SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
SOME
CRAVEN WORTHIES
BY
WILLIAM ARTHUR SHUFFREY, M.A,
VICAR OF ARNCLIFFE WITH HAI.TON GILL
AND RURAL DEAN OF THE NORTHERN DIVISION or THB
DEANERY OF CRAVEN
Sepultus, sed non defunctus '
LONDON
F. E. ROBINSON & CO.
20 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
LEEDS
RICHARD JACKSON
1903
PR
670
PREFACE
THIS work, which has been accomplished in my leisure
hours, is an attempt to keep green a little longer
the memory of some remarkable men who were all
natives or inhabitants of this Craven district. For
it has been remarked that there are few influences
on society more wholesome than the fame of its
Worthies. 1
The reader will perhaps admit that there was room
for a record of this kind when he is reminded that
four of these ' Worthies ' have no written memorial.
Two of them have only very scanty notices accorded
to them in the ' Dictionary of National Biography,'
and only three of them have obtained a detailed
biography in that excellent publication. The author
of this work takes this opportunity of acknowledging
his obligations to the writers of the articles on * The
Lady Anne Clifford ' and ' General John Lambert.'
He must also thank numerous friends for information
as to dates and names, and for permission to reproduce
portraits to illustrate this book.
O]
vi PREFACE
Perhaps an apology is due to the learned reader, if
he finds an absence of references for many of the
quotations which are used. But living far from
libraries, and with only occasional means of access to
the British Museum, and the Bodleian Library, the
writer has not been able always to verify his references.
Accordingly, they have sometimes been omitted, or only
generally given.
ABNCLIPFE VICARAGE,
November, 1903.
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD (1589-1676) . . I
GENERAL LAMBERT (1619-1683) . . .25
EDWARD WILSON, M.A. (1739-1804), CANON OF WINDSOR;
PREBENDARY OF GLOUCESTER J RECTOR OF BINFIELD J
AND CHAPLAIN TO THE EARL OF CHATHAM . . 66
WILLIAM PALEY, D.D. (1743-1805), ARCHDEACON OF
CARLISLE, ETC. . . * . . Il6
GEORGE CROFT, D.D. (1747-1809), FELLOW OF UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE, OXFORD J VICAR OF ARNCLIFFE ; LECTURER OF
ST. MARTIN'S, BIRMINGHAM; AND CHAPLAIN TO THE
EARL OF ELGIN, ETC. . . . .154
MR. THOMAS LISTER (1752-1829), THE FIRST BARON
RIBBLESDALE . . . . .180
THOMAS LINDLEY (1754-1847), INCUMBENT OF HALTON
GILL ...... 208
WILLIAM CARR, B.D, (1763-1843), FELLOW OF MAGDALEN
COLLEGE, OXFORD; INCUMBENT OF BOLTON ABBEY, ETC. 218
JOHN SAUL HOWSON, D.D. (1816-1885), DEAN OF CHESTER 234
WILLIAM BOYD, M.A. (1809-1893), ARCHDEACON OF
CRAVEN J AND VICAR OF ARNCLIFFE . . . 247
[ vii ]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ARNCLIFFE CHURCH .... Frontispiece
PORTRAIT OF THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD . fating 1
(From a painting in the National Portrait
Gallery.)
PORTRAITS OF OLIVER CROMWELL AND LAMBERT 25
(From a painting, said to be, by Dobson, in the
possession of Sir A. E. Middleton, Bart., of
Belsay Castle.)
PORTRAITS OF CANON WILSON AND HIS BROTHER 66
(From a picture in the possession of Mr. Martin
Knowles, of Long Preston.)
PORTRAIT OF ARCHDEACON PALEY . . Il6
THE BOYLE SCHOOL, BOLTON ABBEY, NOW THE
RECTORY . . . . 154
PORTRAIT OF THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE . ,,180
(After a painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence.)
GISBURNE PARK . . . 108
HALTON GILL CHAPEL AND PARSONAGE . . 208
[ix]
x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
PORTRAIT OF MR. WILLIAM CARR . . facing 218
(After a painting by Bird, in the possession oj
Mr. W. Carr, M.A., J.P., of Ditchingham
Hall.)
PORTRAIT OF DEAN HOWSON .. '. . . 234
PORTRAIT OF ARCHDEACON BOYD 247
LADY ANNE CLIFFORD.
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD
' Herein this lady had something like the fate of Noah : saw
the times before the flood which sin brought down ; weathered
out with patience the time under the floods of war and misery.
Faith and Providence building her ark, she lived to see the
deluge of blood and war dried up, God in his never-to-be-
forgotten mercy clearing the skies and making the sun to shine
upon us again/ BISHOP RAINBOW.
THIS illustrious lady of an illustrious family was born
at Skipton Castle on January 30, 1589. The Cliffords,
who had through several reigns played an important
part in the political history of the North of England,
came into possession of their Skipton domains some-
time in the thirteenth century. In the Wars of the
Roses the family espoused the fortunes of the Lancas-
trian party, and after the Battle of Wakefield, in 1461,
the honours and estates of the ninth lord, John de
Clifford, were forfeited to the Crown. The vicissitudes of
the career of the ' Shepherd Lord ' are so well known as
not to need any mention here. The family estates were
restored to this lord in the reign of Henry VII. The
father of the Lady Anne was the celebrated George
Clifford, the thirteenth Lord of the Honour of Skipton
and third Earl of Cumberland. He was a skilful navi-
1
2 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
gator, who made nine voyages, chiefly to the West
Indies. In 1598 he took Porto Rico. He was a great
favourite with Queen Elizabeth. At an audience with
the Queen after one of his voyages, she dropped a
glove, which he took up and presented to her on his
knees. She desired him to keep it for her sake, so he
adorned it richly with diamonds, and wore it ever after in
the front of his hat at public ceremonies. He was one of
the Peers who sat in judgment on Mary Queen of Scots.
The mother of the subject of this memoir was the
Lady Margaret Russell, the third daughter of Francis,
second Earl of Bedford. In her latter years the Lady
Anne caused a diary to be written, in which are related
briefly the chief events of her long life, and in which
she thus describes her person : ' I was like both father
and mother, hair brown, very thick, and so long that
it reached to the calf of my legs when I stood upright,
with a peak of hair on my forehead and a dimple in
my chin, like my father ; full cheeks and round face,
like my mother ; and of an exquisite shape of body,
resembling my father. But now time and age hath
long since ended all those beauties, which are to be
compared to the grass of the field. 1 She adds a few
lines further onwards which show that she held the
prevailing belief in astrology and the influence of the
planets : < As old Mr. J. Denham, a great astronomer
that sometimes lived in my father's house, would often
say, I had much in me in nature to show that the sweet
influences of the Pleiades and the bands of Orion, men-
tioned in the 38th chapter of Job, were powerful both
at my conception and nativity/
When she was five years and eight months old the
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 3
age, as she tells us, at which her two brothers died she
had a most desperate sickness, so that she was given
over for dead as she was in 1604 and in her child-
hood she narrowly escaped death by water, fire, and
other great dangers.
