succeeded his father in 1877.

The church (All Saints) at Bramham occupies an open and
elevated site in the midst of a spacious burial-yard, wherein the
fathers of the parish have found a last resting-place no doubt from
Saxon times. The Domesday church, probably of wood, has
disappeared, but there still remains abundant evidences of the
building that was erected by the Norman lords in the century
following the Conquest. The north piers of the nave are apparently
of the time of Stephen (1135 — 54), having plain round arches carried
upon cylindrical columns with square abaci. The south piers are
octagonal, and carry pointed arches. The tower is also Norman
(three of its foundation walls being five feet thick), with later
additions, battlemented, and supporting a 13th century octagonal

* See my NidderdaU, page 130. In the reign of Queen Anne, Bramham Biggin
was the seat of Christopher, son of Sir John Armytage, of Kirklees. He
afterwards resided at Hartshead Hall, and died in 1727.

t For pedigree of Allanson sec SurUes Soc, vol. 36, page 230.

405

spire.* The principal or south entrance into the church is Early
£nglish, having a pointed arch borne upon slender shafts at each
side of the doorway. The door itself is of massive, solid oak. Of
similar age to the doorway are the buttresses, of flat projection,
each with a single set-off and having a triangular pediment. On the
south side of the chancel are three lancet lights and a piscina. The
church was restored in 1853-4, ^"^ contains many memorials of the
Lane-Foxf and other local families.

The living is a vicarage, with a pleasant residence (the oldest part
of which dates from 1678), and 80 acres of glebe-land, in the gift of
the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church Oxford, to whom the great
tithes, amounting to ;^90o, were given after the Dissolution of Nostell
Priory, temp, Henry VIII. Torre has supplied a list of the vicars
from the year 1330. J The present vicar is the Rev. E. G. Wadeson,
M.A., who in 1898 succeeded the venerable Mr. Mare, who had been
vicar of Bramham for 36 years. The registers of the parish date
from 1586.

Bramham Park, the old seat of the Lane-Fox family, is in recent
years best known as the home of the late worthy and popular squire,
Mr. George Lane-Fox. The extensive area covered by the domain
was granted by the Crown to Robert Benson, father of the first
Lord Bingley, for his eminent public services. The large and stately
mansion was built by Robert Benson, first Lord Bingley, in the reign
of Queen Anne.§ He died in 1731.II In the spacious park is an
obelisk erected in memory of Robert Lane- Fox, Esq., grandson and

* It is a mistake to assume, as most authorities do assume, that towers had no
spires before the 13th century. Square towers with spires are represented in
illuminations as old as the Confessor's time, if not older. I may mention that
the Bramham church spire was struck by lightning during a terrific storm in
1827. Several of the stones were dislodged, and the bell-stays were broken.

t The late Lieut. -General Augustus H. Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L.. F.R.S.,
&c., some time High Sheriff of Dorset, a Crimean veteran and distinguished
archaeologist, was of this family. He was the son of W. A. Lane-Fox. Esq., and
on the death of his great uncle. Baron Rivers, to whose estates he succeeded, he
took the surname of Pitt-Rivers. He died at Blandford, May 4th. 1900, aged 72.

X Parson Oglethorpe (15 10) is omitted from the list, and see Calend. of State
Papers: Domestic, James /., vol. Ivii. (1610), No. 116.

§ The mansion, with most of its costly furniture, plate, and paintings, was
destroyed by fire on the night of July 29th. 1828 ; the loss being estimated at over
;f 40.000. The library, together with the family records, &c.. was happily preserved.
See Mayhall's Annals of Yorkshire. The house has never been wholly restored, but
the fine old gardens and pleasure grounds have been continuously and well
maintained.

• II See my Chronicles of Old Bingley, page 144, &c. A large portrait, in oils, of
Lord Bingley, may be seen at the Guildhall, York.

4o6

heir of the second Lord Bingley, who died in 1768. Before Lord
Bingley enclosed the estate and commenced planting, it was an
uncultivated heath, and the transformation from its original bleak
aspects, has indeed, been marvellous. The beautiful velvety lawns,
the green and ample park, with its fine beech avenue and well-grown
trees, and the extensive laid-out grounds and gardens are exceedingly
attractive. Sir John Goodricke, who married the heiress (for life) of
Bramham in 1731, is said to have preferred Bramham Park to his
beautiful paternal estate at Ribston."^' After Lady Goodricke's death
in 1792, Bramham passed to James Lane-Fox, Esq. (cousin to the
Hon. Robert Lane, lord of Bingley, &c., died 1768), nephew of
George Lane-Fox, second Baron Bingley. He died in 1825, leaving
his extensive estates strictly entailed upon his eldest son George
Lane-Fox, Esq.f

Bramham will always be remembered for its famous old Hunt,
which was one of the first established in the north of England.
Lord Bingley first hunted the country in the time of Queen Anne,
and a pack of hounds has been kept here continuously since. But
the real history of the Hunt did not commence until his Lordship
was succeeded by his nephew, Mr. James Lane-Fox, " Jemmy Fox,
of Bramham,** as he was familiarly called, at which time the district
covered by the Hunt w^s much more extensive than it is now. It
reached from Skipton and Bingley to Leeds and Selby, and even up
to the walls of York, a fine open country, embracing vast tracts of
moorland and unenclosed grasslands, with but a scanty {X)pulation
and no railways. Having obtained permission of the landowners
they were allowed to hunt and claim the fox-hunting right throughout
the whole of this large territory. But in 1816 Mr. James Lane-Fox
conceded to the then newly- formed York and Ainsty Hunt that
portion of the country which lies to the east of the Tadcaster road.J

Since those early days the face of the country has very much
altered, enclosures have gone on, fields have been fenced, and most
of the land is now in a high state of cultivation. For this and other
reasons it has been now for many years gravely asserted that hunting
is doomed. But this is incredible ! It is too much to expect that the
time-honoured " sport of Kings *' will be altogether wip)ed out of the
national pastimes. Hunting, says our old and estimable friend,
Sir Roger de Coverley, ** is the best kind of physic for mending a
bad constitution and preserving a good one.** Like touring, too, in

* Sir John Cioodricke was cousin to Lord Bingley through his mother, Dorothy
Jenkyns. Sec my Nidderdalc, pages 188-9.

t See Mr. H. Murray Lane's History of the Lane Family, in the Genealogical Ma$ ,
published by Mr. Elliot Stock ; also my Old Binf^ley, page 144.

♦ See Mr. W. Scarth Dixon's ///5/. 0} the Bramham Moor Hunt.

Qeohoc Lane- Fox. Esq,

407

one*s own country, it develops patriotism, and, as Dr. Hiley well
observes, the sporting taste makes our gentry reside much of the year
in the country ; they are known by their own people, and spend among
them their incomes instead of crowding to the Continental cities.*

It was this hearty appreciation of his own dominions that helped
not a little to form the sturdiness of character and individuality of
the late Mr. George Lane- Fox. Though a keen sportsman and
politician, he was above all a patriot, and it was his proud boast that
during the whole of his fox-hunting life he had never spent a penny
out of his own country. A typical Tory of the old school, intensely
conservative, he had little sympathy with democratic tendencies, and
he was as much opposed to local government reform as he was to
the extension of the franchise. But that was his own marked way
of viewing things, no lover of change — the old is the best- and so
he always clung to the hope " when there will be one man one gun,
one man one horse, one man one wife, and when we shall all live in
the country !"

Mr. Fox loved Bramham, and knew almost every stone and tree
for many miles round the home domains. He was an excellent
landlord, liberal to a fault ; in fact, it is well known that so
considerately had he treated his tenantry that about the year 1856 the
whole body came forward and offered to raise their rents for him.f
Since that time, of course, there have been many changes, and
farmers cannot easily afford to be so generous. But the old sympathy
has been well maintained, and no landlord was ever held in greater
esteem by his tenantry than was Mr. Fox. The magnificent service
of plate, accompanied by an address, presented to him in November,
1872, affords striking testimony to the respect in which he was held
by friends and neighbours alike. This valuable service comprises 57
pieces of ornamental and useful plate, in addition to over eleven
dozen pieces of small plate, purchased by members of the Bramham
Moor Hunt and other friends, at a cost of about 3000 guineas. The
address is enclosed in a gilt-edged volume, very richly illuminated,
containing a full-length photograph of Mr. Fox in hunting costume,
together with many clever water-colour vignettes illustrative of well-
known localities in the district covered by the Bramham Moor pack,
such as Bramham Park, Riffa Wood, Woodhall Bridge, Stockeld,
Harewood House, Parlington, Thorp Arch Bridge, &c. To the
address is appended the signatures of Lords Harewood, Abergavenny,
Feversham, Ashtown, and Wenlock, follow^ed by the autographs of
about 1 70 others.

♦ Memories 0/ Half-a-Century, page 379 ; see also my Airedale, page 45.
t See my Chronicles and Stones of Old Bmgley, pages 144-5.

4o8

Mr. Fox began to keep hounds in 1848 by taking back the pack
which his grandfather had given to Lord Harewood six years before.
Having been made into a subscription pack, he continued to hoU
the position of Master of the Hunt until the time of his death,
November 2nd, 1896, a period of nearly fifty years. He was a true
sportsman, loving the fine old English pastime for its own sake. He
was no gambler, and perhaps it is not so well known that he never
made a bet in his life. Singularly death bore him away on the
opening-day of the hunting season, and within a few days of attaining
his 8oth year, Nov. 13th. The funeral at the old church of Bramham
was witnessed by a very large gathering, and many persons, despite
the chilling effects of a raw November morning, had come long
distances to pay their last tribute of respect to the memory of the
deceased gentleman. The King, then Prince of Wales, sent
Mr. Christopher Sykes, as his representative, who laid upon the bier
a superb floral wreath, which was inscribed as follows : '* In memor}*
of a fine old English sportsman and gentleman, and as a mark of
true regard and respect from Albert Edward, P.** A great many
other beautiful wreaths and floral tributes were also received, and the
funeral, at which the Rt. Rev. Dr. Crosthwaite, Bishop of Beverley,
officiated, was, indeed, an historic event in the neighbourhood. Such
a large gathering of nobility and gentry had probably never been
seen in a country churchyard in Yorkshire before.

Mr. Fox died at Bowcliffe House, the femily seat since the
destruction of the old mansion by fire in 1828. It had previously
been occupied by the Smyth family.* It is now the residence
of Mr. Fox*s second son, James Thomas Richard Lane-Fox, Esq.,
D.L., J. P., who had previously resided at Hope Hall, Bramham,
formerly the sporting seat of Lord Neville. The eldest son of
Mr. Fox, George Lane-Fox, Esq., D.L., J. P., is Vice-Chancellor of
the Primrose League, and a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
He mag*ied a cousin of the late Cardinal Vaughan. The neighbour-
hood of Bramham and Wetherby has, ever since the Reformation,
had many adherents to the Romish Church, and there are now
handsome churches upheld by that body at Clifford and Sicklinghall.
But during the religious anarchy that prevailed in the time of
Charles II., there were in 1680 but six persons in Bramham and two
in Cliflford who were declared Papists. Under the Toleration Act
dissenters greatly multiplied, and some local followers of George Fox,
already then known as Quakers, had in 1691 a license to hold services
and preach in a house called Petty House, in Cliflford.t

* See pedigree in Thoresby's Due. Lead., page 360.

t Within ten years after the passing of the Toleration Act (in 1689), over fifty
chapels were erected in Yorkshire, in addition to the numerous preaching-places
licensed to the various denominations.

409

From the Sessions Records I gather further that Bramham raised
many foot-soldiers for the West Riding Militia, who were called out
to oppose the Jacobite rising in 171 3. The Bramham Constables
were on several occasions ordered to pay various sums in the relief
of disbanded soldiers about this time.

During the later rebellion of 17451 elsewhere referred to in this
work, General Wade*s army was encamped on Bramham Moor.
The greatest excitement prevailed in the neighbourhood at the time,
and young Henry Wickham, afterwards Lieut. -Colonel Wickham,
escaped from school at Heath, near Wakefield, and enlisted in one of
the infantry regiments. His discharge was easily procured, but not
until he had marched some time with the corps. He afterwards
settled at Cottingley Hall, near Bingley, where he lived in great
style, and the fact is still remembered there that every Sunday, when
at home, he was accustomed to drive to Bingley Church in a
handsome coach drawn by four horses with postilion.*

Bramham Moor was also the scene of a skirmish between the
forces of the Earl of Northumberland and Sir Thomas Rokeby,
Sheriff of Yorkshire, in which the Earl was slain and his army routed,
19th Feb., 1408. This conflict, which took place at a site still known
as Camp Hill, about 3^ miles west of Tadcaster, helped to secure
the crown to Henry IV.t A monument, marking the site, stands
midway between Oglethorpe and Headley, but the inscription has
gone.J

Round about Bramham the counlry is delightfully fresh and the
air invigorating, while the landscape is pleasantly diversified with
gentle alternating hill and dale. There are several handsome
residences in the neighbourhood, including Bowcliffe House, or
Bramham Hall as it is now best known, and Hope Hall, already
referred to. Hope Hall, two centuries ago, belonged to Mr. Marshall
postmaster of Tadcaster. Bramham House was at one time the seat
of Captain Preston, and is now owned and occupied by Chas. Stuart
Robson, Esq. Bramham Lodge, formerly the seat of the Wright
family, and later of J. H. Whitaker, Esq., is now occupied by
Mr. Edmund Harrison, steward to Mr. Lane-Fox. John Lloyd
Wharton, Esq., P.C., M.P., D.C.L., &c., is also a many years'
resident at Bramham. He has gained a national reputation, and of
his Parliamentary experience it may justly be said that no one is

* See the author's Old Bingley, page 348.

t See the author's Ntdderdale, page 247.

J I have seen in possession of Mr. James Varley, of Tadcaster, a small iron
cannon-shot, no larger than a cricket ball, which was discovered in this neighbour-
hood more than a century ago.

4IO

better conversant with procedure in the House of Commons, and he
has been named as a possible Speaker.* Mr. Wharton, who is son
of the late Mr. J. T. Wharton, of Dryburn, Durham, represented
Durham in the House of Commons from 1871 to 1874, and since
1886 he has been Conservative Member for the Ripon Division of
Yorkshire.

Bramham College is situated a short distance from the village,
being the mansion formerly known as Bramham Biggin (see page 91),
the ancestral seat of the noble house of Headley, previously referred
to. This house, with the estate, was leased by the Rev. Benj. Bentley
Haigh, LL.D., and for about 25 years, until his death in 1869, was
conducted as an educational establishment with conspicuous success.
Dr. Haigh was born in 1803 at Gunthwaite, near Penistone, and
prior to opening his establishment at Bramham, had kept a school
at Grimston Lodge, Kirkby Wharfe {see page 202). He was a skilful
linguist, in which respect, observes the Rev. W'm. Bownas, B.A., it
** would be difficult to excel or even to match him.'*t His Classical
master about 1856 was the Rev. R. V. Taylor, B.A., the present
incumbent of Melbecks, near Richmond, in the North Riding, and
well-know as author of Biographia Leodiensis (1865), Ecclesia Leodienses
(1875), Yorkshire Anecdotes (1883), &c.

* See also Dr. Hiley's Memories of Half-a-Century, page 384

t See Boston Spa, a Poem (1858), page 49 See also Some Account 0/ Bramham
College, by an Oxford Graduate (1854).

412

This is indeed a neighbourhood to calm the hurry and anxieties of
life, and with its well-known salubrity, the records of local longevity
are very numerous.* There are now about 400 houses in the town-
ship, with a population of about 1500. In 1851 there were about 250
houses, and the population was 1049. At that time it had but lately
become known as Boston Spa, the narne Spa having been added
soon after the introduction of the penny post ; some confusion having
arisen between this place and Boston in Lincolnshire.! Most of the
houses are well built of stone, obtained from the Clifford and
Bramham Moor quarries, while many of them are large and handsome
and have beautiful gardens attached. In digging for the foundations
of one of the houses in 1848, a vessel was found containing 172
Roman silver coins of various reigns down to Hadrian (117 — 138),
when the hoard had probably been concealed in a time of alarm.
The vessel is now in the York Museum.

Most of the houses have been built within the past century, when
the place began to obtain repute for the excellence of its chalybeate
spring, which was discovered in the year 1 744, by a labourer named
John Shires, while cutting brushwood on the banks of the river.
Shires, it is said, drank of the water regularly and lived to a good
old age. J It was not, however, till 1784 that the water was submitted
to analysis, when it was found to contain a large proportion (about
70 grains in a pint) of chloride of soda, combined with small quantities
of lime, magnesia, and carbonate of iron. The water is very useful
in cases of general relaxation, bilious disorders, and stomachic
complaints. The original spa, owing to its nearness to the river was
frequently overflowed, and to remedy this inconvenience, neat and
commodious Baths were erected in 1834 by R. O. Gascoigne, Esq.,
lord of the manor.

This valuable saline aperient spring has never been known to fail,
and often as many as thirty to forty baths a day have been obtained
from it, besides what has been supplied for drinking purposes. The
water, when taken fresh from the pump, has a limpid, sparkling

* Mrs Isabel Moscrip, who died here Sept. 25rd, 1893, aged 104, and Mr. Wm.
Banks, who died at Sunny Side, in the Low Lane, Dec. nth, 1892. aged 98, may
be cited among recent instances. It js also worthy of note that a medical
gentleman at Boston Spa states that on April 14th, 1890, he visited 8 patients
in the neighbourhood, whose united ages amounted to 693 years, or an average
of 87 years each ! This is striking testimony to the healthfulness of the
neighbourhood.

t In the 1838 West Riding Directory it is described simply as Boston.'

J I find in the Thorp Arch registers the baptismal entry, in June, 1715, of
" John son of Thomas Sires " (presumably the same), and in the burial register
appears under date Feb. 20th, 1794, " John Shires, who found the Spaw." He
would thus be in his 8oth year.

413

appearance, and a saline and sliglitly bitter taste, resembling the
Cheltenham waters. The Baths are particularly recommended in
cases of rheumatism and rheumatic gout. During the past forty
years they have been kept by Mr. Alfred NichoUs,

The fame of the Spa waters, combined with the pure air, beautiful
scenery, and good and ample accommodation and provision — there
being numerous lodging-houses, hotels, and good shops, — now attracts
a great many visitors annually, who usually derive much benefit
from a sojourn at the Spa. Its situation upon table land or on gentle

Boston Spa Church in 1870.

acclivities, is especially suited to those unable to bear the strain
or exertion of climbing hills. Its warm and sheltered situation is
also well suited for winter residence, much more so than its famous
neighbour, Harrogate, ten miles distant.

The very neat church was built by subscription, on land given by
Mr. Samuel Taite, whose father, Mr, Joseph Taite, is said to have
built the first house (now the Royal hotel) that was erected at Boston
Spa in 1753. The first stone of the church (St. Mary's) was laid
28th March, 1812, and it was opened for public worship Dec. 26th,
1814. It has since {1872) been almost entirely rebuilt.* There is

• Sii Thi Builder for 1872, page 551

414

also an Independent Chapel, erected in 1836, and a Wesleyan Chap>e]
dating from 1847.

Clifford, including Boston, forms an ancient township within the
parish of Bramham, and is separated from the parish of Thorp Arch
by the Wharfe, yet Boston Spa, as I have said, was hardly known
by that name a century ago, and in many publications down to the
middle of the 19th century, places properly within the township are
described as within Thorp Arch.* The stone bridge over the
Wharfe, connecting the two parishes of Thorp Arch and Boston Spa,
was erected near the old ford and ferry at the expense of the local
landowners in 1770. Its surrounding aspects have greatly changed
since then. The view prefacing this chapter, from a photograph by
the late Mr. Maffett, of Boston Spa, depicts the locality from thirty
to f®rty years ago.

Several good houses have been erected within the past two or
three years, including those above the bridge, and a large and
handsome mansion called Four Gables, situated beyond the church
to the south, built by John H. Whitham, Esq., of an old Craven
family long resident in the neighbourhood of Keighley. One of the
oldest villa residences in the district is the house known as St. Kitts,
which was built on land purchased by the Rev. Christopher Atkinson
in 1773. The house was occupied for many years by his unmarried
daughters, and at the death of the last of them in 1826, Mr. Joseph
Milner Atkinson went to live there. He died in 1855, and was the
last of the Atkinsons to reside at Boston Spa,

During the most eventful century in the whole history of the
township, the family had taken a prominent part in promoting the
progress . and welfare of Boston, and had witnessed its growth
from the erection of the first house (see above) until it became a large
and flourishing community. The R^v. Christopher Atkinson, who
was the first of the family to reside in the neighbourhood, was bom
at Trout beck, in the parish of Windermere, and was appointed vicar
of Thorp Arch in 1749. He was also incumbent of Walton and
chaplain to Lord Bingley. He had held the living of Trout beck for
about two years before 1745, when he became Head Master of
Macclesfield Grammar School, and this position he retained until his
settlement at Thorp Arch. By his wife Jane, daughter of William
Johnson, Esq., of the Old Hall, near Kendal, he had a family of four
sons and eight daughters. Four of the daughters married, and four
died unmarried. His eldest son, Johnson Atkinson, Esq., M.D.,

• In Baines's Flora 0/ Yorkshire (1840), Thorp Arch is very frequently mentioned
as a plant locality, but Boston Spa not once. The same remark applies to the
Sufflement published in 1855. Even Jackdaw Crag is spoken of as in Thorp Arch

415

married the heiress of the Busfeilds, of Ryshworth, in the parish of
Bingley, a lady possessed of large properties in various parts of
Yorkshire, and in 1772 he assumed the surname of Busfeild, and
died in 1817. He was father of Wilham Busfeild, Esq., M.P. for
Bradford from 1837 to 1851, and was grandfather of the late
\Vm, Busfeild Ferrand, Esq., M.P., of St. Ives, Bingley, the largest
landowner In that p>arish.*

The Rev. Christopher Atkinson partly rebuilt and restored Thorp
Arch church in 1759, at which time his mother presented the font.
He erected the family burial-vault at the north-east comer of the
churchyard, and was himself interred there in 1774. His second son,
the Rev. Miles Atkinson, Iwcame vicar of Kippax, and incumbent

The Rev, Wm. Atkinson.
of St, Paul's, Leeds. The latter church was built principally through
his exertions and almost at his own expense. In the first of the two
volumes of his sermons, published after his death, there is a memoir
of him, and another of his father is also prefixed. His portrait, in
oil, was painted by John Russell, R.A., a,nd engraved by Skelton.
William, the fourth son of the Rev. Christopher Atkinson, was born
at Thorp Arch in 1758, and became rector of Warham, Norfolk, and
afterwards Lecturer at the Bradford Parish Church. He was author
of many political and other (lamphlets, and his election to the
Lectureship at Bradford caused violent and protracted controversy. t

" Set (he authors Old Bingley, pages 360-67.

t A long but probably incomplete list of his wrilings will be found in the
Hradford Antiquary for 1881. Sii also under Baldwin, and h( Wm Scru ton's OW
Bradford, pages Z67-S. &:c., and Taylor's Yorkskirt Antcdolti. page 18.

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r'or many years he resided at Boston, in a house of his own, then
called Clifford Lodge, and it was mainly by his efforts that the first
church at Boston was built. He died in 1846 aged 88, and >¥as
buried at Thorp Arch. I append a ix)rtrait of him from an original
painting by W. O. Geller,* in possession of the family of Sir M. W'.
Thompson, Bart, Park Gate, Guiseley.f His wife's family, the
Cottams, I may add, were relatives of the Milners, lords of the manor
of Pudsey, near Leeds.J The annexed new pedigree of Atkinson
traces the descent of this prominent local family and its immediate
connections to the present time.

Many other genteel houses might be noted in this beautiful
neighbourhood, including Boston Lodge, the pleasant home of the
Vincent family, § and Chestnut Grove, which at one time was
occupied by Mr. George Lane- Fox. The ancient and distinguished
family of Wickham has long been connected with this house.
Lamplugh, second son of Col. Henry Wickham, of Cottingley, near
Bingley, and brother of the eminent statesman, the Rt. Hon. Wm.
Wickham, was bom in 1768, and married a daughter of Richard
Hird, Esq., of Rawdon, near Leeds. He took the name of Hird,
and died in 1842. He was father of Mr. Lamplugh Wickham (Hird)
Wickham, of Chestnut Grove and Low Moor, near Bradford, a
partner in the great trading concern known as the Low Moor Iron
Company. He died in 1883, and was buried at Boston Spa. His
eldest son, William Wickham Wickham, Esq., now resides at
Chestnut Grove. He married in 1868, Katherine, daughter of
Thomas Fairfax, Esq., of Newton Kyme, and their eldest daughter,
Miss Alice Wickham, was married at Boston Spa Oct. 19th, 1897, ^^
Captain Charles Algernon Sidney Warner, of the 17th Lancers.
The officiating clergymen were the Rev. C. H. Fairfax (uncle of the
bride) and the Rev. J. Dodd (vicar), and the picturesque ceremony
was witnessed by a very large gathering, and will long be remembered
in the neighbourhood. Among the company of invited guests were
the Prince and Princess Adolfus of Teck.

Wharfedale House is also another picturesque residence, ** with

* See Bellhouse Pedigree, page 297.

t Sir Mathew Wm. Thompson, Bart., lineally descended from the Rev. Chris.
Atkinson, vicar of Thorp Arch (1749-74), was M.P. for Bradford, 1867-8, and was
created a Baronet in 1890 for his great public services, especially in connection
with railway enterprise. He was at that time Chairman of the Forth Bridge Co..
and Chairman of the Midland Railway Co.

X See Berry's County Genealogies : Kent.

§ Vincent, of Boston Lodge, see Burke's Landed Gentry, also Tkoresby Soc., vol.
v., page 191 n. Mr. Wm. Clarke Vincent, of Boston Lodge, who had been a
liberal benefactor to the neighbourhood, died 30th Sept.. 1896, aged 67.

419

clematis and roses mantled o'er,"* which must be noted as the
birthplace of the distinguished poet and litterateur, Mr. Samuel
Waddington. He is of the Oglethorpe Hall family {see page )38i,
and was born at Boston Spa in 1844.! Among his many published
works, the Century of Sonnets, issued in 1889, and collected Poems, a
tasteful little volume published in 1896, contain so much that is
choice and original in thought, as also perfect in expression, that it
is difficult to single out any particular piece for its superior merit.
The distinguishing characteristic of these poems seems to be their
high moral purpose, written so simply and withal in such faultless
metre that wisdom and melody bear us unconsciously onward from
stanza to stanza through the pages of the book. His sonnets are
models of their kind. ** They reveal," says the Saturday Review, ** a
sense of form and an avoidance of mere sonority of language that
are exceedingly rare in the sonnets of the day." Mr. Waddington is
also a not infrequent contributor to the magazines, and has lately
written a very able and suggestive article on The Cradle of the Human
Race, J

The Rev. William Bownas, B.A., has also written much and
attractively in poetical form on Boston Spa, while another local
writer of good repute was Mr. John Emmett, F.L.S., who settled at
Boston Spa on account of ill health some forty years ago, and died
there in January, 1901, in his 80th year. He was for some years a
regular contributor to Chambers' Journal, the Naturalist, Science Gossip,
and kindred publications. As a naturalist he was well known, and
his abundant records of the fauna and flora of the neighbourhood of
Boston Spa have added not a little to the interest in and value of the
natural history of the county. He had made a thorough study of
the conchology of the district, and was the discoverer, in 1858, of the
peculiarly local Needle-agate shell (Achatina acicula). Also Acme
lineata has been found here in its only known station.

Just as Harrogate in modern times has exceeded in population
and imp)ortance the mother parish of Knaresborough, so has Boston
Spa surpassed its ancient parent manor and township of Clifford. J

* Vide Mr. Waddington's sonnet, entitled /« the Piazza di S. Marco, where he
makes this allusion to his old home.

t See Mr. Miles's Poets and Poetry of the Century ; Mr. Kyle's Popular Poets of the
Period ; Who's Who, 1900 ; Andrews* North Country Poets, &c.

X See Nineteenth Century for November, 1900.

§ In Domesday spelled Cliford. It must not be supposed that the place takes its
name from the ancient family of Clifford, as this family was originally seated in
Herefordshire, and had no property in Yorkshire until long after the Conquest.
They took their name of De Clifford from Clifford on the Wye. Our Clifford
doubtless derives its name from the A.-S. clyf, a cliff, and ford, a ford, that is
from some ancient ford at or near the cliffs on the river.

420

The latter manor originally embraced the whole territory of what is
now Boston Spa. It is no doubt, like Bramham, a Saxon settlement,
and the old soke-mill at Clifford, according to Domesday, has existed
from at least the days of King Edward the Confessor. The Clifford
(flax) mills have long been vacant ; not having been worked since the
great fire on June 15th, 1867, when damage was sustained to the
amount of upwards of /"2000.

There is a beautiful Protestant church, opened in 1842, but the
district has a numerous Roman Catholic population, and there is
here an imposing and very handsome Catholic church, which ^vould
be a notable building in any of the largest towns or cities in the
kingdom. It is dedicated to St. Edward the Confessor, and is in the
purest Norman style with apsidal termination. It was opened in
1848. The interior is almost cathedral -like in its size, loftiness, and
impressiveness. The Lady Chapel and Chapel of the Blessed
Sacrament are most superbly decorated, and there is a magnificent
statue of the Blessed Virgin, executed in Carrara marble, by Hoffman,
which is reputed to be one of the best works of Christian art in the
world. It is said that the eminent sculptor became a convert to the
Roman Catholic faith while engaged on this beautiful statue.

Between Boston Spa and Clifford are the extensive buildings of
the St. John's Institute, where at the present time about 200 deaf
and dumb youths belonging to Roman Catholic families in all parts
of the country, are taught various useful trades. The buildings are
well built and spacious, and in every way adapted for the good
work carried on in so deserving an institution.

421

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Thorp Arch.

Antiquity of the settlement — Domesday testimony — The Arches family — Descent
of the manor — Fourteenth century trades — Local woollen industry — The old
corn-mill Historical records — The Gossip family — Picturesque aspects—
The " old castle " — Thorp Arch Hall— Manor-house— Records of the church
The vicars — Description of the church — Pre-Norman relics— The churchyard
— The parish registers.

ONTRASTED with its more populous neighbour,
Boston Spa, over the water, the pretty village of
Thorp Arch looks small and insignificant, though it
possesses a far superior interest in point of antiquity.
Actual remains prove it to have been occupied in
British times, while a Christian community was established here in
the Saxon ages, and in 1083 the township possessed an endowed
church and had a resident priest. The following is the testimony of
Domesday :

Three Manors. In Torp (Thorp Arch), Orm, Godwin, and Tor had three
carucates of land for geld. The land is to three ploughs. Now Osbern has there
three ploughs, and six villanes and seven bordars and two ploughs. A priest [is]*
there, and a church, and the site of a mill. [The whole land] one leuga in
length and half [a leuga] in breadth. In King Edward's time it was worth four
pounds ; now ten shillings less.

This Osbern, who took the name of De Arcis (so written in
Domesday) or Arches, a place in Normandy,* a name that must not
be confounded with that of the family of De Arcubus (or Bowes,
whose arms were three bows — arcus), had very large grants made to
him at the Conquest. He received 66 manors in Yorkshire, the
most valuable of them being Thorp (Arch), Walton, (Nun) Appleton,
Poppleton, Oglethorpe, and Newton (Kyme), all situate in the lower
vale of the Wharfe. He had also some few possessions in Lincoln-
shire.f The arms of this family were three arches of masonry.

Osbern de Arches was Sheriff of Yorkshire about a.d. i 100, but
when he died is not known. He was succeeded by his eldest son,

* See Archaologia, xxxi., page 216 : On the Barony of Arques.
f See Yorks. Archal.JL, vol. iv., page 244.

422

William de Arches, who with Ivetta, his wife, founded about 1150
the Benedictine Priory at (Nun) Monkton.* There being no male
issue of this marriage, the manor of Thorp (Arch) passed to his
daughter Ivetta, who was twice married, (i) to Roger de Flamville,
(2) to Adam de Brus, of Skelton, in Cleveland, who survived her.
She died in 1152, and was buried at Gisburn or Gisburgh Priory,
which had been founded by Robert de Brus in 1 119. Adam de Brus,
his son, died in i i62,t having some time previously given the church
of Thorp Arch, held by him in the right of his wife, to the cha[>el of
the Blessed Mary, St. Michael, and the Holy Angels, near the
cathedral at York.

In a pedigree of the family of Brus, of Skelton, J the above Adam
de Brus, who married Ivetta de Arches, is said to have died shortly
before 1200, and his son Peter de Brus, who died in 1222, left a son
Peter, who died about 1241. This Peter de Brus, who succeeded to
the manor of Thorp Arch, married Helewise de Lancaster, widow of
Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid, a favourite of King John, who was descended,
according to Cockersand, from Ivo Tailbois, Earl of Anjou, as well
as from the famous Fitz Warrens. She was one of the coheiresses of
William de Lancaster, whose family had taken this name by virtue
of their descent from William de Warren, governor of the important
castle at Lancaster.§ Peter and Helewise had a numerous offspring.
All their sons, including the eldest, Peter de Brus who died in 1272,
left no issue,! therefore the family patrimony was divided among four
sisters, (i) Agnes, wife of William de Fauconberg ; (2) Lucia, wife
of Marmaduke de Thweng ; (3) Margaret, wife of Robert de Ros, of
Wark ; and (4) Laderina, wife of Sir John de Bella Aqua or Bellew.f

In 1284-5 there are stated to be four (? three) carucates of land in
Thorp Arche (then so written), held by John de Bella Aqua of the
fee of Roger de Mowbray, who held the same of the King in capiU
by the rent of 2s. ii^d. per annum. In 1302 it is recorded {vide
Knights Fees, 31st Edward I.), there are three carucates of land in
Thorp Arches, which are held by two heirs *of Laderan de Brus.
Sir John de Bellew survived his wife, leaving, in 1300, two coheirs,
(i) Nicholas Stapelton, then aged 15, son and heir of his daughter

* See my NidderdaU, pages iio-ii.

t Memoirs of the Meeting of the Archccl. Inst, at York in 1846, page 107.

J Vide Yorks. Archarl.Jl., xiii., pages 52, 258.

§ See A rchtrological Journal, vol., vi., page 194.

II See my Nidderdale, page 11 1.

^ Of Kirklington, Notts., where is a moated farm-house still known as Belle
Eau Park. The arms of this family were sable, fretty, or, which appears among
the Metham quarterings (No. 5) and No. 6 is arg. a lion rampant azure (Brus).
See Foster's Yorks. Visitations, page 252, and ante page 395.

423

Sibilla, deceased, who had been wife of Sir Miles Stapelton, and (2)
Joanna, another daughter then living, aged 24 years and upwards,
the wife of Fitz Henry. A son of the latter, Aucherius filius Henrici,
and Nicholas de Stapelton are returned in 13 15 as joint lords of
Thorp D' Arch. This Aucher left a son Henry, who succeeded to
his father's interest in Thorp Arch, and this Henry Fitz Aucher, in
1 8th Edward HI. (1345), enfeoffed Richard de Depeden in his manor
of Thorp Arches, with reversion to himself and his heirs.*

In 1378 John de Stapelton and his wife, and Magota, widow of
Richard Depeden {see page 360-1), were among those at Thorp Arch
who contributed a groat to the tax levied for carrying on the wars
with France. It would appear that Thorp Arch was a place of some
trade at this time ; among the 14 married couples and 38 single adults
comprising the population, there were two carpenters, one plough-
wright, one brazier, two walkers or fullers, and a tinctor or dyer, so
that a good deal of woollen cloth must have been brought to Thorp
Arch in the course of the year to be dyed and fulled. The city of
York, at this period, had a great fame for the manufacture of woollen
fabrics, especially for coverlets, of which it possessed the sole
monopoly till 1552, and they continued to be made there until early
in the i8th century. At many places, too, in the Lower Wharfe
valley, especially at Wetherby, a brisk trade was carried on in the
14th century in the manufacture of cloth, and in 1396 the West
Riding collector of the tax on woollen cloth resided at Tadcaster
{see Wetherby.)

The manorial com -mill at Thorp Arch (on the site of what is now
known as the Old Mills above the bridge), which had not been built
at the time of the Norman survey, also became a valuable trade
property, and in 1401 Sir John Depeden, Kt., quitclaimed to
Thomas Hulott and William Flaxton, chaplains, all his right in
lands and the mills at Thorp Arch, &c,t

The manor of Thorp Arch subsequently came to the Gascoignes,
and early in the i8th century it had descended to the famous Lady
Elizabeth Hastings, daughter of Theophilus, Earl of Huntingdon,
by Elizabeth his first wife, who was daughter and coheiress of
Sir John Lewis, Bart. Lady Hastings inherited the manors of
Ledston, Ledsham, Thorp Arch, Collingham, Wheldale, Wyke, and
Shadwell. She died in 1739, aged 57.J The manor of Thorp Arch
was next acquired by the Gossips, who have long been seated at
Thorp Arch. William Gossip, Esq., of Thorp Arch, who was born

* See Coll. Top. et Gen., vii., 161, and Yorks Archtrl. JL, vol. xiii., page 61 n.

t Yorks. Archttl. ]l., xiii., page 61.

} 5^^ also Mr. Wilson's Sedbergh School, Register, page 21.

424

in 1 704-5, married Anne, daughter and coheiress ot Geo. Wilmer, Esq.,
of York, and died in 1772."^' His second son, Wilmer Gossip, Esq.,
lived at the present Hall at Thorp Arch (which was built by his
father), and died there in 1790. His nephew and eventual successor
at Thorp Arch, Randall Gossip, Esq., was bom in 1800 and married
in 1825, Christiana, only daughter of William Marshall, Esq., of
Newton Kyme and Laughton-en-le-Morthen. She was sister and
sole heiress of William Hatfield, Esq., of Laugh ton and Newton
Kyme. He assumed by royal license i6th Oct., 1844, the surname
of Hatfield on succeeding to the estates of his wife's brother, the
above Wm. Hatfield, Esq. (formerly Marshall). He died, in 1853,
and was succeeded by his youngest son, John Hatfield, Esq., J. P., of
Thorp Arch Hall, who married in 1869, and died in 1889, aged 43,
and was interred in the family vault in Thorp Arch churchyard, and
his wife, who died in 1894, ^^^ 45' ^^^ interred beside him. He
left a son John Randall Hatfield, Esq., and a daughter Lilian Frances,
recently married to Harry Rochfort, only son of the late Gen. Charles
Elmhirst, C.B., of Horncastle. Mr. J. R. Hatfield married Oct. 23rd,
1901, the youngest daughter of W. Hyde, Esq., of the Grange,
Market Stainton. The Hall with its beautiful park, has been tenanted
now some years by Thomas Bright Matthews, Esq.