The Lady Anne spent most of her youthful days in
London. She was carefully educated by Samuel Daniel,
a poet of no mean capacity, whose collected works
published in 1599 contain verses addressed to his
noble pupil, who caused a monument to be erected to
his memory in the church of Beckingham in Somerset
bearing this inscription :
' Here lies, expecting the second coming of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, the dead body of Samuel
Daniel, Esqr., that excellent poet and historian, who
was tutor to the Lady Anne Clifford in her youth. She
was daughter and heir to George, Earl of Cumberland,
who in gratitude to him erected this monument to his
memory a long time after, when she was Countess of
Pembroke, Dorset, and Montgomery.'
He died in 1619. She also erected the monument to
Edmund Spenser in Westminster Abbey. From Daniel
the Countess imbibed a keen taste for poetry and history.
She was afterwards under the guidance and tuition of
Mrs. Taylor, and there was amongst the papers at
Skipton Castle an account -book (cf. Whitaker, 3rd
ed., p. 388) containing the items of the expense of
her education between the years 1600-1602. The
whole sum expended amounted to only ^?35 13s. 3d.,
and one item shows that the writing out of the
Catechism formed a part of her religious education.
When she was fifteen years and nine months of
4 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
age her father died at the Savoy House, London, on
October 30, 1605, and at nineteen years of age she
was married (on February 25, 1608), in her mothers
house in Augustine Friars in London, to Richard
Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, afterwards the second Earl
of Dorset. By this marriage she had three sons, who
died in their youth, and two daughters Margaret, who
married John Tufton, afterwards the second Earl of
Thanet ; and Isabel, who became the wife of James
Compton, third Earl of Northampton. The Lady
Anne in her diary thus describes her first husband :
' This first lord of mine was in his own nature of a just
mind, of a sweet disposition, and very valiant in his own
person. He had a great advantage in his breeding by
the wisdom and devotion of his grandfather, Thomas
Sackville, Earl of Dorset and Lord High Treasurer of
England, who was held one of the wisest men of his
time, by which means he was so good a scholar in all
manner of learning that in his youth, when he lived in
the University of Oxford, his said grandfather being
at that time Chancellor of that University, there was
none of the young nobility then students there that
excelled him. He was also a good patriot to his
country, and generally well beloved in it, and much
esteemed of by all the Parliament which sat in his
time, and so great a lover of scholars and soldiers
as that, with an excessive bounty towards them, or,
indeed, any of worth that were in distress as that he
did much diminish his estate, as also with excessive
prodigality in housekeeping, and other noble ways at
Court, as tilting, masquing, and the like, Prince Henry
being then alive. 1
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 5
It was this lord who built and endowed the alms-house
at East Grinstead, now known as Sackville College. The
marriage was not a happy one. The Countess speaks of
having crosses and contradictions with her lord because
she would not sell her lands for money. Whitaker
(3rd ed., p. 389) quotes from a letter in which she
speaks of ' having been turned out of her lord's house
at Whitehall.' And she and her mother had other
troubles, after her father's death, with an uncle and
cousin concerning the family estates.
It appears that her mother instituted several lawsuits
for the recovery of estates which had been seized by her
husband's brother when he assumed the title of Earl of
Cumberland on his j brother's death, and when the
matter was referred to King James, he gave a decision
in the Earl's favour. But the Lady Anne refused to
sign the document in which she was asked to cut the
ancient entail, by which a certain portion of the pro-
perty was annexed to the Barony of Clifford, which
devolved upon the Lady Anne at her father's death ;
and, to make matters worse, a writ was issued on
February 17, 1628, to her cousin, Henry Clifford, call-
ing him up to the House of Lords, in the Barony of
Clifford, under the mistaken impression that the ancient
barony of that name was vested in him on her father's
decease. On the death of this Earl of Cumberland,
the fifth of that name, on December 11, 1643, without
male issue, a large portion of the family estates in the
North reverted to her under the provisions of her
father's will, and the family disputes about property,
which had lasted for thirty-eight years, came to an end.
But we must return to the story of the Lady Anne's
6 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
married life. Her first husband died on March 28, 1624.
She determined not to marry again, as she had shortly
after his death a severe attack of small-pox, ' which
disease," she says, ' did so martyr my face that it con-
firmed more and more my mind never to marry again,
though the providence of God caused me after to alter
my resolution/ So we find chat six years later she was
married (June 3, 1630) to Philip Herbert, fourth Earl
of Pembroke and Montgomery, at Chenies in Bucking-
hamshire. But she does not seem to have been more
fortunate in retaining the affection of this her second
husband than she was with the Earl of Dorset, for,
speaking of her married life in her diary, she very
quaintly observes 'that in both their lifetimes the
marble pillars of Knowle in Kent and Wilton in
Wiltshire, were to me oftentimes but the gay arbour of
anguish, insomuch that a wise man who knew the inside
of my fortune would often say that I lived in both
these my lord's great families as the river Roan or
Rodanus runs through the Lake Geneva, without
mingling any part of its stream with that lake ; for I
gave myself wholly to retiredness as much as I could
in both of these families, and made good books and
virtuous thoughts my companions.' Hartley Coleridge,
speaking of her married life, says : ' From the self-
satisfaction with which she discloses the sources of her
trouble, it is evident that, however much her peace
might be disquieted, her heart was never bruised. Had
she ever loved either of her lords she could not have
found her genius so potently happy to sustain their
unkindness. She considered marriage as a necessary
evil, a penalty of womanhood, and, expecting no felicity,
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 7
suffered no disappointment.' There is not sufficient
evidence to justify the sweeping assertion here made as
to the Lady Anne's views of matrimony. Certainly the
ill-conduct and profligacy of her first husband was
calculated to make her dissatisfied with her married life,
but the fact that six years after she enters into a second
matrimonial alliance seems to prove that she had no
quarrel with the married state in itself. During the
troublous period of the struggle between King Charles
and his Parliament she remained in peace at Baynards
Castle, waiting patiently for better times. In the diary
we read : ' I and my daughter went to lye at Baynard
Castle, which was then a house full of riches, and was
the more secured by my lying there, where I continued
to lye in my own chamber without removing 6 years
and 9 months, which was the longest time I ever con-
tinued to lye in one house in all my life, the Civill wars
being then very hot in England, so that I may well say
it was then, as it were, a place of refuge for me to hide
myself in " till those troubles were overpassed"
(Isa. xliii. 2).
In the year 1626, when she was staying at Bol brook
House in Sussex, and had just received her rents, an
attempt at robbery was made, on May 6.
Her second husband took some part in the political
disturbances of the time, and, much to her distress, he
joined the Roundheads, in consequence, it is said, of his
pique at being deprived of the Lord Chamberlain's staff
by King Charles I. He just outlived the abolition of
the monarchy, and accepted a seat in the Rump Parlia-
ment. He died on January 23, 1 650, at his lodging in
the Cockpit, near Whitehall, at the age of sixty-five.
8 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
The news of his decease was conveyed to his wife, who
was then at Appleby Castle. It reached her on
the 27th. He was buried at Salisbury on February 9.