Round about the village of Thorp Arch the aspects are very
picturesque. Though most of the houses are comparatively new,
they look beautiful in summer time, with their mantles of roses and
clematis, while nearly every gable is covered with a good-bearing
fruit tree. Formerly most of the cottages had roofs of stout old
thatch, but only two such now remain. At the top of the village is
the entrance to the beautiful Hall park, the family seat of the
Hatfields. Sir Thomas Widdrington quotes some old Latin verses
referring to this park, which it seems in former times was but poorly
stocked with game. The words of the sportsmen (translated) are
these : *' Hence (from York) we take our way to a small forest called
Thorpe, a long journey and to no purpose, for there both our hope
and our day are lost ; we have little or no pleasure ; it is fuller of
bushes than bucks." Close to the park gates is a large rocky
mound-like eminence, which I gather is the site of the manor-house
of the early lords of Thorp Arch. The site is known as the ** Old
Castle," and is now occupied by the waterworks-tower, whence the
village is supplied with water.

There is also in the village a pleasant, substantial residence, called
the Manor House (John T. Lee, Esq.). It is not very old, but in the
gardens are a number of sculptured stones, including part of a large

• Set Foster and Green's History of the Wtlmer Family (1888).

425

moulded archway, and a heavy octagonal block of millstone-grit,
which from the central hole in it may have supported a stone shaft
or cross. One of the lesser stones is inscribed, " R.F.E., 1618."

The church was given by Adam de Brus and his wife, Ivetta de
Arches, to the chapel of St. Mary and Holy Angels, near York
Minster, then founded by Archbishop Roger. In May, 1258,
Archbishop Sewell ordained a vicarage in the church, the vicar to
have the whole altarage of the said church and mansion thereof,
saving to the sacrist of the said chapel his easement of going to and
returning from his grange there, to lay up his corn. Likewise the
vicar shall have the tithe of the tithe pertaining to the sacrist, or
two marks out of his purse, and other two marks shall be yearly
distributed by the sacrist among the poor of the parish. Furthermore
the vicar shall repair the chancel of the church, and find all things
necessary thereunto, and pay the procurations to the Archdeacon.*
At the general dissolution, temp. Henry VHI., the value of the living
was stated to be ^3 15s. 5d. per annum, and in the Parliamentary
Survey [ca, 1650) at /*2o per annum. The poorness of the living
was characteristic of the time, and called for remedy. By indenture,
tripartite, made Feb. 19th, 1730, the whole of the tithes or tenths of
corn and grain, as also every tithe great and small of whatsoever
kind, arising out of the township fields and territories of Thorp Arch,
were purchased from Wm. Wrightson, Esq., of Cusworth, co. York,
for the sum of /*i25o, to be laid out " for the perpetual augmentation
of the vicarage of Thorp Arch." The Rev. Christ. Wetherhead
(who died in 1746) was then incumbent, and this augmentation was
made and conveyed to him " and his successors, vicars of Thorp
Arch.*' Towards this benefaction the Lady Elizabeth Hastings
contributed £\y>A

The list of vicars, cited by Torre, commences with the institution
of Adam de Lund in 1280, the Sacrists of the Chapel of St. Mary's,
York, being patrons from the ordination of the vicarage to the
Dissolution. Afterwards the advowson, with patronage, passed to
the Savilles, of Wakefield, and subsequently to the Lady Elizabeth
Hastings, of Ledstone.J The patron is now Granville C. Hastings

* These liabilities are not exclusively appurtenant to a rectory, where the
rectorial tithes have never been appropriated. A vicar, as in this instance (see
also Collingham), may be liable for repairs to the chancel, &c.. and though he
have the benefit of the great tithes of the parish he may not claim the title
of rector without an Order in Council. See also ante page 175.

t Copied from the indenture at Thorp Arch vicarage.

\ Several 17th and i8th century deeds concerning the advowson and patronage
are preserved among the parish papers.

426

Wheler, Esq.,* of Ledstone Hall, and the present vicar, the
Rev. Wm. H. Jackson, M.A., was instituted in 1875. He is of an
old Staffordshire family and related to the Congreves of Congreve
in that county, from whom descends the well-known poet of that
name, who was bom at Bardsey, a neighbouring parish to Thorp
Arch. At Thorp Arch vicarage is preserved a large portrait in oil
of a Dr. Congreve, who lived in the time of James H., and a
descendant of whom, Anna Maria Congreve, was great -aunt to
Mr. Jackson, the vicar of Thorp Arch. Mr. Jackson has been
energetic in his services to the church, and for many years has been
organising secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
for the Archdeaconry of York.t

The ancient church (All Saints) stands in a most isolated position,
about half-a-mile from the village, and on the way to Walton. The
site was doubtless chosen for the convenience of both places at a
time when there was no church at Walton. It was no doubt the
assembling-place for Christian worship of a wide district, but when
the first church was built we have no exact knowledge. The church
is first mentioned in the Conqueror's famous survey (1083 — 6)
There is, however, a fragment of what may have been a preaching-
cross built into one of the walls of the porch. It measures on the
surface 1 8 inches long and 1 1 inches wide, and bears on the side
exposed a debased form of interlaced work, probably of the 9th or
loth century. It is not improbable that the Dofttesday church was of
wood, and made way for a stone building in the early part of the
I 2th century.

The fabric of the church has undergone many alterations and
restorations since it was first built. Little of the original edifice
now remains, save the south door, and this was formerly an
entrance at the west end of the tower (as shewn in the prefatory'
illustration), but was re-erected in its original position when the
church was restored and the north aisle added in 187 1-2. The
doorway is somewhat * strait * or narrow in proportion to its height,
and comprises a semi-circular arch ornamented with a fine and well-
preserved series of Norman beak-heads. The single shafts at the
angles have square abaci, also ornamented. It is to be regretted
that so many sculptured fragments have been built into the walls of

* Catherine Maria, sister to Theophilus, 9th Earl of Huntingdon, married the
Rev. Granville Wheler, of Otterden Place, in Kent, son of the celebrated
traveller. Sir George Wheler. She was grandmother of the late Granville-
Hastings Wheler. Esq., who inherited the estates of I^stone Hall from his
great-aunt, the above-mentioned I^dy Elizabeth Hastings. A copy of Barnard's
Life of Lady Elizabeth, published in 1742, is kept among the papers at Thorp
Arch vicarage. t ^^^ page 87 n.

437

the porch, covering this fine doorway. In their present position no
just idea can be formed of their dimensions, nor whetlier they are
sculptured on more than the sides exposed.

In addition to the above pre-Norman cross fragment, there is in

the west wall of the porch what may be some Norman filling from

the spandril of the original doorway removed in 1756, though it

looks like part of a stone-shield of arms. The stone bears a number

of small squares, alternately hollow and raised, perhaps intended to

indicate the chequy arms of the Earls of Warren, alternately or and

aeiirt (see page 422).' Another small stone (about two feet high), in

the east wall depicts a headless human

figure, clad in plain kirtle, without

belt or weapons, and as the feet are

represented naked it is probably a

memorial to an infant. The long lean

' arms, the right one raised on the breast

and the other bent to the side, seem

to indicate Saxon workmanship.

The interior of the church contains
a few memorial tablets, including one
on the north wall enumerating seven-
teen descents of the Gossip {now
Hatfield) family of Thorp Arch Hall.
Within an arched recess on the north
side of the chancel is a small well-
preserved memorial slab, 31 inches
long, 15J inches wide at the head and
tapering to 12 inches at the foot. It
is sculptured in relief on the top with
a short calvary- cross, having an orna-
mental head of the latter part of the
13th century, and on two sides of it
is this inscription in Longobardic :
Hic Jacet Johes FiLivs Johis de
Belkwk. The stone was discovered
in one of the walls of the church
at the rebuilding in 1756, and doubtless commemorates a son
and heir of Sir John de Bellew, who died in 1300, leaving, as
previously stated, two daughters to divide his inheritance of the
manor of Thorp Arch. On the opposite side of the chancel is a
piscina. The coloured east window is a memorial to the late
also arms on lomh of Lord

Tomb-slab in Thorp Abch

428

Col. Henry Lane and his wife, the Lady Frances Harriott Lane,
and was placed here by relatives and friends in 1880.

The tower of the church (Perpendicular) is battlemented with
crocketted pinnacles at the angles, and there is a small shield of arms
on each side on the uppermost string-course, but the bearings are
all too much weathered to be now distinguishable. The lower piart
of the tower was partly rebuilt in 1 756 when the south doorway was
removed to its west front. There were two bells in 1553.* Within
the tower is a brass tablet referring to the local benefactions of
Lady Elizabeth Hastings, lady of the manor and proprietor of the
advowson. She was the founder of the School in 1739.

In the churchyard are the sepulchres of the Hatfields, Atkinsons,
and other local families. It may not be generally known that here
is interred Mr. Samuel Hailstone, father of the late Mr. Edward
Hailstone, F.S.A., the well-known antiquary, of Walton Hall, near
Wakefield. On the north side is also the vault of the family of the
Rev. R. Hemingtou, 45 yeark vicar of the parish, who died in 1820.
It was while making this vault in 1820 that the stone coffin now in
the churchyard was found. In 181 7 the fee for burials in a coffin
was IS. 6d., and if without a coffin iid. A Terrier in which this is
cited, records the existence in that year (181 7) of the tithe bam (long
ago pulled down), together with an orchard, late in the tenure of
James Clark, situated on the north side of the vicarage, and on the
south side was a large garden.

The registers of the church commence with the year 1595, and
contain several entries of the burial of soldiers and soldiers' children,
&c., during the period of the Civil War. There is also recorded
among the burials in 1656 the fate of one Thomas Scott, a labouring
man, who is stated to have been bringing down a boatful of stones
to the *' new mill," when the boat sank and he was drowned. There
is also an interesting reference in one of the books to the repair of
the churchyard wall by the parishioners in 1732 ; some 37 families
being then responsible for the rebuilding of the wall. This wall still
exists and the lines of demarcation shewing each man*s portion may
still be detected in the masonry. The wall has been repaired at
various times since.

In 1575 it is recorded that there had been no sermon in the church
at Thorp Arch for about twenty years. Who was responsible for
this is not stated. Humfray Dixon is mentioned as vicar from 1544
to 1552, and John Page from 1576 to 1580. Both of these vicars
are omitted in Torre's list.

* See Surtees Soc, vol. 97, page 93.

429

CHAPTER XL.

Wetherby.

Importance of Wetherby — A famous coaching town — Highways tilled with cattle
— Old inns— An ancient settlement— Local discoveries— Castle Garth —
Antiquity of the bridge -A royal messenger at Wetherby— A remarkable
ring— Early history— Grant of market to the Knights Templars — Ancient
trades - Local woollen industry — Antiquity of Wetherby Chapel— Chapel at
Follyfoot — Local records — The chapel rebuilt— Discovery of human remains
— Sale of the town by the Duke of Devonshire — Manorial rights — Local
trades — Recent building operations —Former aspects and old customs.

*HE pleasant old market-town of Wetherby was, like
Tadcaster, a place of much life and bustle down to the
end of the coaching days. No fewer than seven main
roads enter the town, and it was a wonderful sight at
certain seasons of the year to witness the immense
droves of Scotch and other cattle filling these roads. David Hartley,
a bygojie blacksmith, grandfather of the present Bilbrough black-
smith, used to have busy times shoeing footsore cattle on their long
marches through Wetherby to south -country markets. Sometimes
the herds were led by Scotch pipers, whose lively airs had a
stimulating effect on the tired creatures.

Situated, as the town is, on the great coaching route, exactly
midway (or within about a mile)* between London and Edinburgh,
the daily traffic was considerable. An old inhabitant tells me he
remembers 27 inns in the town fifty years ago. There are now 16.
The old Swan and Talbot and the Angel, were the two great coaching
inns ; part of the latter premises having been, now for many years,
absorbed in Mr. Crossley's printing works. But notwithstanding
that the railway-whistle sounded the death-knell of the coaches,
horse and wheel traffic through Wetherby increased rather than
diminished for some time after the first iron-roads were laid. Long
after the opening of the Leeds and Selby railway in Sept., 1834, ^
coach was run daily from the Elephant and Castle, Knaresborough, at
5 a.m., by way of Wetherby and Bramham to Micklefield, where it
met the train to Selby, arriving in time for the steam packet to Hull.

* See my Nidderdalc, page 160.

430

From quite recent discoveries it is evident that the neighbourhood
has been settled at a very early period. During draining op>erations
at Spofforth Hill, just outside Wetherby, in the summer of 1901, at
a point about 300 yards above the railway and 60 yards from the
Wetherby and Harrogate highroad, some workmen came upon
human remains, including portions of a skull, leg and arm bones and
teeth, together with an earthenware vessel (broken to atoms with the
pick) and a piece of flint, cone-shap)ed, about i^ inches long. They
were found deposited in a curious excavation in the magnesian
limestone at a depth of nearly five feet from the surface, and the hole
so made for the interment had been filled up with loose stones and
earth.* Soon afterwards a second skeleton, or portions of two, were
found in Raby Park, opposite Went worth Terrace, about 100 yards
from the river and 28 feet from the Wetherby and Harrogate highway.
They were found buried in the gravel about 2 feet from the surface.
The arms were bent towards the head, with the elbows projecting in
the early Celtic fashion,! and the remains lay east and west, with
the head to the west. These discoveries were on the north side of
the bridge. Upon rising ground on the same north bank of the river
above the bridge the foundations of a large and evidently ancient
building were removed some years ago, but of its origin or history
nothing is known. The site is known as Castle Garth, and is now
occupied by market-gardens.

Several of the roads as well as the bridge at Wetherby are no
doubt of high antiquity. The bridge over Wharfe has existed from
at least the time of Edward H., and is mentioned in the will, dated
1 3 14 (the year of Bannockbum), of Sir William Vavasour, of
Hazlewood. I find it also referred to in the following inquisition,
A.D. 1315 :

Inqn. taken at York Thursday in the week of Pentecost the 9th year of the
reign of Edward son of King Edward before Simon Ward Sheriff of York & Thomas
de la Bruyere concerning the repair of Wetherby bridge ruinous and broken.
Jurors say that no one is bound to repair the same except of their charity & free
will. But that Eleanor who was the wife of Sir Henry de Percy executrix of the
will of Rich, de Arundel now of late for the health of the soul of the said Richard
& his ancestors well and competently began to construct & repair the said bridge. J

* A similar curious discovery was made in 1859 on Thorp Moor, about a mile
from Thorp Arch and a like distance from Walton. A cavity about a foot deep,
covered with a cairn of stones (computed to comprise fifty cart-loads), contained
calcined bones, charcoal and red earth, shewing signs of fire. Along with these
was a fiat bronze ornament, about the size of a shilling, and several fragments of
white fiint, Doubtless a Celtic burial in Roman times of the second or third
century, a.d

t See Upper Wharf edale, pages 406, 428, &c.

X Inq. ad quod, damnum, 9th Edward II., No. 37.

431

In 7th Edward II. (131 3) a King's messenger was despatched
from Berwick-on -Tweed to London, and he lodged at Newcastle,
Darlington, and Wetherby, travelling thence by way of Leicester
and Northampton. At this time the manor of Wetherby had long
been a possession of the religious fraternity of Knights Templars,
which had then lately been dissolved, and its properties were
afterwards transferred to the kindred order of Knights Hospitallers.
The King's messenger no doubt sojourned with one of the farmers
of the manor (two are mentioned in 1378 , as they would be the
principal residents at Wetherby at that time, and would be responsible
for his safe custody.*

A curious and interesting relic of this period was ploughed up in
a field just outside Wetherby in 1880. It is one of those mediaeval
magic finger-rings which are occasionally found with various
mysterious inscriptions upon them. The ring is in possession of the
present rector of Kirkby Overblow, to whom I am indebted for an
inspection of it. It is a plain hoop of gold with this inscription,
beginning with a cross : •{• tonvs. sanias. gotnovn, engraved in
bold Roman lettering around its external face. The relic is in good
condition, and the inscription, saved doubtless by more than five
centuries of concealment in the earth, is well preserved. The
inscription is apparently meaningless, and it is impossible now to
explain its real significance, or the import of any similar legends
which occur on such mediaeval rings. Mr. Wm. Jones, F.S.A., says
they are in many cases ungrammatical, and the original orthography
of the legends has been corrupted and changed to others, but no
doubt they had a talismanic meaning.f

Wetherby came to the Knights Templars through the zeal and
interest in their cause of one William, son of Robert de Denby, who
is described as of Woodhall, and also of Sicklinghall. About 1220
they acquired from him the mill at Wetherby, with all its soke rights,
which had formerly belonged to the Percies. At the dissolution of
the Order in March, 13 12 (proclaimed at Cawood August 14th, 13 12),
they had 740 acres of land at Wetherby, two water-mills and various
rents there. They had large possessions also at Ribston, a few miles
north of Wetherby, with a preceptory and granges there, and for
many years they held a chartered market weekly, and an annual fair
at Walshford Bridge, where also the brotherhood had a chapel.J

* By the same road also travelled Mary, Queen of Scots, who was detained a
few hours at Wetherby on 28th Jan., 1569. She was on her way from Bolton
Castle to Pontefract.

t ViiU Finger-Ring Loye (1877).
I See my NidderdaU. page 178.

432

Their subsequent acquisitions at Wetherby made it desirable to hold
the markets and fairs in that town, and therefore they obtained
license to transfer the same from Walshford Bridge to Wetherby in
1240. The following is the King's charter :

Grant of Market and Fair at Wetherby, 25TH Henry III. (1240).

For the brethren of the Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon.

The King to his Archbps. Bishops &c. greeting Know ye that we have granted &
by this our present charter confirmed for us & our heirs to the brethren of the
Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon that in place of the market which afore
we had granted them to have al Walesford on Tuesday they may have in future
a market at Werreby every week on Thursday & that in place of the fair which
afore we had granted them to have at Walesford for iiij days to wit on the vigil
of the Nativity of St. John Baptist, the day itself of the Nativity & the two
following days they may have in future a fair at Werreby every year for iij days
to wit on the vigil, the day & the morrow of St. James Apostle unless such
market & fair be to the hurt of neighbouring markets & fairs. Wherefore we
command & firmly charge for us & our heirs that the brethren aforesaid may have
& hold the aforesaid markets & fair at Werreby for ever well & in peace quietly
& wholly with all franchises & free customs to such markets & fair belonging as
is aforesaid. These being witnesses W. Bp. of Carlisle & P. Elect of Hereford
G. Marshall Earl of Pembroke S. de Segrave Hugh de Vinon John son of
Geoffrey William de Cantilupe Bertram de Cryol Geoffrey de Langelegh & others.
Given by our hand at Westminster xv. day of November.

Many documents exist relating to their properties and privileges
at Wetherby. Among these is an inquisition, dated ist Edward II.
(1307), of lands in the wa|>entake of Claro, and an inventory of same
date of the manor of Wetherby. Likewise a Writ of Privy Seal,
dated 3rd Edward II., directing the Sheriff of Yorkshire to deliver
to Adam de Hoperton, the King's steward, various manors, including
Wetherby, with all goods and chattels therein. Also a writ to deliver
the custody of the manor of Wetherby to Margery, widow of
Duncan de Fiendagh, and an indenture and inventory, dated 5th
Edward II., of delivery of the said manor. These documents are in
the Public Record Office.*

The Wetherby properties afterwards passed, as stated, to the
Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who held them to
the general Dissolution. Among the Rolls of the Duchy of
Lancaster, also in the Public Record Office, is a complaint dated
25th Henry VIII. (1533), against one Miles Staveley, of Ripon Park,
bailiff and toll-gatherer for the Archbishop of York, and Richard
Laughton, of Wetherby, toll-gatherer of Wetherby for the Priory of
St. John of Jerusalem in England, made by the tenants of the honour
of Knaresborough, who claim to stand in Ripon and Wetherby

* See also Le Neves' Indexes, vol. 19.

433

market-places and to be exempt from all tolls and stallages there and
at all other places in the realm of England as by royal prerogative
enacted.'*'

Wetherby at an early period was a place of considerable trade,
estimated from a comparison with other places at the same time, and
the weekly markets and fairs, which continued to be held for many
centuries, stimulated public interest in the prosperous old town. In
1378 we find there were no fewer than three walkers or cloth-fullers
in the town, two weavers, a tanner (pelliparius)^ and a dyer, besides
the usual followers of other trades, such as brewers, bakers, butchers,
tailors, and carpenters. One was an arrow- maker, and another had
charge of the fishing in the river. The well-to-do character of the
place at this era is also indicated by the unusual number of house-
holders who had men and women servants in their employ, over and
above their own families. The cloth trade seems to have been
especially good. In 1396-7 there were at least six householders in
the town who were engaged in the manufacture and sale of cloth,
and in this year these paid subsidy and ulnage (a fee for measuring
the cloth) to the Crown collector for the West Riding, one William
Barker, who resided at Tadcaster. His successor in the office was
William de Hoperton, a kinsman, doubtless, of the above Adam de
Hoperton.

Of the 13th century chapel on Wetherby Bridge little or nothing

is known. It was dedicated to St. Mary. In 1338 I find a payment

by the Knights of St. John of 66s. 8d. " for stipend of the chaplain

at Wetherby ;" also a payment of 13s. 4d. " for wine and oil for the

cha|>els of Wetherby and Rybstain." A William, chaplain of

Wetherby, also appears as witness to a deed concerning lands in

Stockeld in 1316.! But the chapel continued to exist down to the

period of the dissolution of monasteries, and is referred to by the

commissioners in 1548. They say that there are two chapels in the

parish of Spofforth, one at Wetherby and one at Follyfoot, but they

have no endowments, and services are only held therein at the will

of the parishioners. It is very probable that the bridge chapel was

destroyed about this time, and another place of worship erected in

the Market Place. The latter edifice was pulled down in 1760. The

following order I find was granted at the Sessions held at Skipton,

29th July, 1755:

Wetherby Chapel.

Upon the petition of the Minister and others the Inhabitants of Wetherby in
the Parish of Spofforth in the said Riding setting forth that the Chappel of
Wetherby aforesaid (being a Chappel of Ease to the Parish Church of Spofforth
aforesaid) is by length of time become so very ruinous that it cannot be repaired

• See my NiiUierdaie, page 277. t Ibtd., page ibo.

434

but must be entirely taken down & rebuilt and that the Parishioners cannot
assemble therein for the publick Worship of Almighty God without manifest
danger of their lives and that by reason of the great increase of Inhabitants
within the sd. Chappelry the said Chappel will not at present contain one half of
the Inhabitants within the sd. Chappelry who are desirous to a tend divine
service in the said Chappel. That an Estimate hath been made of the charge of
taking down rebuilding and enlarging the said Chappel by an able and experienced
workman and that the same amounts upon a moderate computation to the sum of
eleven hundred and fourteen pounds and upwards which is too great a sum for
the petitioner* to raise amongst themselves in regard they are most of them
tenants at ^ ^ ^ ^ and Cotagers employed in the spinning of wool and
burthened with a numerous poor. The Truth of the allegations in which said
Petition being proved to the satisfaction of this Court IT IS ORDERED that a
Certificate be made thereof from this Court to the Lord High Chancellor of Great
Britain in order to procure for the said Petitioners his Majesty's most gracious
letters patent to enable them to ask collect and receive the contributions of
religiously & charitably disposed people throughout England Wales and Berwick
upon Tweed for the encouragement and carrying on of so pious a work.

The old chapel had a low thatched roof, a very primitive-looking
structure, placed in orthodox fashion east and west, with the entrance
at the west end. The new chapel, built soon afterwards on the same
site, stood, however, in a contrary direction, the nave or body of the
church bein^ placed north and south. This building continued to
serve its sacred purpose imtil 1841, when it was removed soon
afterwards to make way for the Town Hall. It is obvious that many
interments have been made here formerly, as in the course of
excavating between the Town Hall and the Court House a great
many human bones, most of them much decayed, were found on the
site.

The present handsome church (St. James*) was built in 1 840-1 on
ground given by Edwin Greenwood, Esq. It cost upwards of
;^4000, raised by public subscription, chiefly through the exertions of
the incumbent, the Rev. William Raby, who died in 1868, after 35
years* service in the parish. The foundation-stone was laid by
Quintin Rhodes, Esq., of Wetherby, and a bottle containing coins
was placed at the south-east corner of the tower. The same gentleman
also gave four of the bells, which were first rung on Trinity Sunday,
May 1 8th, 1845. In 1878 the chancel was enlarged and a new organ
was put in. The parish was formed out of the mother parish of
Spoffbrth, Oct. 8th, 1869, and Linton was annexed in 1887. The
patron of the living is Lord Leconfield, and the present vicar (since
1887) is the Rev. Charles A. Durrant, M.A. The first baptism
recorded at the Wesleyan Chapel took place in 1826, and the new
Chapel was opened in 1829. There is also a Primitive Methodist
chapel, erected in 1874, and a Roman Catholic church built
in 1872.

435

Up to 1824 the whole of the town, with the manor of Wetherby,
was owned by the Duke of Devonshire, who effected a great many
improvements in the place. It was then sold by public auction in
174 lots. The manorial rights, including market-tolls, &c., were
purchased by Mr. Wilson of Wetherby Grange, and were subsequently
inherited by his nephew, the late Andrew Fountayne Wilson
Montagu, Esq., of Ingmanthorpe Hall, near Wetherby, a gentleman
of great wealth, who will always be remembered for his munificent
benefactions to the old town. Soon after the sale in 1824 many
alterations were effected in and about the Market Place. The bridge
over the Wharfe was also widened. A good trade was being done at
that time at the old corn -mills, then tenanted by Messrs. Greenwood,
who purchased the property for /*8ioo. Brewing was also extensively
carried on by the Rhodes family, as it is still by Messrs. Braime.
The printing business was begun by the late Mr. Crossley, about
1852, and he became the proprietor of the Wetherby News^ which is
now owned by his son.

Many good houses have been erected within the past few years,
occupied chiefly by gentlemen and tradespeople from Leeds. The
antique look of the town has now almost disappeared. The last
of the thatched houses, which stood in Grafton Square, were
pulled down in 1877, and three cottages now occupy the site.
In 1885 the old pinfold was taken down and the fire-engine station
erected on the site. The old market-cross, mentioned in early
charters, has also disapp)eared. There was likewise a pillory, but the
exact site of it is not known. Then there were the old town stocks,
and the last |>erson who was committed to sit in them was one
Frank Ingal, June 8th, 1832. Cock-fighting was a common pastime
in the locality during the coaching-days, and passengers were often
regaled with what we should regard now as an offensive spectacle of
a battle in the old cock-pit at the back of the Blue Atichor public-house.

I must also mention that there was a curious dog-whipping
custom formerly prevalent here, the origin of which is not known.
On the fourth of August, the day before St. James* Fair, all the boys
in the town who could get a whip used to assemble in the market-
place early in the morning and whip every dog found in the streets
on that day. The custom died out about sixty years ago.

Wetherby, at is well known, has an old fame for its Steeplechases,
which are still held annually on Easter Monday and Tuesday.

CHAPTER XLI.

MiCKi.HTHWAiTK AND Wethkrby Ghange.

The Oroi'fti- inn— Grant of Micklelhwaite to Kirksiall Abbey-The grant
rescinded, and again restored at a fee- (aim rent — History from the Dissolulioo
—The I'aver anii Beilby familiea-Old names of ihe Grange Sale of the
estate by I^rd Wenlocli — The Browns of Liverpool — Purchase of Mickle-
thwaile by the Gnnler family— Col. Sir Robert Gamer. Bart., M.P.— Ne*
water- works— The Wetherby shorthorns A notable herd— Some lemarkable

OSSING Wetherby Bridge we enter the township of
Micklethwaite and parish of Collingham, where the
monks of Kirkstall had their most valuable possessions.
The buildings on the south side of the bridge, close to
the road, were formerly well-known a.s the Drovers' inn,
which ceased to be an inn about thirty years ago.

Micklethwaite, though not specially mentioned in Domesday,' may
have formed part of the Conqueror's donation of Collingham and
Bardsey to Robert de Brus, founder of Guisborough Priory in 1 1 19.
How it passed to the Mowbrays is not known. (Set Bardsev.) But
it was next granted by this family, about the year 11 52, to the Abbot
and Convent of Kirkstall, who had a granger and many servants
employed here, and the estate was cultivated with much advantage
to the monastery. But Roger de Mowbray, with his tenant Richard
de Morevill who had farmed Micklethwaite, joining in the rebellion
against Henry II. (1173), that monarch deemed it politic to rescind
the royal grant and dispossess the monks of their rightful possessions
in this territory. This proceeding naturally provoked much
murmuring and resentment. But the King was obdurate. He took
away Bardsey and Collingham, with Micklethwaite, and gave them
to his partisan, Adam de Brus, in exchange for the estate of Danby
Castle. Abbot Roger did his utmost to retrieve this misfortune to

' Micklethwaite. i.f.. the great clearing, (brushwood or forest cleared for
cultivation) is an old Norse word, though names in Ikwaiti are not always
indicative of ancient Norse settlements. They might be compounds iormed in
later times when such words as tht^-aitt and Ihorfi and royd had found their way

437

his house, and even approached the King with a rich present of a
golden chalice and a beautifully illuminated manuscript of the
Gospels, in the ho|>e of winning back the royal favour, but without
avail. Sometime, however, after the King's death in 1189, the
family of Brus, who were lords of the neighbouring manor of Thorp
Arch, &c., and great benefactors to the religious houses, prevailed
upon John " Lackland '* to restore to the monks their former interests
in these territories. The petitioner, Peter de Brus, in the year 1200,
agreed to cede all his rights in Collingham, &c., in exchange for his
ancestral domains in the town and forest of Danby, and for this
quitclaim he promised to the King the large sum of one thousand
pounds sterling. The King, however, would not consent to part
with the Collingham lands except at a fee- farm rent of 90 pounds,
payable annually. Whereat the monks, seeking the assistance of
their noble patron, Roger de Lacy, constable of Chester (d. 121 1),
the estates of Bardsey and Collingham, with the grange at Mickle-
thwaite, were taken over at the said rental, as the King's charter
sheweth.*

For some years after the dissolution of Kirkstall Abbey, the manors
of Bardsey and Collingham rested with the Crown. Eventually in
1558 they were granted to Sir Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, whose
descendants retained them until the year 1620, when they were sold
to Sir Thos. Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse. Micklethwaite
Grange, however, had been granted soon after the suppression to
Richard Paver, the head of a family long seated at Braham or
Brame Hall, in the old parish of Spofforth.f This Richard Paver is
said to have possessed land in fourteen townships, having been a
large purchaser of monastic properties from the Crown. ^ He died
in 1549, leaving three sons, the eldest of whom, Bernard, died in
1573, ^"^ ^^^t ^^^ daughters, co-heiresses. The elder, Jane, was
married to Thomas Tancred, of Boroughbridge, and she died in
1586 and was buried at Aldborough. She inherited the Brampton
estate in that neighbourhood, and from her descended Sir William
Tancred, of Brampton, and Thomas Tancred, the founder of the
Whixley Hall family. The younger daughter Lucy (? Frances)
married Richard Beilby, of Micklethwaite, and received for her
dower the Grange estate, which afterwards became known as Beilby
Grange. It was long the property and home of this family.

* See Kirkstall Abbey Coucher Book, fo. 64. Some confusion has arisen in these
transactions between the above Micklethwaite, and Micklethwaite in the parish
of Bindley. See Shaw's Wharjedale (1830), page 174.

t See my Ntdderdale, pages 234-5.

X See Surtees Soc , vol. 42. pages lix., 124, 309. and see Fines, 1545, &c., Record
Series, Yorks. Archal.Jl.

438

The other sons of Richard Paver (d. 1546) were John Paver, of
Braham Hall/' and Nicholas Paver, who held medieties of the
rectories of Burnsall and Linton-in-Craven, and died in 1551. From
John Paver, of Braham, descend the Pavers of Steeton Hall, in the
township of South Milford, and parish of Sherburn-in-Elmet, which
is still a possession of the family. Richard Paver, of Steeton, who
died in 181 2, was vicar of Ledsham, and his younger son, Richard,
was vicar of Bray ton. His son, Richard Paver, Esq., J. P., of
Ornhams Hall, Borough bridge, in 1872 assumed by royal license the
name and arms of Crow, in addition to those of Paver. f

The Beilbys, of Micklethwaite, no doubt derive their patronymic
from the ancient township of Beilby, near Pocklington, in the East
Riding. A Hugh de Beilby was High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 1292-4.
It is not, however, until the year 1450 that we have any connected
history of the family, at which time its different members were resident
only in the North and West Ridings of the county.J Robert Beilby,
born about 1450, lived at Kellerby Grange, in the parish of Cayton,
four miles from Scarborough, and was succeeded by a son Thomas,
whose son Guy, of Kellerby, was father of ** Richard Beilby de
Clifford, gent., de la Grange juxta Wetherby,** who recorded his
lineage at the Visitati(5n in 1612. This Richard was married three
times, (i) to Frances, daughter of Robert Foster, by whom he had
one daughter ; (2) to Frances, daughter and co-heiress of Bernard
Paver, of Micklethwaite Grange, by whom he had a son Thomas,
who succeeded him ;$ and (3) to Isabel, daughter of Robert Fletcher,
by whom he left four sons and a daughter. At his death in 1614 the
estates of Kellerby and Micklethwaite Grange passed to his son,
Thomas Beilby, who appears at the head of the pedigree recorded in
1665. , He was succeeded in 1639 by his son William, who was
born in 1591, and married Susanna, daughter of Richard Sunderland,
of Coley Hall, in the parish of Halifax, and grand-daughter of
Sir Richard Saltonstall, Lord Mayor of London. He died in 1665.^
The elder of his two sons, Richard Beilby, died in 1660, in the life-
time of his father, leaving no male issue, so the estates descended to
his brother John.

* See SurUes Soc, vol. 92, page 236 ; also Glover's Visitation of Yorks.

t The arms of Paver, a chevron between three fleurs-de-lis, occurs in the west
window of Sherburn Church, and also over the door of Steeton Hall.

I See Yorks. Archal. Jl, vol. ii.. p. 373- and vol. iv.. pages 191, 200. &c.
§ See Fine, 1574. in Yorks. Archil. Jl. (Record Series).

II Kellerby. a possession of the family for nearly 300 years, passed from the
lieilbys on the death of Barbara, second surviving daughter of John Beilby. who
died in 1702.

f Susanna, his wife, died in l(i(^ ; see her epitaph in St. Martin's Church, York.

439

From the Collingham registers it appears that John Beilby, who
died in 1702, and was buried at Cayton Church, had two sons and
four daughters. Both the sons died young, and also the second
daughter, Elizabeth. The eldest daughter, Maria, married Henry
Thompson, Esq., M.P. for York. By this marriage the Micklethwaite
Grange property passed at the death of John Beilby to the Thompsons,
and when Henry Thompson died in 1730, it passed to his eldest son,
Beilby Thompson, who married Lady Dawes, daughter of Richard
Roundell, Esq., of Hutton Wansley. By her he left an only
daughter, Jane, wife of Sir Robert Lawley, Bart., who assumed the
surname of Thompson. Sir Robert died in 1793, and the estates

eventually passed to his youngest son, Sir Paul Beilby Lawley-
Thompson, Bart., who was born in 1784, and who in 1839 was raised
to the peerage by the name and title of Baron Wenlock, of Escrick,
CO. York.

Through its long connection with the Beilby family the old house
was known as Beilby Grange down to the early pari of the lyth
century.* A painting of the former homestead is in possession of

* I ha>e seen an old broad-sheet in (he Minsier Library at York, which
describes a " Horrible Tempest of Thunder and LighlniOK,*' with an account of
how the ■■ Top of a StronR Oak. containinf- one ionil of wood, was taken off by a
Sheet of Fire,'' carried half-a-mile, and seriously damaged Squire Beilby's house,
Sc. near Welberby.

440

the present owner of the Grange. I have not ascertained who was
the builder of the present large and handsome mansion. Over the
principal entrance is a shield of the Beilby arms, with the date 1660.
It appears on a map of Yorkshire dated 181 7, as Wetherby Grange,
although the most ancient and original designation of the house was
Micklethwaite Grange, under which name it is found as late as 1822.*
Since then the mansion has been called Wetherby Grange, and by
this name it is still known. The estate was sold by Lord Wenlock,
grandfather of the present peer, in May, 1840, at which time it was
tenanted by Mr. Christopher Wilson, the well-known sportsman,
** Father of the Turf,'* who died in May, 1849. The estate had been
purchased by Wm. Brown, Esq., of Liverpool, who in i860 presented
the city of Liverpool with a handsome building for a free public
library and museum, at a cost of ;^42,ooo. He was created a baronet
in 1863. His son, Alexander Brown, Esq., M.A., for whom the
estate was purchased, resided here until his death in 1849, and it
continued with his family until 1856, when the trustees of the late
Robert Gunter, Esq., bought it as a home for his son, the present
Col. Sir Robert Gunter, Bart., who at that time was serving in the
Crimea, and did not see the place until his return at the close of the
war.

Col. Sir Robert Gunter, Bart., is still the owner of the Wetherby
Grange estate, and is the active and respected Member of the
Parliamentary Division (Barkston Ash), in which he has resided for
the greater part of his life. He was created a Baronet about a year
ago (1900), and considering his notable ancestry and his various
public services, no landed gentleman could have more richly deserved
the honour.f Born in November 1 831, at Earl's Court, near London,
he was educated at Rugby under the able mastership of Dr. Tait,
late Archbishop of Canterbury. On leaving school he joined, in 1851,
the 4th Dragoon Guards, in which regiment he served about twelve
years, and was out, as stated above, in the Crimea, serving through
the whole of that memorable campaign. In 1862 he married
Jane Marguerite, daughter of Thomas Benyon, of Gledhow Hall,

* Vide West Riding Directory for 1822, and in Langdale's Topographical Dictionary
(1822), it is indexed under both names.

t The Gunter family is of great antiquity and traces its descent to one
Sir Peter Gunter, Knight, aide-de-camp to the Conqueror, who in 1079 went to
Wales and received the manors, called after him, Tregunter, Gunterstone,
Gilstone, &c. The arms of his family were a chevron between three gauntlettes
d'or, hence the name Gounter or Gunter. The present Baronet is the direct
descendant in the male line of the above Sir Peter. A branch of the family
afterwards settled in Sussex. See Jones's History of Breckon shire, vol. ii., page 343,
with pedigree and arms on page 405 ; also Smscx Archtrological Coitections vol. xxiii.
page 2, &c.

Col. Sir Robert Gunter. Bart., M.P.

441

near Leeds, when he settled down to the life of a country gentleman

at Wetherby Grange. But he did not relinquish his interest in the

army, as for some years he was Captain of the Harewood troop in

the Yorkshire Hussars, a post he held until 1871. Then he received

the appointment of Lieut. -Col. Commandant of the 5th West

Yorkshire Militia, having its head quarters at Knaresbro*, an office

he still retains. The accompanying portrait, which I have the

pleasure to add, is from a photograph taken within the last few years.

Sir Robert owns most of the land in the parish of Collingham,

including the whole township of Micklethwaite, and he also owns a

good deal of land in the parish of Wetherby, and also in Middlesex.

He is Chairman of the Wetherby Petty Sessions, as well as

Chairman of the District Council and Board of Guardians, positions

in which he is ably supported by other local gentlemen.* Also in

the management of the home farm, which embraces an area of about

600 acres, his activities have long found another useful exercise.

Wetherby is known the world over for its famous breed of shorthorns,

established by him so long ago as 1854. ^^^ ^^s* purchases were

made from the Earl of Ducie*s famous herd, which was dispersed at

the great Tortworth sale in that year. He then obtained " Duchess

67th," a yearling, for 350 guineas, and " Duchess 70th," a six weeks old

calf, for 310 guineas. Subsequently " Duchess 79th " was purchased

from Mr. Tanqueray for 500 guineas, that gentleman having bought

her at the Tortworth sale. Other important purchases followed, and

in a few years Col. Gunter was acknowledged to be the proud

fMDssessor of perhaps the finest family of shorthorns ever held by a

single owner. In i860 he began to show, and his celebrated

*' Duchesses ** carried off all the premier honours. He won the 100

Guineas Challenge Cup of the Durham Society at Bishop Auckland

in i860 with ** Duchess 77th," and at four years old this magnificent

animal had won 19 valuable prizes and 7 cups. The owner, however,

found it desirable to desist showing, as the necessary fattening of

of the animals deteriorated their qualities for breeding purposes.

The herd still maintains its reputation as one of the best in
England, and though the females have rarely been parted with, the
Wetherby bulls, on the other hand, have been shipped to all parts of
the world. Many have also gone to stock the most celebrated herds
in our own country. In 1870 the Colonel was induced to part with
** Duchess loist " and ** Duchess 103rd " to Mr. Cochrane, the well-
known shorthorn breeder in Canada. For these he received 2500

• In 1899 the District Council obtained power to supply Wetherby with water,
and on August ist, 1900. Col. Gunter formally inaugurated the works. An
adequate quantity of excellent water has been found by boring at Bardsey, and
three reservoirs at Rigton, in that parish, are to receive the supply.

442

guineas, and the same gentleman also bid 2000 guineas for ** Duchess
92nd/' but the offer was declined. The Wetherby bulls have
commanded equally historic prices, but it is impossible to mention
them all. The " 5th Duke of Wetherby " was sent to Holker, the
Duke of Devonshire's beautiful seat in Furness ; the ** 5th Duke of
Tregunter " went to the Earl of Feversham, for the Duncombe
Park herd ; and the " 3rd Duke of Collingham *' was sold to
Mr. Allsopp, M.P., for the Hindlip herd. For each of these splendid
animals the sum of 2000 guineas was paid. The herd, as I have
said, still continues to flourish on the rich, well-kept pastures of
Wetherby Grange, and is as sound and good as ever it was.

443

CHAPTER XLIl.

COLLINGHAM.

•' Dalton Parlours" — A Roman villa — Local finds— Apsidal buildings— Roman
Christianity — Evidences of local coins, &c. — An early Saxon settlement —
The story of King Oswin — His yth century memorial-cross at Collingham —
Site of monastery — A Norman cross— Early history of Collingham — The
church — Its appropriation in 1258— Description of the fabric— Restoration
in 1898 — Further discoveries— I>ocal memorials — The churchyard, a burial
site since the 7th century.

|HE parish of Collingham is rich in memorials of its
remote occupation. On the breezy heights of Compton,
about midway between the village and the Roman road
from Ilkley to Tadcaster, are traces of an important
discovery that was made here some fifty years ago.
The site is known as " Dalton Parlours,*' in Collingham parish,
about three miles west of Boston Spa. An old road, called Dalton
Lane, most likely of Roman construction (it is still paved with large
stones), leads up to it from the Leeds and Bramham highways.

The field adjoining this lane, in which the remains were found,
belongs to the farm at Compton, the pleasant old home of the Dalby
family for the past two or three hundred years. Before the enclosure
this field formed part of Clifford Moor, and in a copse of hazels and
brushwood were the remains of walls, a circumstance that had given
rise to its former name of Abbey Field. Dr. Wm. Procter states
that the stones composing these remains were removed about the
year 1806, to furnish materials for the building of some outhouses at
Compton. Over a portion of ground, seven or eight acres in extent,
Roman coins, tiles, and fragments of pottery have been from time to
time ploughed up. There was also found a very fine and massive
silver ring set with an intaglio engraved on a pale blue onyx, and
bearing the device of a winged Victory standing upon a globe.

In the spring of 1855 a thorough excavation was undertaken, when
the remains of a Roman villa were laid bare, together with large and

444

very perfect portions of two hypocausts. Dr Procter describes
these interesting features as follows. 5^^ annexed plan.

The hypocaust of the western room (a) when first seen by me, measured 8.) ft.
by 8 ft. 2 in., and contained five rows of pillars, each row consisting of five
pillars, built of the ordinary flat Roman tiles, 8, 9 and 10 inches square, with
layers of concrete, made of mortar and powdered brick, between them. These
pillars, especially towards the lower part, showed the action of fire, and in the
spaces between them bones of various animals and the skulls of one or two sheep
were discovered. The floor is a cement composed of brick and lime.

Beyond this ruined room were the remains of a praefurnium or furnace, likewise
imperfect, but when discovered appearing to be of similar construction to the
one found at the York baths, and containing a large quantity of wood ashes. At
the east end the hypocaust was bounded by a well-built wall of sandstone (of
which material all the other walls were constructed), communicating with the
second hypocaust (b) by a small opening (a) like a flue, which was stopped up on
one side by Roman concrete. This second chamber was on the same level as
the first, measuring 8 ft. 4 in. by 7 ft. 10 in. : it contained five rows of pillars,
each row consisting of five pillars, eleven being of sandstone (shaded on the
plan), and the remainder of brick. A floor of thick concrete has been laid on
flat tiles placed across the top of the pillars.

Pursuing the line of excavation to the east, there was a space (c) 18 feet long
and of the same breadth as the hypocaust, through which trenches in several
directions were dug. Beyond this, at a distance of 2 feet 4 inches, was a slab of
concrete (d), 7 feet long and 2 feet broad, and of considerable thickness, furnished
with raised edges, with a groove (c) in one comer. Little doubt can exist that
this was the bottom of a bath or cistern, and that it was for the purpose of holding
cold water, may be inferred from the absence of any means of heating. Connected
with the grooved corner was a channel of stone (e), apparently for the purpose of
carrying the water from the bath. This channel went north for about 26 yards,
terminating in a square cistern (f) 18 inches deep, 22 inches broad, and 27 inches
long, made of flags, one to each side and end and two to the bottom. An opening
connected with a channel (e/) similar to the channel (e^) was traced for 40 yards,
and both the channels appeared to have a fall towards the tank. Nearly in a
line with this tank, and to the north-east of it, a large square of foundations (g)
was excavated. It was formed of the best worked stone that was met with, and
measured 10 by 18 yards. The west wall showed traces of a fire-place.*

Adjoining the north wall of the hypocaust (b) is a third chamber (l), of which
the foundations alone remain, measuring from north to south 28 feet, from east
to west 27 feet, and on the same level as the other two rooms. It communicates
with the second of these by an opening like a flue (6), apparently for the escape
of the smoke from the hypocaust. In the north-east corner, about one foot from
the surface, the skeleton of a child was discovered ; with the bones were several
large nails with small portions of wood adhering to them, leading to the idea of
their having been part of a coffin.

In addition to these remains of Roman baths, — interesting evidences
of primitive luxury, — there was found, about 100 yards to the west,
a very fine tessellated pavement, which with the pillars, &c., of the

• Compare the description of the hypocaust at Middleham in my Romanttc
Rtchmondshire, pages 289-go.

445

hypocaust, have been carefully removed to the museum at York.
The room was divided into two unequal portions (h and i) by the
foundations of a wall, and had an apsidal termination, the extreme
length being 37 feet 1 1 inches, and width inside the wall 20 feet
6 inches. The tessarae, composing the very beautiful design, were
of various colours and the product of natural substances. The
w^hite ones were made of cubes of chalk, lias and sandstone formed
the blue and drab colours, whilst the pink and yellow were derived
from different beds of marl, stone, and magnesian limestone.*

The round or apsidal end is common to the Roman basilicas or
halls of justice, and these were without doubt the types which the
early Christians followed in planning their places of worship.
Dr. Bruce has described rooms with similar apsidal recesses in
connection with the baths at Cilurnum, Hunnum, and Lanchester on
the Roman wall. The like has been noted at Isurium (Aldborough)
in Yorkshire ; also about a century ago while digging in a field near
Fishergate Bar, York, the foundations of a large rectangular building
were come upon, having an apsidal recess at one end. But whether
we are warranted in concluding these foundations to be the remains
of a Roman Christian building is doubtful. f

Though the evidences of Roman Christianity in this country are
not plentiful, there can be no question of its legal establishment here
by Constantine in the first quarter of the fourth century. The late
Mr. Thomas Wright was very sceptical on the question of Roman
Christianity in Britain, and knew of but one relic of the kind extant,
namely in the rare mosaic pavement at the Roman villa at Framton,
in Dorsetshire, which contained the Christian monogram (the X and
P) surrounded by figures and emblems, all of which were plainly
pagan. I But similar crosses have been found on Roman pavements
elsewhere as well as upon Roman lamps, examples of which may be
seen in the museum at York.§ It cannot, however, be accepted
that this form of cross was a purely Christian symbol, as it is found
in countries widely separate as a merely secular ornament. ||

The early Saxons destroyed every trace of Christian buildings, if

* Dr. Whitaker describes the remains of a Roman villa near Gargrave, where
the tesserae were formed of similar cubes of various colours. See his History of
Craven, 3rd edition, page 229.

t Recent excavations at York have disclosed an apsidal foundation on the site
of St. Mary's Abbey, evidently the remains of the original Abbey of St. Olaf,
erected in the loth century. It is built almost north and south, near the entrance
to the choir of the Abbey ruins.

J Celt, Roman, and Saxon, page 229.

$ See early Christian lamp, formerly at Grimston Park, illustrated on p. 238.

I, See Haddan & Stubbs, 39, &c.

446

such existed in this county.* But within fifty years of the evacuation
of the country by the Romans, Ambrosius, prince of Armorica, was
sent for by the Britons, and was made welcome before York, a.d. 466,
as the conqueror of the heathen Saxons. Very shortly he summoned
" all the princes and nobles *' to appear at York, and directed the
speedy restoration of the Christian churches, and their worship, which
the Saxons had destroyed and suppressed. That the Christianity of
York had a recognized position and had spread to other places in
the diocese, in the fourth century, cannot now be doubted. Ample
evidences of this fact I have elsewhere adduced, although it may
be questioned whether any but the upper classes conformed to the
faith before the missionary efforts of St. Augustine extended it
among the people. Notwithstanding the absence among the remains
at CoUingham of anything that might justify the belief that the villa
had been occupied by Christians, yet from what we actually know
of the local circumstances, we may judge that it was. Dr. Procter
has described nine coins found on the site, and these are in possession
of Mr. Dalby, of Compton, where I have seen them. One of them
(No. 4), is described as a Constantius, but it is undoubtedly a
Constantine, which I read as follows :

Obv. : CoNSTANTiNUs p.F. AVG. ; rev. : Soli, invicto, Comiti.
In the field t.f,, and in the exergue str.

There is, moreover, a very interesting silver coin of Julian, which
has hitherto escaped identification, and which suggests a possible
date to the occupation of the site. I read it as follows :

Obv. : D.N. FL. CL. ivLiANVs [Flavius Claudius Julianus], p.f. avg. ; rev. : Within
a wreath surmounted by a cock enclosed in a circle, the word mvlt ; in the

exergue Const.

The Emperor Julian was born in 331, and in 355 he was created Caesar.
He died in 364. Though an apostate from Christianity, he was
tolerant, and the religion was revived in the time of his successor.
This coin, found on the site of the Roman villa near CoUingham,
may therefore be presumed to have been circulated during the latter
part of the fourth century, when Christianity flourished in these
parts, and when in all probability it was lost or left here on the
evacuation of the villa early in the fifth century when the Romans
left the country.

Possibly some early religious associations may have led to the site
being chosen for a Saxon settlement, as appears to have been the
case at Tadcaster and Ilkley, in the Wharfe valley. At the latter

* Bede tells us that the church of St. Martin at Canterbury was built while
the Romans were still in the island, but as the dedication was to St. Martin, its
erection must have been subsequent to a.d. 400.

447

place the nth century church stood in the midst of the Roman camp.
There are at any rate good grounds for assuming that the pleasant
village of Collingham on the Wharfe has been a settled English
village from at least the middle of the 7th century.* The venerable
Bede tells that at Ingsetlingum, Oswin, King of Deira, was
treacherously slain by order of Oswi, King of Bernicia, a.d. 651,
and that Eanflaed, daughter of the good Christian King Edwin (who
fell in battle with the pagans, a.d. 634), and wife of King Oswin,
caused a monastery to be erected in this place, where prayers were
daily offered up to God for the repose of his soul as well as for that
of Oswi, the murderer. The two armies of Oswin and Oswi had
assembled in the neighbourhood of Catterick, near Richmond, but
Oswin being unable to cope with the overwhelming numbers of the
Bernician King, told off his men at a place called Wilfaraesdun,t
and flying southwards by the old Roman road through Aldborough,
was, as stated, overtaken and slain at Collingham, which probably
at that time was a royal residence.}

Dr. Whitaker, following Camden, had fixed the site of the above
monastery at Gilling, near Richmond ; § there can, however, at this
day be little doubt that the Ingaetlingum als. Gaitlingum,|| of Bede,

* There are many places called Colling, Collingham, and Collingholme, Coil
is hazel in (Gaelic. It is an Irish Viking name, and " Coll " was one of the
primitive Irish heroes ; thus Coll-ing-ham may be the home of the sons or tribe of
Coll. In England it is probable that all the primitive villages in whose names
the patronymic syllable " ing " occurs, were originally colonized by communities
united either really by blood or by the belief in a common descent. See Stubbs'
Constit. Hist., vol. i., page 92.

t There is a place called Ulfardun in Domesday, now Wolfreton, 5 miles from
Hull; but Bede says the place was " ten miles distant from the village called
Cataract [Catterick, the Roman Cataractonium] towards the north-west." Professor
Stephens ascribes Wilfaraesdun to Wilbarston in Northamptonshire. See Old
Northern Runic Monuments, Part ii.. page 390. Again the Rev. D. H. Haigh thinks
it not improbable that the Ven. Bede's Cataract and Cataracta may be Catterton,
in the parish of Tadcaster, and at a distance of about 10 miles W.S.W. is Wilfrey
Well, Bardsey, and that Wilfaresdun may be the remarkable Castle Hill there.
See Proc. of the W. R. Yorks. Geol. Soc. vol. v., page 204.

I Though Driffield is not on this route it is not improbable that the massive
gold finger-ring, inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes, found at Driffield in 1867,
has belonged to the family of King Oswin. See Proc. W. R. Geol. at^d Poly. Soc,
vol, v., page 204.

§ See my Richmondshire , pages 172-3.

II See the Rev. D. H. Haigh in the Yorks. Archal.JL, vol. ii., page 253. There
is a valuable Life of Oswtn, written in Latin by a monk of St. Albans, afterwards
(A.D. nil) of Tynemouth, preserved among the Cotton MSS., (Julius AX., fo. 2
et seq.) in the British Musum. In this 12th century MS. the place (Collingham)
is written Gethlingum.

449

founded monastery at Kirkstall. Its subsequent fortune is that of
Micklethwaite and Bardsey, elsewhere related. The trustees of
the many charities of Lady Elizabeth Hastings are the present lords
of the manor. Some of the Kirkstall Abbey charters, it may be noted,
are dated from Collingham, probably at its chief manor-house or
grange at Micklethwaite.

The Church, still bearing its ancient Saxon dedication to St.
Oswald* (who died in 642 and was the predecessor of King Oswi,
above mentioned), was given by Richard de Morville to the Chapel
of St. Mary and the Holy Angels at York, who appropriated the
same, and ordained a vicarage therein, a.d. 1258. Like the church
at Thorp Arch, a possession of the same Chapel, the vicars of
Collingham were charged with the repairs of the chancel. In 1291
a decree was made for the Abbot and Convent of Kirkstall with
respect to their tithes here, and a composition was further made with
the house in 1373 relative to the tithes of Micklethwaite. At the
Dissolution the vicarage is valued at ^3 us. ^d, per annum. In
1 715 it was augmented with /"200 to meet a benefaction from
Lady Elizabeth Hastings, lady of the manor, of tithes to the value
of /"400. At the enclosure in 181 3, 140 acres were allotted in lieu
of vicarial tithes. The nett value of the living is now ;^275 ; in
1 83 1 it was /"414. The list of vicars commences with the institution
of John de Swillington in 1275, and is continued to the present time.
The patrons are now the trustees of the late Chas. W. Wheler, Esq.,
and the present vicar is the Rev. Edward T. Gwynn, M.A., who
succeeded the late Rev. G. L. Beckwith, M.A., in 1899. The
registers date from 1579.

Traces of the original church are still evident in the nave and
chancel, and the tall, thin south wall (only two feet thick) has an
early look about it. Turning to the interior I find that a gallery was
erected in 1760, but this, with the quaint old pews, was removed in
1834. The church, furthermore, was subjected to so destructive a
" restoration '* sixty years ago, and so much of the original masonry
was replaced by a poor stucco, that it is not easy to define the former
aspects of the building.f The Early English lights in the south

* The ancient church of North Collingham, in Notts, is dedicated to All Saints,
also a Saxon dedication. See my Upper Wharf edale, page 32, Colonel (now Sir
Robert) Gunter in 1899 placed in the chancel a beautiful memorial window to his
mother, which depicts a very happily conceived figure of St. Oswald, the patron
saint of the church.

t A consecration cross, now in the vestry, has no doubt originally been in the
east wall of the church. I have referred to the consecration crosses at Spofforth,
Newton Kyrae, &c. A very remarkable lead consecration cross was discovered
in 1898 during the excavation at the Kingston Haths, Bath. The cross is of
Saxon age, and worked on a circular plaque about three inches in diameter, and
bears the names of the four Evangelists together with a Latin inscription.

450

wall were then put in, and a square- headed (Perpendicular) window-
was blocked up, and new buttresses added. The porch was also
erected at the same time, but much of it, including the mouldings,
being of friable stucco, has greatly perished. The only original window
is on the north side, and is late Decorated ; all the others on the north
side are modem insertions. The nave is separated from its north
aisle by three late 12th century cylindrical columns carrying pointed
arches, but the latter, with the moulded capitals, are of the same
modern stucco. In 1870 some further repairs were made, and the
chancel was re- roofed. The large west window was at the same time
presented by Colonel Gunter, and a new oak pulpit was also pro\'ided.

In 1898 the building was again renovated, and a new vestry was
built on the north-east. side. In pulling down the old coal-hole on
this site there was found a plain semi -circular archway, having a
deeply-cut moulding continued through the sweep of the arch. It
has doubtless formed part of an original doorway of the same age as
the columns of the nave. There has also been recovered from
beneath the eaves over the porch another fragment of an Anglo-
Saxon cross-shaft. This and the other interesting relics of early
Christianity in the parish have been carefully looked after by the
present vicar, and they are now in the church.

In 1899 ^o^' (now Sir Robert) Gunter, M.P., placed at his own
cost the excellent organ in the church, and in 1900 he also presented
three new bells and a clock. Within the church there are several
memorials of the Gunter family, of Wetherby Grange, in this parish.
The east window was erected in 1879, and is a memorial to the
Rev. Henry A. Beckwith, late vicar of Collingham, who died in
1838, and Mary, his wife. There are also memorials to the families
of Eamonson (vicar), Benyon, Whitterson, Medhurst, Cotesworth,
and one (almost defaced) to the memory of the Rev. Matthew Dunwell,
vicar, who died in 1662. There are also several 17th century memorial
tablets (decayed) to the Beilby family, of Micklethwaite Grange.

The old churchyard has probably been a place of sepulchre for at
least 12 centuries; indeed it is more than likely that Oswin, the
murdered King of Deira, would be interred here in 651. His
remarkable monument preserved here, I have already noted. With
the exception of the stone crosses, nothing of pre-Conquest value is
known to have been discovered on the site. But a few years ago an
Irish silver-penny of the reign of Edward III. was dug up in the
churchyard. It is in possession of the Rev. H. B. Beckwith, formerly
curate of Collingham, who has kindly submitted it to my inspection.

451

CHAPTER XLIII.

Bardsey.

An ancient settlement — The Castle Hill— Discoveries on the site — Formerly an
island — The name of Bardsey — Domesday evidence— Early history — Monastic
property — Later history— Appropriation of the church — Description of the
church — Some curious features — The tower: comparison with St. Mary's
church, Bishophill, York— Memorials in the church — Antiquity of the
registers- Local families - Congreve, the dramatist, a native of Bardsey —
The old Town Books.

IKE the neighbouring places, already described, this
ancient parish possesses many evidences of its early
settlement. The " Castle Hill •' is a large curious
mound, or rather double mound, for it is divided into
two parts by a neck of ground, about a cartway in
width, connecting the east and west f)ortions. The general form of
the two portions is oblong or oval, something like that of a figure 8 ;
the western or upper half measuring about fifty yards from east to
west, and 30 yards from north to south at the summit of the mound.
The eastern portion is rather longer, and measures over 60 yards east
and west and 30 yards north and south. The north and south
indentures between the two parts slope away to lower ground, where
are good evidences of a platform or terrace from 1 2 to 20 yards wide,
from which the earthwork again slopes to the natural ground-level.
The hill is mostly natural, but has undoubtedly been scarped and
adapted for settled occupation. Mr. Geo. T. Clark says it has some
of the characteristics of a small British camp, but if so it has
certainly been occupied and altered by some English lord.

Apparently there have been stone erections on the hill, at any rate
on the eastern section. Mr. Young Alan Mawson, who occupies
part of the adjoining Bardsey Grange, informs me that some years
ago during a very hot season, when the grass was thin, he could
have drawn a plan of the foundations of buildings on the larger or
eastern mound. These were indicated by lines of thin burnt grass,
which contrasted distinctly with the fresher verdure of the surrounding
parts. With the object of testing these conclusions a trench was

452

dug in the direction of the embrowned turf, and his suspicions were
soon confirmed by the discovery of broken down walls, while towards
the north-west extremity some human remains were come upon,
including part of a collar bone ; also other stones, with mortar, and
bits of charred wood. The excavations, however, were carried no
further and were shortly afterwards filled up. Mr. Mawson has also
obtained several old coins from the site, but unfortunately these have
been lost. A number of ball-shaped stone-shot, 5 to 6 inches in
circumference (several, I understand, with lead inserted) and other
missiles, have also been recovered from the site.*

The great earthwork has apparently been encompassed with water ;
the beck-bordered land around lying low and marshy. Some years
ago while draining on the east or deepest side of the hill, a bed of loose
earth and stones was come upon, about 7 or 8 yards wide. It gave
one the impression that this was part of a filled-up trench or moat,
which in all probability in ancient times was carried round the hill.
If such were the case, this circumvesture of waters, partly natural,
partly artificial, would give the hill quite the appearance of an island,
to which circumstance the ancient name of Berdeseie or Bardesei,
may possibly be due. Bard, Barda, and Berda are well-known
Saxon and Norse personal names, which compounded with the A.-S.
ea^ ey (an island), would explain the word as Barda's island. Battersea
(St. Peter's isle, because belonging to St. Peter's Abbey, Westminster),
and Portsea (the island of the haven) are similar instances ; likewise
Bermondsey (formerly an island) now included in the metropolis,
along the east side of which King Canute made a canal (a.d. 1016)
in order to render his attack on London more effectual.t

In Domesday Bardsey appears as " Bereleseie " (the Norman scribe
having erroneously made "d" into "1"), where Ligulf had two
carucates of land worked by one plough. It was worth 20s., and in

* Some stone-shot was discovered in a subterranean passage at Knaresborough
Castle in 1890. See my NidderdaU, page 285.

t For " Bardi " see Ellis's Introduction to the landowners and tenants tn Domesday.
List B. The Norse termination of Bardsea in Furness, suggests that the island
derived its name from its probable founder, Bard, a common name in the Sagas.
See Saga Book 0/ the Vtking Club, 1898, page 21. See also Trans. Cumb. and West.
Antiq. Soc, 1895, page 411, where Bardsea is said to be the Berretseige of Domesday,
meaning the edge or cliff at the head of the road called the Red Lane, through
Furness. But the earliest authenticated spelling of the name occurs in the person
of Ranulph de Bardsey who was witness to a grant of land in Millom to Furness
Abbey in 1127. The male line of this family ended with Nicholas Bardsey, of
Bardsey Hall, who died in 1642, leaving two daughters, the eldest of whom.
Dorothy, married James Anderton of Clay ton-le- woods, and Elizabeth, the
younger, married Lancelot Salkeld, of Whitehall in Cumberland. See North
Lonsdale Magazine, vol. iii., page 3.

453

1083-6 was in the King's hands. The same Ligulf had also three
carucates of land in Rigton, in the parish of Bardsey, but worth only
1 6s., and in 1083-6 only los. He was permitted to retain his manor
of Rigton and maintain a priest there, who in all probability had
served the old Saxon church of the parish of Bardsey, whose quaint
tower still stands. The body of the church was then most likely
constructed of wood, and had been either burnt or destroyed during
the ravages of the Conquest, or was pulled down when the church
was rebuilt of stone early in the 12th century. But it is not mentioned
in the survey of 1083-6, being then obviously of no value.

Though we possess no actual record of the transfer, it would
appear that Bardsey and Collingham, with Micklethwaite, had been
granted by the Crown before 1 108 to Robert de Brus, whose grandson,
Adam de Brus, by his marriage with Ivetta de Arches, succeeded to
the manors of Thorp Arch and Walton. Robert de Brus, about the
time named, exchanged with Henry I. these manors of Bardsey and
Collingham for the vill and manor of Danby in Cleveland, together
with lands at Gransmoor, &c., in the East Riding.*

About the middle of the 12th century Bardsey and Collingham
were in the hands of the Mowbrays, as related in the chapter on
Micklethwaite. They bestowed these lands on Kirkstall Abbey,t and
in the Pipe Roll for 13th Henry H. (i 166-7), I find in " Micheltweit"
the monastery of " Kirkestal " renders account of half-a-mark to the
Exchequer ; likewise in the same year ** Femina p'bri [presbyteri]
de Bardesea*' renders account of 20S.J The trouble attending
Mowbray's quarrel with Henry H. and the loss and ultimate recovery
of the estates to Kirkstall Abbey has already been related. J After
the dissolution ot the Abbey the manor was granted to Sir Henry
Carey, Lord Hunsdon, and in 1620 it was sold by his grandson to
Sir Thomas Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, with whose
family it remained till 1654. The manor and estate were then
purchased by Sir John Lewis, of Ledstone, at whose death they
descended to his younger daughter and coheiress, Mary, wife of the
Earl of Scarsdale. Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale, sold them in 1720
to Robert Benson, first Lord Bingley, and in his descendants, the
Lane-Fox family, of Bramham, they are still vested. They are also
patrons of the church.

• See Atkinson's Hist, of Cleveland, vol. ii.. and Forty Years in a Moorland Parish,
page 273. &c.

t See Burton's Mon. Ebor., pai^e 290.

J See also the Pipe Roll for i2th Henry II.

§ See Coucher Book of Kirkstall Abbey, fo. 64, for King John's charter of the
re-grant.

454

The church (All Saints) was given iti 1258 by Richard de Moreville
to the chapel of St. Mary and Holy Angels, at York ; the advowson
of the church having been previous to the appropriation in the hands
of the Archbishop of York. A vicarage was ordained, which at the
Dissolution was valued at £\ is. 8d. per annum, synodals 4s. and
procurations 6s. 8d. In the Parliamentary Survey {ca, 1652) it is
stated to be worth £1"^ yearly. The living was augmented in 1732
with ;^20o to meet a benefaction of tithes of some farms at Wyke,
&c., worth upwards of ^200, from Lady Elizabeth Hastings, and in
1792 with ;^2oo by lot. Torre and Dr. Whitaker supply a list of the
vicars.* The present vicar is the Rev. Balfour Straton, A.K.C.L.,
who was inducted in November, 1895, and who had previously been
assistant curate of Knaresborough parish church.

The building itself is a highly interesting structure, and possesses
features worthy of particular consideration by the student of early
church architecture. The excessive use of paint and coloured wash
is, however, much to be deplored in a building that retains so many
evidences of antiquity. All the walls are thickly coated with yellow
wash and the character of the masonry is thereby obscured, while
the noble old columns of the aisles are also coated with paint ; their
true character — the stone tooling, jointing, and any mason-marks that
may exist — being wholly concealed. The columns of the north aisle
are short massive cylinders, with heavy cushion capitals and square
abaci, supporting semi -circular arches. They are certainly not later
than of the time of Stephen (1135-54). The principal or south
doorway is also of the same period. The piers on the south side are
somewhat later, approaching the Early English style, the columns
being lighter, the arches pointed, while the square abaci have plain
line mouldings, with ornaments at the angles of the capitals.

It is evident that these Norman aisles have been built up to the
existing tower, and not contemporaneously with it, as the masonry
of the west walls is quite distinct from that of the tower, which
originally must have been entirely outside the fabric of the church.
The tower is peculiar. It is not square, but longer on the north and
south sides than it is on the east and west. The west face, outside,
measures 12 feet 2 inches wide, and the walls are nowhere more than
two feet thick. There is a very curious example of the so-called
herring-bone masonry in the upper part of the east face, and the
belfry windows, one above the other, are large — quite 4 feet wide
and from 7 to 8 feet high — each consisting of two openings, with
central baluster shaft, and impost of a single stone, chamfered.

An interesting comparison may be made between this tower and

• See also the Rev. R. V. Taylor's Churches of Leeds (1875), page 143.

455

that of St. Mary's Church, Bishophill, the Younger, York, which has
been frequently stated to be Saxon. It contains rude herring-bone
masonry, large belfry windows, having a central baluster shaft, with
chamfered impost, supporting rudely constructed arches, and the
jambs have the usual long and short work affecting the Saxon
manner. But despite these appearances it is perfectly evident that
the tower has been rebuilt of old materials, at a period clearly
subsequent to the 12th century. Some of the stones, in the interior
of the tower, bear Norman sculptures, and on the exterior, but built
into the walls, are many bricks of the shape of the modern or Flemish
bricks, a form not used before the 13th century. Likewise the
corbels throughout the tower supporting the floors are of the ogee
form, and look like the work of the 15th century.*

I venture to think that the Bardsey tower has undergone a similar
rebuilding in the 15th century, at any rate the upper portion of it ;
the corbel-table a few feet above the belfry windows seem to be of
that period as well as the battlements. It is also noteworthy that the
lowest portion of the tower, up to about 16 feet from the ground, is
built of massive ashlar. A clerestory (very rarely found in churches
before the 15th century) of three lights in the church appears on the
south side only. The tower arch is round and has been restored,
with hood moulding terminating in male and female heads. There
are two doorways into the tower, on the north and south sides, the
south one being now blocked. Both these doorways have been
originally external, and at the rebuilding and enlargement of the
church have been made to open into the aisles. The ancient north
door with its large nail-studded cross-bands is noteworthy. There
are some curiously-placed corbels in the west wall of the south aisle,
which, as Whitaker suggests, may have supported the stone ribs of
a groined roof.

The church has undergone an extended restoration in the 15th
century, but some of the original square-headed windows have been
replaced by modern monstrosities. The east end of the north aisle
has been the Mauleverer chapel, founded in 151 5 by Sir William
Mauleverer, Kt., of Woodsome, in Bardsey parish. The organ now
stands there, a memorial of Mrs. Holroyd. The chapel at the eastern

• See Memoirs of the A rchal. Inst., York Meeting, 1846, page 47. Compare also
with the tower of the church at Appleton-le-Street, near Mahon, which is very
similar and generally stated to be Saxon, but the Rev. H. Ward, vicar, in answer
to my enquiry, informs me that the walls from the ground-level to a height of
about 15 feet are 2 feet 6 inches thick, then they narrow from about 2 feet to 21
inches; and this "battering" or diminution in the thickness of the walls is
certainly a characteristic of Norman or even Early English builders. See also
Leathley in my Upper Wharf edale, page 115.

456

termination of the south aisle (now the vestry), I find from the Town
Books, was erected by Robert Benson, the first Lord Bingley, in
1724, and was known as the " Bingley Chapel.*' There is an Early
English low-side aperture, erroneously called a " lepers' window,"
on the south side oif the choir. It is a single lancet 3 feet 5 inches
high to the apex of the trefoiled-pointed head, and 16 inches wide at
the splayed sill. This window or opening, doubtless for the reception
of messages during service, is on the low side of the chancel, between
a pointed doorway now blocked, and the chancel-step. On the south
side of the chancel is a piscina and three sedilia, restored, also a
stained memorial window to the Rev. John Holroyd, vicar, who died
in 1873.

On the chancel floor are a number of ancient memorial slabs, but
much decayed ; one bears a cross and crozier, with chalice and paten,
and it may be the tomb of John de Bardsey, who was Abbot of
Kirkstall in 1390, though it was usual to inter the Abbots within
their monasteries. On the south wall of the chancel are tablets to a
former vicar, the Rev. Wm. Andrew, who died in 1731, and Elizabeth
Thorpe, who died in 1666, aged 78. She had been the wife of the
notorious Francis Thorpe, Baron of the Exchequer, and M.P. for
Beverley, 1656-7, who when divested of power at the Restoration,
retired to Bardsey, where he died, and according to the register, was
buried at Bardsey, 7th June, 1665. But there is no memorial of him
in the church. His widow, who was a daughter of William
Oglethorpe, Esq., of Rawdon {see page 378), had previously been
twice married (i) to Wm. Denton, Esq., and (2) to Thos. Wise, Esq.,
of Beverley, whose son, William Wise, erected this memorial to his
mother. On the north wall is a memorial to the Rev. Richard
Capstick, who died in 1785, and near it is a beautiful epitaph,
inscribed in Latin, to the memory of Charles Lister, who died in
1684, aged 23. This family lived at Rigton, and made various
benefactions to the poor of the parish.

There are some other antiquities of interest in the church. On
the floor (sadly out of place), at the west end of the north aisle is a
mutilated stone altar, doubtless the altar-table of the original Norman
church. It is 6 feet 4 inches long, and has been consecrated with
the usual five symbols, but some of these have been ruthlessly chiselled
pff, when the church was repaired in 1868. Moreover, part of the
ends have been cut away to adapt it for its present purpose as a flag-
stone. In the tower are several early Christian memorial -stones of
small size. They bear plain incised crosses. There are also several
fragments of the original Norman font, bearing a design of interlaced
arches, with bead ornament, ca, 11 50. The stone seems to be much
burnt in parts.

457

The registers of the church are specially interesting, inasmuch as
they are amongst the oldest extant in our county.* The first entry
of baptism is dated the 29th September, 153^, the very day that the
Act ordering such registers to be kept, came into force. Among the
earlier entries are many relating to the ancient family of Mauleverer,
who lived at Woodsome or Wothersome in this parish. Edmund
Mauleverer, Esq., died there in 1488, and the registers record the
burial at Bardsey of Robert Mauleverer ** ye last of Januar," i 540
Sir Wm. Mauleverer, Kt., who founded the chantry in the church,
was buried there 13th August, 1547. In 1542 John Kay e, gent., and
Dorothy Mauleverer were married 21st Jan., " being both xv. yeares
olde." Attached to their old manor-house at Wothersome was a
chapel, where divine services were held, and in which many of the
family marriages took place. The family maintained their own
chantry-priest, who served not only in the private chapel of
Woodsome, but also at St. Mary's altar in the church. In the
register for 1556 is this entry: " xxofer Banks, preyst, was buried
the ij. of August.** He had survived the dissolution of private
chantries, and was doubtless the family *s chaplain until his death.

But perhaps the most interesting record in these old registers is
this :

William, sonne of Mr. William Congreve, of Bardsey Grange, was baptized,
Feb. loth, 1669.

This has undoubtedly reference to the birth at Bardsey of William
Congreve, the celebrated poet and dramatist, one of the first literary
geniuses our county may claim amongst her distinguished natives.
By his plays of " The Old Bachelor,** " The Double Dealer,*' and
" The Mourning Bride ;'* the latter opening with the well-known line :
** Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,** Congreve achieved
at a remarkably early age a literary reputation second to no one of
his time. ** No English writer, except Lord Byron,'* observes Lord
Macaulay, " has at so early an age stood so high in the estimation of
his contemporaries." And this is surely high praise of one who lived
in an age that produced such luminaries as Swift, Pope, Dryden,
Addison, and Steele. Congreve died January 19th, 1728-9, and was
buried with great pomp in Westminster Abbey. The date of his
birth, as recorded on his monument, viz., 1672, is obviously erroneous.

* The oldest Registers in Yorkshire are the following : West Riding ; 1537,
Snaith ; 1538, Aldborough, Brodsworth, Cantley, Carlton, Dewsbury, Halifax.
Hooton Pagnell, Melton, Monk Fryston, Normanton. Rossington, Rothwell,
Saxton. and St. Olave's, York; East Riding : 1537, Langtoft; 1538, Atwick, North
Burton, Wharram-le-Street : North Riding: 1538, Crayke, Oswaldkirk, Skelton,
and Wensley.

458

Neither the place nor the time of his birth app>ear to have been then
known. The poet himself seems to have been in equal ignorance of
the facts, though he always declared himself to be a native of England
and not of Ireland, where much of his early life was passed.* He
came of an old Staffordshire family {see page 426), his father being a
Colonel in the army, and his birth at Bardsey would appear to have
happened during his mother's visit to her uncle, Sir John Lewis,
father of the celebrated Lady Elizabeth Hastings, and owner of the
Bardsey estates, which he had purchased from the Wentworth family,
as already related.f

The old Town Books are not less interesting than the registers,
but space prevents me from making any extended abstracts. In 1729
I find new stocks were erected. In 1759 the sum of 3s. 6d. was
exp>ended on the pinfold. This old-time relic still stands nearly
opposite the school-house. The latter was erected at the cost of the
parish in 1726, and was then endowed by Lord Bingley with 26
acres of land farmed upon lease by Nicholas Gibson. At that time
Matthew Naylor was master.

At Christmas every house through the whole parish, excepting
Sheepcoat, paid to the vicar a hen, or sixpence. The fee for a
funeral sermon was los., but if the friends of the deceased chose
their own text the fee was 21s. The vicarage house was then on
Bardsey Hill. The present vicarage was erected in 1849. In the
vicarage gardens are several curious stones, including half-a-dozen
ancient querns, or hand corn -mills, which have been found in the
immediate neighbourhood.