The Lady Anne thus sums up his character : ' He was
of a very quick apprehension, a sharp understanding,
very crafty withal, and of a discerning spirit, but
extremely choleric by nature, which was increased the
more by the office of Lord Chamberlain to the King,
which he held many years. He was never out of
England but some two months, when he went to France
with other lords in the year 1625 to attend Queen
Mary at her first coming into England to be married to
King Charles her husband. He was one of the greatest
noblemen of his time in England in all respects, and
was generally throughout the realm very well beloved. 1
After the death of her husband the Lady Anne
retired to the North, where she had six houses Skipton
Castle, Barden Tower, and Pendragon, Appleby,
Brougham, and Brough Castles. These houses were
more or less in a state of decay and ruin, and the
Countess spent many of the years of her widowhood in
building up and restoring the waste places of many
generations. She refers to her journey to the North in
these words : ' I did go out of London (July 11, 1647)
onwards on my journey towards Skipton, so as when I
went not far from North Hall (Hertfordshire), where I
had formerly lived, and so by easy journeys on the road
I came to Skipton the 18th of the month into my
Castle there, it being the first time of my coming to it
after the pulling down of most of the old Castle, which
was done some 6 months before by order of Parliament,
because it had been a garrison in the late Civil War.
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 9
And I was never till now in any part of the Castle since
I was 9 or 10 weeks old.' But she tells us that in 1616
(October 12), when she and her mother were travelling
through Craven, and would have gone into the Castle
to see it, ' we were not permitted to do so, the
doors thereof being shut against us by my uncle of
Cumberland's officers in an uncivil and disdainful
manner.'
On July 28, 1649, she went over to Barden for the
first time and viewed the old decayed tower, which had
been the favourite abode of the Shepherd Lord, and she
determined to put it once more into good repair. She
says in 1 650 : ' I employed myself in building and
reparation at Skipton and at Barden Tower, and in
causing the bounds to be ridden and my courts kept in
several manors in Craven, and in these kind of country
affairs about my estate which I found in extreme
disorder, by reason it had been kept so long from me.'
Her life seems now to have been a very happy one, for
she says : ' I do more and more fall in love with con-
tentments and innocent pleasures of a country life,
which humour of mind I do wish, with all my heart, if
it be the will of Almighty God, may be conferred on
my posterity which are to succeed me in these places,
for a wise body ought to make their own home the
place of self-fruition, the comfortablest part of their
life. But this must be left to a succeeding providence,
for none can know what shall come after them ; but to
invite them to it, that saying in the 16th Psalm, v. 5-8,
may be fitly applied.' We seem here to have some
allusion to the troubles of her married and Court life,
from which she was evidently glad to be free. And well
10 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
she might say, ' I have a goodly heritage ' as she thought
of her six castles and of her fair domains in the most
picturesque parts of Craven, and of her lands, extending,
almost without a break, from Skipton to Broughton in
Westmoreland, a distance of over fifty miles.
In 1651 she speaks of Elizabeth Clifford (her cousin),
Countess of Cork, as residing at Bolton, probably at
the Hall, and of their exchanging civilities.
Although she had returned to the North, and held
no communication with the seat of government, she
did not escape the inquisition which was applied in
order to discover the religious opinions of persons of
quality. When the use of the Book of Common Prayer
was prohibited, she still continued to have it said in
her chapels, at the risk of the penalties attached to
such a use. Bishop Rainbow says : ' She was after
this ' (examination of her faith) ' so resolute to stick
to the order of the Church in the main part of prac-
tice, partaking of the Holy Eucharist, that when
there was a kind of interdict in the land, a forbidding
to administer the Sacrament according to the Common
Prayer, she would not, what danger so ever might
happen, communicate any other way, sticking close to
the rules and form of sound words prescribed by the
rubric, to which she had always been accustomed, and
had approved it by her own judgment.' In her diary
she frequently mentions the progress made in her
building operations and repairs at her several houses.
In 1655 she writes : 6 1 caused part of Appleby Church,
which was ruinous, to be pulled down and rebuilt at a
cost of ^600 or =700. This summer also, though I
lay at Appleby Castle, yet by my appointment and
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 11
at my own charge was the steeple of Skipton Church,
in the east and north parts of it, which had been pulled
down in the late Civil War, built up again and repaired
and leaded all over, and some part of the church itself
was also repaired, and a tomb erected and set up in
memory of my noble father. 1
Thus Skipton owes much to the Lady Anne, and
this entry in the diary enables us to fix the date of those
portions of the church which are referred to. Then she
continues : ' And about the first of October ' (1655),
' when I lay now in my house at Skipton, did I begin
to make ye rubbish be carried out of ye old Castle at
Skipton which had lain in it since it was thrown down
and demolished in December, 1648, and ye January
following. The said old Castle was very well finished
and new built up, tho 1 I came not then to lie in it by
reason of the smell and unwholesomeness of the new
walls. 1 In 1657 we read, ' 13 rooms finished at Skipton
Castle. 1 And in the same year the tomb which she
had caused to be made for herself at Appleby Church
was finished. This erection of a burial-place seems not
to have been uncommon amongst the wealthier classes
in those times, and probably it was the same feeling
which caused a dalesman in the eighteenth century (cf.
Wilson's letter, p. 85) to make his own coffin.
In 1659 she records : ' Great repairs in the walls of
Skipton Castle, and Barden Tower, when Gabriel
Vincent was Steward, all finished to my good liking
and content. 1 She slept in Barden Tower for the first
time in May, 1659. In July, 1660, the Comptons, one
of her married daughter's family, came to Barden for
the night, and occupied four rooms at the west side of
12 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the great chamber. This lady was very fond of record-
ing her works of rebuilding and reparation in long
inscriptions similar to the following, which was placed
on Skipton Castle : ' This Skipton Castle was repayred
by the Lady Anne Clifford, Countess Dowager of Pem-
brokee, Dorsett, and Montgomerie, Baronesse Clifford of
Westmerland and Veseie, Ladye of the Honour of
Skipton in Craven and High Sheriffesse of Westmore-
land in the years 1657 and 1658, after this main part
of itt had layne ruinous ever since December, 1648, and
the January following, when it was then pulled down
and demolished almost to the foundation by the com-
mand of the Parliament then sitting at Westminster
because itt had been a garrison in the Civil warres in
England. Is : Ch. 58, v. 12. God's name be praised !'
The historian of Craven thinks that the Lady Anne
exaggerated the damage which the castle had received
in the Civil Wars. By the 'main part' we are to
understand the old castle only, as distinct from the
gallery. < After all,' he says, ' may we not be allowed
to suspect that the good lady expresses herself too
strongly with respect to the total demolition even of
this part of the castle in order to magnify her own
achievements in restoring it ?' And the editor of the
third edition of his work says : ' The Countess evidently
makes too much of the damage done by the Round-
heads, for it is easy to see that only the upper part of
the rounders was destroyed, except the southern tower
of the entrance and the tower adjoining, which seem to
have been nearly demolished ; and as the castle was
not allowed to be made capable of being fortified again,
the walls were pulled down to a level line and then
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 13
rebuilt, the masonry being thinner above the line, as
is well seen in the southern tower. The old flat roofs
were no doubt destroyed, and the Countess replaced
them with sloping roofs, which would not admit of
cannon being placed upon them. She also diverted
the roadway which formerly led to the entrance, and
built the new entrance in a civil style of architecture,
with a chamber over it, and a bold flight of steps
leading up to the gateway." Probably about this time
she planted in the bailey of Skipton Castle an acorn
from the oak at Boscobel (which sheltered King
Charles II.) as a symbol of the ancient loyalty of her
house. It grew into a noble tree.