The old tithe-barn stands near the old vicarage. It presents some
curious features although the building is now only about half its
original height. Some years ago the roof being in a state of decay
fell in, when it was taken down, together with the upper portion of
the walls, and the remaining room was turned into store-places, &c.,
for the inmates of the old vicarage.

The old corn-mills at Bardsey were tenanted by the Midgley
family for many generations. William Midgley ran the mills in
1800. John Midgley of Bardsey Grange, went to Australia and died
there at Gangery Grange, September 6th, 1864, aged 64, His
eldest son, William Midgley, was married at Bardsey in 1862. Since
about 1870 the mills have been run by the Mawson family, of the
Grange.

* See Charles A. Read in The Cabinet of Irish Literature.

t Among the Duke of Devonshire's muniments of Bolton Abbey I have seen a
letter, dated August nth. 16O6, written by Wm. Congreve to Richard Graham ;
the writer's seal shewing his arms : a chevron between three battle-axes.

459

CHAPTER XLIV.

About East Keswick and Wike.

A sunny site- Early history of the manor — Local monastic possessions — The old
Hall— Places of worship — The Society of Friends— Loc^l pastimes— Good
roads — Wike school — A famous find of ancient coins.

'ROM Bardsey we may cross the Keswick Beck and
ascend the sunny slope to the pleasant and prosperous-
looking village of East Keswick. It is mentioned in
Donusday as Chesuic, where Tor had five carucates of
land to be taxed. This was a large holding for that
period, at least 800 acres being then in cultivation, proving that this
genial sunny site had been occupied and under the plough long
before the Normans settled on it.

In 1083-6 it was still in the hands of the King, but shortly after-
wards it formed part of the grant with Hare wood (in which parish it
is situate) to the family of Romille, lords of the great honour of
Skipton-in-Craven. The lords of Harewood subfeud the manor to the
family of Monte Alto, or Maude, and Simon de Monte Alto, in the 12th
century, gave two tofts and two bovates of land here to Pontefract
Priory. The Priory of Bolton had, however, the chief monastic
interest in this township, as the early owners of the Skipton fee were
mostly concerned in the welfare of that monastery, which was of
their foundation. The canons of Bolton obtained many donations
from their patrons in Harewood parish, including the rent of the mill
in East Keswick. The monasteries of Kirkstall and Fountains had
also possessions in the township.

In 1284-6 Simon de Monte Alto is stated to hold East Keswick of
the house of Albemarle, but thirty years later (13 15) the manor was
held conjointly by four persons, viz. : Wm. de Ilkeley (Ilketon),
Brian de Thornhull,"^' the Rector of Bedale, and Peter de Marthley.
The last mentioned family took their name from the ancient manor
of Marley, in the parish of Bingley, which they held probably as under-
tenants of the Montaltes or Maudes. The arms of both these families
are in Bingley church. Alice, daughter and coheiress of Simon de

• Wm. de Ilketon and Brian de Thornhill, see Thorcsby Soc, vol. iv., pp. 161 -2.

460

Montaltes (living in 1254), niarried Thomas de Martley, and it was
doubtless in consequence of this marriage that Peter de Marthley
succeeded to a share of the property at East Keswick. The same
Peter de Marthley with Ralph de Ilkton was lord of the manor of
Morton, near Bingley, at the same time (1315) as he held East
Keswick.

The manor subsequently came to the Gascoigne family, and is
now, with most of the land, held by the Earl of Harewood. The
site of the ancient manor-house is still indicated by the presence of
part of the moat that enclosed it, but the hall itself was demolished
about two centuries ago and the stone employed in building the
adjoining Old Hall farm. There are no other buildings of historic
antiquity in the township. The beautiful church erected in 1856-7
from designs by Messrs. Mallinson and Healey, of Bradford, is a
chapel -of-ease to Harewood. The cost was about ;^i5oo, raised
entirely through the efforts of the vicar of Harewood, the Rev. Miles
Atkinson, M.A. The site was given by the Earl of Harewood, who
also gave the site and he likewise met most of the expense of the
new schools in the village, which were opened in January, 1872.
The Wesleyans have also erected a well-designed place of w^orship
in the village. Originally the Methodists assembled for worship in
private houses or in barns (as at Linton near Wetherby), and in 1779
the house of Thomas Wright, in Keswick, was licensed for such
purpose. The first chapel dates from 1 792, but at Thorner they had
a chapel in 1770, if not earlier. The Society of Friends was at one
time well represented in the neighbourhood, and they have an old
burial-ground at Keswick. In the Books of the Society at York
I find this entry :

East Keswick ; 1668 The purchase of ye Burj'all place att ,Shearbum
bought in the name of Wm. Knapton wch. he is to make over to freinds belonging
to this Mo. Meeting, cost 7//. los. wch. was paid Marm. Morley 7/1. los., the
charges about itt cost pr. writings 3s. 4d.

Part of the land in the township is farmed by various owners, and
altogether the village has a pleasant prosperous look. There are
two good inns. Situated in a fertile and picturesque district, about
midway between Harewood, Collingham, and Bardsey, and accessible
by good driving roads from Leeds, as well as from stations on the
Leeds and Wetherby railway, the place is much visited in the
summer season. The annual Village Feast, held at the same time as
Harewood, is the chief local event of the year, and is generally very
well attended, and accompanied with a good deal of fun and animation.
In former years, when the writer was an occasional witness of the
day's enjoyment, various Old English games were played, and there

461

were well-contested foot-races, as well as donkey-races, and other
sports, in which the juvenile portion, especially, took a rollicking
delight.

The roads around this charming district are well maintained and
there are splendid long level runs that must delight the heart of the
wheelman. From East Keswick we may take the lane which
emerges on such a highroad at the Traveller's Rest, 2 miles from
Harewood and 4 miles from Collingham. Or we may take the
southward road, through the pretty Domesday village of Wich, now
Wike, and so to Alwoodley Gates, and by the ancient Roman route
to Adel. Wike is partly in Harewood and partly in Bardsey parishes,
and it was from lands at Wike-in- Harewood that the old Clerk's
School, at Skipton-in-Craven, was originally endowed (1556), and
was continued until 181 4, when the National School commenced.
The Free School at Wike was established by Lady Elizabeth
Hastings in 1739.

Wike, however, is chiefly memorable to the archaeologist for the
discovery that was made here in February, 1836. A working-man
named James Dent, whilst planting a pear tree at the end of a house
in the centre of the village, struck upon an earthern vessel choke-
full of small silver pennies of the early Edwards. It is computed
there were nearly 2000 in all, or probably 500 more than in the
similarly famous hoard found at Tutbury in 1831.* From Messrs.
Sharpe and Haigh's paper, communicated through Edward Hawkins,
Esq., F.R.S., I gather that in 1831 the existing homestead at Wike
was built upon the site of the old one, but was not continued so far
as the original in length. It was in or under the plastered floor of
the ancient tenement that these coins were concealed. They consisted
principally of types as well as many varieties of the reigns of
Edward I. and Edward II., from the mints of Berwick, Newcastle,
Durham, York, Kingston, Lincoln, Chester, Canterbury, Bristol,
Bury St. Edmunds, and London. There were also numerous
Scottish, Irish, and foreign pieces. Among the latter was one of
Louis IV. of Bavaria, struck at Aix-la-Chapelle, after his coronation
at Rome in 1329. It may therefore be asserted that the coins were
not concealed until after this date, when Edward III. was in the
thick of his troubles with Scotland. But for many years before this
time the district had been overrun by the marauding Scots, — they had
been at Harewood in 13 16, and sacked the church — so that doubtless
the bulk of this great hoard had found similar concealment during
these destructive invasions.

* Vide Archaologia, vol. xxiv., page 148.

|s|s|, I ill |E-S|fJ |S|
iCjS '^-^^^ ^ sill's j-Sg.E

s» 3u

ill ^

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Q « a _

III I '
li I

ss!'

n.'f

-jEjmH i.

:?pi^js

jigi

Arms formerlv in Harewood Church and Castle,

463

CHAPTER XLV.

Harewood.

Rural charm of Harewood — An illustrious record — Antiquity of Harewood —
Meaning of the name — Harewood a Danish mint — Domesday evidence — A
large parish— Grant to the Romilles— Descent of the manor — Market-charter

— The Rythers and Redmans— Pedigree of Redman — The Gascoigne family

- Gawthorpe Hall -Chief Justice Gascoigne— Subsequent owners of Hare-
wood -The Lascelles family — Harewood House— The late Lord Harewood
— Royal visits.

COKING back through a long vista of years there is
solace in the recollection of many quiet saunterings
and happy hours spent about the rich domains and
pleasant by-ways of dear old Harewood ! Few places
possess the historic heritage of this charming and
sequestered parish. Even Roman Tadcaster, with its twenty centuries
of stirring record, pales before it in the lustre of great names that
encircle like a halo its long life-story. But whereas Tadcaster, so
fully dealt with in this book, has strangely received but the scantiest
recognition in printed word, historic Harewood on the other hand,
has been so exhaustively dealt with in chapter and volume that little
new can be added. I shall, however, endeavour to supplement what
has been already written.

Harewood seems to have lain out of the way of the old legions
who occupied such places as Tadcaster and Ilkley, and in early times
would appear to have been more sought for peaceable seclusion than
for the din of war. Its Saxon name seems to me to imply as much,
for in the Anglo-Saxon harh, we have the temple raised for holy
meditation and retirement in the wood of sacred oak and ash for which
the district has been renowned. Early associations of this " temple
in the wood " doubtless hallow the spot exactly as they do at Bardsey
and CoUingham in this neighbourhood. But neither relic nor writing
remain to tell us of the manner of people who had settled here in
that remote age. Our first record, perforce, goes no further back
than the last quarter of the 9th century, when ** Farmon the priest
of Harewood," was active in his ministry here.* His name and that

* Suttees Soc, vols. 39, 43, and 48.

464

of his friepd Owun are recorded in the Liber Vita, although, says the
Rev. D. H. Haigh, not in the original text, which was interrupted
in 875, but amongst the entries which were made after the Lindis^me
community were settled at Durham. Father Haigh is disposed to
conclude that the letter " H '* on some coins of King Olaf (see page
237) stands for Harewood, and that ** Farmon, the moneyer " was
the Harewood priest. The coins are of two types: (i) >J< Oxlaf
Rex (round a small cross) \^ F'armon Mone ; and (2) i^ Anlaf
CvNVNc (round a triquetra) \^ Farmon Moneta (round a standard).
It is on the latter that the initial " H *' appears, while on the former
an ** S " and ** T " occur, which he conjectured to be abbreviations
for Sherbum and Tadcaster.* To accept such an interpretation of
these valuable memorials would imply that Harewood had been
sanctioned as a royal mint towards the middle of the loth century,
when Olaf reigned in Northumbria. The original Abbey (afterwards
St. Mary's) at York, it will be remembered, was dedicated to him.

But not to dwell longer on these interesting surmises let us turn
to actual written testimony. Domesday tells that there were in 1066
three manors in Harewood, with its berewick, Newhall, where Tor,
Sprot and Grim had ten carucates for taxation, worked by five ploughs,
hence there were 1800 acres under cultivation at the time of the
Norman invasion {see page 107). The parish originally embraced
eight townships, situated on both sides of the river, viz. : Harewood,
Alwoodley, East Keswick, Weardley, Wigton, Wike, Dunkeswick
and Weeton, an area of 12,180 acres. It is obvious that all these
places were in an advanced state of cultivation prior to the Norman
usurpation. Besides the 10 carucates in Harewood, there were in
Aluuoldelei (Alwoodley) 5 carucates ; in Chesuic (East Keswick) 5
carucates ; Chesuic (Dunkeswick) 4 carucates : Wic (Wike) 6
carucates; Widitun (Weeton) 8 carucates; Niuuehalle (Newhall or
Gawthorpe ?) i carucate ; Stochetun (Stockton Farm) 5 carucates
and 6 bovates ; Lofthuse ( Lofthouse Farm; 2 carucates ; Stubhusun
(Stubhouse Farm) i carucate ; together 47 carucates 6 bovates ; thus,
assuming that the lands were wholly worked on the three-field system,
there would be upwards of 8500 acres in cultivation in 1066, or
about two-thirds of the whole land in the parish. This is excellent
testimony to the early settlement, fertility, and large population of
the parish before the Norman conquest.

It had not been decided how to dispose of these valuable lands at
the time the survey was completed (1083 — 5), but shortly afterwards
Harewood and its dependencies were given to Robert de Romelli,
together with the extensive, though in great part barren and

• Yorks Archaol. Jl., vol. iv., page 452.

4^5

mountainous, fee of Skipton -in -Craven. The earlier descents of
these important manors have been much confused, hence I have
prepared the pedigree on page 462 shewing through whom these
several estates passed. Robert's daughter, Cecilia, wife of William de
Meschines, gave the mill of Harewood to the newly-founded Priory
of Embsay, afterwards (1154) translated to Bolton- on -Wharfe. The
canons of Bolton had large p>ossessions in the parish. They had the
mill at Alwoodley, with suit of the mill through the whole parish of
Harewood, and lands with rents, in Helthwaite, Lofthouse, Roudone
Weardley, Weeton, Wigdon and Brandon ; also in 1354 they had
granted and appropriated under the Archbishop's seal the valuable
fruits of the church of Harewood.*

The manor descended by marriage to Warin Fitz Gerard or Gerald,
who in 1205 obtained from King John a charter of free warren for
all his lands here. This was confirmed a few years later, when the
same monarch granted him the privilege to hold a weekly (Saturday)
market at Harewood, and a three days' annual fair. The following
is a translation of the original charter :

Grant of Market and Fair in Harewood, loth John (1208).

John by the grace of God, &c. Know ye that we have granted and by this our
charter confirmed to Warin son of Gerald and his heirs that they may have a
warren at Harewood in the co. of York and a fair there every year lasting for
three days to wit the first day of July and two days following and that they may
have there a market every week on Saturday so that aforesaid fair and market
be not to the hurt of neighbouring fairs and markets. Wherefore We will and
firmly command the aforesaid Warin and his heirs may have and hold in his
aforesaid manor of Harwood the aforesaid Warren with the liberties and free
customs to the said Warren belonging and may have the aforesaid fair and market
in peace freely and quietly with all liberties and free customs which the township
of Harewood hath as is aforesaid. Witness the lord Bp. of Winchester G. Bp.
of Rochester J. Bp. of Bath G. son of Peter Earl of Essex W. Earl of Salisbury
Earl Albric Robert son of Walter William Briw William de Cantelupe John
Marshall John son of Hugh G. Luterell. Given by the hand of Henry de Wells
Archdeacon of Wells at Lambeth xvj day of february in the x year of our reign.

From the Fitz Geralds, De Redvers, and the Earls of Albemarle,
the manor descended to the Lords Lisle (De Insula) of Rougemont,
whose lordly mansion on the north bank of the Wharfe, stood a mile
to the west of Harewood. The manor was then (1336) worth 400
marks per annum. John, Lord Lisle, of Rougemont, one of the
founders of the Order of the Garter, died in 1354.1- By the marriage
of his daughter Elizabeth with William de Aldburgh, the castle and
manor in 1364 passed to this great family. J He was summoned to

* In 1324 the Prior travelled from Bolton to Harewood to see about repairs to
the fish-pond. The expenses of the journey were charged to the monastery. 3s. id.
t Burke gives date of death as 1356. J Ftnes, 38th Edward HI.

466

Parliament as Baron Aldburgh in 1371, and died in 1377, leaving
two daughters, co-heiresses, (i) Sybil, wife of Sir Wm. Ryther, of
Ryther {see page 69), and Elizabeth, wife of Sir Richard Redman.
The arms of Redman quartering Aldburgh (shewn on the plate
prefacing this chapter) were to be seen in the great chamber of
Hare wood Castle.'''

It is worthy of record that in a warlike age of many vicissitudes,
when family disputes respecting the title to property were of constant
occurrence, the two families of Ryther and Redman maintained their
relations in perfect harmony, and the Harewood estate continued in
undivided moieties in the posterity of the Redman family for seven
descents, and in that of the Rythers for nine generations. Both of
these honoured families were alike distinguished in the annals of
their country. Of the Rythers I have already, on pages 66 — 71, told
the story of their achievements in the eventful reigns of Edward I.
and his successors. Both families apparently occupied the great
castle together, or perhaps alternately, and never do we hear of any
disagreement between them, or cause of quarrel in respect to their
several possessions.

The arms of Ryther (three crescents) are still discernible amongst
the shields carved on the walls of the little chap)el high up in the
castle ruins, and together under imperishable monuments the two
brothers-in-law, with their wives, whose harmonious life was so
happily continued in their posterity, rest in the old church at
Harewood. Sir Richard Redman died in 1426 and Sir Wm. Ryther
in 1440. Upon their effigies is shewn the collar of SS., the
distinguishing badge of the Lancastrians.

The above Sir Wm. Ryther died seized of the manor of Cotes,
CO. Lincoln, held as parcel of the manor of Bolingbroke. His son,
Sir Robert Ryther, married (i) Isabel, daughter of Sir W. Gascoigne,
of Gawthorpe, son of the great judge, and (2) Eleanor, daughter of
John Fitzwilliam, of Sprotborough. He died in 1475, and was
buried at Ryther. His eldest son. Sir Robert Ryther, died unmarried
in 1490. The following unpublished recital, dated 3rd August, 6th
Henry VL (1490), from the recently-indexed Calendars of Inquisitions
post mortem in the Public Record Office, shews that his brother
Sir Ralph Ryther, aged 40 and more, was his next heir :

Robert Ryther, Knight, died seized of a moiety of the manor of Harwood
worth £2^ held of the King in chief by service of one-fourth of a knight's fee ;
of the manor and advowson of Ryther, worth 100 marks, held of the King by
service of one-eighth of a knight's fee ; a moiety of the manor of Kirkby Overblow,

* See Sir Geo. Duckett, Bart., on the arms of Aldburgh, in Voi^i. Arck^rl. JL,
vol. vi., page 420-4.

4^7

worth 4 marks, held of Henry, Earl of Northumberland ; three messuages and
40 acres of meadow and pasture in Kirkby Wharfe, worth 40s, held of the King.
He died June 30th last. Kalph Ryther, aged 40 and more is his brother and
next heir.

James Ryther succeeded to Harewood, &c., on the death of his
father, William, in 1563. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Wm. Atherton, of Harewood, and was succeeded by his son Robert,
who married (i) Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Swift, of Rotherham,
from whom he was divorced, (2) Eleanor, daughter of William
Oglethorpe, and (3) in 1626, Eleanor, daughter and heiress of
Thomas Browne, of Helton, in the Isle of Axholme, co. Lincoln.
He was the last of the Rythers who lived at Harewood Castle.* In
all probability he retired to Belton, where he died in 1637, doubtless
having retained his moiety of the estate.

The length of this volume now obliges me to deal in the briefest
possible manner with the numerous manuscripts before me relating
to the notable house of Redman or Redmayne, whose connection
with Harewood dates from about the year 1393.! The founder of
the family in England appears to have been a Norman de Redman
or Redeman, of Redman, in Cumberland, which now forms a joint
township with Isell. He appears to have joined the second Crusade
to the Holy Land in 1147, and died about 1150. His son, Henry de
Redman, had granted partly by Ketel, son of Uchtred, 34th Henry II.
(1187), and partly by Gilbert, son of Roger Fitz Reinfrid, a man of
large possessions and influence, the important manor of Levens, in
Westmorland. Here the Redmans resided for more than three
centuries, but the hall and manor were not sold until 1561 (according
to Dodsworth"),} when Sir Alan Bellingham purchased the same, in
whose family they remained for two centuries more. In the first Roll
of Arms, temp. Henry III., Sir Matthew, son of Henry de Redman,
bore : Gules ^ 3 cushions ermine ^ tasselled, or, and these arms were to be
seen in the church and castle at Harewood.

While at Levens the Redmans were conspicuous in many military
enterprises, especially in the North, during the trying period of the
Scottish wars, serving their country with fidelity and honour, and

• A genealogy compiled by Wm. de Ryther, Esq., of Dublin, probably the last
male descendant of the Rythers, lords of Harewood, shews clearly the descent of
the lords of Harewood from Orgar, father of Elfrida, as well as from King Alfred.
See Brit. Archal. Assoc. Jourl., 1864, page 227.

t For the loan of these manuscripts and the accompanying original pedigree I
am indebted to Wm. Greenwood, Esq., Barrister-at-law, of the Middle Temple,
a descendant of the Harewood branch of the family.

X Probably correct, as Sir Richard Redman died seized of the manor of
Levens, &c., 35th Henry VUI. (1544) ; inq, taken 14th August.

468

also representing their county of Westmorland in Parliament. They
were likewise Sheriffs of Yorkshire, Cumberland, Westmorland and
Roxburgh. They held large properties in Westmorland, Cumberland,
Northumberland, and North Lancashire, including the manors of
Levens, Selside, and Lupton,* and when Sir Richard Redman
married about 1393 the co-heiress of Harewood, a moiety of that
estate was added to the family patrimony. A few years later we find
them landowners at Thorn ton -in -Lonsdale, and in that romantic
district, under the shadow of the mighty Ingleborough, the family
long resided.

There can be no possible doubt of the common origin of these
several families of Levens, Harewood, and Thornton-in-Lonsdale.
Their arms were alike, with of course the usual signs for difference.
The coat-of-arms of the Thornton family is identical with those
of Sir Richard Redman, the first of the Harewood branch, who was
Speaker of the House of Commons in 141 5, and whose armorial
insignia still exist in the Speaker's House at Westminster. The will
of this Sir Richard Redman, who was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in
1403, is dated ist May, 3rd Henry VL (1424), and he died two years
later. With his two wives he lies interred in the old church at
Harewood, where a noble effigied monument commemorates their
names and fame.

The second Sir Richard, of Harewood, is stated by Whitaker to
have married Elizabeth Gascoigne, but she appears to have been the
second wife of the previous Sir Richard. The second Sir Richard
married a daughter of the house of Middleton, of Middleton, co.
Westmorland, who is of the blood of the De Ferrers, Earls of Derby,
the Lords Berkeley, and the Musgraves, who according to Burke, are
descendants of the old German Emperors. This Sir Richard is said
by Sir George Duckett, Bart, (who claims descent from the Redmans
of Harewood), to have had 13 children, but of many of whom
nothing appears to be known.t Sir Richard's great-grandson, Richard
Redman, became in succession Bishop of St. Asaph, Exeter, and Ely,
and it was he who restored the cathedral of St. Asaph after it had
been burnt down by Owen Glendour in 1402. He died in 1505
and was buried in Ely Cathedral, where a magnificent altar-tomb
perpetuates his memory.

♦ This Lupton, in Westmorland, would appear to have given name to the old
family of that name, which first appears in Wharfedale about the time the
Redmans came to Harewood. In Knaresbro' Forest and about Pool and
Bramhope the Luptons were numerous. Thomas Lupton, of Bramhope, was a
tenant of Kirkstall Abbey in 1540 (J^horesby Soc, vol. iv., page 282). Many of
tb« ancestors of Mr. William C. Lupton, three times Mayor of Bradford (1899 —
1902), are interred in Denton churchyard, in Wharfedale.

t See Duchetiana, page 24. For Redman wills see Surtees Soc, vols. 45 and 79.

4^9

Matthew Redman was the last of the family to reside at Harewood,
and in 1549 he recorded his possessions to the escheator of Yorkshire
as follows: Lands in Malynghall, Birthwaite, and Kirkby-in-Kendall,
Hind Castle, a moiety of the manor of Harewood and the castle
there, and lands in Selside, Lay ton, Keswick, and Calton in Yorkshire.
His brother Cuthbert appears to have settled in the neighbourhood
of Whitby, and from his grandson, Giles, who migrated to Ireby,
near Thornton - in - Lonsdale, the Redmaynes of Newcastle and
Gateshead claim descent. Matthew married a daughter of Sir Wm.
Gascoigne, of Gawthorpe, and as he left no issue, Harewood seems
to have passed to the Gascoignes. But neither the time nor the
manner have been clearly determined. The Gascoignes intermarried
with the Redmans several times. It is probable that Joan Gascoigne,
daughter of Henry Redman, of Harewood, succeeded to a reversion
of the manor, and dying without issue, the property reverted to her
uncle, Richard Redman, and from him to his son Matthew, the last
of the Harewood Redmans.* The'Ryther moiety must have been
sold either to the Gascoignes or Redmans. The estates eventually
became united in Margaret, daughter and sole heiress of William
Gascoigne, Esq. Her marriage with Thomas Wentworth, Esq., of
Wentworth Woodhouse, in the reign of Elizabeth, carried them into
that family, and they became the patrimony of her grandson, the
unfortunate Earl of Strafford. In 161 3 he sat in Parliament tor the
County of York, and again in 1 621, at which time he appears to
have passed most of his leisure at his pleasant seat at Gawthorpe.

The old home of this distinguished nobleman is said to have stood
about 350 yards south of the present Harewood House, near to the
margin of the lake. It was pulled down about 1771, and not a
vestige of the mansion is now to be seen. The house or village,
whichever it may have been,t gave name to an ancient family of
consequence, whose heiress married William Gascoigne, ancestor of
the Gascoignes of Sudbury, Lazingcroft, Parlington, &c.J A son
of this union, W^illiam Gascoigne, is described as a merchant of
Kirkby Wharfe, at the time of Edward II. From him descends the
celebrated Sir Wm. Gascoigne, Chief Justice of England in the time
of Henry IV, a man of great wisdom and magnanimity, of whom
Lord Campbell remarks, " never was the seat of judgment filled by
a more upright or independent magistrate." Shakespeare has

* See Correspondence, Henry VIII. (F. and D.), vol. ii., page 107 1 ; also Ftnes,
32nd Elizabeth.

t See " Gawthorpe Hall," in the author's Old Bingley.

X A pedigree of Lascelles of Brakenburgh, Hinderskelf and Ery holme, co.
York (with arms, &c.), was privately printed in 1869. See also Foster's West
Riding Pedigrees, and Whitaker's Ducatus Leodicnsis, &c.

470

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472

immortalised the well-known incident in the life of this Judge, of
committing to prison the young Prince of Wales, afterwards (141 3)
Henry V., for ** contempt and disobedience *' while in the exercise of
his high office.* He died in 1419, and a noble tomb at Harewood
perpetuates his memory, and that of his first wife.

After Lord Strafford's execution in 1641 his property descended to
his son, who sold Harewood in 1657 ^^ Sir John Lewis, Bart., and
Sir John Cutler, Kt., two London merchants. Sir John Cutler, who
had Harewood, died in 1693. ^® devised his property to his
daughter Elizabeth, wife of the Earl of Radnor, with remainder,
should issue fail, to John Boulter, Esq., his kinsman, who succeeded
to the estate on the death of the Countess in 1696. His son's
trustees in 1738 sold the manor with all its privileges and
appurtenances to Henry Lascelles, Esq., who died in 1753. His son
and heir, Edwin Lascelles, Esq., was in 1790 created Baron
Harewood, and on his death, without issue, in 1795, the property
passed to his cousin, Edward Lascelles, Esq., created Baron Hare-
wood in 1796, and Earl of Harewood and Viscount Lascelles in 1812.

The Lascelles family is of great antiquity in England, being
mentioned in the Conqueror's survey, as holding of Earl Alan in
Richmondshire the manors of Scruton, Kirkby Wisk, Sowber, <&c.,
and in 1 108 the same Picot de Laceles is returned as holding lands
at Fulston, in Lincolnshire. His son, " Roger fil Pigot," appears
as a witness to the charter of Osbem de Arches to St. Mary's
Abbey,t and it is the same Roger de Lasceles who appears in the
oldest Pipe Roll (1135) as a vassal of the Earl of Brittany, rendering
account of 10 marks of silver to the King's exchequer. There is a
village named Loucelles, near Caen, in Normandy, which most likely
gave the family its name. Whitaker says that a grant of the whole
village and manor of Lartington (Teesdale) was made about 1182 to
Robert de Lascel, in which deed he observes the name of La Seel or
De Sigillo, occurs for the first time. Other early references might
also be cited.

After Henry Lascelles had acquired the Harewood estate in 1738,
his second son, Daniel Lascelles, bought Goldsborough from the
Byerleys about 1755, and Plumpton was purchased subsequently for
;^2o,ooo. Edwin Lascelles, the heir of Harewood, who died in 1795,
built the existing large and stately home of the family known as
Harewood House. This magnificent mansion, one of the largest

• More than a century elapsed before this incident was first recorded in
Sir Thos. Elyot's book called The Governour, published in 1531, and dedicated to
Henry VIII. See also Campbell's Lives of the Chief Justicts.

t 'DiBke's Eboracum, page 602.

473

and finest "ancestral homes '* in England, is a monument of the skill
of its architect, John Carr, the designer of Grimston Park, Denton,
and Famley Halls in Wharfedale, as well as many others in York-
shire.* The mansion, overlooking a spacious and beautiful park,
occupied about twelve years in building, and was completed in 1771.!
It is open to visitors on one day weekly during the summer months
— a rare privilege granted now for many years by the noble owners —
and contains a priceless collection of Sevres and Oriental china,
together with a variety of other art treasures.

There have been several royal visits to Harewood, but the most
memorable was when the Duchess of Kent and her daughter, the
Princess (afterwards Queen) Victoria, were entertained by the second
Earl on the occasion of their attending a great musical festival at
York. The royal party reached Bishopthorpe on Sept. 5th, 1835,
and remained the guests of Archbishop Harcourt for a whole week.
On Saturday, Sept. 12th, they went to Harewood, travelling in State
carriages by the pleasant highways that lie between the capital city
and the rich domains of Harewood. Never had these country roads
witnessed such large and interested throngs before. Almost every
village was deserted for many miles around, while many had driven
long distances on the chance of obtaining a glimpse of the royal
visitors. Also an immense crowd, chiefly from Leeds and neighbour-
hood, had assembled near the entrance to the noble park at Harewood,
where, on the approach of the royal carriage, the cheering was most
hearty and prolonged.

Next day (Sunday), there were 10,000 persons (so it was computed)
in the park when the royal party went to service in the venerable
parish church. The sermon was preached by the Archbishop. The
late Rev. John Grundy, who died last November, aged 94 (at the
time of his death being the oldest beneficed clergyman in the Church
of England), was then curate of Harewood, and he read the prayers.
It is interesting to record in connection with this circumstance — and
is also characteristic of our late Queen's kindliness of heart — that on
the celebration of Mr. Grundy's diamond jubilee as vicar of Hey in
1898, the Queen ordered a letter to be forwarded to the venerable
vicar with a portrait of herself as a souvenir of the occasion.

* It has been stated that at least four architects had a hand in planning and
decorating the noble pile. But it is evident from the original plans and working
drawings (now in possession of Messrs. Atkinson, architects, of York) that the
design of the building was the sole work of John Carr. Messrs. Robert and
James Adams, architects to George III., carried out the decorative parts of the
mterior, and the emblematical medallions on the wings were designed by Zucchi .
Sir William Chambers also had some share in the design of the exterior offices,
including the extensive and well-arranged stables, but Carr designed the Lodge
and gateway in 1801, probably one of his latest works.

t An original reproduction of the admirable drawing of it by J. M. W. Turner,
R.A., forms the Frontispiece to the large edition of this work.

CHAPTER XLVI.

The Castle, Church, and Village of Harewood.

Origin of the Castle— License to fortify it— Arms of Aldburgh and Balliol —
Description of the castle— Its last occupants — lis destruction by Cromwell
erroneous- The parish church — Its dedication — Historical records of the
church — Omissions in Torre's lisl of vicars — The Rev. Richard Hale. M.A.
— Description of (be church -Its unique collection of efflgied monuments —
Ancient armorial bearings in the church — The village.

•I picturesque ruin the old castle of Harewood occupies
a fine commanding site on the south side of the
Wharfe, and looks majestic and impressive even in
decay. There is a good deal of supposition as to the
time when it was first built. Camden would lead us to
suppose that it had existed from Norman centuries, though his
account has reference rather to the history of the lords of Harewood
than to direct testimony upon the fabric of the castle itself. But
neither in charter, fine, nor inquisition can I find any distinct mention
of a castle (castrum) at Harewood before the acquisition of the manor
through the marriage of Sir Wm. de Aldburgh with the heiress of
the De Lisles, or Insula, in 1365. Jones supposes the castle to have
been mostly built about the time of Edward 1. {1272 — 1307). and to
have been completed in the reign of Edward HI." But in a charter
of the Prior of Bolton, dated 26th Edward HI. (135a), respecting a
chantry of six chaplains in the church of Harewood, John de Insula,
to whom the grant is made, is described as " Lord of Rougemonte,"
and there can be little doubt that the ancient moated manor-hall of
Rougemont, on the north bank of the river, remained the seat of the
lords of Harewood down to the change of ownership, as above stated,
in 1365. Moreover, in the year following (1366), Sir William de

* Jones figures two apparently late Norman windows, in Ihecasile. from King's
British CaUtn, but il is very doubtful if these ever existed here, or if they did it
is very probable Ihey were old stone-work brought from the previous seat at
Rougemont. 1 may mention here that there is a Harewood parish near the river
Wye. in Herefordshire, with a Harewood House and a Castle of Earl Ethelwold.
There are sin Harewoods in England ; 3 in Lancashire, i Yorkshire, i Durham,
and 1 in Northumberland : several of them being on ihe sites of Roman camps

475

•

Aldburgh obtained license to crenellate or fortify his manor of
Harewood, and this is the first distinct intimation of a castellated
building within the manor.

Over the east or principal entrance to the castle, Sir William
Aldburgh (Baron Aldburgh in 1371), placed his arms of the rampant
lion, with a fleur-de-lis on the shoulder, along with those (an orle) of
Edward Balliol, King of Scotland. The motive for adding the arms
of the Scottish King has never been adequately ascertained, though
it must have been well-grounded and sanctioned. Whitaker and
others have assumed that the King was entertained here when an
exile from Scotland. But there is no evidence of this. On the other
hand there is abundant testimony to the spirited and successful
manner in which the Aldburghs bore themselves during the protracted
difficulties with Scotland. Sir William's father, the celebrated
Ivo de Aldburgh, took a foremost part in the Scottish wars, and
Edward Balliol granted him certain lands, which were confirmed by
Edward III. in 1347 and 1354 to his son and heir, the lord of
Harewood, who built the castle. The latter, William de Aldburgh,
was also employed in many confidential negociations between the
English and Scottish monarchs. We also find him at Wheatley,
near Doncaster, whither Balliol had retired on his forfeiture of the
Scottish crown, attesting the charter by which Balliol ceded to
Edward III. (1362) the castle and town of Helicourt in Veymont.
These and similar important services rendered in connection with
the acquisition of the Scottish crown by Edward III., doubtless
furnish us with the true reason for the appearance of the Scottish
King's arms at Harewood. It is also noteworthy that a William de
Balliol had been a vassal of Robert de Gaunt, husband of Alice,
daughter of Avicia de Rumelli, lady of Harewood, so long ago as
1 1 68 {see pedigree). The Balliol arms were to be found in various
parts of the castle, as well as over the great doorway, and were also
worked on a piece of tapestry, bequeathed in 1391 by Margery, wife
of William de Aldburgh, to her son by her first husband.

The ground-plan of the Castle is rectangular in form, more than
100 feet long in one direction, north and south, and 60 feet broad,
east and west. Near the main entrance are some ancient mason-
marks and arrow -grooves. In the great hall is a remarkable canopied
recess, mistaken by some writers for a tomb, but as this was the
assembly- place for banqueting and conviviality, there can be no
doubt it is a handsome stone sideboard. It is in the west wall.
The beautifully crocketted canopy is enclosed in a rectangular
(Perpendicular) frame of carved stone, represented in the accompany-
ing engraving, but the view (which is reproduced from Whitaker),

476

omits the cruciform apertures or balistraria in the machicolations of
the parapet. The foils of the arch are cusped, plain, with leaf
ornaments in the spandrils, and there is an excellently- wrought
vignette of foliage at the base, terminated in mask-heads. One
must lament the decay of so beautiful and unique an example of
14th century sculpture, now a prey to the elements and the gnawing
tooth of Time. The ivy-plant, too, has spread its strong and sturdy

branches over the high crumbled walls, and from its stout and
luxuriant growth looks centuries old. It is, however, little more
than a century ago that it \vas planted there by the first Earl of
Harewood. The fortress appears to have been kept in tolerable
repair till the time of Robert Ryther, who was the last to reside here
and he died at Belton in 1637 (su page 467).

477

But let us now direct our thoughts and steps to more peaceful
scenes than this fallen fortress suggests. Hard by the public highway
between Tadcaster and Otley stands the venerable Church, not in
proximity to a contemporary manor-house, as we often find such
pious foundations, but in the most convenient part of the parish. In
all probability it owes its foundation to the heirs of the Romilles
early in the 12th century. Jewel (who died in 1823*) even fixes the
foundation in 11 16, because in the year 1793, when the church was
repaired, an old roof beam was taken down, bearing, it is said, the
following inscription, apparently in old Latin, which translated reads :

We adore and praise Thee, Thou Holy Jesus, because Thou hast redeemed us
by Thy Holy Cross. 11 16.

But dates in this form are unknown in this country before the 15th
century ; previous to that time they are always recorded in the year
of the reigning monarch. f This date must therefore have been
defaced and misread.

The church from the same inscription is also inferred to have been
dedicated to the Holy Cross. It is indeed not improbable that this
was actually the original ascription as the village Feast has always
been annually celebrated on the first Sunday after Old Holy Rood.
I have also pointed out that St. Helen (who is reputed to have
discovered the true Cross), was much commemorated in Wharfedale. J
Moreover many of our ancient churches had their dedications changed
when they were rebuilt, after the Scottish destruction in the time of
Edward II., and many, too, during the church-building era of the
early part of the i6th century. Nearly all the old churches in
Wharfedale, including Harewood, are now dedicated to All Saints. §

Although the church is not mentioned in Domesday^ there can be
little doubt, from what I have already stated, that Harewood was a
centre of religious assembly before the Norman conquest. There are,
however, no remains of the present fabric which might lead us to infer
the existence of a church before the first half of the 12th century.
But about this time we find the church for the first time historically
recorded. When Archbishop Roger (i 154-81), founded (ca. 1160)
the chapel of St. Mary and Holy Angels at York, which adjoined
the north aisle of the Cathedral, Avicia de Romelli, widow of Robert
de Courcy, (who was previously widow of William de Paganel, lord
of Leeds), gave the church of Harewood towards the maintenance of
the said chapel. But in the reign of King John, Warin Fitz Gerald
appears to have recovered the advowson from the monks or chaplains

* See stone in churchyard, f ^^^ Upper Wharfedale, p. 320. J Ihid., p. 207.
§ See Ibid., page 32, and also my CHd Bingley, page 154.