She next turned her attention to another of her
residences, Pendragon Castle, which was situated at
Mallerstang, on the borders of Westmoreland. This
ancient ruin and former home of the Veteriponts, who
were ancestors of the Cliffords, had not been inhabited
since the time of Idonea de Veteripont, in whose days
it was burnt by the Scots in the fifteenth year of
Edward III.
In 1660 the Countess caused it to be repaired, and
she often stayed there when on a visit to Westmoreland.
' On October 14th she lay there three nights, 1 to show
her interest in the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants
of that district. She bought lands of the value of <!!
per annum for %%0, as an endowment for a clergyman
to minister in the chapel of Mallerstang.
Perhaps the most touching memorial which the
Countess has left is the ' pillar ' which she caused to be
erected in stone in the parish of Brougham, on the
road between Penrith and Appleby. The memorial is
14 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
intended to commemorate a last parting from her
mother, whom she dearly loved. It bears this inscrip-
tion : ' This pillar was erected in 1656 by the Right
Honourable Anne Countess Dowager of Pembroke, the
sole heir of the Right Honourable George Earl of
Cumberland, for a memorial of her last parting with
her good and pious mother, the Right Honourable
Margaret Countess Dowager of Cumberland, the 2nd
of April, 1616. 1 In memory whereof she also left ' an
annuity of 4t to be distributed to the poor within this
Parish of Brougham every 2nd day of April for ever
upon the stone hereby. Laus Deo.' This rent-charge
issues out of an estate in Yanwath in the parish of
Barton which is charged with the payment thereof,
and is distributed about the 2nd of April by the
minister and churchwardens amongst two, three, or four
families not receiving weekly relief under the name of
'Pillar 1 money (cf. Whitaker, 3rd ed., p. 386).
The poet Rogers, in the ' Pleasures of Memory, 1 thus
alludes to this pillar :
' Hast thou through Eden's wild wood vales pursued
Each mountain scene majestically rude ;
Nor there awhile with lifted eye revered
That modest stone which pious Pembroke reared :
Which still records beyond the pencil's power
The silent sorrows of a parting hour ;
Still to the musing pilgrim points the place
Her sainted spirit most delights to trace.'
The Lady Anne, like Queen Elizabeth, was much
addicted to making ' progresses, 1 but in this case they
were not made for the purpose of visiting her neigh-
bours, but that she might take up her abode successively
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 15
in her six northern residences. It must have been a
very picturesque scene to witness the Countess on these
journeys, generally on her 'horse litter,' with some of
the chief servants in the large coach and a number of
her retainers accompanying her on horseback.
On the journeys from Cumberland to Skipton she
frequently stopped the night at Kirby Lonsdale, but
once it is recorded that she came by Settle, and then
over the moors by Malham Tarn.
September 25, 1662. -' Into the inn at Settle, where I
lay the night and never lay there before, and the next
day, being the 26th, I came over the moor by Ma wham
water Tarne, where I had not been 9 or 10 years
before, and so into my house at Barden Tower.'
But when she wished to reach Pendragon or Brough
Castle the journey was made through Upper Wharfe-
dale, and then across the upper part of Wensleydale.
Thus the Countess relates in her diary, October 6, 1663 :
'After I had lain in Skipton Castle in ye chamber
there wherein I was born, just 5 months from my
coming from Barden Tower did I remove from thence
onwards on my journey toward Westmoreland, so as
I went to Mr. Cuthbert Wade's house at Kilnsey, and
lay there ye night, and so ye next day from them
through Kettlewell Dale, up Buckden Rakes, and over ye
stake into Wensleydale to my cosen Mr. Thos. Metcalf s
house at Nappa, where I lay also ye night, and on to
Pendragon. And this was the first time I was ever in
Kettlewell Dale or went over Buckden Rakes or the
Stake or Cotter, or any of those dangerous places
wherein yet God was pleased to preserve me on this
journey.'
16 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
The Wade family mentioned here lived at Kilnsey
Hall (which is now in ruins) in the seventeenth century.
One of the family, Sir W. Wade, Knight, was Lieu-
tenant of the Tower of London, and other members of
the family gave the Communion-plate (which is still in
use) to Arncliffe Church. Their interest in Littondale
came through the marriage of a Wade with a Litton
of Litton Hall.
In 1667 (July 29) we read of another journey along
these 'dangerous places.' This time the Countess
stayed at the little village of Starbotton ; which lies
between Kettlewell and Buckden. 'I went into one
John Symondson's house at Starbotton in Craven, where
I lay one night, and then on to Pendragon.' We
can gather from the diary what a deep impression
the Great Plague of London made throughout the
country. 4 In the year 1665 and the beginning of the
following year there was a great plague in the city and
suburbs of London, whereof there died for several weeks
together 8,000 a week, the like whereof was never
known before.' And of the Fire which followed she
writes : ' The fire of London burnt Dorset House,
Baynard Castle, but Thanet House was preserved.