478

of St. Mary's," Tlie patronage henceforward rested with the lords
of the manor, until Sir John de Insula, of Kougeniont, obtained
Apostolic letters, 2nd Ides, March, 1353, whereby the church was
appropriated to the Prior and Convent of Bolton -in -Craven, and a
vicarage was ordained. This appropriation was made on condition
that the said lord of the manor and his heirs, should receive an
annual grant of /"loo a year out of Kawden, Wigton, and other lands.

Rev, Rioh*r[> Hale. M A.. Vichh of HAnEwoOD.

also that a chantry of six priests should be founded at Harewood or
one of seven priests in the church of Bolton, to sing masses daily
for the souis of his father, his mother, his brothers and sisters, besides
a special collect for himself and children.t The canons of Bolton

■ Dodiworik MSS., vol. 119, folio 59.

t A charter of Ihe Prior of Bolion, overlooked by Whilaker, shews thai the
condiiions of this ij^ant were fully carried out and that at the Dissolution there

479

were to present a vicar and they were to repair the chancel, and be
responsible for all extraordinary burdens dependent upon the proper
maintenance of the fabric, while the vicar should bear the ordinary
burdens only.* Torre has supplied a list of the rectors from 1275
till the ordination of the vicarage, followed by a catalogue of the
vicars to 161 4, and continued by Whitaker. There are a number of
omissions in Torre's and Whitaker's lists, cited by Jones, and one,
Thomas, " now parson of Harwode," occurs in a charter of Hugh de
Creskeld to Arthington Nunnery, ca. 1250. Also in a charter of
William de Curcy, steward to King Henry H. {see pedigree on page
462), confirming the donation of Helthwaite to the nuns of Arthington,
1 find that one of the witnesses was ** William, parson of Harewood,"
being the earliest rector on record. It further appears from the same
charter, ca. 11 70, that Avicia de Romelli had resided at Harewood,
and had maintained a private chaplain, who is also a witness to this
her son's charter.

Of recent vicars mention should be made of the Rev. Richard
Hale, M.A., who was bom at Guisborough, October loth, 1773, and
was vicar of Harewood for 53 years (1801-54). He likewise held
the living of Goldsborough for almost the same long period (1803-54).
He was the sixth son of General John Hale, (ist Col. of the 17th
Light Dragoons), son of Sir Bernard Hale, Chief Baron of the
Exchequer, by his wife Mary Chaloner,+ and was a staunch Whig
and a man of strong individuality. In early life he had the
misfortune to lose one of his legs, caused by the growth of a wen on
the foot, which proved incurable. He is said to have been an able
preacher, and a man of wide reading, with a penchant for science,
particularly astronomy. He was also a good artist and sketched
many of the houses, &c., in the neighbourhood. One of these, a
well-executed water-colour drawing of the old Ship inn (now pulled
down), near Harewood Bridge, I have engraved on a subsequent
page. The original was presented to Mr. James Eastbum, son of
John Eastbum of Horsforth, who on his marriage in 181 8, took up
his abode at the Gothic Lodge in the Church Lane, and who for
many years was the respected verger and parish clerk at Harewood.
He died in 1870. A nephew of Mr. James Eastbum, the Rev. Chas.
Fryer Eastburn, M.A., is now rector of Medboume, near Market

were six chantry priests in residence at Harewood. Their college or residence in
common is believed to have stood about 50 yards south of the church, where some
foundations and ruins formerly existed. See Suttees Soc, vol. 92, pp. 222, 394.

* In the Compotus of Bolton Abbey are many entries of disbursements by the
canons on behalf of this church.

t Mrs. Hale's portrait, as " L' Allegro," by Sir Joshua Reynolds, is at Harewood
House. Her sister Anne married Edward, first Earl of Harewood.

4»o

Harborough, and rural dean. The elder of his two daughters was
married in 1895 to Augustus, elder son of the late Thos. Hardcastle,
Esq., High Sheriff of Lancashire.

The church at Harewood is most remarkable for the number and
well-preserved character of its ancient monuments, in which respect
no other parish church in the county can compare with it. There
are no fewer than six superb altar-tombs, all bearing beautifully-
wrought effigies. There were also other tombs and inscriptions
which have unfortunately disappeared. The most notable of these,
now in the church, commemorates the famous Judge Gascoigne and
his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Alexander Mowbray, of

Kirklington, CO. York. Dodsworth records a Latin inscription which
formerly surrounded the tomb, and which translated reads :

Here lies WilUam Gascoigne, late Chief Justict
Fourth, King o( England, and Elizabeth his wife.
Sunday, the 17th day of December, Anno Domini 1419.

Adjoining this is the effigied tomb of Sir William Ryther, Kt,
(d. 1440), and Sybil, his wife (daughter of Sir Wm. Aldburgh, Kt.) ;
also the tomhof Sir Richard Redman, Kt. (d. 1426), and Elizabeth, his
wife (d. 1422), the other daughter and coheiress of Sir Wm. Aldburgh.
There is also another tomb of Sir Richard Redman, and his second
wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Gascoigne (she d. 1450).

4«i

This tomb exhibits a marvellously fine series of sculptured saints,
which Gough {vide Sepulchral Monufnents) declares is the most complete
and perfect collection he ever saw. Likewise a tomb, with effigies,
believed to represent Sir John Neville, of Womersley, Kt. (1482) and
his lady, whose daughter Joan married Sir Wm. Gascoigne. Another
tomb, with effigies, commemorates Sir Richard Franks and his wife,
of Alwoodley Hall. There are also other monumental memorials of
interest within this historic fabric ; notably one of Sir Thos. Denison,
Judge in the Court of King's Bench, who died s.p. Sept. 8th, 1765 ;
he was ancestor of the Rt. Hon. John Evelyn Denison, late Speaker of
the House of Commons. Another inscription commemorates Fairfax
Feamley, Esq., of Oakwell Hall, near Birstal, who died in 1791.
He was eminent in the law and a friend of the Harewood family.
There are, moreover, many memorials to the Lascelles and other
local families, as well as of some former vicars of the parish. There
is also a neat memorial brass to the Rev. Chris. Wordsworth, D.D.,
for 16 years Bishop of Lincoln, who died at Harewood, March 21st,
1885, aged 77.

Formerly there was much armorial glass in the church, but it
appears to have been wholly removed during one of those unsparing
** restorations " for which the era of the Georges was notorious.
According to Dodsworth the families whose arms were blazoned in
the windows were these : Gascoigne, Mowbray, Pickering, Clifford,
Aldburgh, Redman, Ryther, Nevile, Frank, Stapleton,* and one or two
others. The font (Norman) is a plain bowl, with cable moulding at
the base of the supporting shaft. f It is the only relic belonging to
the original church now remaining. The church appears to have

• Stapleton, of Wighill, bore argent, a lion rampant, sable, and the Ingham
branch the same, charged with a mullet on the shoulder of the lion. These were
the arms, only differenced in the tinctures, of the Rev. George Walker, D.D., the
famous defender of Derry during the memorable siege of 1689. His father, the
Rev. Geo. Walker, was some time vicar of Wighill (ca. 1644-54), in the patronage
of the Stapletons. At the Restoration he was made Chancellor of Armagh, and
died at Kilmore, co. Armagh, in 1677. Fr. Percival Walker (de Otley) was vicar of
Harewood for nearly 50' years (1517-1566), and was buried in the chancel at Hare-
wood (will proved loth July, 1567). He was a Canon of Bolton Priory, and may
have been a member of the ancient family of Walker, of Bingley-in-Airedale,
who purchased the manor of Bingley from the Astleys in 1596. Nicholas Walker,
of Gawthorpe Hall, Bingley, was probably a connection, and was interred at
Bolton Abbey, March 22nd, 1618. See my Old Bingley, pages 143, 294, &c. The
Headingley Walkers married into the Frank family of Alwoodley, in Harewood
parish, at this time, whose arms were also in Harewood church {see pedigree of
Walker in the Wilson MSS. at Leeds).

t Very unusual in the north, but not uncommon in the west of England, e.g.,
the font-base at Mevagissey in Cornwall is very similar to the one at Harewood.

482

undergone extensive alterations in the 15th and i6th centuries, but
the walls look old, and the buttresses have decorated pediments.
The iron-band work on the north doorway is also noteworthy. The
church, it may be added, underwent a very efficient restoration by
Sir Gilbert Scott in 1862-3. ^^^ ^^^Y ^^st gallery was taken down,
the body of the church re-seated, and a panelled roof of stained pine
was substituted for the old flat plaster ceiling. Many other improve-
ments were effected. The cost was about ;^30oo, of which ;^5oo
was subscribed in the parish and neighbourhood, the remaining sum
having been provided through the bounty of the Earl of Harewood.
The late Earl, I may add, who died in 1892, was for many years an
officer of the famous Yorkshire Hussars — his regiment being the
Princess of Wales* Own — and when he resigned the Lieut. -Colonelcy,
the Queen allowed him to retain his rank, a gracious act of Her
Majesty's recognition of loyalty and patriotism.

The village of Harewood is a model of neatness and good order.
The houses and cottages look clean and well kept, and the gardens
about them are often pictures of summer beauty. In the hey-days
of coaching there were no fewer than six hostelries in the village :
now there is but one. Formerly, too, when the ancient town was
the common centre of a wide district for the sale and purchase of
market produce, it must have been a place of considerable bustle and
activity. For several centuries down to the era of the Reformation,
the markets were regularly held. Then they appear to have been
neglected, but about the year 1633, ^^® great Earl of Strafford, who
at that time was living at Gawthorpe, obtained a fresh charter for a
market at Harewood every Monday, and two fairs annually. The
weekly market for produce, however, has long been obsolete, but it
may be noted that a new market-cross was re-erected in 1703, and
continued to stand in the middle of the Wetherby road, just below
the crossing, down to 1804, when the road was mended and the old
cross was removed. The weekly market for calves and lambs is
referred to by Thoresby in his Diary for 1690, as " one of the most
remarkable in these parts." It continued to be held at Harewood
Bridge down to about 1850.

483

CHAPTER XLVII.

Around Weeton.

Weardley — Rawdon Hill — Harewood Bridge — The old V/ri/ inn — Township ot
Dunkeswick - Rougemont — Helthwaite Hill and the Maude family — Pedigree
of Maude, Barons de Montalt — Weeton — Old families — Name of Weeton—
Touhouse in Harewood Park -Weeton church — Almscliff Crags.

EAVING the picturesque village of Harewood let us
step westward by the quiet little village of Weardley,
which may be noted as the birthplace (in 1790) of the
Airedale poet, John Nicholson. The old thatched
house in which he was born stood a short distance
from the road, l>etween two large elm -trees, while a third elm in the
field screened with its luxuriant foliage the back part of the house.
In this rustic abode, which was removed in 1894, t^® poet*s family
had dwelt for more than a century. Proceeding hence towards
Arthington, through a pleasant fertile country, we pass Rawdon Hill,
a partially-wooded eminence from the summit of which there is an
extensive view of a very attractive part of Wharfedale. Near the
western extremity of the hill is a large and handsome residence
(H. Appleton, Esq.), the property of the Rev. T. Sheepshanks, M.A.
It was built by his father about 1856, from designs by Sir George
Gilbert Scott, R.A., who was also architect of the beautiful church
at Weeton.

But leaving Arthington for the present we will return to Harewood,
and taking a farewell glimpse of the great castle, cross the famous
bridge over Wharfe, which connects the two townships of Harewood
and Dunkeswick. An inscription on the bridge records that it was
built by the county in 1729, but a bridge had existed here for many
centuries previously. On the north side stood the old Ship inn {see
page 479), which a century ago was kept by the Scott family,
generations of whom rest in the quiet churchyard at Harewood.
Outside, against the bridge, there was a stone fixed in such a manner
that a person seated thereon might fancy himself suspended over the
river enjoying the cool breezes from the water.*

• Vide MS. History of Wharfedale (1807).

4^4

I have mentioned the castle or manor-hall of the De Lisles of
Rougemont, which stood in this township of Dunkeswick {see piage
474). The site is now known by the name of Ridgman Scar. There
are also several other places of interest in this pleasant neighbourhood,
notably Helthwaite Hill, where the nuns of Arthington held a moiety
of the manor. The old hail here was long the seat of the ancient
family of Mohaut or Maude, from whom descends the Barons de
Montalt, Viscounts Hawarden.* The first of the family to hold
property here appears to have been Edmund Maude, gent., who
bought of Matthew Redman, Esq., two messuages, with lands, in

The Old Ship Ini

Helthwaite and Dunkeswick, in 1550, Anthony Maude, of Helth-
waite, was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1564, and was sole executor
under the will of his cousin, Thomas Maude, of Holtin Hall, Ilkley,
8th Feb., 1602. f The subjoined pedigree shows the descents of this
family to Sir Robert Maade, Bart., of Dundrum, whose sod,
Sir Thomas Maude, Bart., was created in 1766 Baron de Montalt.

About Weeton are many new and handsome residences, occupied
principally by families from the busy mercantile centres of Leeds and

* Old Bingley. page 308.

t Sn my Uffir Whatfcdal/. page 247

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486

Bradford. The oldest family connected with the township, of which
we possess records, is one that took its name from the place, spelled
variously Widetun, Witun, Wytheton, &c. In Domesday the name
appears as Widetun and Widetone, although the original Saxon name
was doubtless Witheton (A.-S., withie, a willow), the enclosure or
place where willows were grown.* In the famous Black Book of t)u
Exchequer there appears the name of William de Witun, one of
several vassals holding land in 1166 of William de Paganel, a
nephew of the William de Paganel who married Avicia de Rumelli,
heiress of the manor of Harewood {see pedigree on page 462). This
William de Witheton or Witun had an estate of ten bovates near
Eccup, namely, in Burdon and Iveker, adjoining, which he gave to
Kirkstall Abbey. This family for several generations resided at
Thouhouse or Touhouse, a house or hamlet which must have
disappeared two or three centuries ago. It is mentioned by
Dodsworth as having been parcel of Harewood Park. Adam (living
in 1245-6), son of Hugh, son of William de Wytheton, is described
as of Tofthouse, and likewise as Adam de Wytheton he witnesses
several grants by charter to Kirkstall Abbey.

The church at Weeton, dedicated to St. Barnabas, is one of the
handsomest modern churches to be found in the West Riding dales.
It is sometimes spoken of as the " Wharfedale Cathedral." It is in
the Early English style, from designs furnished by Sir G. G. Scott,
of London, and is an imperishable memorial of the munificence of
the late Earl of Harewood, at whose sole cost the church was erected
and endowed. It was opened on the 12th October, 1852. The
elegant font with its exquisitely-wrought oaken caver, is especially
noteworthy.

From Weeton station the famous Almscliff Crags are most
conveniently visited, and not very far away is the unique little
Norman church of Stainburn, in the ancient parish of Kirkby
Overblow. The inordinate length of this work, however, prevents
me from dealing with the voluminous records of this ancient and
extensive parish, to whose active and obliging rector, the Rev. Chas.
Handcock — incumbent for a long period in this and the neighbouring
parishes — I am under many obligations The interesting mother
church of his parish, the remarkable holy-wells, old halls and home-
steads, quaint customs, traditions and family life, reaching far back into
the dim ages of history, may well form the subject of a separate volume.

* It frequently happens the Norman scribes, unfamiliar with the sound of the
Saxon ' M,' wrote 'd' instead; such for example, Leathley (see my Upper
Wharfedale, page no). It may also be noted that Widdington, near Borough-
bridge, is spelled like our Weeton, in Domesday Widetun.

487

CHAPTER XLVIII.

About Arthington.

A charming landscape — An early settlement — Domesday record— The Count of
Mortain — Paganel family, and their local benefactions to the monasteries —
Descent of the manors of Adel and Arthington— Holy Trinity Priory, York
— Mediaeval hospitality— Rise of freeholders - Local family of Arthington—
Nunnery at Arthington — Its local possessions— The Creskeld family —
Pedigree of Arthington — Arms of Arthington — Worsley family connections —
Purchase of Arthington by the Sheepshanks — Arthington Hall and Church —
Site of the Nunnery granted to Cranmer — The Nunnery buildings— Plan
and description of the establishment -Local remains— The Nunnery house
and local families.

!HE valley of the Wharfe around Arthington is very
delightful in the vivid freshness of spring and early
summer. When we gain the Tadcaster and Otley
highroad and proceed towards the old Nunnery house,
amid the cawing of rooks and the song and twitter of
many birds, with fair hall and farmstead and tall trees casting long
shadows on the rich sward, which here and there is cropped by sleek-
skinned cattle, the scene around us appears the perfection of a fine
old English landscape.

The valley here is very fertile, and one can easily realize the rapid
manner in which the district recovered from the impoverishment of
the Conquest. In the Confessor's time the manor of " Hardinctone,**
owned by one Aluuard, consisted of 3 carucates and 2^ bovates, and
was then worth 30s., but such was the loss of population, or loss
caused by the land lapsing into " waste,** that the whole manor ** one
leuga long and four quarentens wide** (equal to 2160 statute acres),*
was valued at only 5s. in 1086. It was given by the Conqueror,
along with other vast territorial possessions, amounting in the whole
to nearly 800 manors, of which nearly 200 were in Yorkshire, to his
half-brother, the powerful Count of Mortain, whose portrait from
the ancient Bayeux tapestry accompanies the chapter on Bramham.
The Count subfeud Arthington, with Burdon, Eccup, Adel, and
Cookridge, to Richard de Surdeval, a Norman, whose daughter and
heiress, Matilda, became the wife of Ralph Paganel or Paynel, lord
• The present stated area of the township is 2162 acres.

488

of Leeds, &c., and High Sheriff of Yorkshire, ca, 1 1 lo. The Count of
Mortain for conspiring in 1088, with his brother Odo, Bishop of
Bayeux, to depose William Rufus, was banished and his great
possessions were confiscated. The greater part of them were, how-
ever, restored to his only son, William, second Earl of Cornwall and
Count of Mortain.* But Arthington and other manors which had
been enfeoffed to Richard de Surdeval, continued to be held by the
Paganels direct from the Crown, as tenants-in-chief.f

Ralph Paganel was the founder of Holy Trinity Priory, York, and
he endowed it with considerable property, including the church of
St. John at Adel and one carucate of land, and the tithe of Arthington
and of all the vills which belong to it, and the tithe of the demesne.
And these grants were confirmed by Henry I., in or before 11 08. J
Alexander, youngest son of Ralph Paganel, succeeded to the estates
at Arthington, &c., which were about 11 50 inherited by his son,
William, whose chief seat in Yorkshire was at Hooton Pagnell, near
Doncaster. He was a liberal benefactor to the Cistercian monastery
at Kirkstall, then lately removed from Bamoldswick, and by a charter
of the date 1162, he confirms to the monks there half a carucate of
land in Cookridge, which Adam son of Hucke held, and the same is
warranted against Roger Musteile and his mother. This clearly
shews that the Mustels were feudatories at Cookridge before this time
but they do not appear among the vassals of William Paganel in
1 166, named in the Black Book of the Exchequer, yet Mr. Lancaster
regards it as certain that they subsequently held both Arthington
and Adel of the Paganels by military service. By a charter of this
period Roger Mustel conveyed Cookridge, with his men there and
their houses, to the same monastery, in pure alms, a grant which
was confirmed by his son, William Mustel, who added all the town
of Adel, with the soke, together with the advowson of the church,
and the service of the freeholders in this soke, viz. : of half a knight's
fee of the lordship of Arthington, and of two carucates in Brerehage
and Thosum, with the mill of Wyke.§

The manors of Adel and Arthington descended to Frethesant,
daughter and coheiress of William Paganel, who died about 1203.
She married (i) Geoffrey Luterel, and (2) in 121 7, Henry de
Newmarch, and her sister Isabel, married William the Bastard.','
This Geoffrey Luterel resided in the county of Nottingham, and in
1 2 10 the King advanced him 20 marks as his messenger into Ireland.

• See Yorks. Archal. Jl., xiii., 507.

t Vide Mr. Lancaster in Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., page 149.

I Proc. Archcrl. Inst., York (1846), part i., page 20.

§ Burton's Mun. Ebor., page 288. || Suttees Soc, vol. 94, page 87.

489

He had charge of the royal navy on the occasion of King John's
expedition to that country in the same year. He died in 12 16 while
on a mission to Rome, leaving a son Andrew, and the year following
his widow married a second time, but had no issue by this second
marriage. Andrew Luterel took to wife Petronilla, daughter of
Philip Mare, and in the 14th year of Henry HI. (1229), had livery
of his lands ; and in the Pipe Roll for this year renders account of
30 pounds for 15 knights' fees, which included all the lands inherited
by his mother, Frethesant de Paganel. He had the honour of
knighthood conferred upon him by Henry HI., and was Sheriff of
Lincolnshire in 1250, when he answered for 15 knights' fees, as of
his Barony of Hooton. He died in 1265, being succeeded in his
lordship by his eldest son, Sir Geoffrey Luterel (b. 1235), whose father
in 1252 had a grant from the King to have a weekly market and
annual fair at his manor of Hooton Pagnell in co. York. This
estate had been given to him by his father on the occasion of his.
Sir Geoffrey's marriage, in his i8th year, with the daughter of
William de Grey, lord of Codnor, &c., co. Derby.

Sir Geoffrey died non compos mentis in 1270, and was interred at
Irnham in Lincolnshire. He left two sons, Robert and Andrew, and
two daughters. In 1275 the Yorkshire property was held by this
Robert, eldest son of Sir Geoffrey Luterel. In an inquisition taken
15th August, 1379, in the lifetime of Sir Andrew Luterel, the jurors
say that of the possessions of the said Sir Andrew, there is at York
a certain Priory of the Holy Trinity, alien, in which are halls and
divers other houses, which are worth nothing yearly beyond reprises.
Also the manor of Holbeck, with appurtenances, is worth yearly
£5 6s. 8d. ; also the church of Leeds, appropriated to the same
priory, as in tithe of grain and hay, is worth annually ;^8o. And
that the Prior and Convent of the aforesaid Priory receive annually
from the vicar of the same church of Leeds one pension of ;^io.
Also from the church of Adel a certain annual pension of £6 14s. 4d. ;
besides numerous other pensions, lands, granges, &c., amounting
together to about ;^i90. They also say that the reparation of the
churches and chapels and houses of the aforesaid Priory amounts
annually to ^26. Also the support of the Prior there, of three
English monks, of two chaplains celebrating daily divine service in
the church of the Holy Trinity, and of two deacons and of four
clerks ministering in the said church, together with the hospitality
to divers guests visiting there, amounts annually to ;^ioo.

From these particulars we obtain a little insight into the daily life
of an alien priory at this time, and of the constant hospitality that
was dispensed to stranger-wayfarers and messengers from near and

490

distant parts. Guest-houses were attached to all our monasteries,
and the function of entertaining visitors was a very important one,
usually, if not always, discharged by the Abbot or Prior.

But we must now return to Arthington. There had arisen under
the early manorial regime a race of freeholders, of whom one family
of great local consequence had taken its name from the township,
and for a long period continued as under-lords of the Luterels, and
subsequently as sole proprietors of the manor. The first recorded
mention of the family occurs in a charter of date 1162, wherein
Peter de Arthington and Roger, son of Peter de Arthington, appear
as witnesses to a grant by William Paganel to Kirkstall Abbey of
half a carucate of land in Cookridge.* Also in the Pipe Roll of
I2th Henry II. (1166), there is an entry stating that William, son of
Robert, owed 100 shillings to the Crown, because he failed of his
appeal respecting the murder of his sister. His sureties were Roig',
son of Peter de Ardint', and Hugh de Horsetona.

The Peter de Arthington mentioned in these records was the
founder of the Cluniac Nunnery at Arthington, an appanage of the
famous Priory of Cluny in the diocese of Auxerre, in France, which
had many hundreds of branches spread over Europe.f According to
a transcript made by Dodsworth of an original document dated 1450,
preserved among the Arthington Evidences, it appears that Pope
Alexander had confirmed the grant of the site of the Nunnery made
by Piers or Peter de Arthington. The said Peter, the record goes
on to say :

" gaffe them the place the whilk the said abbey was bygged on [A.-S, byggan,
to build], with all the appurtenances, and the gyft of the said Serle, Peer's son,
of Bedesholm and Hubardholm, and all the lands betwixt Tebecroft and Souter-
keld, and half a ploghe-land in Li tell Burdon, and of the gyft of Peer's, the said
Serle son, one acre of land next his land in Tebecroft, and half an acre of land
of the gyft of his moder, in the hede of Lincroft."

Two sons of the founder are recorded, the above Serlo de
Arthington and Roger his brother, who attest a grant of land in
AUerton made by Sampson de Allerton to Kirkstall Abbey, ca. 11 60.
The family, however, does not appear to have been large or frequent
benefactors to the local monastery, and such evidences as we possess
of the earlier members of the family are met with chiefly as grantors
or witnesses of grants to the wealthier and more important monastery
at Kirkstall. The Paganels were early and liberal supporters of this

• Vide Dodsworth's MSS., vol. viii., fo. 81 d.

t The first house of this order in England was established at Lewes in Z078,
but its popularity was greatly outstripped by the Cistercian order, which
originated in 1098. The first Cistercian monastery in England was be^un at
Waverley in Surrey, in 1128.

491

monastery, and their mesne tenants, the Arthingtons, would appear
to have followed suit. Peter, grandson of the founder of the Nunnery,
gave to Kirkstall Abbey a half carucate of land in Arthington,
together with the land and house of Hugh the shepherd (hcrcarius) in
Arthington.* Peter de Arthington also granted the monks pasture
for 300 sheep on the brow of Arthington Bank, in the length and
breadth of the parish. He also gave them 8 acres and a rood in the
common-field at Arthington,! likewise two carucates and half an
acre, with Adam, son of Aschetin, and his family, likewise two other
oxgangs, with William, son of Berengar, and his family ; together
with the land lying between Wharf and Routanford ; and also one
acre of meadow in Siwardmar, with the land called Calnesall, and the
meadow lying between Pyckel and Michelholme, all in Arthington.J
Ralph, son of Geoffrey de Arthington, also gave to the said monks
two oxgangs of land in Arthington.

The Nunnery at Arthington appears to have been founded about
the same time as the establishment at Barnoldswick was translated
to Kirkstall in ii52.§ The Nunnery was encouraged by other
benefactors than the family of the founder. Adeliza de Rumelli,
owner of the Barony of Skipton, with Harewood, who removed the
Priory at Embsay to Bolton on Wharfe in 1155, gavis to the nuns of
Arthington a mediety of the place called Helthwaite, which was
confirmed by Warin Fitz Gerold, the King's chamberlain, and
William de Courcy, the King's sewer, {su pedigree on page 462).
The same benefactress likewise gave the nuns leave in the harvest
time to have forty hogs in her wood at Swinden, with common
pasture for their cattle in the said wood, upon condition that she and
her heirs should always place one nun in the said house, which grant
was also confirmed by Warin Fitz Gejrold and William de Courcy,
her son, sewer to the King.

In Helewic or Helwick the nuns had also pasture- rights; likewise
in Wyton (Weeton), Thomas son of Henry de Scriven, gave to the

• Kirkstall Coucher Book, fo. 28.

t The Domesday record for Arthington is three carucates and two bovates for
three ploughs ; hence a two-field manor where the carucate contained 160 acres.
The two fields lay alternately fallow, and every tenant of the manor held a strip,
generally a furlong (a furrow long) in each field. All the strips were ploughed
and cropped at the same time, and all became common pasture at Lammas Day,
and so continued till Candlemas Day following. The " common-field *' meant
land common to the use of the tenants, sometimes it might be to the copyhold
tenants (the original bondage-tenants) only, of a particular manor, and not that
which was common to all occupiers. See Elton's Law of Copyholds, chap. 8.

X Burton, Mon. Ebor., page 290.

§ See Mr. E. K. Clarke in Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., pages 172, 174 n.

492

nuns the land called Paynescroft, lying near the road to Deighton.*
The ancient local family of Creskeld also gave of their bounty to the
Nunnery. In 1262 Alan, son of Adam de Creskeld, gave half a
bovate of land in Arthington ; and Hugh de Creskeld gave the
service of Jordan de Bingley, clerk, which service is stated to be a
potmd of incense yearly. The latter gift is witnessed by Geoffrey de
Arthington (who died before 1251) and Alan, rector of Adel, and
Thomas de Wick (? Wike), rector of Harewood ; two incumbents
not included in Torre's list.f

Peter de Arthington was living in 1 200, and had married a lady
whose baptismal name was Hawise as appears from a charter (dated
1 186), by which he gave two bovates of land in Arthington to the
Crusading order of the Knights Hospitallers. He had besides two
sons, Geoffrey and Henry, a daughter Amabilis, who in her widowhood
gave 7^ acres to Arthington Nunnery. There is also a grant by
Alexander, son of Peter de Arthington, to Matilda, daughter of
dominus Geoffrey de Arthington, of the bovate of land in Arthington
which William son of Beming held. J This Geoffrey seems to have
died before 1251. I have seen at Creskeld Hall also, two or three
beautifully- written deeds, with seals attached, of grants to Kirkstall
Abbey by the De Bramhope family, which are witnessed by this
Geoffrey de Arthington. Likewise among the Wentworth muniments
at Woolley Park, there is a deed dated on the Feast of the Invention
of the Holy Cross (May 3rd) 1298, whereby John, called Russelle,
vicar of the church of Knaresborough,§ leased to Sir Richard de
Goldesburgh, Kt., all the land, with appurtenances, which the said
John had in the town and territory of Pouel (Pool) of the demise of
the Prioress and Convent of Arthington. The deed is witnessed by
Laurencio de Arthingtone (who held half a knight's fee in Arthington
in 1302), William le Hunte de Adel, William de Adel de Arthington,
and others.

These are important additions to, as well as corrections of the
many recorded genealogies of this ancient and honourable family.
The best and evidently most trustworthy of these Arthington
pedigrees is that recorded by a contributor who signs himself
" A. E. W.," in the Herald and Genealogist. \\ To this pedigree I have
in the annexed descents made a number of additions and corrections.'

* Burton's Mon. Ebor., p. 8g. f Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., p. 157. J lb., p. 155.

§ This is an early addition to the list of vicars of Knaresborough. See my
Nidderdale (1894), pages 294 and 494. . || Vol. vi., pages 132-7.

% Based largely upon the evidences furnished in the volumes of the Thoresby
Society. See also Foster's Stemmata Britannica, page 44. For other pedigrees of
Arthington see Surtees Soc, vol. 41 ; Harieian Soc, vol. 16 (Visit. 1563-4), page 7 ;
Foster's Visit, of Yorks. (1585), p. 272 ; and Jones's History of Harewood, p. 233.

493

PEDIGREE OF ARTHINGTON, of Arthington.

PETER DE ARTHINGTON=^
Founder of Arthington Nunnery, ca. 1152; he was living in
1 162 (v. Dodsworth AfSS., viii., fo. 81 d.), and in 1165
[v. Pipe Roll, i2th Henry II. .

r 1 '

Roger, living 1 165 (v.

supra), and in 1172 living 1174

(v. Dodsworth MSS., [Serlo's wife is stated in Herald

viii., fo. 81 d.). and Geneat.,vi.,p. 132, to be Agas,

dau. of Vavasour, of Weston]

Serlo=pAgace, daughter of

Stephen,- parson of the

cnurch of Thorner,
living 1 174 (v. Bradford
Antiquary, vol. i., p. 212)

living 1200 (t'. Dodsworth
AfSS., cxliii., 7d )

Peter^Hawise,

living 1 186.

^ J ,

Geoffrey— Mary, sister of Alexander Henry Amabalis
living 1237 i'^- I^ods., viii., I Roger Scot, of
49 d.); died 1 25 1. | Calverley.

Ralph (v. Dods. xcii., 37)=
living 1274 (with sketch of seal
(and cxliii., fo. 4).

Matilda

Robert=f=
living 1284-5 (^- Kirkby's Inq.) ; d. 1303
(v. Thoresby Soc, vol. iv,, page 161).

Vv_

Lawrence=T=
living 1298 (Archest . J I., xviii., 60) ; granted land in Arthing-
ton to Richd. W. Goldesburgh, 1309 (v. Dods., xcii., fo. 57),
living 1323 and 1334(1;. Dods. & Yorkh.Archigl.Jl.,\\.,'p.^^^

1 .

Richard or

Roberta

32 Edw. III.

Visit. 1585 & 1612

Roger=T= John, of Arthington

died before 1334 (v. TAoy«6y Soc.,
vol. iv., page 161.

Robert, of=p
ftall, 10 Richard II. Castley

(Visit. 1584-5 & 1612). (Visit. 1584-5)

Robert =T=
living 1356 {y. Thoresby Soc, iv., p. 161), a
Robert de A. living 1363 (v. ditto, p* 162).

John—

William--T=Joan

Ralphr^
living 1359 I

,-. J

Robert =tp Matilda
d. 21 Nov., 1391, in-
terred at Arthington
Priory.

William =T= Elizabeth, daughter of
I Wentworth, of Bretton.

Robert=f=
of Castley. |

Maude

living 1393 (f. Yorks.
County Mag., \.,^.^li)
and in 1416 {Harl. MS.

Richard=j=Jane, dau. and co-

Francis, of Castley=y=
(living 1585). I

heiress of Sir
Roger Herwich.

Richard
(living 1585)

son and
2 daughters.

No. 802). p

John=pJane, daughter and co-heiress of
living 1450 I Sir John Conyers, als. Norton, Kt.

Robert, living 1452 (y. Thoresby Soc, vol. iv.,
p. 281), interred at Arthington Priory, 1501. d. 1507, in

terred at Arthington Priory

John=j=Isabel, dau. of Edm.
Mauleverer.

494

Dorothy, dau. of Sir Robt. (i)=f:Henry=fr(2) Maud, daughter and co-heiress of
Plumpton(whod.i523,aged7o) I living Sir Richard Goldsborough

by Agnes Gascoigne, his wife. | 1540. (md. 19 August. 1585).

. ^ ^ r 1 \ .

Richard A. =t^ Rosamund, dau. of William Robert George Lawrence

of Arthington (only | Thomas Lister,

son by first wife). | of Westby.

William A.=5=^Katherine, daughter of Sir Wm. Ingleby;
of Arthington j of Ripley.

r ■

Cyril A.=T= Rosamund, daughter of William Hawksworth.

of Arthington (vix., 1597-8). I of Hawksworth (Otley parish).

William=f^Ann dau. of Wm. Ralph Cyril=f=Ann Binns

of Arthington
d. 1623.

Tankard, Esq. , (^ut Thoresby Soc, vol .
afterwards md. iv., p. 285, and Loidis
Francis Nevile. and ElmeU, p. 6).

I 1 1 — I — ' 1

Cyril Sandford, M.D.,d. 1705; md Ann Rosamund.

d. 1720, Frances Hickes of Leeds, had Elizabeth md. Rev.
s.p. issue, Cyril (d. 1747), and 4 Thos. Hard-

daughters; Cyril (who d. 1747) left a son castle, had issue
Cyril who d. 1750, s.p. Sandford Hard-

-i [ — I — ; castle, who took

Henry md. Mary, d. of Ferdinando, Henry the name of

2nd Lord Fair- and 2 Arthington.
fax ; shed. 1678. daughters.

of Arthington, M.P. for Pontefract, 1645 ;
Yorkshire, 1656; Ripon, i66o; died 1671.

r r

Henry, M.P. for Aldboro', 1678, Dorothy Mary, md. Thos. Frances Ann

d s.p. Feb. 22nd, 1681. d. unmd. Worsley, Esq., of d. d.

Hovingham {see p. 495). unmd. unmd.

There is a similarly imperfect authority for the correct blazon of
the family arms. It is given as or, a fesse between three escallop)s,
gules^ and also as sable^ a fesse between three escallops, argent ; the
former being returned in the signed pedigree in Glover's Visitation
(1585).* But while in this return the main line at Arthington is
given, the persons who sign are Francis and Richard Arthington
(fiather and son), of Castley, near Leathley,t of a younger branch,
which separated from the main line about the time of Edward III.
Then again the Worsleys of Hovingham, who represent the senior
line, have the coat tinctured in their pedigree, argent , a fesse between
three escallops sable^ and so quarter it with their own arms.J

* The original is in the Herald's College, 2 D 5, 156.

t See upper Whar/edale, page 124.

J Upon the monument in Kirkthorpe Church to the memory of Dorothy,
daughter of Cyril Arthington, Esq., of Arthington, and wife of John Armitage, Esq. ,
of Kirklees. who died in 1673, aged 83, the same tinctures appear, viz. : arg., a
fesse between three escallops^ sa6/^. There is a charter now in the British Museum
(Add. Ch., 16,583) which bears part of a seal of Robert de Arthington. who died
in or before 1303. This seal does not exhibit the three escallops of the family,
but only a knight on horseback, from which circumstance it may be inferred that
the coat was not originally hereditary but derivative. It is however, quite
possible to be an impression from the reverse of the seal. See " Examples of
Mediaeval Seals" in the ArchtFl.JL, xviii.

495

As the Worsley lineage in Foster's North Riding Pedigrus is
incorrect, it may be useful to append the following particulars,
shewing their connection with the Arthingtons of Arthington.*

William Arthington=F^Ann, daughter of Wm. Tankard. Esq
(living 1620). son of Cyril Arthington I She married (2) Francis Neville,
and Rosamund Hawkesworth. his wife. I

r 1 1 1

Henry=FMary, daughter of Ferdinando, Francis Rosamund Ann

of Arthingon.
D.L., J.P.,
d. 19th June,
1671.

2nd Lord Fairfax, sister (and md.

in her issue co-heiress) of Richard

Thomas. 3rd Lord Fairfax, the Thornton.
Parliamentary General.

T 1 1 f— 1

Henry, of Arthington, d. Mary=FThos. Wors- Frances, d. Anne, d. Dorothy

unmarrd. 22 Feb., 1681,
when his second cousin,
Cyril Arthington, suc-
ceeded as heir male.

ley, Esq., unmd. at unmd. at d.unmd.
of Hovingham, Hovingham Ferdin-

Hovingham. 2 May, 1716, i May, ando,

agcKi 65. 1692. d. young.

I '- ! ; — i — I

Mary=Francis Foljambe, eldest surviving son Thomas, of Three sons,

b. 1684 ; and heir of Francis Foljambe, of Hovingham, died

md. Aldwark, by Elizabeth, eldest daughter md. Mary young.

1701. and co-heiress of George Mountaigne, Frank.

of Wistow.f

The above-mentioned Mary Fairfax (the last Mrs. Arthington)
was born at Scow Hall, in Fewston parish, 4th May, 161 6, an old
home of the Brearhaughs, who also owned Menston.J She was
married at St. Mary's, Bishophill, York, 24th May, 1638, and she
was also interred there 21st Dec, i678.§ Three of her children,
Mary, Frances, and Anne, are mentioned in the will of the great
Lord Fairfex, 1671.

On the death of Thomas Arthington in 1801, the Arthington estate
passsd to his daughter, Mrs. Carruthers, of Dormont, N.B., afterwards
Lady Davie. Her son, Wm. T. Arthington Carruthers, Esq., of
Arthington Hall, sold the estate about 1848 to Wm. Sheepshanks, Esq.,
who died at Harrogate in 1872, aged 86. He erected and endowed
at his sole cost the large and beautiful church at Arthington, one of
the handsomest modem churches in the diocese. It was consecrated
Aug. 17th, 1864. Arthington Hall, (E. A. Brotherton, Esq.,) is the
property of the Rev. Thos. Sheepshanks, M.A., and is a large mansion
in the Italian style, dating from the early part of the i8th century.||
Considerable alterations and improvements have, however, been
made to it, and in 1877 a wing was added from designs by Mr. Alfred
Waterhouse, R.A.

♦ From original paf>ers at Hovingham, kindly furnished by Lord Hawkesbury.
t See Hunter's Deanery of Doncaster, vol. ii. ($ub. Aldwark).
I See Upper Whar/edale, page 161. § Vtdi Fairfax Family Bible.

See also Cartwright's Chapters in the History of Yorkshire (1872), page 155.

496

The Nunnery at Arthington was surrendered 26th Nov., 1540,
when the principal occupants were a Prioress, Elizabeth Hall (who
had a pension of £^ per annum granted to her), and nine nuns, viz. :
Elizabeth Vavasour, Katherine Coke, Joan Thompson, Agnes Pettye,
Dorothy Procter, Effrain Rat cliff, Elizabeth Wombwell, Isabel
Whitehead, and Joan Hales, each of whom received an annual
pension of £1 6s. 8d. The site of the Nunnery, together with
certain messuages, was granted in 1547 to Archbishop Cranmer,
reserving 12s. yearly; and he in 1550 had licence to alienate the
same to Peter Hammond and others, as trustees for his son, Thomas
Cranmer. In the ist year of Queen Mary (1553), Cranmer was
attainted and the estate reverted to the Crown, In 1568 Thomas
Cranmer leased or let the estate to one Brigg and others, and in 1575
Queen Elizabeth, by letters patent, granted to Thomas Cranmer all
the manor and site of Arthington Priory, with all manner of royalties
and all rents reserved, &c. In 1583 Mr. Christopher Osburne did
give his acquittance to Brigg for the receipt of £1 12s., which was
all the arrerages {sk) due for that rent [six years arrears at 12s.
yearly] , as appeareth by that acquittance, and by an order of the
court made upon a plea put into the court by Cranmer. So that
from the first reservation of the rent (1547) until it was determined
(1575) amounteth to 28 years.*

The estate was sold by Thomas Cranmer to Robert Mitchell of
Arthington Grange, whose descendant, Sarah Mitchell, only daughter
and heiress of Francis Mitchell (she died in 1673-4, ^^^ 23), married
in 1668 Thomas Fawkes, Esq., M.P. for Knaresborough, 1688-95,!
and from that time the property continued with the Fawkes family
until its sale by Walter Fawkes, Esq., to Lord Harewood. The
following are the names of the fields which formed parcel of the
estate granted to Cranmer : Pease Croft, Tib Croft, Ryehill, Howland
Coateflatt, The Hagges, Wordley feilde, Pulley, Brackenwhaite,
Cow Close, Ox Close, fFattenowle or Fattenowle als Fattenete,
Fattenowle Close als Fattenete Close, Est Burdon, Burdon Spring,
Stubb Close, and Pix als Pykes in Arthington, i^ acres in Whitton
field beyond Wharfe, and Redestone.J

The Priory buildings occupied a warm and beautiful site not fisir
from the river, opposite Rawdon Hill, but unfortunately no portion
of the premises have been permitted to stand. The precise situation
and extent of the Priory have not therefore at this day been identified
with certainty. The Nuns' Well, where water for the use of the
the convent was obtained, is mentioned by Mounsey in 181 3, and

• Vide MSS. at Creskeld Hall. f See my Upper Wharfedale, page loi

I From the Creskeld MSS.

497

still exists ; while Dr. Shaw (1830) states that the Nunnery house still
retains the original walls in the body of the building, but the out-
offices, having been not so well built, have been taken down, and
modem ones erected. " A small part of the ivied walls about the
well," he goes on to say, " remain at some distance east from the
Priory, as well as some part of the extensive boundary walls.** He
also adds that the ancient walls of the Nunnery " are good and well
cemented."* In these " extensive boundary- walls," Mr. Darwin, of
Creskeld, pointed out to me a single- carved stone, being part of a
semi-circular door-head, with nail-head ornaments, of the middle of
the 1 2th century. With the exception of a cross tomb-slab in one
of the bams, this is the only sculptured stone that can be found.
The tomb-slab is doubtless a memorial of an early Prioress. The
stone measures about 3 J feet long by 12 inches broad, but is imperfect
at the foot. The stem or shaft of a cross and floriated cross-head are
in relief, and of early 13th century design, the shafts and border
having a rude square ornament.

From an interesting and very valuable description of the Priory,
made at the Dissolution,! it appears that there was a cloister, forming
part of the premises, which measured 64 feet by 10 feet broad.
Singularly the chapter-house is stated to have been on the north side
of the church, while the frater stood to the north of the cloister. It
was 16 feet by 12 feet, and had two unglazed windows. The
dormitory was 60 feet by 14 feet. In the choir of the church were
** eighteen olde stalles for nounes," and " a roode lofte of tymbre."
The church had also a wooden steeple. One fact in connection with
the church deserves special remembrance. Its measurement is
defined as 6d feet long and 24 feet wide, and was perhaps planned
according to the dimensions authorised by the rules of the Order.
But singularly these are the dimensions of the original church at
Leathley, as well as of other early Christian buildings, erected on a
plan apparently approved and adopted by the ancient British Church,
and which seems to point to one important influence of the Celtic
Church continuing in Wharfedale even beyond the Norman Conquest. J

Only one seal of the Priory is known to exist, which is attached
to a deed among the Duchy of Lancaster records. It is if inches in
diameter, and bears the device of the Virgin, standing, and holding
in her right hand a lily, with the partly -defaced legend : Sigi llu' Sec
JAattr tJC 3lrtJmgton. § (Su illustration at the end of this chapter.)

* Vtdr History of Wharfedale, page 154. f yorks. Archttl. ]l., vol. ix.

X See Upper Wharfedale, page 116.

§ Thoresby says there was at Arthington Nunnery a seal of the Grey Friars at
Bedford, but how or when it came there is not recorded. Sec Due. Leod. Append.,
page 52.

The present Nunnery house is a picturesque roomy old residence
(now a farm-house), in all probability erected from the monastic
buildings. It is of three stories, and appears from the thickness of
some of the walls, &c., to be grafted on an older building. From an
angle in one of the rooms in the second story there is a curious
narrow stone stair, which winds into a spacious oak-raftered garret,
but originally it would appear to have ascended to an outside roof,
probably forming part of a tower attached to an older structure-
This last portion of the stair is now jjartly blocked. It may be
noted that there is a similarly -placed stone-slair in the Elizabethan
manor-hall at Boiling, near Bradford. Two of the second story
chambers have upon the plaster ribs or joists of the ceilings well-
executed vine-pattern ornamentations. The front elevation consists
of three rows of mullioned windows, having square heads.

Over the main or south entrance are two small stones bearing the
initials and date " T.B., 1585, I.B.," but the stones seem to be
insertions. No person having such initials has ever belonged this
property. Above the garden-door are the partly -obliterated initials
and date, " T. [F ?] M., 16 — " doubtless referring to the before-
mentioned Mitchell family. The only transaction in the i6th century
concerning local property, which helps to elucidate these unknown
initials and dale (among the oldest dated stones in Yorkshire), is to
be found in a fine registered in 1564. In this year Robert Beiston
purchased from Nicholas Wheler and Edith his wife, three messuages,
with lands, in Brearhaugh, Cookridge, Arthington, and Adel.
Possibly the initials " T.B." represent a member of the Beiston
family who built a house in the neighbourhood long since pulled
down.

Francib Darwin. Esq.

499

CHAPTER XLIX.

Creskeld.

Antiquity of Creskeld — Meaning of the name — Family of Creskeld — The De
Bingleys at Creskeld — Notes from the Wentworth MSS. — Local possessions
of Kirkstall Abbey — The Goldsborough family— Early ironworks at Creskeld
— The manor at the Dissolution — A family dispute — Destruction of Golds-
borough Hall— Sale of Creskeld. &c., to the Wentworths— Bond-tenants
and old customs— The Atkinson family — Conveyance of Creskeld to the
Thomhills — Its purchase by William Rhodes— The Rhodes and Darwin
families— Pedigree of Darwin — Mr. Francis Darwin, J. P. — Antiquity of
Creskeld manor-house— The present Hall and Chapel — The Park.

'HIS ancient Saxon hamlet in the old township of
Arthington has for a long p>eriod been conspicuous in
local annals. Although not mentioned in the Domesday
inquest, it retains in its pure Anglo-Saxon name, cressa
or cerse (cress) and kcld (a spring) substantial proof of
its pre-Conquest origin.* In documents of the 15th century and
later the name occasionally appears in the alternative form of Kirskill
or Kyrskell. The earliest recorded mention of the place I have met
with occurs in an attestation of one Roger, son of Peter de Creskeld,
to a charter of Stephen, parson of the church of Thomer, in 11 74.+
Hugh de Creskeld also appears as a witness to an agreement between
the Abbot and Convent of Kirkstall and Robert de Monte Alto, in
1 1 89. To Kirkstall Abbey he gave all his land in Creskeld, lying in
a culture or flat called Rispehirste, with half a carucate, and the
service and homage of Richard, the priest, and of Henry de la More»
also an annual rent of 6d. and common pasture for 260 sheep. J His

* This natural water still exists a short distance south of the Hall. It is a
beautiful copious spring, flowing down a little dell, and is full of deliciously-fresh
water-cress (Nasturtium officinale), just as we may expect it to have been a thousand
or more years ago. The plant, indeed, has a very ancient reputation, and among
the Greeks was not only highly esteemed as an agreeable vegetable but as a
valuable medicine. It was particularly commended in disorders of the brain,
and hence arose the proverb, " Eat cress and learn more wit."

t Bradford Antiquary, vol. i., page 212.

J Burton's Mon. Ebor., page 293.

500

name likewise occurs in various other charters of the latter part of
the 12th century, as a benefactor to Kirkstall, Arthington Nunnery,
and Adel Church.* The mention of a priest in bondage is interesting,
and implies the existence of a chapel or oratory attached to the
squire's residence at Creskeld before the end of the 12th century.
The record is moreover noteworthy in that it furnishes an early
instance of advancement to the priesthood of the son of a villein
tenant. The son of a villein might be educated for the minor orders,
but he could not be ordained priest without the sanction of his lord,
and for this privilege a fine or fee was demanded.! Richard, the
priest, of Creskeld, was by the above grant of his lord, henceforward
the servant of the Abbey of Kirkstall, and no doubt he performed
the duties of his sacred office on occasions when the Abbot or monks
visited the neighbourhood.

Another clerical family of some consequence was also p>ossessed
of lands in Creskeld early in the 13th century. Jordan de Bingley,
clerk, obtained from Simon Curthose a bovate of land in Creskeld,
which was confirmed by Emma, Simon's widow, in 1244. This lady
also confirmed to the same cleric a bovate in Creskeld which Walter
de Lanaria had held from Kirkstall Abbey ; and to William de
Bingley the croft in which she had dwelt in the same vill.J

There are several deeds of this p>eriod preserved among the
Wentworth MSS. at Woolley Park, from which it appears that the
monks of Kirkstall had, early in the 13th century, leased out parcels
of land in Creskeld to different persons. One of these recites that
Maurice, Abbot of Kirkstall (1226 — 1249), granted to Richard
Curtehance, and Emma his wife, one oxgang of land in Creskeld,
namely that which Walter de Wodehouse held of the Abbot and
Convent, in exchange for which the said Richard and Emma gave
one oxgang in Wodehouse § and one oxgang in the court of Dom.
Henry de Burley. Likewise by a deed, date about 1260, Ralph, son
of Galfrid de Ardington, granted to Master Gilbert de Bingley, one
oxgang of land in Creskeld, namely that which Peter de Curtecance
formerly held of the same Ralph, to be holden by the aforesaid
Gilbert and his assigns of God and the Blessed Mary, and of the
Nuns of Arthington there serving God, by paying annually at the
Feast of the Blessed Mary, one penny. Witnesses : Ada* de Wytona,
Robert de Pouil, Robert Uilan de Bramhop, Walter son of Hugh,
William de Lanaria [seal in red wax with fleur-de-lis and inscription :
S. Radulhi de Ardingtun.]

■ Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., page 275.

+ The fine varied from i2d. to 2s. See Rogers' Hist, of Prices, &c., i., 129, &c.

I Dodsworth MSS., vol. 143. § See also Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., page 158 n.

50I

By the end of the 13th century the De Creskeld family appear to
have ceded all their proprietary interest in Creskeld. By inquisition
held in 1245-6, Hugh de Creskeld is stated to be seized in demesne
as of fee,* of two bovates of land, with appurtenances in Creskeld,
the day that he died ; which land Jordan de Bingley and Amice,
daughter of Henry de Blakebume, hold. But Jordan and Amice
present themselves and Jordan says that he holds none of the said
land, and Amice says she holds all of it, and she vouches to warranty
Robert, her son.j* Subsequently eight acres of their demesne lands
in Creskeld were granted to the said Jordan de Bingley, and Ralph,
son of Hugh de Creskeld, gave the same Jordan all Bramilats, ca,
1270. This seems to be the last local transaction with which their
name is associated. In 1284-5 one fifth part of a knight's fee in
Creskeld and Arthington was held by the heirs of the said Jordan ;
and the Abbot of Kirkstall is returned at this time as holding half-a^
fee in " Adell, Thouhouse, and Creskell,*' besides half-a-fee in
Arthington of Thomas Musthell, at fee-farm for 40s. yearly. Jordan
de Bingley had two brothers, William and Thomas. The former
appears to have taken the name of Harwood,J and vfss doubtless a
near relative of the Osbert de Harword who with his corpse gave an
oxgang of land in Micklethwaite (Bingley) to Drax Priory. § Isabel
de Benygley (no doubt of the same family) was Prioress of Arthington
in 1349.11

The Bingley family property in Creskeld passed to their kinsfolk
the Goldsboroughs apparently before the end of the 13th century.
About 1290, Gilbert, Abbot of Kirkstall, confirmed to Richard, son
of Richard de Goldsburgh, all the land in Creskeld which he had
given to him by Master Gilbert de Bingley. It is not very clear
how the Cromwell family, who held of the manor of Tickhill, came
to be possessed of lands in Creskeld. But in a (French) deed at
Woolley Park, dated at Lambley 27th Edward III. (1353), to which
is app>ended the seal of Sir Richard de Goldesburgh (an escutcheon
with a cross pattee), there is a conveyance by Sir Ralph de Cromwell

• Land held in fee-simple, in contradistinction to the Saxon allodial tenure,
or property held absolutely of no superior. Under the feudal system all land
was held either immediately or by subinfeudation of the King, as lord paramount
of the soil, and a subject holding " demesne as of fee," meant that while the
property was legally his own and descended to his heirs for ever, he could not
declare it to b6 his own absolutely, since it was held of a suf>erior lord, to whom
in default of heirs, or of escheat, it would pass.

t Assize Roll, KorA, 30th Henry III.

J Thoresby Soc, vol. iv., page 160. § Burton's Mon. Ebor., page 102.

'I For an explanation of the name Bingley, see the author's Old Bingley, p. loi.

502

to Sir Richard de Goldesburgh of the park at Creskeld.* The deed
enjoins that the woods in the said park shall be in no manner injured
by cattle placed therein on agistment or otherwise, whereby the
young growth after periodical cutting might be destroyed. There is
also a grant by John de Yreby to Richard de Goldesburgh of the
whole of his meadow as it lies in length and breadth in the plain of
Creskeld in a place which is called Senedalehyenge, in exchange for
three acres of arable land. Witnesses: Will' de Haukesword,
Walt' de Midleton, Ric* de Wyetona, Robert de Carlyton, Henry
Forester de Creskeld, &c. Another deed, witnessed by Robert de
Arthington (d. 1391) and others, quitclaims from John de Yreby to
the said Richard de Goldesburg and his heirs, all right he has in six
roods of land lying in the plains of Creskeld between Hasockberenge
and the croft of Margery, and one rood and a half of meadow in the
same place.

The Goldsborough family long continued the principal residential
family at Creskeld. Among the Wentworth muniments at Woolley
Park is an indenture in Norman -French, of date 1352, whereby
Sir Richard de Goldesburgh, Kt., leased to Robert Totte (q. Tottie ?)
** deuz Olyveres contenaunz vynt quatre blomes '* in his park of
Creskeld ; the rent to be paid being the large amount of 14s. a week,
" duraunt lez deuz Olyveres ;" the lessee was, however, to be
supplied with fuel, on condition that no tree should be felled without
consent of the lessor. This is a very early allusion to iron-works in
Yorkshire, though what the term " olyveres " may mean is not very
certain.t Sir Richard also covenants to provide " urre suffisaunt pur
les ditz olyvers." " Urre " may signify ore, or it may be fuel.J

The same Sir Richard de Goldesburgh in 1354 granted to John de
Haln and Robert de Cheworth, his park of Creskeld " cum claustura
et fossata," and all other appurtenances, to hold to them and their
heirs of the chief lords of the fee by accustomed service. The poll-
tax of 1378 shews that no one of the name of Goldsborough was
then resident in the township. The head of the house was then
living at his manor of Goldsborough, near Knaresborough.§

• A Ralph de Cromwell died in 1399. See Waylen's House of Cromwell (197), p. i .

t Smiles (Industrial Biography, page 31), thinks that " olyveres " were forges or
erections, each of which contained so many bloomeries or fires, but were of
limited durabihty, and probably perished in the using. But my own impression
is that the rent was only due so long as the wood on the estate lasted to supply the
two "olyveres" or forges. See also Prof. Miall on "Ancient Bloomeries in
Yorkshire" in the Yorks. Archal. ]L, vol. i., pages 110-115.

X See Archal. J I., vol. xviii., page 62.

§ See my Nidderdale, pages 206-7.

503

The manor of Creskeld at the Dissolution was held in free socage
of the Abbot and Convent of Kirkstall at a yearly rent of 8s. In
1566, by inquisition held on the death of Thomas, son of Richard
Goldsborough, the jury found that he had died seized in his demesne
as of fee, of the manors of Goldsburgh, Kyrkelde and Powle, &c. ;
the manor of Kyrskelde being held of the Queen as of her manor of
Adel in free socage. By his will dated April i8th, 1566, Thomas
devised the whole of this property and the reversion thereof to his
second son Richard, and his heirs for ever.*

William, the eldest son of Thomas Goldsborough (who died in
1566), had died (1563) in his father's lifetime, leaving an only daughter
and heiress, Anne, who married Edmund, son of Lawrence Kighley,
of Newhall, Otley. She was only a little girl on her grandfather's
death, in 1566, and her uncle Richard appears to have quietly
succeeded to nearly the whole of the family property. But shortly
after Anne's marriage considerable litigation followed respecting her
uncle's rights to the manors of Goldsborough, Creskeld, Pool, &c.
There are numerous bills of complaint and other proceedings to be
found among the Common Rolls and evidences of the Court of Star
Chamber, of the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth, respecting this
bitter and protracted dispute. The contending parties were not only
for many years actively embroiled in costly suits of law but
occasionally employed the most hostile measures to assert their rival
claims. In 1584 Creskeld Park was broken into, some closes at
Pool stripped of growing woods, &c., and other violences perpetrated
for which Richard Goldsborough claimed 100 marks damages of
Edmund Kighley, who is described in the bill as " of Kriskeld,
gentleman," and several others. Eventually in 1586 Kighley and
his wife obtained judgment in their favour so far as the Goldsborough
property was concerned, and they let the hall and estate to one
Raynold Jake, but very soon afterwards Richard Goldsborough, aided
by divers others, did enter the said premises and eject the said Jake
and his family. Not only did they do this but they also " did utterlie
deface and pull downe to the ground the foresaid capital messuage
callid Gouldbisborough Hall, and all the barnes, stables, dovecotes,
brewhdVises and kilns, and one new buildinge callid Aldborough
Parlour, and all the edyfices and buyldinges thereunto belonging,"
&c., leaving not a stone standing. The company next were proceeding
to pull down the park palings when an affray ensued, in which
Kighley's park-keeper, one Thomas Waid, was struck with a dagger,
receiving a wound which resulted in his death.t

• SeeVJ. P. Baildon in Yorks. County Mag., 1893, page 218.

t See Yorks. County Mag., 1893, pages 217 — 225, and 1894, pages 33—46.

504

While no evidence is iorthcoming of any express liinitation by
Thomas Goldsborough to his heirs male, there had been certain
gifts made in his lifetime to his second son, Richard, to which it
would appear from the information already given he must have been
well able to prove his title. Yet the Kighleys set up a counter-claim,
and as will be seen presently were not pacified until a substantial
acknowledgment had been made in their favour. The manors of
Creskeld and Pool, and certain property at Castley, mentioned in the
inquisition and will of 1566, were claimed by and apparently
remained with Richard Goldsborough after the death of Anne Kighley
in 1589.* Richard Goldsborough had married a daughter of Henry
Johnson, of Lindley, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Richard
Norton, of Norton Conyers, and both himself and his wife were
parties to the sale of Creskeld and Pool in Hilary Term, 1596-7, to
Michael Wentworth, Esq., who was then living at Creskeld. In
1599 the latter purchased Woolley Park, near Wakefield, from the
Woodroves, and went to reside there.f

But the dispute begun by Edmund and Anne Kighley was now con-
tinued between Lawrence, their son and heir, and Michael Wentworth,
concerning the Creskeld and other neighbouring properties. The
matter, however, was finally adjusted by an indenture, dated 31st May,
7th James I. (1609), made between Lawrence Kighley, Esq., of
Cawdor, co. Westmorland, on the one part, and Michael Went-
worth, Esq., of Woolley, co. York, Wm. Wentworth, of Wentworth
Woodhouse, Thos. Wentworth, of Elmsall, and Mathew Wentworth,
of Bretton, esquires, and Francis Arthington, gent., of Castley, co,
York, and Richard Arthington, son and heir apparent of the said
Francis, on the other part, whereby the variance and controversy
depending between the said parties in the Court of Chancery is now
settled. That is to say, the manors and lordships of Kirskell als.
Creskeld, and Pool ; likewise the manor of Castley, late in variance
between the said Lawrence Kighley and the said Francis and Richard
Arthington, assignees of the said Michael Wentworth, are for divers
valuable causes and in consideration of the sum of 400 marks paid
to the said Lawrence Kighley, released and for ever quit-claimed for
himself and his heirs and assigns unto the parties above-mefitioned,
namely, the said Michael Wentworth, William Wentworth, Thomas
Wentworth, Mathew Wentworth, Francis Arthington, and Richard
Arthington, to whom the right, title and claim in all and each of the
said premises shall henceforth rest.

There is an old rental preserved at Woolley, commencing with
the year 1608 and continued to 1652, of sums due to Mr. Wentworth

• Thoresby Soc, vol. ii., page 126. f See York:,. Archtgl. JL, vol. xii., page 5.

505

from his tenants in Creskeld and Pool. From the first year's rental
it appears that Henry Atkinson paid ^15 for Creskeld Hall, and
William Atkinson los. for his farm. In 161 1 Caley, it appears, was
held of the manor of Pool by George Gascoigne, second son of
Marmaduke Gascoigne, of Caley Hall, and he paid an acknowledg-
ment of IS. for the right of fishing in the river. In 161 5 Marmaduke
Rogers pays for his house 1 2d. together with a boon hen to the lord.
In 1 62 1 appears a note that there is yearly paid out of Kirskell to
Mr. Arthington a pound of cumming seed, or 9s. 6d. There is also
paid unto him out of the same for a water-course, but no land is
holden of him. The Pun wells were succeeded at Pool by the Battys
and in 1640 John Batty pays a half year's rent of ^10 3s. 4d. for the
demesne at Pool. At Creskeld the hall and demesne appear to have
■ been held in moieties about this time. In 1652 William Atkinson
pays ;^io 17s. for his part of the hall and demesne, and George Coates
£6 3s. for his part of the same. The Atkinsons continued at Creskeld
down to the beginning of the following century. William Atkinson,
gent., died at Creskeld in 1682, and by his will dated Dec. 5th, 1682,
left to his eldest son, Henry, the paternal estate at Pool called
Hardcastle Farm. The second son, William Atkinson, continued to
reside at Creskeld.*

Michael Wentworth died in 1631, leaving Creskeld to his son.
Sir George Wentworth, who died in 1660, bequeathing his prop>erty
to his two daughters. The eldest of these co-heiresses was Everild,
who was married 7th Sept., 1650, to John Thornhill, Esq., of Fixby,
a major in Sir George Savile's regiment. By indenture dated 20th
September, 1650, or thirteen days after the marriage, Sir George, in
consideration of the sum of ^500, granted, conveyed and confirmed
unto his said son-in-law, John Thornhill and Everild his wife, one
third part of the whole manors or lordships of Kirskell, Pool, Maltby,
Leathley, and Arthington. This Major Thornhill was one of the
executors of Sir George Wentworth's last will, under which the
manors of Creskeld and Pool, with lands in Leathley, &c., came to
his wife Everild. She died 8th May, 1708. The last male descendant
of the family, Thomas Thornhill, Esq., died in 1844, leaving by his
marriage with Clara, daughter of Henry Peirse, Esq., of Bedale, an
only daughter, Clara, who married William Capel Clarke, Esq., who
assumed the name of Thornhill, and is the present owner of Fixby.
The estate at Creskeld was sold to Christopher Smith, a Leeds
merchant, who died in 1846. He left an only child, Ann, wife of
William Rhodes, of Bramhope Hall, to whose family the property
thus descended.

• See my Upper Wharfedale, pages 128-9

5o6

The Rhodes family have been connected with this part of Wharfe-
dale for many centuries, and were originally of Menston in the old
parish of Otley. A Johannes del Rodes and his wife were living at
Menston in 1378 ; also an Agnes del Rodes, probably their daughter.
Peter, younger brother of Richard Rhodes, who re-built Menston
New Hall, went into business in Leeds, and his great-grandson,
Peter Rhodes, married Elizabeth, daughter of James Armitage,
merchant, of Famley Hall, Leeds. The latter amassed a large
fortune, and a considerable portion of it was left to the daughter
named. William, his second son died in 1869 and was buried at
Bramhope.* He left a family of four sons and two daughters, the
eldest of whom, Caroline Esther, married 2nd July, 1838, John St.
Vincent, third Baron de Saumarez, and was mother of the present
Baron. James, the eldest son, was never married, and spent his
last years at Surbiton, where he died in August, 1901, in his
83rd year, and was interred in the family vault at Bramhop>e. The
youngest son, * Francis Rhodes, assumed the surname and arms
of Darwin after his marriage in 1849 with Charlotte Maria Cooper
Darwin, sister and heiress of Robert Alvey Darwin, Esq., of Elston^
CO. Notts.t The unpublished pedigree of the family, given on the
next page, will no doubt be referred to with interest.

Mr. Francis Darwin, whose portrait precedes this chapter, was
bom at Bramhop>e Hall in 1825, and was educated at Eton and
Cambridge, where he graduated in 1848. Having been trained for
the law he became a Member of the Inner Temple, though he did
not practise, preferring to exercise an inherited energy in other ways
congenial to the life of a country gentleman. He was made a West
Riding magistrate in 1858, and for more than 40 years he has regularly
and with conspicuous ability discharged the duties of this position.
For some years, moreover, he was Chairman of Quarter Sessions,
and he was likewise Chairman of the Highways Committee of the
Quarter Sessions before the formation of the County Council, and
did a great deal of excellent work on it in respect to the improvement
of roads and bridges in the West Riding. He became one of the first
Aldermen of the County Council, and was made Chairman of their
Highways Committee. Indeed, few, if any, Yorkshire gentlemen can
shew a longer or more useful record of public work than Mr. Darwin,
of whom it may truly be said that for nearly half a century he has
faithfully discharged these and other responsible duties, seeking
neither honour nor reward. Advancing years have, however,

• See my Upper Wharfedale, page 136.

t Descended from the Da^^vins, of Fern, co. Derby, who trace to John Darwin,
of Marton, in Lincolnshire, temp. Henry VIII., from whom also descends
Erasmus Darwin, M.D., F.R.S., of Lichfield (1731—1802), grandfather of
Charles Robert Darwin, the celebrated naturalist

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5o8

suggested the prudence of withdrawing from all active services, and
he has lately resigned all his public appointments. Yet this has not
been allowed to interfere with his life-long interest in the work of the
Church, and he is still an active member of the House of Laymen.
Locally he has proved himself a good churchman and munificent
benefactor; the handsome new church at Bramhope having been
built largely through his interest and liberality. His practical
sympathy, in fact, has never been withheld from anything which had
for its object the good of the district.

The present hall at Creskeld — the property of Mr. Darwin, and
for a long time his residence — doubtless occupies the site of the
original Norman manor-house, which from its low-lying and naturally
defenceless position required the protection of a moat. This moat
completely environed the house, and portions of it, filled with water
from springs that rise in the adjacent wood, still exist on the south
and west sides of the mansion. The greater part of the existing
buildings have been erected within the last century or thereabouts,
and include numerous large, well -lighted apartments suited to the
needs of modern times. Many improvements to the house and
grounds have been effected during the lifetime of the present owner,
and the whole now presents, in combination with the older portions
and chapel abutting at the east end, a very charming and picturesque
aspect. The annexed plate shows the principal or south-east front.

The walls of the oldest portion are random built, and are evidently
distinct from the old kitchen, whose walls are built in courses, and
has had a chamber subsequently raised over it. The present kitchen,
originally the hall (situated between the chapel and main building in
the view), consists of a large room in the form of a parallelogram,
measuring 37 feet 8 inches in length, north and south, 21 feet 8 inches
wide at the south end, and 18 feet 3 inches wide at the north end. The
ceiling of this apartment is noteworthy, and presents an interesting
example of the transition from the flat wooden roofs of Tudor age,
with their various ornaments at the intersections of the panels,* to
the plain plaster ceilings of the succeeding era, covered with massive
oak beams, arranged in the same manner in squares, but perfectly
plain.f The beams here are roughly chamfered on their lower edges,
and appear to be wholly adze-hewn, and not planed.] The entrance

• Such as exists at Synningthwaite Priory farm. See page 398.

t The cross-beams were subsequently discarded and substituted for parallel
wooden beams. A roof of this kind exists in the so-called "Tudor House," at
Bewerley. near Pateley Bridge, a small 17th century building, whose upper
chamber has a handsome ornamental plaster ceiling.

J The adze continued to be used for plain work down to the 18th century.
Country cabinet work of the 17th century is frequently adze-hewn. Old Tusser,
titnp. Queen Elizabeth, recommends the husbandman to use " an ax and a nods
to make a troflfe for his hogs. ' ' See Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry.

509

has been on the east side by a lofty porch, carried from the ground-
level to the eaves of the roof, and has a stout oaken door, well studded
with small-headed iron nails, and with plain, straight hinge-bands.
The windows on this front consist of plain, square-headed mullions,
without transoms. There are no cellars ; the large hall occupying
the whole of the ground floor, with a corresponding chamber above,
originally consisting of a single undivided dormitory or sleeping
apartment, occupied by both sexes, as was the custom in pre-
Reformation times. This upper story was formerly reached by an
inner staircase, ascending at an angle near the porch. The style
continued well into the 17th century, and there is little doubt this
part of the house owes its origin to the Wentworths, who purchased
the property in 1596-7.

The present chapel was erected about forty years ago on the site
of the ancient manorial chapel, before mentioned, which was in such
a ruined and irreparable condition that its removal was a necessity.
Though originally intended for religious services, the present building
has never been used for the purpose. The large east window is of
beautiful stained glass, erected to the memory of Charlotte Maria,
first wife of Mr. Francis Darwin. She died June 22nd, 1885. The
arms of Darwin and Rhodes, borne quarterly, are depicted at the
base of the window.

The park and gardens, and beautifuUy-kept lawns about the house
are of great extent. The naturally warm and sheltered situation of
the estate supports an abundance of bloom, and many plants, which
in more exposed places would succumb, survive the frosts of winter
unharmed. A pretty sight for many years, in the early spring, has
been the view from the front windows of the hall, of a thousand
blooming daffodils, which like a sheet of gold, sweep up from the lawn
to the verge of the woodlands ! It was the contemplation of such a
sight of early daffodils that evoked from the poet Keats the well-
remembered lines : —

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever,
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness !

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Lightfoot, J., Bingley
Liversedge. F., Manningham
Lofthouse, J. H., Harrogate
Longbottom, David, Silsden
Lucy. Charles F., Pickering
Lumb, George D., Leeds
Lupton. Albert, Burnley
Lupton. Arthur. Burnley
Lupton, Joseph Townend. Burnley
Lupton Bros., Burnley, (6^ and 12)

•Marsham-Townshend. Honble. R.,

Mayfair, W.
•Meysey-Thompson, Sir Henry M.,

Bart, M.P.. Kirby Hall
•Markham. Sir Clements, K.C.B.,

London, S.W.
Maxwell-Stuart, Chas., Scarthingwell

Hall
Margerison, S., Calverley
Marshall, A., Otley
Marshall, Hy., Uaildon
Marston, James, Otley
Mason, C. Letch, Leeds
Mason, Philip B., J.P., Burton-on-
Trent
•Matthews & Brooke, Bradford (20^

and 24)
•Maude, Col. Wm. W.. Rylston

Maude, Wm., Manningham
•Maude, Wm. C, Bournemouth
•Maw. Wm., Bradford
Mellor, H., Paisley
Metcalfe-Gibson, Aid. A., J. P., Raven-
stonedale

Metcalfe,

•Metcalfe.

as., Bamoldswick
as., junr., Bamoldswick
ohn, Bradford
John Hawkridge, J. P., Pate-
ley Bridge
•Miles, James. Leeds (4^ and 24)
Milligan, W. G., Otley
Mills, F. W., F.R.M.S.. Huddersfield
Milne, Miss H. A., Upper Norwood
•Milne, S. M., Calverley House
Mitchell, Fred, Leeds
Mitchell, Mrs. H., Harrogate
Mitchell, Herbert, AS. I., Odsal
Mitchell, Wm., Bradford
♦Moore, J. W.. Bradford
Moorhouse. J as. E., Shipley
Morrell. W. W., J.P., York
Morrison, Walter, J. P., Malham Tarn
Mortimer, Edwd., Halifax (6)
Muflf, F. B.. Ilkley
Moser, J., Bradford
Muff, F.B., Ilkley
♦Myers, Sam. Peel, J. P., Bradford

♦Norfolk, His Grace the Duke op.

Earl Marshal, London
♦Nay lor, E., Bradford (i)

515

Nesfield. George B., London
Nevison, C. E , Darlington

* Newell, Joseph, Pudsey
Newton, Wm., Bradford

•Norwood. Major W., Wakefield
Nunwick, H., Keighley

•Oxford, Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop
OF, Cuddesdon Palace
Oldfield. George, Bradford

•Powell. Sir Francis S., Bart., MP.,

Horton Old Hall
•Pilkington, Sir G. A.. M.P., Southport
•Pudsay, Col. H. Fawcett, Hull
•Paget, Emily, Skipton

Paver-Crow, Mrs. E.. Boroughbridge
•Park, George, Ilkley
•Parke. George H., F.L.S.. F.G.S.. &c.,
Wakefield

Parker, James, Great Horton
•Parkinson, C. H., Brafferton

Parkinson, George S., Bradford

Parkinson, Rev. T., North Otterington

Parsons, W., F.R.G.S., Horsforth
•Patchett, Alfred, Southport

Patchett, John, Bradford

Pattison, Frank, London

Pawson, A. H , Farnley

Payne, J. B., Harrogate

Peacock, F. G.. Cross Hills

Pearse, H., Rochdale

Peck, H. W.. Hunslet

Pepper, W, F., Skipton Court, Oxon.

Petty, S L.. Ulverston
•Pickering. E. H., York (6)

• Pickles, John, Keighley

•Pitcher, W. N. & Co., Manchester (i)
•Pitts, J.. Otley

Piatt, W. H., Shipley Moorhead

Pocklington, W, H., Leeds
•Pollard, Collingwood, Bradford (i)

Poole, Richard, Baildon
•Popplewell, John B , Ilkley

Porter, Miss. Ilkley

Potter, Robert, Halifax
•Procter, J. W., York
•Procter, Richard, Burnley

Pullein, C, Rotherfield

•♦

Quaritch, Bernard, I^ndon

•RiPON, Most Hon. the Marquis of,
Studley Royal

Ramsden, Sir John. Byram

Randall, Joseph, Sheffield

Ratclifife, Wm., Newton Kvme

Redhead. R.. Flam borough

Redmayne, John, Leeds
'Reffitt, Frank, Bradford

Reynell, Rev. Wm.. B.D.. Dublin
•Ridley, T. W., Coatham

•Riley-Smith. H. H . J.P.. Tadcaster

•Rhodes, Wm. V.. Cleckheaton (i)

•Roberts, Thomas, Burnley

•Robinson, John H., Bingley
Robinson, Mrs. Wm., Sedbergh
Robinson, Rev. W., Tadcaster

•Robinson. W. P., Washington. U.S.A.
Roebuck, Wm. Den i son, F.L.S., Leeds
Ross. Percival, A.M.Inst C.E., Wibaey
Roundell, Chas. S., Nantwich
Rowntree, J as. H.. Scarborough
Rudd. R. H.. Bradfoiti

•Ryder. Rev. A. D., M A., Trowbridge
Ryder, J., Bradford

•Save and Sele. Rt. Hon. Lord,
Reading

Smith. Sir Swire, Steeton

Salmon. Miss, Boston Spa
•Sampson, John, York (12)
•Scott. John, junr., Skipton (i)

Senior, Albert, Heckmondwike

Severs, Dr. Geo., London
•Sewell. Geo. F., Bradford
•Sewell. P. R.. Liversedge
•Shackleton, F. R., London

Sharp, Rev. Richard. Skipton

Sharpe, Jacob. Leeds

Shaw, Giles. Southpprt

Sheard. M., Isle of Ely

Shuflfrey. Rev. W. A.. M.A.. Arncliffe

Sill. Alfred H.. Redcar
•Simpkin, Edmd.. C.E.. Bury

Sinclair, J. F.. Otley
•Singleton, James, Leeds
♦Skidmore, Charles, Stipendiary

Magistrate. Bradford
•Slingsby. F. Wm.. Red House, York
•Sheer, John, Idle

Smith, Alfred, Keighley

Smith, E., Otley
•Smith, H. Sutcliflfe, Harrogate
•Smith. Prince. lun.. Keighley
•Smith, Richard, London, S.W.
•Sowden, John A. M., Bradford

Sowden. W. M., Bradford

Stavert. Rev. Wm. J.. M.A., F.S.A..