80 churches were burnt and St. Paul's."*
August 6, 1666, another journey is recorded. ' I
went to the Chappel of Mallerstang by the way for
awhile, it being the first time I was ever in the Chappel,
and so over Cotter and those dangerous ways into one
Mr. Coleby's house near Bainbridge in Wensleydale,
where I lay the night with my women servants and
three of my men servants and my other servants lying
at Askrigg and Bainbridge, and on to Kilnsey on the
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 17
7th.' This habit of removing from place to place was
maintained to the very last days of her life, and even in
extreme old age. Bishop Rainbow gives a description
of one of the last ' progresses ' that the Countess made,
showing her strong will and strenuous resolution, and
also the reason why she loved these journeys. He says :
4 In her frequent removals, both going and coming, she
strewed her bounty all the way. And for this end it
was (as may be charitably conjectured) that she so often
removed ; and that not only in the winter season, less
fit for travellers, but also that she chose to pass those
uncouth and untrodden, those mountainous and almost
impassable ways, that she might make the poor people
her pioneers, let the season be ever so bad, the places
never so barren. When about three years since she
had appointed to remove from Appleby to Brougham
Castle (in January), the day being very cold, a frost and
misty, yet much company coming, as they usually did,
to attend her removals, she would needs hold her
resolution, and in her passage out of her house she
diverted into the Chappel (as at such times she com-
monly did) and there at, or near a window, sent up her
private prayers and ejactulations, when immediately she
fell into a swoon, and could not be recovered till she
had been for some time laid upon a bed near a great
fire. The gentlemen and neighbours who came to attend
her used much persuasion that she would return to her
chamber and not travel on so sharp and cold a day ; but
she having before fixed on this day, and so much com-
pany being come purposely to wait on her, she would
go. And although as soon as she came to her horse litter
she swooned again and was carried into a chamber as
18 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
before, yet as soon as that fit was over she went, and was
no sooner come to her journey's end (9 miles) but a
swoon seized her again ; from which being soon re-
covered, when some of her servants and others represent
to her with repining her undertaking such a journey
foretold by divers to be so extremely hazardous to her
life, she replied, she knew she must die, and it was the
same thing to her to die in the way as in the house, in
her litter as in her bed, declaring a no less courage than
the great Roman General, " Necesse est ut earn, non ut
vivam." '
Thus she spent the long years of her life, living
amongst her dependents and neighbours, and dispensing
her bounties on every hand, and revered for her piety
and love by all the countryside. The Countess retained
her bodily vigour and her quick understanding to the
last. Her death, which took place on Wednesday,
March 22, 1676, is thus described : On Sunday ye 9th
of March it pleased Almighty God to visit her with
sickness which wrought so sharply upon her all day
Monday and Tuesday she was forced to keep her bed,
and on Wednesday the 22nd of the month, about
6 o'clock in the afternoon, after she had endured all her
pains with the most Christian fortitude, always answer-
ing those who asked her how she did with "I thank
God I am very well," which were her last words to
mortals, she with much cheerfulness in her own
chamber at Brougham Castle in Westmoreland, wherein
her noble father was born and her blessed mother died,
did yield up her precious soul into the hands of her
merciful Redeemer. Her body, wrapped in seare-cloth
and lead, was buried the 14th of April, 1676, being
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 19
drawn by six horses, at mid-day reached the vault pre-
pared by herself at Appleby Church. 1
Her funeral sermon was preached by Bishop Rainbow
of Carlisle, who took for his text Prov. xiv. 1 : ' Every
wise woman buildeth her house ' a very appropriate
text for a lady who had built or repaired six castles,
seven churches, and two alms-houses.
And now something must be said about the domestic
life and great piety of this remarkable woman.
She was not only anxious that her own life should be
modelled upon the Christian pattern, but she was also
careful that the lives of those around her should be
formed upon the same pattern. She kept no domestic
chaplain, but when she was in residence at each of her
six houses the parochial clergyman officiated in her
household. In her own chamber the Countess prayed
three times a day. She read the Psalms daily as they
are appointed to be read for each day in the month in
the Book of Common Prayer, and it was a common
practice for her to read through one of the gospels every
week. A favourite chapter (Rom. viii.) was repeated
every Sunday, and this she repeated on her death-bed.
She was also very kind to the poor, and especially to
those who occupied her alms-houses at Beamsley* and
Appleby. And so Bishop Rainbow says : ' Although she
was Countess of three counties, you might have some-
times seen her sitting in the alms-house among her
twelve sisters, as she called them, and as if they had
been sisters indeed or her own children. She would
* This alms-house, which was originally founded by her mother,
Margaret, Countess of Cumberland, was ' more perfectly finished '
and re-endowed by an estate at Hare wood by the Lady Anne.
20 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
sometimes eat her dinner with them at this alms-house ;
but you might find them often dining with her at her
table, some of them every week, all of them once a
month, and after meat as freely and familiarly con-
versing with them in her chamber as if they had been
her greatest guests. For the edification of her servants
she adopted this method, and that they might be better
instructed as communicants of the Church, 1 says the
Bishop, ' spiritual meat (John vi.), this Lady took care
that it might be provided for all her household in due
season those three seasons in the year when the Church
requires it ; and once more in the year at least, besides
those three great Festivals, she made one Festival
more, for all that were fit to be invited or compelled
(as in the Gospel) to come to the supper. And that
they might be fitted and well prepared, she took care
that several books of devotion and piety might be
provided four times in the year, that everyone might
take their choice of such books as they had not before,
by which means those that had lived in her house long
(and she seldom turned any away) might be furnished
with books of religion and devotion in every kind.'
And again he says : ' She would frequently bring out of
the rich storehouse of her memory " things new and old "
sentences or sayings of remark which she had read or
learnt out of authors, and with them her walls, her bed,
her hangings and furniture must be adorned, causing
her servants to write them out in papers, and her maids
to pin them up, that she or they in their dressing, or as
occasion served, might remember and make their descants
on them. So that although she had not many books
in her chamber, yet it was dressed up with the flowers
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 21
of a library. 1 What a quaint but pleasant picture have
we here of seventeenth-century piety, which might well
supply some hints to those placed in a similar position
in this twentieth century !
The Lady Anne's vigorous understanding and exten-
sive knowledge were no less remarkable than her piety.
Although she was generous to her friends and de-
pendents, she was frugal in her personal expenses,
dressing after her second widowhood in black serge,
living abstemiously, and pleasantly boasting that she had
never tasted wine or physic ( 4 Dictionary of National
Biography '). She was possessed of a very strong will,
and was very tenacious of her rights, as the following
letter, written on behalf of her alms-house at Beamsley,
shows :
'GooD JOHN BROGDEN,
' I have received yoV letter, and in itt one from
L. C. to the mother and sister of Beamsley desyringe
their forbearance of ye rent due to them for some
season, w'ch moc'on of his I doe utterlye dislike, and will
by no means give my assent to ; for if I or thee should
hearken to such mo'cons they should soon be in a very
sad condic'on. Therefore I charge you, and give you
attorety under my hand forthewithe, to distraine for
the sayad rentte ; and iff itt bee nott theruppon payed
I will usse the strictest course I can to turne him out
of the farme. And I pray you show him these lines of
mine, to witness this my purpose and intention. And
so committing you to the Almighty,
6 1 rest your assured friend,
6 ANNE PEMBROKE.'
22 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
There is a better-known letter, supposed to have been
written by the Countess to Sir Joseph Williamson
(Secretary of State to King Charles II.) when that
gentleman had expressed a wish that he might be
allowed to nominate a candidate for her pocket-borough
of Appleby, to whom she replied :
'I have been bullied by an usurper, I have been
neglected by a Court, but I will not be dictated to by
a subject. Your man shan't stand.
' ANNE PEMBROKE/
But the author of the memoir of the Countess in the
' Dictionary of National Biography ' has shown, on
what seem to be sufficient grounds, that there are good
reasons for doubting the genuineness of this epistle.
Deeply attached to the Church, which she lived to
see overthrown, and then restored to its position again,
she is said to have assisted with her alms many of the
ejected clergy during the period of the Commonwealth.
For personal religion she must be ranked with those
eminent ladies of the seventeenth century, Lady
Pakington, Lady Russell, Lady Warrender, and Mrs.
Godolphin, who in an age not noted for strictness in
morality and religion, shone conspicuous for their eminent
piety, and were all loyal and steadfast members of the
Church. If she had belonged to another branch of the
Church, says her panegyrist, she would have been
canonized for another St. Anne. And he compares her
religious life, and her oversight of her dependents, and
alms-women, to that of an abbess in a religious house.
But she was no narrow recluse. ' She had a clear soul
shining through a vivid body. 1 Her body was durable
THE LADY ANNE CLIFFORD 23
and healthful, he)' soul sprightful of great understanding
and judgment, a faithful memory, a ready wit. She had
early gained a knowledge as of the best things, so an
ability to discourse on all commendable arts and sciences
as well as in those things which belong to persons of
her birth and sex to know. She could converse with
virtuosos, travellers, scholars, merchants, divines, states-
men, and with good housewives in every kind, insomuch
that a pious and elegant wit, well seen in all human
learning (Dr. Donne), is reported to have said that
' she knew well to discourse of all things, from predes-
tination to slea silk. If she had sought fame rather
than wisdom, possibly she might have ranked amongst
those wits and learned of that sex of whom Pythagoras
in Plutarch, or any of the ancients, have made honourable
mention ; but she affected to study rather with those
noble Bereans who searched the Scriptures, and, with
Mary, she chose the better part of learning the doc-
trines of Christ.'
The learned historian of Craven thus portrays her
character : ' She was one of the most illustrious women
of this or any age. By the blessing of a religious
education and the example of an excellent mother, she
imbibed in childhood those principles which in middle
life preserved her untainted from the profligacies of one
husband, and the fanaticism of another, and after her
deliverance from both conducted her to the close of a
long life in the uniform exercise of every virtue which
became her sex, her rank, and her Christian profession.
She had all the courage and liberality of the other sex,
united with all the devotion, order, and economy
(perhaps not all the softness) of her own. She was the
24 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
oldest and most independent Countess in the kingdom ;
had known and admired Queen Elizabeth ; had refused
what she deemed an iniquitous award of King James ;
rebuilt her dismantled castles in defiance of Cromwell,
and repelled with disdain the interposition of a profli-
gate Minister under Charles II.' (this probably refers to
the celebrated letter to Sir Joseph Williamson).
I cannot better conclude this memoir than by
quoting again the words of her worthy diocesan in the
funeral sermon :
( And while her dust lies silent in that chamber of
death, the monuments which she had built in the hearts
of all that knew her shall speak aloud in the ears of
a profligate generation, and tell that in this general
corruption, lapsed times decay, and downfall of virtue,
the thrice illustrious Anne, Countess of Pembroke,
Dorset, and Montgomerie stood immovable in her
integrity of manners, virtue, and religion. Virtues were
conspicuous in her manner of life : as to herself, in
great humility, modesty, Temperance, and sobriety of
mind ; as to the world, in Justice, Courtesie, and
beneficence ; and to God, in acts of Piety, Devotion,
and religion. 1
JOHN LAMBERT
' Iii these distracted times, when each man dreads
The bloody stratagems of busy heads/
OTWAY.
THE great religious, social, and political struggle which
devastated England in the middle of the seventeenth
century may be viewed from at least two aspects. To
some it seems to bring about the rescuing of England
from an odious tyranny, and the securing of a freedom
which has never since been lost ; to others it appears to
issue in the loss of a great principle of authority in
matters of Church and State which has been a source of
weakness and a cause of division which makes itself felt
even at this present hour. However, from whatever
point of view we may approach the subject, some
account of the life of one who played an important
part in the stirring scenes of those times must always
be a matter of interest to Craven people.
John Lambert, whose name in the middle of the
seventeenth century was a household word, and whose
authority and influence were second only to that of his
great friend Oliver Cromwell, was born at Calton, in
the parish of Kirkby Malham, on September 7, 1619.
He was baptized on November 7 of the same year.
His father, who died when he was thirteen years of age,
[25]
26 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
belonged to an ancient family whose ancestors had held
lands in the same neighbourhood for several centuries.
In the early part of the sixteenth century estates of
this branch of the Lambert family were of small extent,
but at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries a
John Lambert, great-grandfather of the General, in-
creased his estates considerably, says Dr. Whitaker, by
making advantageous purchases from the Commissioners.
He died possessed of the Manor of Calton and six
carucates of land four in Skipton and two of the
heirs of Cantilupe. The rental of his paternal estate
was no more than 10 2s. 4d. ; the whole of which he
died possessed in or about 1569 was 1%5 6s. 2d. The
Doctor adds : ' The man who, in an age when there was
no commerce, augmented his property in a twelvefold
proportion cannot have been wanting in diligence,
dexterity, or good fortune. 1 He was Vice-Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster and Steward of the Court
of the Prior of Bolton. The family were apparently
of Norman descent, and could boast of a very dis-
tinguished ancestry. A memorial tablet in Kirkby
Malham Church, erected to the memory of General
Lambert's son, who died on March 14, 1701, says that
he was ' the heir male, in whom that ancient family of ye
Lamberts, in a line from William the Conqueror (and
related to him by marriage), is now extinct. 1 The rela-
tionship here alluded to was brought about by the follow-
ing alliances : Radulphus de Lambert, son of Regnier (or
Ragerinus), fourth son of Lambert I., Count of Mons
and Louvaine, accompanied the Conqueror to England,
and left a son, Hugo Fitz Rudulph de Lambert, who,
in conjunction with his wife Matilda, daughter of Peter
JOHN LAMBERT 27
de Ros, was a benefactor of Croyland Abbey. He left
a son William, who married Gundrada,* daughter of
William de Warrenne and widow of Roger de Bello-
monte, Earl of Warwick, and was succeeded by his
son, Henry de Lambert, who was standard-bearer to
Henry II., and who married Alice, daughter of Geoffrey
de Mandeville, Earl of Essex. His son John had a
confirmation of his mother's jointure from his uncle,
William de Mandeville, and died leaving two sons
Sir Edmund de Lambert, of Skipton in Craven, and
Thomas, Sheriff of London in 1221. Sir Edmund left
three sons. John, the eldest, was the ancestor of the
Lamberts of Owlton Hall, co. Durham, and of the
Lamberts of Yorkshire and of the Earls of Cavan.t
* Gundrada, the mother of Gundrada, daughter of William
de Warrenne, is said to have been the youngest daughter of
William I. and Queen Matilda, but there is some doubt about
her paternity. Burke quotes Ordericus Vitalis, who says that
she was the sister of Gherbod the Fleming, Earl of Chester ;
but Brook, who quotes the Charter of Lewes Priory, describes
her as the daughter of Queen Matilda, and in another place as
the daughter of the Conqueror.
t The two other sons were Edmund Lambert and Richard,
who had estates in Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and was father to
Sir Henry Fitz Lambert, and John (who was a citizen of London,
and had an estate in Surrey and Norfolk, and in 21st of
Edward I., in conjunction with John Fitz Geoffrey and others,
granted lands there to the Prior and Convent of Our Lady of
Great Massingham). This John de Lambert was the founder
of the Surrey branch of the family, now settled at Woodman-
sterue. I am indebted to Colonel Lambert, F.S.A., for this
information ; but cf. The Ancestor, No. 3 (October, 1902),
where in an article, ' The Tale of a Forgery/ Mr. J. H. Round
throws doubts upon the genuineness of that part of the pedigree
which is anterior to the fifteenth century.
28 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Accordingly the Lamberts of Calton may have been of
noble descent.
John Lambert, the subject of this memoir, married
Francis Lister, daughter of Sir W. Lister, of Thornton,
Knight. This lady, who was most elegant and accom-
plished, seems to have shared the political views of her
husband. In religion she became an Independent.