Bumsall
•Stead, John James, Heckmondwike

Steavenson. A. L.. M.Inst.C.E..

Durham
•Stephenson, J., Combe Down
•Stokes, John. M.D., Sheffield

Strange. Alfred. J. P., Burnley

Streets, J. E.. Sifsden
•Sugden. Craven. Silsden
•Sunderland, John. Skipton
•Sutclifife, F. J. Ramsbottom.

M.Inst.C.E., &c., Bradford

Swire, Tom, Keighley

Sykes, Arthur Firth. Bradford

Sykes. Rev. W. S. lV)ot, Eskdale

5i6

•Tempest, Sir Robert T., Bart., Tong
Hall

Tacey, William G., Bradford

Taylor. Rev. R. V.. Melbecks
*Teale. Thomas Pridgin, M.A., M.B.
(Oxon). F.R.S., &c.. Headingley

Tempest, Mrs., Broughton Hall

Terry, Percival, M.A. (Oxon)

Thackeray, C. W., Bradford

Thrippleton, John, Leeds

Toovey, Rev. Canon Henry, M.A.
(Oxon), Newton Kyme
•Topham, Lupton T., Lutterworth

Tuke, Wm. Murray, Saflfron Walden
•TurnbuU, Thomas, Otley

Turner, Benj., M.LA., Barnsley

Twisleton, Thomas, Burley

VARtEY. John, C.E., M.S. A., Skipton

•Wharncliffe, Rt. Hon. the Earl
OF, Wortley Hall

♦Wharton, Rt. Hon. John L., M.P..
Bramhani

•Waddington. Samuel, London (i)
Waddington, T. A., He worth
Walbank N. H., Bingley
Waldby, Joseph R., Harrogate
Walker. A. W. Hinsley. M.D., Harro-
gate
Walker, John Francis, M.A., York

♦Walker, Henry, Leeds (3^ and 6)
Walmsley, G. G., Liverpool
Walshaw, Thomas, Wakefield
Walton, F. F.. F.G.S., &c., Hull
Ward, H. Snowden, London

♦Ward. J. Whiteley. J.P.. Halifax
Ward, Thomas F., Middlesbrough

♦Ward, W. M., Scarborough

•Wadsworth, F., Cleckheaton

Wardman, G., Leeds
Wardman. R.. Manchester
Wardman, A. B., Harrogate
Wardman, George B., Leeds
Walbank. N. H.. Bingley
Watson, Thomas, Leeds (6)
Webster, Albert, Bradford
Wharton, Hiram, Liversedge
Whitaker, James, Otley
Whitaker, J. H., Cape Town
Whiteley, fas., Queensbury
Whiteley, John, Barnoldswick

♦Whitham,JohnHy..M.D.. Boston Spa
Whitwell,Wm..F.L.S.,Balham.S.W.
Wilkinson. T. H.. F.R.G.S.. Horsforth
Wilkinson, Mrs. M., Bingley
Wilkinson. Thos., Manningham
Wilkinson, Wm., Bishop Auckland
Willans. F., Edinburgh
Williamson. Councillor T., Bradford
Wilman, Wm. A., Bradford

•Wilson, Bernard. M.A.. Sedbergh
Wilson, Harold L, M.A., Leeds
Wilson, John H.. J.P.. F.R.Met.S..

Harrogate
Wilson, M. A., Headingley

♦Wilson. J . R. Robinson. Leeds
Wilson. S. E., Manningham
Wilton, Rev. Canon, M.A., Londes-

borough
Winterburn. George. Bolton (a)
Woodcock, Henry B., Bradford
Woodd. Rev. T. Basil, Oughtershaw

Hall
Woolley. Alfred, Bradford

Worsfold. Rev. J. N.. M.A.. Haddlesey
Wright, James. Keighley (2)
•Wright, Aid. Saml., J.P., Bradford (i)

Wright, James. Keighley (2)
* Wright, Aid. Saml., J. P., Bri
♦Wurtzburg, Aid. John, J.P, Leeds

517

INDEX OF SURNAMES.

Aba, Abba. 220
Aberfbrd. 84
Abergavenny, 407
Acaster, 274
Acclom, 47, 182
Acgfrith, 346P
Adams, 473n
Adamson, 190
Addinell. 327, 328
Adinsall, 59
Adulph. 3460
iClfflaeda. iElfled, 346P
idfwine, 346P
idle. 346P
iConfled, 448
Aese, 193
Agar. 168
Ahlfrith, 346P
Alan. 241. 472
Alanson, 32, 404
Albemarle, 459. 462, 465
Albini. 334
Alcfrith, 448
Alcuin, 346
Aldburgh. Aldeburgh, 164,

465, 466, 471P, 474. 475,

480. 481
Aldene, 106
Aldersley. 296
Aldfrith, 364P
Aldhelm. 337
Aldridge, 174
Aldun, 354

Alexander (Pope), 397, 490
Alfred (King), 204, 467n
Allbutt, 235

Allen, 126, 190, 191, 280
Allison, 222, 417P
Allsopp. 442

Alselm, 331, 334. 349. 350
Alselm, 107
Altaripa, 92
Aluin. 139
Aluuard, 487
Ambrosius, 446
Ammitt. 103
Amvas, 403
Anderson , 293
Anderton, 183. 196, 452
Andrew, 456

Anlaby, 32

Anlaf, 237. 464

Anne. 394

Antoninus, 231

Appleby, 183

Appleton, 483

Arches, Arcis, 107, 139,

140. I55» 158. 159. 169.

312, 313, 365, 376. 388.

401, 421, 425. 453, 472
Arcubus (Bowes), 420
Arghom, 162, 387
Armstrong, 325
Armitage. Armytage, 404,

494n. 506. 507P
Arthington. Ardington. 317

490, 491,492, 493p,494p,

495P. 497P. 500. 504
Arundel, 430

Ashbridge, 327

Ashby, 87

Ashford, 190

Ash ton, 319

Ash town, 221, 407

Aske, 40. 74, 85, i69p, 181.
182, 255, 256, 337

Ask with, 142. 144

Astley, 481

Athelric, 346P

Athelstan, 28, 30, 44, 204

Atherton, 467

Atkinson. Atkynson, 131,
158, 274, 299, 339. 392,
395.414.415.4i6p.4i7p,

428, 435n. 460, 473n. 505
Atlay. 88
Atterton, 485P
Ayr, Ayres, 93, 249

Babthorpe, 71, 181
Backhouse, 294, 307
Bacon. 85
Badman, 323
Bagnall, 507P
Baildon, 503n
Bailey, 302, 303
Baines, 191, 223. 4i4n
Bakester, 230
Baldwin. 4i5n
Balliol. 242, 330, 470, 473

Balne. 193
Banaster. 233
Bancroft, 303
Banks. 4i2n. 437
Bantoft, 36
Barber, 32
Bard, Barda, 432
Bardsey, 432n. 456
Barker, Barcar, Bercar

129, 130. 190. 244. 249.

230, 270, 291, 292, 294.

295. 323. 433
Barkestone, 92

Bamaby, 310

Barnard, 426n

Barr, 3070

Bartendale. 308

Barton. 114. 130

Barwick, 39, i69p. 317,

319. 321, 322. 323. 324,

326, 374
Basci, Bascy, 167, 168
Bassett, 112
Bates. 4i2n. 437
Bath, Bishop of, 463
Batherton, 249
Batman, 91
Battersby, no, 223
Batty, 292, 293, 303
Baynes. S9, 93.94. "3
Beaconsneld, 71
Beale, 378
Bean, 131, 306, 323
Beaufort, 73, 199
Beaumont, 108, 109. no,

III, 122. 123, 181, 336
Beckett. 140. 131
Beckwith, 132. 168. 449.

450
Bedale, 278
Bede, 194. 231. 343. 346.

446n, 447
Beeston, Beiston, 66, 498
Begon, 27
Bell. 279, 324, 402
Bellbroke, 302
Bellew. Belewe. Bella Aqua

335P. 389. 422, 427
Bellhouse, Bellas, 213. 280.
283. 296, 297P

51 8

Bellingham, 467

Bel ton, 51

Bennet, 133, 223

Benson, 405, 453, 456

Benyon. 440, 450

Berengar, 491

Berkeley, 468

Berning. 492

Berry, 4i8n

Besant, 86

Bethell, 211, 314

Bevercotes, 379, 380P

Bew, 59

Bewyke, 339

Bickerdike, 128

Bickley, 72

Bie, 64

Bigland. 52

Bingley, Benygley, Bynge-

ley, 190, 492, 500. 501
Bingley, Lord,38i, 405, 406,

4i6p, 453. 456. 458
Bilbrough, 302
Bil burgh, 172
Billis, 91
Binns, 494P
Birdsall, 98
Birne, Byrne, 91, 4i6p
Blackburn, 54, 501
Blackie, 27
Blacknell. 93
Blackstone, 143, 156, 249
Bladen, 114, 128, 130, 213,

338
Blacktoft, 278
Blancherde, 303, 393
Blancmonster, 336
Bland, 218
Blaydes, 276
Blayney, 128
Bloom, 225
Blunt. 404
Blythe, 176
Boan, 208
Boardman, 324
Bold. 92
Bolton, 84, 253
Bolton, Prior of, 64
Boone. 323
Booth, 125
Borcher, 249
Borwick, 53
Bostock, 190, 191
Bosun, 84

Bosworth, 21 in, 232n
Bouchier, 81
Boulter, 472
Bowen, 196
Bower. 152, 207
Bowes. 257. 261
Bowet. 33. 42, 125
Bownas, 327, 410, 419

Boyle, 102, 313

Brackstone, 204

Bradley, 264, 276, 304, 305

Braime. 231, 435

Braithwaite, 85, 225

Bramhope, 492

Bramley. 278

Brandesby, 184

Bray, 316, 354

Brayshaw, 129

Breant, 462P

Breary, 196, 207

Breguswith, 346P

Bretagne, 335P

Brett, 236

Brewer, 32, 242

Brigg, 496

Bright, 346

Brinkel, 366

Brinton, 392

Britain, Earl of,- 161

Brito, 124, 136

Briw, 465

Broch, 122

Brockett, 1 10, 1 1 1, 1 13, 120,

128, t29, 133. 366
Brogden, 396
Bromet, 275, 298
Bromfield, 215
Brook, 196
Brooksbank, 329, 352, 354,

358
Brown, 55, 134, 217, 243,

283. 440
Browne. 348, 404, 448n,

467
Brotherton, 495
Bruce, Brus, 156, 163, 169,

242. 335P. 386, 388, 389,

395. 402. 422. 42s. 436,

437. 453. 470
Bruce. Dr., 445

Brun, 91

Bruyere, 430

Bryan, 84

Buchan, 109

Buck. 95. 352

Buckingham, Duke of, 1 1 1 ,

112, 168
Bull, 94, 98
Bullock, 51
Bulmer, 256
Bunnie, 132, 140
Burdon, 366
Burford, 169P
Burke, 465n, 468, 507n
Burleigh, 368
Burley, 325, 500
Burne. 222
Burton, 72, 123, 161, 337,

361. 453n, 49in. 4920,

499"

Busfeild, 415, 4i6p, 417P
Bushell, 169P
Busli, 123
Bute, 73
Butler, 169
Byng, 126
Byngham. 124, 221
Byron. Lord, 457

Caisneto, 462P

Calamy, 357

Call, Calle. 84, 85, 249.

270. 314
Galium, 266. 283

Calthorpe, 162. 387

Calverley, 237, 259, 448n

Calx, Caux, 334, 350

Camera, 90, 91, 97

Camden, 231, 335, 447, 474

Campbell (Lord), 469. 478n

Cantilupe, 432. 465

Canute. 240, 452

Capronnier, 186

Capstick, 456

Caradoc. 197

Cardigan. Earl of, 284

Carey. 437, 453

Carlisle, Lord, 214

Carlisle, Wm., Bishop of.

432
Carlyton. 502
Carr, 199, 473
Carruthers, 357. 495
Carry 1. 394
Carter. 109, 221, 296
Cartwright, 495n
Carville, 187, 226
Catelyn, 278
Cattail, 190
Cavendish. 37
Cawood. 51, 323
Caythorpe, 395
Cecil. 378

Cerdic, Ceretic, 346
Cerf. 114, 159
Chadwick, 26on
Chaloner, 128. i69p, 317.

370. 372. 373. 479
Chamberlayn. 59

Chambers. 390, 391. 473n

Chamont, Calvo Monte,

156
Chapelyn, 64. 91
Chapman, 169P. 270, 296
Chaucer, 281, 303
Chetel. 63
Chetwynd. 338. 343
Cheworth, 502
Chichester, 151
Childers. 175
Cholmley. 126. 169P
Christie, loi

519

Clapham, 84. 325, 368
Clark, 237, 428. 451
Clarke. 58. 59. 61, 118. 190.

274. 279. 49in. 505
Clarkson. 330
Clay. 74, 115
Clayton. 153. 178. 201
Cleasby. 313
Clere. 161 .
Clements, 120
Clerk. 366
Cleveland, Cliveland, 267,

279, 284
Clifford. 126, 481
Clough. 169. 211, 393
Clyfton, 279
Clynton,-257
Cnut, 334
Coates. 162, 169P, 297p,

485P. 505
Cochrane, 441

Cockayne, 73. 196

Cocker, 297P

Cocket. no

Cockshott. 299

Coke, 496

Cokesford, 250

Colbeck, 294

Cole. 85, 86. 87

Colepepper. 70

Colhome. 187

Colingham, 253

Colley. 314

Collingwood. 169P. 237.

448n
Collinson. 169
Col ton. 109

Congreve. 426. 457, 458n
Constable. 195, 256, 380P
Constantine, 265. 289, 384,

446
Constantius. 384
Consul. 215
Conteville, 401
Conyers. 211, 493P
Conyngham, 198
Cook. 207

Cooke. 348. 355. 359
Cookson, 152. 169P, 4i6p
Cooper, 507P
Copley, 274
Corbet, 185
Corbrigge. 31, 33
Corlase, 374
Cornwall. Earl of. 67
Comwallis. 485P
Cotesworth. 450
Cottam. 4i7p, 418
Coupland, 210
Courcy, Curcy, 462P, 477,

479. 491
Courtney, 462P

Cowf)er, 391

Cowton, 190

Cox, 87, 225

Cradock, 189, 197

Cranmer, 496

Creskeld, 479. 492, 499,

501. 502
Cressor. 208
Creyke, 137. 154
Crodack. 210
Croft. 470P
Croiole, 59
Croker, 189
Cromwell. 146, 149. 355,

357. 501. 502n
Crossbye 85
Crossdale, 279
Crosley, Crossley, 279. 306,

429. 435
Crosthwaite. 138, 206, 408
Crow. 438
Crucem, 301
Cryol. 432
Cuffley. 297P
Cullen, 196
Cullingworth, 225
Cummin, 109
Curthose. Curthance. 50
Corwen, 163. 169P
Cutler, 472
Curzon, Roper-, 417P

Dacrb, Lord, Dakar, 214,

215. 427
Dalby, 102, 443, 446

Dale. 356. 357

Dallamore. 323

Dal ton. 134

Danby. 116, 181

Daniel. 323, 325

Dannock. 32

Danyl, 316

Dapifer. 365. 366

Darcy. 256. 257, 278, 355,

362
Darknall. 148
Darlington, 128
Darwin, 497, 506, 508. 509
Dautry, Alta Ripa. 92. 93.

loi
Davis. 27
Dawes. 150, 439
Dawson. 223. 255, 276,

»89. 294, 312. 344
Day. 49, 56, 87. 120
Deans, 315
Den by. 431
Denison, 186. 198. 481
Denison, Beckett-, 151
Denmark, Prince George
. oi, 373
Dent, 461

Denton, 456

Depeden, 351, 360, 361, 423

Derby, in

Despencer, 220, 226

Devonshire, 102, 435, 458n

Dibb, 323, 324, 325

Dicksonson, 59

Diconson. 274

Dighton, 59

Diker, 91

Dixon. 4o6n. 418

Dodd, 418

Dodsley. 233

Dodson. 295

Dodsworth, 78. 330. 467.

478n, 481. 493pn
Dolman, 67
Drake, 136. r6i. 228. 342,

401, 472n
Dresure, no
Driffield, 253, 291
Dryden, 457
Dryver, 174
Ducie. Earl of, 441
Duckett, 466n, 468
Duff. 507P
Duffield. 61
Dugdale, 123, 336. 379
Dunbar, 225
Duncombe, 369. 372
Dunn, 55
Dunne. 507P
Dun well. 450. 505
Durham, 507P
Durrant, 434
Dutton. 128
Dyson, 235

Eadfrith, 346P
Eadulf. 346P
Eamson, 450
Eanbald, 204
Eanflaeda, 346P
Eastburn, 479
Eastman. 288
Ebba. 232
Ebchester, 84
Ecgfrida. 334
Ednel. 253
Edwin. Eadwin. 203, 346,

447
Egmanton, 253

Egremont, Earl of, 278,

3^7
Eldon. 85

Eldred. 205

Elfrida. 467n

Elkenton, 316

Elizabeth, Queen, 40, 172.

258. 304. 374. 375
Ellis. 108, 208, 225, 324,

351.395. 427". 45»n

520

Ellys. 391

Elmhirst, 423

Elsley, 84, 85, 88

Elston, 49

Elyot, 47211

Emett. 225

Emmett. 419

Emsley, 297P

England. 301

Epworth, 293

Erfast, 166

Ernui, Emuin, 106, 139

Errington, iii

Erskine. 87

Essex, Earl of, 465

Estwicke, 94

Esyngwold, 253

Ethelred, 119

Ethelwold, 474n

Etton, 162. 174, 387. 394.

395
Etty, 299, 300

Evans. 235n

Ewald, 263

Eyle, 4i9n

Fabro, 249. 250

Fairbaim. 507P

Fairbourn, 131

Fairfax, 11 1. 1 13-16, 137,

146. i49n, 153-176, 259-

61. 312. 317. 3»i-7. 342,

363. 373. 4»8. 494-5
Fairfax of America, 170-2,

318

Fairfax Arms, 129, 162,

•74. 37a. 383. 395
of Bilbrough. 151, 165,

169. 170, 175, 215

Brian, 113, 126. 149

Charles, 59, 160, 172

of Gilling, 386. 391,

394. 395
Henry, 125, 133, 136,

319. 38'
Pedigree. 169

Rob«*t. 113, 162, 168.

172. 3051 3i7n» 327,
368-74
Thomas, iii. 114, 132,

133. 148' >65< 168,
173-4, 259, 368, 381,

495
of Walton, 160, 169.

34a, 386-91. 394-6

William, no, 114. 128,

i29n, 130. 132, 133,
146-50. 156, 161-3,
182, 317. 322-5. 368,
386
Fairholt. 189
Fallow. 214

Farmon. 464

Farrer, 276

Fauconberg. 141, 143, 144,

159, 422
Favel. 32n
Fawcett, 393
Fawkes, 496
Fawthorp>e, 96
Feamley, 481
Featherstone. 49
Ferguson, 257
Fentiman. 196
Fenton. 90. 97, loi. 102.

296. 298
Fenwicke. 93
Femelev, 195
Ferrana. Farand. 93, 96,

391, 4i5,4i7p
Ferrars. 365. 408
Feryman, no
Feversham. 407. 442
Field, 85, 88
Fielden, Feilden, 178, 189,

190, 199, 201, 207, 209,

235. 393. 396
Fiendagh, 432
Filliter, 22
Finch, 184
Fisher, 176

Fitz Alan, 330, 334. 335Pt
336, 399

Aucher, 423

Booth, 366

Duncan, 4610

Gerald. Gerold.Gcrard

462P, 465, 477, 491

Henry, 423

Herbert. 140

Hugh. 91, 399. 47op

Richard, 70, 91

Reinfrid. 467

Robert, 90

Thomas, 91

Walter. 91

Warren, 422

William. 71, 91, 466

Flamville, 422

Flaxton. 423

Fleta, 107

Fletcher, 289, 312, 417P, 438

Folifait, 395

Foliot, 143

Fonblanque, 495P

Forne, 179

Fortibus, 140

Foster, 292, 294, 295, 303,

308, 424n, 438. 469n. 492n
Forster. Arnold-, 97. 370
Forster, 85. 86
Fortescue, 71
Fossard, 107. 155, 377, 401,

402. 403

I'^owkes. 402

Fowler. 77

Fox, Bourne-, 298

Fox, 81, 92, 169, 285

Fox, Lane-, 81. 372, 381,

392, 393^ 405. 406, 407,
408, 409. 418. 453

Frank, Franks, 42, 481

Freeman, 195, 350

Fretwell, 299

Frere, 249, 256

Friston, Fryston, 351

Fritzner, 313

Fulk, Fulco. 140, 141

Furmin, 91

Furnival. Lord. 36a

Gage, 362
Gale, 123
Gamel, 61
Gamelbar, 106
Gargrave, 40, 257
Garnett. 225
Garraway, 197
Gascoigne, 76, 94, 160,

181. 183, 197. 221. 226.

246, 35«. 368, 403, 412.

460 466, 468, 469, 47 1 p,

480, 481, 494p, 505
Gaunt, Gant, 69, 121, 241.

242, 462P, 470, 475
Gawthorpe. 222
Gavnesburgh, 274
Geller, 297P, 4x8
Gent, 121, 134
George IV., 319
Gibson, 231, 458
Giffard, 30, 398
Gilchrist, 351
Giles, 225
Gilpin, 190
Gisbome, 187
Glanville, 377
Glendour. 468
Glenton, 377
Glover, 494
Goldsborough, Goldes-

burgh, 492, 493, 494P,

501, 502, S03. S04
Godebywe, 84
Godefrid, 106
Godmund, 232
Godwin, 420
Gooch, 392
Good. 132
Goodall, 396, 4i6p
Goodricke, 95, 263, 406
Gossip, 423. 424, 427
Gough, 81, 481
Gower, 73
Graa, 159
Graham, 4580

521

Grainger, 208

Gramary, Grammarie. 220,

226
Grant, 59, 199
Grantley, 312
Grave, 359, 391
Gray, 46, 92, loi, 293, 317,

389
Grayne, 270
Green. 129, ^i^n, 485P
Greenfield, 31, 91, 190, 279
Greenwood, 190, 434, 435,

467n
Gregory. Pope, 269
Grey, 335P, 489
Greystock, Baron, 470P
Griffin, 183
Griffith, 507P
Grim. 193, 464
Grindal, 40
Gros, 46 2p
Groves, 225
Grundy, 473
Grymeston, 250
Guldriffi-e, 462P
Gundreda, 334
Gunter, 357, 440, 449, 450
G>vynn. 449
Gyrling, 279, 369

Hadrian, 265. 412
Haget, 330, 334, 336. 350,

SSL 359. 360, 397. 399
Hague, 298
Haigh, 202, 237, 287. 346,

347, 352. 360, 410, 447n,

448, 461, 464
Hailes, 496
Hailstone, 189, 378, 399,

428
Hale, 479

Halifax, Viscount, 292
Hall, 59, 192, 496
Hallam, 39
Halliley, 59. 102
Haln. 502

Halselin, Halselyn. 334
Halton, 123
Hammond, 95, 114, 181,

205, 206, 496
Handcock, 486
Hankins, 507})
Harcourt. 134, 137, 473
Hardcastle, 297p, 480, 494P
Hardicors, 249, 256
Hardinge, 72
Hardraada, 232
Harewood, 87. 329, 341,

407, 408. 409, 462P. 472,

476, 479n, 482, 486. 496
Hargrove. 123
Harold, King, 63, 239

Harris, 128, 192, 273, 298
Harrington, Haryngton,

180, 181
Harrison, 202, 409
Harrowby, 71, 72, 73p, 82
Harsnett, 46, 58, 59
Hartley, 48, 294, 307, 429
Hartstrong, 485P
Harwood, 501
Hastings, 164, 182, 200,

423, 4*5* 4*6, 428, 449,

454, 458, 461
Haswell, 399

Hatfield, 424, 428
Hatton, 395
Hawarden, 484. 485
Hawke, 114, 130. 212. 213,

218, 338
Hawkesbury, 395, 495n
Hawkesworth. 283, 493p,

495P. 502
Hawkins, 461
Haworth, 323
Hay, 357
Haygarth, 357
Haywood, 179
Head, 279
Healey, 344, 460
Heame, 400
Heath, 374
Heber, 190
Heir, 56
Helena, 384
Helm, 64
Hemington, 428
Hemmingthwaite, 59
Henneage. 184
Heptonstall. 326
Hepworth, 364
Herbert, 368
Hereric, 345, 346P
Hereswith, 346P
Herleva, 401
Hertlington, 402
Herwich, 49 3 p
Hetherington, 303
He we, 391
Hewitt, 225
Hewley, Lady, 287
Heworth, 274
Hey, 293
Heylin, 262n
Heywood. 211, 261. 285,

287. 3S6
Hick, 223, 225
Hickes, 494P
Higdon. 206
Higginbotham, 190
Hilda, 56
Hiley, 333, 338, 340, 344.

352, 392, 396. 407, 4ion
Hill, 115, 312

Hillom, 222

Hilton, 108

Hird. 4i6p, 418

Hirst, 225

Hitch. 283

Hobson, 567P

Hodgson, 26, 60, 121, 131,

190, 208, 235, 290
Hoffman, 420
Hoghwyk, 92
Holden, 74, 113, 151, 152
Holland, 180
Holmden, 82
Holmes, 168. 202
Holmshed, 30. 35
Holroyd. 455, 456
Holte, 279
Hoperton, 432, 433
Hopkinson. 22
Hopwood, 134, 225.285. 293
Homer, 323
Horsetona, 490
Hotspur, 253
Houseman, 59, 113. 122
Howard, 394
Howden, Lord, 189. 192,

197. 198, 199, 200. 201,

202
Howell, 289
Hoveton. 278
Hoyle. 56
Hucke, 488
Huddlestone, 47 ip
Hudleese, 303
Hudson, 161, 323
Hughes. 308
Hulot, 423

Hungate, 40. 219, 278, 391
Hunsinghome, 278
Hunt, 492
Hunter, 37, 123. 202, 291,

297p, 317, 402, 495n
Huntingdon, Earl of, 426
Hutchinson, 303
Hyde, 424

Ibbitson, 303

Ilkeley, Ilkton, Ilketon.

459, 460
lllingworth, 152
Ingal, 435
Ingham, 244. 287
Ingleby, im, 159, 329.494P
Ireland, 305
Irwin, 321
Isaacson, loi
Ivonies. 270

Jackson. 87, 222. 261, 263,

370^391. 396. 426
Jake, 503

James, 417P

522

[aques, 74, 131
[ames IV. of Scotland, 255
[efferson, 324
[enkins, 115
[enkyns, 4o6n
fessop, 344
[ewef, 477
[ewison, 328
[obson, 208
[ohn, King. 243
John, Pope, 398
[ohnson, 208, 225, 414.
4i6p, 504

Jolif, 91,92

Jones, 22, 100, loi, 280,
431, 44on, 474n. 479, 492n
Julian, 446

Kaberry. 278

Katherton, 316

Kaye, 150, 190, 457

Keats, 509

Kemblc, 333

Kemp, Kempe, 41, 42, 125,

316
Kendall, 26, 113, X15, 213,

218
Kennet, 267
Kent, Duchess of, 473
Kenyon, 4i6p
Kershaw, 297P
Ketel, 467
Kidd, 304
Kighley. 503, 504
Killom, 84
Kilvert, 334
King of Scots, 335P
Kinton, 284
Kitchen, 190
Kitchingman. 326
Kirkby, Kirkeby, Kirby,

108, 183, 250, 298
Knapton, 460
Kneller, 162
Knight, 190
Knowles, 189, 199
Knowsthorpe, 94
Kyme, 301, 312, 314, 3x6,

365. 366, 368
Kyng. 144

Lackland, 437

Lacy, Laci, 63, 75, 179.

192, 194. 210, 220, 437
Lally, 189

Lambert. 93, 295, 471P
Lamplugh, 125
Lanaria, 500
Lancaster, 279, 422, 488
Lane, 406. 428
Langdale. 44on
Langelegh, 432

Langton. 54, 92, 146, i8i,

194
Lascelles, Laceles, Lascel.

Lasceles, La Seel or de

Sigillo. 143 469m, 472,

481
Latham. 70, 144
Laugh ton, 432
Lawley, 439
Lawson, 117, 222
Lawton, 270
Laycock, 131, 325
Lay ton, 283, 47 ip
Leadbeater, 38op
Leadman, 214, 268, 354
Leafe, 121

Leconfield, 278. 434
Lee, 59, 204, 357, 424
Leedes, Ledes. Leede, 184,

187, 210, 211, 212, 250,

270
Leeke, 373
Legh, 403, 404
Leigh, 471P
Leighton, 257, 485P
Leland, 26, 27, 122. 164,

206. 214. 233, 362
Lelay, 350
Lelleia, 269, 277
Lemaine, 319
Leo, Pope, 63
Lewis, 423, 453P, 458, 472
Lewyn, 121
Leyland, 485P
Lifford, 4op, 71
Ligulf, 106. 107, 240, 334,

401. 452, 453
Lilbum, 184
Lincoln, Earl of, 64
Lindsay, 120
L'Isle, de Insula, de L'Isle,

370, 465, 474 478, 484
Lister, 259, 456
Liversedge, 56, 74, 208
Londesborough, Lord. 186,

187, 189, 191, 202, 207,

258, 288
Longley, 224

Louis IV. of Bavaraia, 461
Lou vain, 242
Love. 152
Lovel, III
Lowde, 85
Lowth, 84
Lowther, 485P
Lomax, 72
Lucius, Pope, 397
Lucy, 125, 164, 351, 470P
Lumby, 91, 471P
Lumsden, 417P
Lund, 59, 425
Lupton, 468

Lupus, 128

Luttrell, Luterel, LuterelL

175. 465. 489. 490
Lyle, 48

Lyly. 109

Lyndley. 47 ip

Lythegra3mes, r94

McLea. 266

Maddock, 276

Madug. 347

Maffett, 414

Magnus. 378

Maitland, 283 332

Malbis. Malebisse, 28, 162,

163, 174- 387
Mallet, 63. 75, 107, 108, 241
Mallinson, 460
Mallory, Malore, 194. 377
Malteby, 84
Mammatt. 56
Manning, Archbishop, 288
March, 168
Mare. 405. 489
Margerison, 259
Markham. 113, 114, 125,

126, 131, 137, 149, 150,

151, 160, 172, 174. 182.

226, 227, 305, 315, 317,

368, 373
Marsden. 136, 298
Marshall, 72, 178, 231, 252,

253, 277, 289, 294, 366,

372, 409. 424, 432
Marthley, 459, 460
Martin, 172
Marton, 66
Martyll, 274
Marvel, 146, 176
Mary. Queen of Scots, 43in
Mason, 226. 315
Massee, 311
Massey, 190
Mathew. 40, 382P
Maude, Montalt, Mohaut,

380P, 459. 460, 484, 485P,

499
Mauleverer, 403, 455, 457,

493P
Mauley, Molalacu, 162. 377

387, 402
Ma we, no

Mawson, 451, 452, 458
Maxwell, 218
Medhurst. 450
Melton, Archbishop. 124,

270
Merch, 140
Merston, 340
Meschines, 462P, 465
Metcalfe, 175, 399, 507
Metham, 367

5^3

Meyer, 56
Miall, 5020
Michelson, 206
Middleton, 49, 92, 182. 206,

304, 402, 468, 47 1 p, 502
Midgley. 308, 458
Milbank, 319
Milbum. 273
Miles. 4190
Milford, 194
Mill 24
Mills, 190
Milner, 74, 86, 87, 1 13, 120,

125, 126, 128, 133, 149,

153? 154- 170- 175' 222,

296, 5^5
Mitchell. 297p. 496. 498
Monk. 149
Montacute, 180
Montagu, 338, 357, 435
Montfort, 190, 278
Moor, 189, 485P, 499
Moorhouse, 296, 298
Moreby, 47
Morevill, 436, 456
Morley, 286, 295. 296. 301,

324. 460
Morrell, 56
Morris, 273
Morritt, 52, 53, 74. 75, 85,

157
Mortain, 107, 155, 365, 401,

487, 488
Mortimer. 167
Morville. 449
Moscrip, 4i2n
Motteram, 59, 95
Mounsey, 496
Mountain, 31, 293, 306
Mountaigne, 40, 49, 52. 58,

59, 60, 61, 495P
Mowbray, 159, 169. 252,

334' 336, 351. 395. 422,
436, 448, 453, 480, 481

Movser, 120. 132. 1^9

Mulgrave. Earl of, 129,
169P

Murray, 462P

Musgrave. 468

Mustel, Musteile, 488, 501

Naylor, 202, 458

Neile, 172

Nelson. 26, 174, 195

Nennius, 230

Nesfield, 201

Neve 432n

Neville, Nevile 33, 34, 125,

144, 162, 164, 180, 181.

187. 194. 195. 256. 266,

337- 351. 40^' 4«i- 494P»
495P

Nevison. Nevinson, 227,386
Newby, 99, 102
Newburgh, 242
Newcastle, Earl of, 388
Newark 47
Newell, 223
Newmarch 488
Newnham, 72
Nicholas, 277, 403
Nicholas, Pope, 83, no,

140. 340 352 369
Nicholls 304 331. 413
Nicholman. 206
Nicholson. 44 49. 56 190,

206, 297p, 483
Nixon, 137
Nobel, 133
Noel, 507P
Norham, 274
Norman, 72
Norman VI He, 249, 250, 291,

314
Northumberland, 37, 467

Norton, 51, 168, 174 175,

256, 257
Noyer, 235

O'Brien, 196. 258, 290

Oglethorpe, Occlesthorp,

Oclestorp, Ocklesthorp,

Okelestorp, Okilsthorp,

40. 84, 174, 263, 281, 282,

283, 374^ 375, 377. 378'
379. 380P, 381, 382P, 402,

405n, 456. 467, 485P
Odard, 128
Odo. 402, 488
Olaf, Onlaf, Onlof, 237

239, 240, 464
Oley. 137
Oliver, 109, 120, 130, 154,

313
O'Neale, 128
Orange, Prince of, 116
Orgar, 467n
Orm, 421
Orton, 190
Osburne, 496
Osmund, 90
Osraed, 346P
Ostler, 190
Oswi, 447, 448, 449
Oswin, Auswini, Onswini,

346P, 447. 448, 450
Oughtred, 156
Outwood, 324
Owun, 464
Oxenbridge, 93
Oxley, 352
Oxon, 77
Oykumbe. 366

Paganel, Paynel, 167,

173. 376, 377' 403, 4^P-
477, 486.90

Page, 170. 428

Paine, 225

Palmer, 133

Palmes, 485P

Parke, 279

Parker, 96, 100, 124. 292.

336
Parkinson, 292
Pathome, 278
Patrington, 278
Paulinus. 347
Paulyn. X14
Paver, 437. 438
Pawson, 172
Peacock, 184
Peacopp, 348
Pease, 191
Pearse, 89
Pearson, 60, 85, 136, 231,

356

Peel, 226, 286

Pell, 107, 332

Pemberton, 297P

Percival, 71

Percy, 84, 106, 107, 108,

121, 123, 125, 142, 143,

164, 187, 215, 238, 240.

241, 242, 243, 244, 245,

246, 247, 252, 253, 254.

256, 258, 260, 266, 268,

270. 277, 312. 315. 332.

349. J50, 365- 378, 430-

431
Perks 357

Pettye, 496

Peytevin. 370

Philibert, 362

Phillips. 73, 138

Pickering, 196, 341, 342,

481

Piers, Peares, 42, 60

Peirse, 505

Pilkington. 151. 215

Pipard, 462P

Pipe, 399
Pitt 71

Plesynton, 144
Plumpton, 182, 183, 210,

360, 494P
Pollard, 249, 270
Popham, Ley borne- 149
Popilton, 278
Porter. 84

Potter, 208, 276, 298, 339
Pouil, 500
Prest, 49. 5S
Preston, 190, 225
Priestley, 417P
Procter, 443. 444, 446, 496

524

Proctor, 280
Ptolemy, 230
Pulhowe, 278

Raby, 434

Radclyff, 279

Radley, 190

Radnor, Earl of, 472

Radulf. 237

Raine. 124, 255

Ramsay, 334

Ramsden, 120, 226. 275,

276, 277, 313
Raper, 226, 278
Ratclifife. 157. 496
Rawden, 58, 59
Rawson, 195, 292
Ravenscroft, 59
Rayner, 109
Read, 4580
Redman, Redmayn, 79,

466, 467, 468, 469, 47op,

480, 481, 484
Redebume, 278
Redvers, 462P, 465
Reinfrid, Fitz-, 350, 365,

422, 467
Reygate, 377
Reynard, 58
Reynolds, 120, 479n
Rhodes, Rodes. 59, 187,

2741 275, 279, 283, 434,

435. 505» 506. 507P. 509
Ricall, 85

Richardson, 59, 85, 106.

187. 312. 396. 417P
Ricroft, 279
Rigton, 376
Ripplingham, 84
Ritson, 123
Rivers, Pitt-, 405n
Robert, 84
Roberts, 93, 169P
Robin Hood, 122, 123
Robinson, 53, 74, 82. 84,

280, 293, 328, 382P, 4i6p
Robson, 409

Rochester, Bishop of. 465
Roebuck, 118
Roger, 44, 425, 477
Rogers, 82, 5oon, 505
Rokeby, i69p, 252. 409
Roman us, 194, 243, 269
Romelli. Rumelli, 462P,

4641 475. 477. 479. 4^6,
491

Rooke, 373

Rookes. 211

Rootos, 55

Ros, 79. 241, 242. 422

Roschil, 63

Rosse, 213

Rotherham, 31, 160
Roundell, 439
Rowe, 32, 277
Rowntree, 286
Rozelin, 106. 123
Ruddall. 292
Ruddock, 216
Rudge. 131
Rummans, 59, 60
Russell, 93, 340, 362. 415,

492
Ruthven, 114. 130
Rylay, 131
Rymer, 368, 369
Ryther, Ryder, 61. 64, 65,

66. 67. 68. 69. 70, 71. 72p,

73. 74» 75' 76. 77- 78* ^h
82. 83, 84, 85, 142, 160.

164, 182, 183, 296, 366,

376, 466, 467, 476, 480,

481

Rytherholm, 84

Saint Augustine, 446

Begu. 347. 348

Benedict, 142

Heiv, Heiu, 231, 345,

346, 347* 348» 349, 35°.
360

Helen, Helena, 334.