There is extant a curious conversation which she held
with an Ensign Ewhurst on the subject of ' free love '
as it was understood by some among the Anabaptists.
To the lady's credit it must be said that she indignantly
repudiated the suggestions made to her by this officer,
and ordered him to quit her presence. A copy of the
paper is in the possession of the present Lord Ribbles-
dale. It is entitled ' Copy of a Curious Original MS.,
formerly in the Possession of Lyttleton, Bishop of
Carlisle, and now at Boconnoc, in the library there,
September 15, 1813.' It is scarcely fit for publication
here, but historically it is of importance, as showing
that these tenets were held unblushingly by some in
the Parliamentary army in the seventeenth century.
Of John Lambert's early life there are no records.
We are unable to say at what school he received his
education. All that we know of his early years is
contained in a sentence from Whitelock's ' Memorials,'
who says ' he studied at the Inns of Court, and was of
a subtle and working brain.' It is probable that after
his course of study was over in London he retired to
Calton, and lived the quiet life of a country gentleman
until the quarrel between the King and the Parliament
broke out in 1641.
If we ask what induced this country gentleman, who
JOHN LAMBERT 29
was well born and well bred, of a competent fortune, an
excellent understanding, and even an elegant taste, to
take up arms against his King, Dr. Whitaker is able to
supply us with what may be regarded as a sufficient
explanation. He says, 'causes, often apparently in-
considerable, are often productive of important con-
sequences ; and when I turn to the archives of the
Assheton family at Whalley and read their reiterated
complaints against Archbishop Laud for breaking, or
endeavouring to break, the lease of their valuable
rectory, and trace the effects of their irritation in a long
course of subsequent disloyalty, I am no longer at a
loss to account for the wrong bias early communicated
to an ardent mind like that of Lambert, who at the
age of twenty had intermarried with the kindred family
of the Listers, and been admitted in consequence to
the intimacy of the Asshetons ' (Whitaker, 3rd ed., pp.
259, 260).
At the outbreak of the Civil War he held a command
under General Fairfax, and directed the siege of
Skipton Castle. In 1643 he is mentioned as a Colonel,
and he behaved himself very bravely in the sally from
Hull on October 2 in that year. He is praised by
Sir Thomas Fairfax for his services with the Parlia-
mentary horse at the Battle of Nantwich, on January 25,
1644. In March of that year Lambert and his regiment
were quartered at Bradford (' Dictionary of National
Biography, 1 art. 'Lambert '). On March 5 he beat up the
Royalist quarters and took 200 prisoners. A few days
later he repulsed the attempt of Colonel Bellasis, who was
the King's Governor at York, and recaptured Bradford.
At the Battle of Marston Moor Lambert's regiment
30 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
formed part of the cavalry of the right wing, which
was routed by Goring ; but Lambert himself, who had
his horse killed under him, with Sir Thomas Fairfax
and five or six troops, cut their way through the enemy
and joined the victorious left wing under Cromwell.
When Parliament sent for Fairfax to command the
new model army, Lambert the Commissary-General of
Fairfaxes army, was ordered to take charge of the forces
in the North during his absence; but this was only
temporary, as Colonel Poyntz was ultimately made
commander of the northern army. In March, 1645,
when Langdale raised the siege of Pontefract, Lambert
was wounded in attempting to cover the siege. In the
next year he succeeded to the command in the new
model of a regiment which had been under Colonel
Montague. During this period of the war he was
also employed in many other engagements. And in
April, 1647, when the King's cause was on the decline,
Lambert became much better known as a rising man
devoted to the cause of the Parliament. He had shown
great courage and skill as a commander, and his ability
as a politician was not contemptible. Accordingly in
June, General Ireton, Colonels Lambert, Rich, Des-
borough, and Sir Hardress Waller were appointed as
Commissioners on the part of the army to prepare
heads of a proposal for the settlement of the peace of
the kingdom, but all negotiations failed.
In August, 1647, he was appointed Major- General
of the five northern counties, and although he pos-
sessed unlimited powers of jurisdiction, he is said to
have used that power ' with great wisdom, moderation,
and justice. 1 In the summer of 1648 there were risings
JOHN LAMBERT 31
in the North under Sir Marmaduke Langdale in favour
of the King, but the military genius of Lambert
prevented the Royalists from advancing the King's
cause. A contemporary record says : ' Major- General
Lambert is not very well, but you know he hath been
long sickly, but is in the field and victorious ; he hath
taken Brougham Castle, Penrith, and settled Appleby,
and other places hereabouts. Sir Marmaduke Langdale
is fled towards Carlisle, but not without some losse, for
a party of horse marched up towards his reare and fell
into the quarters of a Regeament newly levyed, which
we have totally dispersed and broken ; the officers fled
after Langdale, and the soldiers threw down most of
them their arms and ran home, seeming to be very glad
of the opportunity. 1 This took place in June. In the
middle of July the Marquis of Hamilton advances with
a large force into England, and Lambert falls back,
skirmishing, wherever a strong defensive position was
to be found. Leaving a garrison in Appleby Castle, he
quartered his men in Bowes and Barnard Castle, where
he hoped to be able to hold the Stainmore Pass until
reinforcements arrived from Yorkshire. In the mean-
while Hamilton advanced from Westmoreland into
Lancashire. And as Lambert feared lest the enemy
should march into Yorkshire through Wensleydale and
turn his position, he retreated to Richmond. Here he
received information which convinced him that Hamilton
would try to march southwards through Ribblesdale
and the Valley of the Aire. Consequently Lambert
kept in touch with the enemy by bringing his troops
to Knaresborough and Leeds. On August 8 there
was much rain, which is not uncommon in Craven
32 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
at this period of the year. The Scottish General
advanced by Kendel to Settle. The next day his army
turned westward, and was at Hornby. On the 13th
he received a letter from Langdale, who had ridden
over from Settle to tell him of the gathering of the
Parliamentary forces in Yorkshire. By this time
Cromwell had joined his forces with those of Lambert,
and both advanced by quick marches through Wharfe-
dale and Airedale into Ribblesdale, with the purpose
of pursuing Hamilton and making him fight. On
August 15 the Generals passed the night at Gisburn,
at the Lower Hall, which was then a jointure house of
the Listers ; Sir John Assheton, who had married the
widow of Thomas Lister, of Westby, lived there at that
time. Lambert's intimate knowledge of the surrounding
country, which lay close to his home at Calton, would
be of much service to the Parliamentary army. Crom-
well thus alludes to the march : ' Hearing that the
enemy was advanced with their army into Lancashire,
we marched the next day, being the 13th instant of this
August, to Otley (having cast off our train, and sent
it to Knaresbro' because of the difficulty of marching
therewith through Craven, and to the end that we
might with more expedition attend the enemy's motion).