345- 384. 385^ 475

— Hilda, 345

— John of Beverley, 349

— Oswald, 449

— Quintin, 140, 365

— Ricarius. 220

— Richard, Saxon King

220

Wilfrid, 370

William, 48, 78, 102

Saintor, 292
Salisbury, 71, 465
Salkeld, 452
Saltonstall. 438
Sampson, 113, 114, 226
Sapcote, 145
Saumarez. 507P
Saxton. 67, 194, 278
Savage. 84
Saville. 40, 207, 275, 425.

485P
Sawrey, 53

Scarr, 339

Scarborough, Earl of, 150.

47ip
ScargiU, 75, 76

Scarlett, 280, 320

Scarsdale, 453

Scholefield, 225

Scott, 119. 308. 428, 482,

483, 486, 493P

Scotenay, 156

Scriven, 491

Scrope, 69, 78, 121, 125.

126, 164, 252, 360
Scruton, 4i5n
Sefton, 128
Segrave, 432
Selby, 91, 190
Sellars.'293
Sen, 141
Severus. 234
Sewell, 425
Seymour, 258
Shann, 207, 274, 277, 28S,

298. 327
Sharp, Archbishop. 175,

352
Sharpe, 461
Shastun. 391
Shaw, 189, 43711, 497
Sheepshanks. 483.495, 507P
Sheffield. 322, 368
Shelley, 148
Shepherd, 308
Sherington. 331
Sherwood. Shirwode, 144,

190
Shiers, Shires, Sires, 72,

412
Shillito, 55, 120, 207, 208
Shovel, 373
Shreibner, 226
Siddall, 75, 271, 296
Silvester, 297P
Simcoe. 279

Simeon of Durham, 334
Simpson, 270, 339
Skeat, 118, 314
Skavronsky, 197
Skynner, 73
Slingsby, 149. 169, 331
Smiles, 502n
Smith, 29, 49, 51, 52, 55, 57.

58, 59, 60, 222, 225, 260,

276, 293. 298. 307. 312.

313. 3M' 318, 395. 417P.

505. 507P
Smith, Lawson- 157

Smith, Riley- 320

Smith, Tunstall- i69p. 172

Smithson, 258

Smyth. 113. 408

Snawsdell, 390

Snay. 391

Sonnyng, 195

Soundifurth. 190

Sourby, Soureby, 250. 278

Sourdeval, Surdevsd. 402,

487, 488

Southeby, 70

Speed, 255

Spencer, 219

Spinck, 59

525

Spofford. 60

Sprot, 464

Squire. 83, 207

Stacey, 315

Stain, 91

Stamp, Stampe, 279, 358

Stamper, 222

Stanhope. 95. 114, 136,
187. 195, 19b, 211

Stanton, 59

Stapleton, Stapelton, Sta-
pylton III. 194, 211,
254, 275. 297P, 330, 331,
334. 335Pi 336, 337^ 338,
340. 342. 343' 349. 35I'
354' 361, 362, 390, 395.
422. 423. ^81

Stapylton, Cnetwynd - 1 1 1,

329. 332. 333. 336, 33S,

361
Staveley. 145, 399, 432
Staynford. 109
Stead. 225
Steele, 114, 134, 457
Stephenson, 82 318
Sterne, 74
Stewart. 357
Stillington, 59 92
Stoney, 319
Stoddart, 417P
Stothard. 283, 315, 316
Stoughton, 271
Stowe, 254
Stowen, 340
Stowyng. 279
Strafford, Earl of, 351 , 469,

47ip. 472, 482
Straton, 190. 191, 192, 454
Straw, 251
Streete, 295
St^etton, Strutton, 168
Strickland, 317, 319. 374.

471P
Stryngfelowe. 339

Stuart, 161.

Stuart, Sir John, 218

Stuart, The Pretender, 207

Stuart, Maxwell- 218

Stubbs, 252, 350, 445n. 447n

Stukeley, 366

Sturt, 125

Stuteville, 377

Sugden, 152, 190

Sunderland. 196, 438

Sutton. 382P

Swale, 131

Swayne, 278, 279

Swift. 457, 467

Swillington, 449

Swiney. 4i6p

Sykes, 295P 408

Tacitus, 235, 269
Tadcaster. Viscount, 290 '
Tait. Archbishop, 440
Taite, 413
Talbot, Tailbois, 215, 331,

354. 366, 367, 368, 370

422
Tancred, 437
Tankard, 494P, 495P
Tanner, 148. 403n
Tanqueray, 441
Tasker, 288
Tate, 113
Taylor, 49. 225, 261. 276,

29^. 33h 415", 454"
Teasdale, 176
Teck, 418
Tempest, iii. 256, 380, 399,

485P
Tennant, 283

Terrick. 72

Thirlthorp, 391

Thomlinson, 329

Thomond, Earl of, 290, 291

Thompson. 120, 131, 150,

168, 175, 190, 204, 222,

223, 270, 289, 319. 417P,

418, 439. 496
Thor. 205, 392
Thorbrand, 334
Thoresby, 70, 183, 231, 259.

356. 400, 497n
Thorman. 320
Thornhill, 459, 505
Thornton, 495P
Thorp, 115, 195, 327. 328,

456
Thwaites, 146, 147, 162. 163

i69p, 174, 340
Thweng. 422
Tildesley, 190
Tindel, 202
Tochi, 331, 349, 350
Tod, Todeni, 161, 175, 286,

327
Tomlinson, 225

Tone, 139

Toovey, 370

Tor, 421, 459, 464

Tordoff, 231

Topham. 115

Toraldus. 205

Torre, 51, 190, 351, 405. 479

Tostig, 232

Tottv, 54- 91- 502
Toulston, 137
Townend, 187, 197
Townsend, 214
Toyer, 279
Traches, 462P
TraflFord. 215

Travers, 47 ip

Treadwell. 387

Trickett. 222

Tuam, Archbishop of, 71

Tuffnell, 92, 94

Tuke, Tuk. 52. 292, 293,

305
Tunbridge, 242

Tunstall, 47 ip

Turchil, 106

Turet, 336

Turlay. 128

Turner, Turnar, 58, 60, 274,

378, 473n

Tumham. 402

Turpin, 26, 64. 122, 323

Twybell. 275

Twyfforth, 84

Tyas, 75

Tyerman, 287

Tyler, Tylor, 252. 286, 327

Tyrwhitt, 368

IHcHTRED, 334, 467
Uilan, 500
Ulekelf, 205
Ulfus, 205
Ullr, Ulfr, 205
Ulstan. 155, 161
Umfraville, 351, 366, 368
Upton, 276
Usflete, 362

Valines, 242

Varley, 208, 259, 266, 284,

2981 3M' 370. 409
Vavasour, 67, 68, 108, 113,

182, 210, 225, 243, 245,

267, 268, 271, 284, 296,

310. 3i2» 351. 3781 430»

493P. 496

Vaugban, 408

Vere, Lord, 174

Verli, 205

Vesey, 67, 109

Victoria, Queen, 151, 252,
273. 277, 473

Vigfusson. 205, 313

Villiers, m, 112

Vincent, 393, 396, 418, 506

Vinon, 432

Vint, 270

Waddington, 381, 383,

411,419
Wade, 263, 409
Wadeson. 405
Wadter, 237
Waid, 503
Wainwright, 297P
Waite, 134. 396

526

Wake. 51, 56 245

Walker, 5, 253. 391, 481

Walkingham. 220

Walkington. 103

Wall. 382P

Wallace. 31

Walleis, Waleys. 351, 360,

361. 362
Walpole, 264
Walsh. 37
Walter, 465
Walton, 160. 391
Wandesford, 485P
Warburton, 213, 338, 381
Ward, Warde. 180, 253,

430, 455"
Wardle, 56
Warin. 224
Warner. 418
Warren, 266, 270, 271, 279,

334. 422, 427, 462P
Warter, 274
Warwick, 254, 268, 270
Washington, 170
Waters. 223
Watson, 60, 61
Watterton, 40
Waylen, 502n
Weatherhead. 324, 425
Webb, 215. 287
Webster, 219
Weeton, Witun, Wyetona,

113, 376, 486, 502
Weld, 395
Wellington, 87, 197
Wells, 465
Wenlock, 440
Wentworth, 150, 257, 319,

327* 437' 453» 458, 469,
47IP» 493Pt 502, 504. 505

Wesley. 287
Wessington, 290
West, 183. 222
Weston, 102
Wetewang, 190
Whamcliffe. 71
Wharton. 84. 115, 285, 352.

354. 355. 356, 357» 358'
359. 362, 399. 409, 410,

507P
Wheatley, 170

Wheler. 426, 449, 495P

Whitaker, 90, 191, 241,

401, 445n. 455, 468. 479
White. 56, 296
Whitham, 414
Whitton, 319
Wick, Wike, 492
Wickens, 279
Wickham, 113. 114, 115,

136. 227, 409, 418
Wickwane, 398
Widdrington, 115, 424
Wilde, 92
Wilkoc, 91
Wilks, 310, 485P
Williams, 190
Williamson, 49, 270, 315
Willoughby, 355
Wilmer, 424
Wilson, 170, 196. 293, 297P,

324, 338, 392, 396, 399.

423". 435- 44O1 48 in
Wilton, 186, 189, 190, 191
Wil strop, 47 1 p
Winchester, Bishop of, 465
Winn, 378, 404
Wise, Wythes, 85, 128, 129,

157. 456
Wiseman. 218

Wolsey. 25, 34, 40

Wombwell, 169

Wode, 92

Wood, 222. 225, 278. 280,

296, 297P, 417P
Woodcock, 51
Woodhouse. 218, 500
Woodrove, 504
Woodward, 289
Woolman, 286
Wormald, 49, 32
Worsfold, III
Worthington, 195, 196
Wortlay, 69
Wray, 326, 327, 328
Wright, 7S, 117. 168, 176,

196, 376, 38*p« 383. 445-

460
Wrightson. 425
Wryght, 167
Wryglye, 253
Wulfhere. 204
Wyclif. 91
Wyndham, 258, 290
Wynter, 249

Yarbrough. 128

Yates, 75

Yealand, 470

York, Archbishop of, 25, 29,

30, 44. 47, 54. 58, 59. 74,

83, 92, 124, 398
York. 372
Young, Yong, 205, 206, 264,

292
Yreby, 502

ZoucH, 180
Zucci, 473n

527

GENERAL INDEX.

The figures tn heavy type denote where the place is specially described.

Abbeville. 220 Badcrofte, 282 Bolton (Cumberland), 108
Aberford, 217, 210, 233, Badsworth, 392 (Bishop Wilton), 108,

308 Baieux, 109 igo

Aberdeen. 417 Bamburgh, 85, 165 Percy, 70, 106« 142,

Acaster, 130, 137, 139, 142, Bank Newton, 366 147, 151, 159, 167, 176,

144, 150, 151. 154. 350 Bannockbum,3i,247,266, 182, 238, 240, 241, 242,
Acre, 66 340 243. 255, 313. 350

Addington, 68 Baptismal rites, 206 Castle, 121

Adel. 97, 278, 487, 488, Barden, 300 Church. 123. 390-

489,490, 491, 492, 498, Bardsey. 177,381,426, 436, Old customs, 116

500 441. 447, 461 (Northumb'rl'nd)

Agincourt, 70 Barkston, 54, S5^ 63. 75. 108, 121

Albury Hatch. 114 91, 205, 241, 261, 440 (Wharfedale), 64, 66,

Aldborough, 165.229.230, Barlow, 262 141, 161, 180, 215, 263,

232. 437, 447. 457, 494 Barnard Ca tie. 257 458, 465, 478, 481

Aldwark, 495 Barnbow Hall, 226 (Wensleydale),40. 121,

Alford. 70. 74 Barnoldswick, 162, 488491 431

Alleghany, 170 Bamsley, 118, 134, 386 Bolton-on-Dearne, 106,

Allerton Bywater, 195 Barwick-in-Elmete, 177, 108, 123. 159

Almondbury, 165 219, 223, 224, 225. 278 Boon-hens, 29

Alnwick, 216 Batley, 347 Boroughbridge, 57, 210,

Alwoodley, 399, 461, 464, Bath, 449 224, 263. 399, 437. 486

465, 481 Battlebridge, 68 Boston Spa, 277, 288, 348,

Altars, stone, 77, 99, 126, Beamsley. 295 381, 393, 396, 411

456 Beaver, wild in Yorks., 117 Botany, 26, 62, 89, 105.

Appleby, 181, 392 Becca Hall, 226, 227 154, 201, 216, 219. 238,

Appleton,9o, no, 128, 131. Bedale. 23, 114, 330,336, 329,419

133. 137. 178 357. 399. 459. 505 Bradford, 128, 134, 151,
Nunnery, 65, 70, Bella Hall, 202 152, 164, 199, 217, 260,

82, 130, 140, 159. 174. Bell-ringer's rules, 134,277 263, 292, 356, 357, 415,

314. 365 Beverley, 52, 118, 138, 254, 418, 460, 498

■Roebuck, 107, 120 288, 293, 344, 349, 408, Bradley, 66

139. 149. 153. 154 456 Bramham, 81, 167. 177,

Appletreewick. 184 Bewcastle, 448 266, 282, 283, 287, 323,

Ardfert, 128 Bible Charity, 356 327, 365, 377, 389, 400,

Arkholme. 27 Bicker ton, 226, 231, 233, 453, 487

Arlington, 151 355. 356 Moor. 169, 252, 387,

ArncliflFe, 22 Biggin, 91, 103 406, 409

Arthington, 22, 23,48?, Bilbrough, 27. 114, 149, 155, Bramhope, 468, 505, 507P

507P 162, 163. 165, 232, 259, Brandesby, 378
Nunnery, 148. 351 374, 377 Brandon, 64, 465

462. 479, 490, 496 Billeburgh, 167 Brantingham, 214
Ashby, 87 Bilton, 285, 351, 355, 356, Brayton, 438
Askham, Bryan. 350. 389 380, 398 Bretton, 123, 493
Richard, 169, 175, Bingley, 23 24. 26. 147. 197, Bridlington, 86, 207

323 227, 244, 245, 406, 409, Brighouse, 297, 364, 379

Askwith, 147 415, 416, 417, 418, 460, Brinsworth, 123

Assize of Arms, 144 462, 481, 501 Bristol, 118, 348. 461

Atwick. 457 Birds, wild, 153, 200 British cities, 230

Auber, 162 Birstal, 481 Brocket Hall. 120

Aughton, 181, 255 Bishop Auckland, 441 Brodsworth, 138, 457

Austin Priory, 359 Bishopthorpe. 29. 54, 78, Broghton-in-lithe, 210

Australia, 191, 297, 458 92 Brotherton, 31, 183. 202,

Aveley, 131 Bold, 93 260, 293

52S

Broughton-in-Craven, 92, Church custom. 219 Dewsbury, 165. 457

102, 380 -^—dedications, 98, 185, Dinglcy, 183

Brunanburgh, 28 193, 220, 230, 352, 370, Dolgelly, ii8

Bubwith, 290 385, 477 Domesday carucates, 107,

Buckinghamshire, 356 sites, 46, 230 332

Buckrose. 152 towers with spires, 405 Doncaster, 23 40,90, 147,

Burgh Waleis, 351 Fenton, 78, 80, 89« 191, 195, 202, 224, 230,

Burial on north side, 157 114, 162, 307, 3I1 233, 243, 257, 317. 402.

Burne. 262 Civil War, 40, 61, 95, 119, 475, ^88

Burnsall, 22, 184, 230, 385, 207, 259, 296, 376, 381, Dorsetshire, 125, 395

438 388, 409, 428 Dover, 87

Burton, 48 Clififord, 256, 287, 401, 408, Down, 71

Bury St. Edmunds, 461 412. 414, 419, 420, 438. Drax, 244, 245, 262

443 Driffield, 87

Calais, 69, 70 Cock Beck. 195, 214, 219, Dromore, 124

Caley. 471, 505 227, 315 Dublin, 189, 197, 467, 485

California, 172 Coins, remarkable disco v- Dunham, 128

Calton, 295. 469, 471 eries of, 204, 461 Dunholme, 67

Calverley, 259, 312, 493 Colchester, 358 Dunkeswick, 464. 484

Cambridge, 85, 137, 279, Colling, 181 Dunstanburgh, 11 1

283, 298. 393 Collingham, 175, 346. 423, Durham, 40, 109, 184, 224,
Canada, 441 425, 436, 439, 441, 448 367* 402, 410, 441, 474.

Canterbury, 41, 42, 81, 150, Colton, 107, no, 122, 128, 507P

199, 446, 461 129, 138, 142. 166, 175

Cantley, 175. 457 Compton, 443, 446 Easedvke, 236, 329, 330.

Carlaverock, 66, 366 Coningley, 181 331, 336, 349

Carlisle, 230, 233, 237, 282. Consecration Crosses, 161 , East Keswick, 323, 4P6O9

374. 378. 381. 416. 470 3701 392, 449 464
Carlton-in-Craven, 92, 457 Copley, 207 Ebchester, 232
with-Camblesworth Cork, 102 Eccup, 22, 486, 487

III, 262 Cornwall, 481, 488 Edinburgh, 52, 305, 312,

Carnaby, 108 Cottingley, 115, 351 429

Castleford, 232. 239 Couteland, in Elizabethan furniture, 163

Castle Howard, 214 Coventry, 73 Elmete, 203, 346

Castlev, 494, 504 Cowthorpe, 67, 153, 360 Elslack, 92, loi, 366

Cattail, 268 Crake, 40, 457 Ely, 223, 468, 471

Catterick, 230, 278, 447 Crachou, 64 Embsay, 64, 462, 465, 491

Catterton, 251, 266, 271, Craven, 161, 162 Epone, 77

352, 355. 356. 447 Crecy, 69 Escrick, 27. 319, 382, 439

Catton, 268 Crimean War, 120, 313, Esholt, 351, 399

Cawdor, 504 405, 440 Eshton, 386

Cawood, 2d. 74. 75. 130. Crosses, wayside, 103, 219, Essex, 276, 296, 404

148, 205, 257, 259. 262, 301, 385 Estby, 64

293, 401, 431 Cuddesworth, 267, 284 Euxton, 183

Castle, 30, 33, 40, 41 Cumberland. 24, 347, 356 Exeter, 468, 471

Church, 44 Customs, old, 28, 29, 50,

Charities, 68 53. 54, 116, 131, 143, 157, Farnhill, 386

Wolsey at, 86 192. 211, 224, 301, 303, Famley. 54, 181, 195, 196,

Chelmsford, 92 339, 390, 391, 428, 435, 199* 473^ 5^

Cheshire, 128 458 Fenton, Kirk, iu Church

Chester, 119, 128. 265, 437, Fenton

461 D ALTON, 123 Little, 52, 90, 91, 95

Chesterfield, 88, 195 Danes, 179, 203. 233. 236, Ferrybridge, 183

Chimneys, movable, 164 237. 239, 350, 400 Fewston. 495

Christian monuments, Darlington, 256, 292, 305. Fifteenth, tax of, 249

early, 179, 237, 385, 447. 431 Fishlake, 143

448. 450. 456 Deighton, 492 Fixby, 505

Christianity, primitive, 46, Denton, 136, 147, 169, 174, Flamborough, 256, 380

loi, 345, 384, 386, 392, 199, 374, 468, 473 Flintham, 136

445, 446 Derby, 261, 489. 507P Flixton. 117

Church and State. 350 Derry, 481 Follyfoot, 433

• a rare ded. stone, 193 Derwent, 27, 51 France, 359. 490

52$

Fountains Abbey, 66, 141,

255' 269, 459
Friends, Society of, 285,

286, 295, 408. 460
Fulneck, 297
Furness. 53, 385, 452

Gallows, Ancient, 203,

258
Garforth, 195, 278

Gargrave, 152, 181. 314, 366

Gawthorpe. 76, 351, 368,

464, 468

Geology, 26, 27, 177, 178,

315. 387
Georgia, 379. 382

Gibraltar, 373

Gildersome, 67

Gilling, 147, 169. 386, 394,

395' 447
Gisburn, 242, 383, 422

Glasgow, 151

Glusbum. 92, 379

Godmanchester, 232

Goldsborough.472, 479, 502

Goolc. 54

Greenwich, 116

Griraston (Dunnington),

"5' 194
Grimston Park. 177, 178,

179. 180, 183, 184. 189,

190. 108, 211, 235, 260,

291. 393- 396, 445. 473
Guildford, 87
Guisborough. 128. 317, 422,

436. 479
Guiseley, 115, 180, 283,418

Hackness, 348
Hadley (Middlesex), 343
Hagenby. 332. 349
Halifax, 23, 205. 215 260,

264, 305, 358, 438, 457
Hampsthwaite, 277
Harewood, 70. 183, 333,

341, 368,441.459,468,

492
Harrogate, 23, 413, 419.

430. 495
Hartlepool, 231, 345

Hartshead, 404

Harworth, 362

Haslemere, 379, 382

Haslewood, 63, 67, 68, 69,
75, 182, 191, 225 268, 270,
296, 310. 351, 378, 430

Hastings, 239

Hawfcesworth. 494

Headley, 322, 323, 324, 325,
326, 327, 328. 378, 380,
403, 404. 409, 410

Heaton, iii

Healaugh. 97. 107, 164. 231,

254, 286. 329, 331. 849

Priory, 332, 334, 342,

351. 850, 385* 388, 397
St. Heiv's monastery,

345i 350
Helmsley, iii. 280
Helthwaite, 380, 465, 479,

484, A85. 491
Helwick, 491
Hemsworth, 128. 168
Henry VHI. progress of, 40
Herfordshire, 202
Hertlington, 403
Heslington, 1x5
Hexham, 109. 290, 370
Hey. 473
Hinderskelf, 469
Holbeck, 278, 385, 489
Hornby Castle, 181
Holbrook, 88
Holdemess. 462
Holker. 442
Holmeby, 93
Hooton Pagnell, 457, 488,

489
Hornby Castle, 181

Homcastle, 424

Homington, 67, 106, 115,

182

Hornsey, 40

Horse races. 119, 150

Horsforth, 283. 479

Hospitality, old-time, 33,

489
Hostilers, 32

Hovingham, 494, 495

Howden, 255

Huddersfield, 122

Huddlestone. 32. 54, 94,

99. 178, i8i, 218, 244

Hull, 47, 54, 55. 256. 293. 429

Hunsingore, 277, 278

Hunslet, 102, 296

Idle, 360

Ilkley, 23, 24, 144, 166, 229,
230, 234, 274, 392, 443,

484
India, 200

Ingleby Greenhow, 370

Inghamites, 287

Ingmanthorp, 52, 338, 435

Inns. old. 32, 120, 158, 227,

264, 301, 429
Inverness, 507P
Ireland, 189, 196^ 289, 290,

344, 382, 404, 481. 485
Irnham, 109
Iron-works, ancient, 502
Isell, ^67. 470
Isle of Man, iii. 191

Jacobite Rebellion, 95,
207, 224, 263, 379, 409

relics of, 200

^ amaica, 114
] erusalem. 241
' ervaux, 255

Keeling Nunnery. 140
Keighley, 26, 115. 152, 296,

298, 414
Kelfield, 26
Kellerby, 438
Kellington, 378, 379
Kelstorn, 109
Kendal, 53. 414, 416. 470
Kent, 41, 230, 357, 417. 426,

490
Keswick, 27
Kexby, 156

Kildwick, 117, 159, 162
Kilnwick Percy, 291, 293
Kilwyk, 64

Kippax, 195, 218, 220, 415
Kirby Hall, 168. 175

Moorside, 112, 293

Kirk Bramwith. 115

Hammer ton, 167

Kirkby-in-Kendal, 469

Misperton, 84

Overblow. 263, 385,

431, 466, 486

Thore. 279

-Wharfe, 177, 207, 208

211, 245, 280, 410, 467,
469
-Wisk, 472

Kirkby's Inquest, 91, 108
Kirkheaton, 84
Kirklees, 123, 351, 404, 494
Kirklington. 480
Kirkstall, 141. 162, 263. 436,

449' 453' 488, 499
Knapton, 190
Knaresbro', 40. 115, 118,

126, 138, 152, 165, 238,

403, 432, 441, 452, 492
Knight service, 64, 67
Templars. 336, 431,

432, 492
Knights' fees, 109. 180, 243,

422, 489
Knottingley, 309
Knowsthorpe, 94

Lancaster, 160, 181, 182,

422
Langtoft. 457
Langwith, 28, 51
Lartington. 150
Lathbury, 98
Laughten-en-le-Morthen,

424

530

Lead. 63. 67, 75, 76, 219

Leathley, 505

Leckonneld, 247

Ledstone, 423, 425. 426, 453

Leeds, 88, 93, 102, 113, 128,
149, 183, 210, 213, 226,
235, 246, 260, 263, 278.
296. 396

(Kent), 113. 172

Museum, 232

Leicester, 39. 84, 305

Levens, 467, 468, 470

Leybum. 23

Lichfield, 73

Lidgate, 59

Lincoln. Lincolnshire, 114,

344' 350. 357. 366, 412,

421, 461, 466, 489
Lindley, 504
Linton-in-Craven. 184. 438

on-Ouse. 183

(Wetherby), 434, 460

Lin wood, 109

Liverpool, 71, 73 279. 297,

440
Liversedge, 327
Londesborougb, 189, 191,

199
London. 40 51, 47, 172,

197, 283, 293, 357
Longnor, 88

Longevity, 225, 308, 412
Long Preston, 283
Lonsdale. 27
Lotherton, 226
Lupton. 468
Lutterworth, 73

Malgrum, 64
Malham, 23
Mallerstang, 211
Maltby, 505
Malton, 151, 280
Manchester, 276, 297, 298,

399
Manorial system, 156, 331,

491

Marmoutier, 167

Marriage laws, ancient, 269

Marske, 150

Marston, 95, 172, 183, 312,

354
Marton. 278, 506

in-Cleveland, 244, 269

in-Craven, 66

Masham, 23, 347

Medbourne, 479

Melrose, 69

Melsonby, 261

Melton, 1 14, 457

Menston. 160, 172, 399, 506,

507P

Mexborough, 392
Micklethwaite, 486, 448,

449, 450, 453
Middlebam, 34. 40. 4^4
Middleton (Westmorland).

468. 470
Milford, 186, 187, 192, 210,

211
Mitton, n8
Monaghan, 128
Monastic orders, 141, 142
rules, 134, 137, 140,

142. 145, 146
Monk Fryston, 457
Montgomery, 114,
Morpeth, 24
Moss, rare. 219, 244
Muker, 150
Mulgrave, 40
Munich, 218
Myton, 47, 331, 336

Naburn, 102

Naffer ton, 184

Najara, 69

Naworth, 394

Nazareth, 66

Newark, 168, 292

Newcastle-on-Tyne. 32. 257
263, 305. 431, 461. 469

Newhall (Gawthorpe), 464

(Otley), 503

Newthorpe-j uxta-

Sherburn, 92

Newton Kyme, 40, 136, 161,
169. 178, 215. 231, 233,
236, 260. 283 305. 314,
320. 323. 324, 325. 326,
327, 868. 401, 418. 424

Newton -on-Ouse, 295

Ncwton-Waleys, 351

New York, 297

Norfolk, 415, 416

Norman ton, 51

Northallerton, 23

Northants, 196. 350, 447

North Burton, 457

Milford, 180, 181. 184,

197, 210

Shields, 399

-Wales, 333

Northumberland. 367. 422,

474
Nostel Priory. 123, 124, 141

143. 167. 242. 376, 403.

404
Nottingham. 136, 150, 422,

449, 488, 506
Nun Appleton, 74, 86, iii,

113, 120, 126, 132, 188,

170. 172, 200
Nuneaton. 72

Nuneham Courtenay, 187
Nun Monkton, 145. 169.

276, 284, 389, 422

Oakenshaw. 181
Oakworth, 152
Ockley, 143
Oglethorpe, 126, 136, 167,

325. 365. 876, 401. 421
Oldham, 199

Ollerton, 182

Organs, ancient, 337

Ossett, 287

Oswaldkirk, 342, 457

Otley. 28, 180, 185, 204,

292. 345' 471
Otterbum, 367
Ouse, 25, 26, 28. 32. 54, 62.
. 236

Ousefleet, 183
Ouston. 312, 323, 349
Overton, iii
Owston, 392
Oxenford, 51
Oxford. 71, 87. 137. 220.

405
Oxton, 107, no. 120, 128,

177. 207, 251, 270. 273.

277, 291, 294, 299. 812,
344

Pagan ritual, 127
Paisley. 151. 152
Pallethorpe. 106. 107. 115
Parlington, 94. 183, 197,

220. 221. 225. 407, 469
Pateley Bridge. 23. 399, 508
Patrick Brompton, 85
Penistone. 287. 410
Pennsylvania. 171
Penrith, 118
Peterborough, 280
Piddle, 109
Pilgrimage of Grace. 147,

255. 390
Plagues, 30, 109, X15, 206,

221. 222, 248, 250, 260,
261

Cattle, 109. 224

Plumpton. 182
Pocklethorpe, 184
Pocklington, 67. 379. 382.

438
Pontefract, 38. 55, 63, 75.
90, 194, 2x0. 232. 239.

252. 494
Pool, 468. 492, 503, 504. 505
Poppleton, 421
Portsmouth. 114
Postage, cost of. 120
Potterton, 181, 226
Priories, alien. 167, 359

531

Prehistoric relics. 140, 166, Rotherham. 23, 296, 467 Sicklinghall, 399, 408. 431

178, 2CX), 204, 315, 400, Rothwell, 457 Sinnington, 161

430, 443 Roubaix, 151 Skclton, 242, 457
works, 220, 231, 233, Rougemont, 242, 474. 484 Skewkirk, 167

237, 430. 451 Roundhay, 297, 380, 485 Skipton, 68. 81, 93, 246,

Roxby, 126 255, 277, 379. 406, 459.

QuENBY, 87 Royds Hall, 211 ^61, 46ip, 465

Rufforth, 350 Skipwith, 286

Railways, local, 307, Ruswarpe, 162 Smaws, 231, 271, 291, 294.

383, 429, 460 Ryedale, 336, 370 313. 3M. 3^S> 3^6, 323

Ravensthorpe, 220 Ryther, 62, 181, 182, 219, Snaith. 128, 457

Ravenstonedale, 355 466 Snydall, 51

Rawdon, 283, 378. 456, 478, castle, 74 South Kirkby, 124

483, 496 church, 77, 142 Milford, 214

Reading, 358 Spofforth. 108, 122, 160,

Reeth, 63 Saffron Walden, 292 238. 240, 247. 253, 266.

Rheims, 69, 378 Saint Albans, 253, 266,447 276. 307, 433, 434. 437,

Ribchester, 118 Asaph. 468 449

Ribston, 22, 23, 431 Bees, 347 Sprotborough, 466

Riccal, 5S Saleby, 70 Stamford Bridge. 232, 239.^

Richmond, 23, 261. 337, Salisbury, 73 280

355,410,447 Sallay Abbey, 238,241,242 Steeton (Bolton Percy),

Richmondshire, 210, 472 243, 255. 267, 268, 269, 107. no, 114, 120. 128,

Rievaulx, 141 270, 271, 273, 278, 366 129, 130, 131. 132, 133.

Rigton, 334, 401, 441, 453, Sandal, 40. 85 147, 148, 158, 164, 168,

456 Sandon, 73 215, 368, 373

Rilston, 256 Saxton. 40, 66, 95, 205, 211, (Airedale), 211. 379

Rimington. 92 214, 218, 223, 260, 278. (South Milford), 438

Rings, magic. 401, 431 296, 391, 457 Stewton. 109, i6i

Ripley Castle, 146, 159, Scarbro', 69, 199, 207, 255, Stillingfleet 47. 150, 151

494 297, 438 Stockeld, 182, 183, 206, 433

Ripon. 256, 404, 410, 485, Scarcroft, 67, 69, 182 Stratford-on-Avon, 279

494 Scarthingwell,95, 114, 181. Strete. 64

Ripponden, 119 205, 211, 218 Sturton, 222, 226

Rising in the North, 40, 44, Scholes, 246 Stutton, 195. 212, 233. 236,

255, 256 Scotland, 31, 44, 218, 230, 241, 245, 289, 299, 814,

River-side churches. 46, 320, 343. 418, 475 323, 395

230, 265, 267 Scottish invasion, 68, 247, Sun-dial, remarkable, 190
Robin Hood, 122, 123, 254, 248, 266, 270 Superstitions, 157, 158, 364,

306, 366 Scotton, 180, 271, 292 431
Rokeby, 53, 74 Scrayingham, 394 Surrey, 198, 199, 490
Roman bridge, 227 Scriven, 126, 331 Sussex, 258, 440
Camps, 166, 178, 230, Scruton, 472 Swaledale, 149, 150

231, 232, 233, 234 Sedbergh, 85, 88, 423 Swinden, 491
cemetery, 236 Selby, 26, 27. 31, 51, 52,

Christianity, 384, 445, 53, 54, 55. 74, 95, 138, Tadcaster, 46, 116, 119,

446 144, 182. 208, 244 259, 120. 121, 131, 150. 155,

coins, 231, 234, 235, 286. 290, 396, 406, 429 165. 175. 178, 192. 195,

384. 446 Selside, 468, 469 207, 228, 220, 345^ 350«

helmet, 199 Settle. 129, 242 356, 388, 409, 433, 464

inn custom, 303 Settrington, 88. 161 bridge, 245

inscriptions, 179, 348 Shad well, 182, 423 castle, 238, 239, 243,

lead pipe. 234 Shefl&eld, 23. 40, 105. 122, 246. 265, 282

milestone, 232 347 church, 166, 265, 291

roads, 158, 165, 220, Sherburn. 27, 30, 47, 53, Danish Mint, 237

229, 233, 236, 443 56,90, loi, 178, 180, 195, Grammar school. 281

tombs, 236. 384, 444 220. 223, 256, 438, 460, inns. 264, 274, 294,

villas, 178, 444 464 301, 302, 303, 304

water jugs, 235 Shilbottle, 108 name of , 232

Rome, 36. 39, 186, 269, 489 Sinningthwaite, Synning- Nonconformity, 281

Roses, wars of, 160, 213, thwaite. 355, 356, 357,- * old families, 291

254. 304. 367 897, 50S prehistoric, 229

532

Tadcaster trades, 251, 294,

306, 307. 308, 423
Tanshelf, 20$
Tasmania, 137
Tatha, Tatham, 232
Tavistock, 316
Taxation, Ninths, 270

Fifteenths, 249. 250

Teesdale. 53, 336, 367, 380,

Thetford, 27, 166
Thevedale, 178, 243, 244,

Thirkleby, 144

Thirsk, 336

Thorner, 292, 380, 460, 493

Thornholrae Priory. 181

Thornton, 67, 84, 244

in-Lonsdale, 468, 469

Thorp Arch, 87, 115, 160,

255, 365. 386. 390. 395.

412, 414, 421, 430. 449.

453
Grange, 396

Thorpe Stapleton, 75

Thribergh, 123

Thumscoe, 159

Tickhill 40, 124

Tithes, white, no

Tiverton, 72, 73

Tockwith. 285, 286, 287, 380

Todmorden, 199

Topcliffe, 108, 256

Toulston, 137. 170. as I.
316,817, 321, 322. 323,
3*4. 3*5. 326, 3*7, 32S,

364. 374. 401
Tour nay, 69

Towton, 81, III, 122, 160,

180. 210, 253, 312, 338

roses, 216

Trawden, 297

Trowbridge, 73. 83

Trysull, 131

Tuam, 71

Tynemouth, 184, 447

Ulleskelf, 54. 115. 120,
177, 180. 187, 191, 195,
197- 208, 276. 367

Ullesthorpe 205

Ulleswater, 205

Utley. 298

Vannes, 69

Viking names. 178, 193. 205

208
Virginia, 169, 170, 171.318

Wakefield. 115, 191, 208,

254. 298, 300. 319, 323.
409. 425, 428. 504

Wales, 440

Walshford Bridge, 431, 433

Walton, 107. 147, i6o, 169,

255. 339. 34*. 350. 355i
884, 416, 421, 426, 430,

453
Warter Priory, 167, 170

Weardley, 464, 465, 483

Weeton, 376, 464, 465, 483,

484, 491

Welbom, 109

Wellon, 69

Wells, holy, 230, 334, 384,

385
Wennington, 295

Wensley. 457

West Indies, 87, 114, 115

Westminster, in, 194, 282.

45*. 457. 468
Weston, 493
Wetherby. 22, 224, 252,

256. 257, 259, 263, 286,

307. 356. 408. 423. 429
Wetwang, 87. 183. 185
Whalley. 191, 255
Wharram-le-Street, 457
Wharram Percy, 108
Wheatley, 207
Whitby. 56, 232, 241, 242,

346. 365. 469, 507P
Whitwick, 109
Wigan, 199. 333
Wighill, 177, 213. 252, 253.

*54. 255. 275. 297. 315.

323. 325. 829, 357. 360,

361. 390, 481
Wigton, 464, 478
Wilton, 48
Wiltshire, 149, 370
Winchester (U.S. A), 170
Windermere, 414, 416
Windsor, 150, 378
Wisbeach. 71, 72
Wistow, 28, 29. 32, 44, 46.

5*' 53. 54. 55. 56, 59.
fto. 95, 1 01. 204, 262, 278,

345. 495
Woddehus, 66, 500

Womersley, 282, 481

Woodsome. 455, 457

Woolas, 155

Wooley, 319
'Worcester, 279
'Workington, 163

Worksop. 362

Wressle, 40, 323

Wye, 474. 488

Wyke. Wike, 423, 459, 461,

464
Wykedon, 64
Wyntworth, 64

York, 26, 30, 44, 49, 52, 67.
69, 74, 96, 98. 120, 126,
144, 150, 166. 207, 228,
229, 239, 251, 256, 356.

373
All Saints* Church, 84.

300
and Ainsty Hunt. 169.

406

Black Friars, 167

Castle, 61, 211, 303

Castlegate (St. Mary's)

Church, 84, 159. 193. 285,

345« 348
-Duke of Wellington at.

198

— Holy Trinity Priory,
64,109,167,173,175,226,
488, 489
— Hospital of

St. Leonard. 67
Hospital of St. Peter,

— Manor House, 261
— Minster, 46, 51, 70, 78,
102, 108, 136, 189, 205,
243, 284, 294, 313. 361.
400
— Museum, 166, 204, 236,

412

— Roman, 234, 444

— St. Clement's Nunnery

55. 194

— St. Helen's-on-the-

Walls, 384

— St Mary's Abbey, 1 19,
141, 144, 148. 159, 161,
167, 242, 377, 389, 445
-St. Mary's Church,

Bishophill, 455. 495
— St Mary's and Holy
Angels Church, 422, 425,
449, 454, 477
— St. Olave's Church,

119.457.464

— Skeldei'gate. 142. 144

Soc.ety of Friends, 285

286. 292
Yeddingham, 161

ucr 1 ^

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Full text of "Lower Wharfedale : being a complete account of the history, antiquities and scenery of the picturesque valley of the Wharfe, from Cawood to Arthington"

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