And on the 14th to Skipton, the 15th to Gisburn, and
the 16th to Hodder Bridge, where was held a Council
of War.' The question was whether the army should
keep to the south bank or to the north bank of the
Ribble. A decision was given in favour of the north
bank. This soon brought the army into contact with
the Scots, who were advancing on Preston. A three-
days' battle ensued, in which Hamilton showed very
JOHN LAMBERT 33
poor generalship, and Cromwell and Lambert gained
an easy victory. The latter General was despatched in
pursuit of Hamilton, who surrendered at LTttoxeter on
August 25. In the autumn of the same year Cromwell
sent the Craven General to Edinburgh, in advance of
the rest of the army, with seven regiments of horse to
support the Argyll party in establishing a government,
and he left him there with a couple of regiments to
protect them against the Hamiltonians. At the end
of November Lambert returned to Yorkshire to besiege
Pontefract, which surrendered on March 22, 1649. By
the influence of Fairfax, Parliament rewarded Lambert's
services with a grant of land worth ^?300 per annum from
the demesnes of Pontefract (' Dictionary of National
Biography 1 ). The subject of this memoir took no
part in the King's trial, and it has been doubted by
some whether he was favourable to his death.
But his subsequent conduct tends to show that he
regarded the abolition of the monarchy as a necessary
step towards the advancement of the policy he was
pursuing. In 1650 the affairs of Scotland engaged the
attention of Cromwell. He took with him Lambert as
his Major-General and as second in command. In the
fight at Musselburgh on July 29 the Major-General
was twice wounded and taken prisoner, but he was
immediately rescued. At the Battle of Dunbar he
greatly distinguished himself. The obstinate persist-
ence of the Scottish General Leslie in remaining on an
advantageous position had greatly troubled Cromwell
and his officers ; but at the Council of War held shortly
before the battle, when all were downhearted and doubt-
ful as to the expediency of attacking the Scots, Lambert
3
34 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
encouraged them and predicted a victory. Accordingly,
to Lambert was given the command of the attacking
force. The morning of September 3 was a wet one; but
the Craven General brought up the guns, and ordered
three regiments of infantry protected by cavalry to sweep
round upon the enemy's flank. The rush of Lambert's
cavalry opened the battle ; the Scots, attacked on the
front and in the flank, after making some resistance,
turned and fled towards Haddington. As Cromwell
saw what was taking place, he uttered those well-
known words of the 63rd Psalm : ' Let God arise,
and let His enemies be scattered.' The victory was
complete. The Scottish foot surrendered at Dunbar.
In this battle 3,000 perished Whitelock says 4,000 ;
10,000 men were taken prisoners, with the whole of
General Leslie's baggage and artillery. It is said that
only twenty of the English were slain Whitelock says
not forty.
In July, 1651, General Lambert fell upon the Scots
on the hillside to the north of Inverkeithing, and,
in spite of the disadvantages of the ground, put them
to flight. About half of the Scottish force (2,000
men) was killed outright, and more than 1,500 were
taken prisoners, and amongst them was their com-
mander, Sir J. Browne. Whitelock, speaking of this
battle, says : ' Such was the gallantry of Major- General
Lambert that had it not been for his armour he had
been lost, a brace of bullets being found between his
coat and his arms.'
When King Charles II. invaded England with a
Scottish army before the Battle of Worcester, Lambert
and Harrison, with 3,000 horse, were directed to hang
JOHN LAMBERT 35
on the rear of the hostile army and molest them as
much as possible. On August 11, 1651, Lambert was
at Settle, near to his own home, with five regiments of
horse. At Warrington Bridge the Parliamentarian
leaders fell back and allowed the Scots to pass. Crom-
well effected a juncture with Lambert at Warwick on
August 24.
Before the Battle of Worcester the tactics of the
Craven General contributed much to the success of the
victors. A division under him was sent off along
the banks of the Severn as far as Upton, with the
intention of crossing the river and hemming in the
invaders on the south and west. This they successfully
accomplished. Whitelock says (' Memorials,' folio ed.,
p. 505) ' that he marched on the 28th of August, in the
morning, with a party of horse and dragoons for JEvesham
towards Upton; about 10 in the morning he approached
to the bridge over the Severn, which the enemy had
broken down all but a foot-plank. The Dragoons got
up upon the bridge before the Enemy in the town (who
were 200 or 300 horse and Dragoons) took the alarm,
while they fired upon the bridge against the enemy in
the town (being within their sight and shot). Our horse
partly forded and partly swam over the river about
pistol-shot from the bridge, and the Dragoons ad-
vanced withal, and forthwith by the Major- General's
orders took possession of the Church upon a little hill
near the foot-bridge, being about 18.' Then follows an
account of an engagement. At Lambert's request
Lieutenant- General Fleet wood came to his assistance.
The Major-General himself wrought in the making of
the bridge after it had been captured. He also took
32
36 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
part in the assault on the city of Worcester, and on the
day of the battle, he had his horse shot under him.
On September 9 the House of Commons resolved:
' That lands of inheritance in Scotland, to the yearly
value of 1,000 pounds sterling, be settled upon Major-
General Lambert and his heirs for ever, for his great
and eminent services to the Commonwealth.' Shortly
after the Battle of Worcester he was sent to Scotland
by the Parliament as a Commissioner to assist in settling
the affairs of that country. Up to this time all had
gone well with his fortunes. He had joined the
victorious party, he had proved himself an able General
and administrator, he stood very high in the esteem of
the army, which was at this time all powerful, and
now there came an unpleasant incident in his political
life. Parliament made him Lord Deputy of Ireland,
but shortly afterwards passed a resolution that the
appointment should only be for six months, and that
then the office should be placed in commission, and
that of Commander-in-Chief also.
Lambert would not accept the diminished authority.
He resigned the honour which had been conferred upon
him. Cromwell's sincerity in appearing to favour
Lambert's appointment as Lord Deputy has been
questioned. Fleetwood, who had married a relative
of Cromwell, was sent to Ireland. Lambert was con-
sequently very angry with Parliament, and joined with
Cromwell in trying to bring about a dissolution. He
was with his distinguished colleague at that memorable
scene when he bade the members begone, and locked the
door as they departed. In the ' Memoirs of Colonel
Hutchinson,' written with an evident bias against the
JOHN LAMBERT 37
General, this period of his life is thus alluded to : ' After
the death of Ireton, Lambert was voted Deputy of
Ireland and Commander-in-Chief there, who being at
that time in the North was exceedingly elevated with
the honour, and courted all Fairfax's old commanders
and other gentlemen, who upon his promise of prefer-
ment quitted their places, and many of them came to
London, and made him there a very proud train, which
still more exalted him, so that he soon put on the
prince, immediately laying out ^5,000 for his own par-
ticular equipage, and looking upon all the Parliament
men who had conferred this honour upon him as under-
lings, and scarcely worth a great man's nod. This
untimely declaration of his pride gave great offence to
the Parliament, who, having only given him a commission
for six months for his deputyship, made a vote that,
after the expiration of that time, the presidency of the
civil and military powers of that nation should no more
be in his or any one man's hands again. This vote was
upon Cromwell's procurement, who hereby designed to
make way for his new son-in-law, Colonel Fleetwood,
who had married the widow of the late Deputy Ireton.
There went a story that as my Lady Ireton was walking
in St. James's Park, the Lady Lambert, as proud as her
husband, came by where she was, and as the present
prince hath always presidency of the relict of the dead
prince, so she put my Lady Ireton below, who, notwith-
standing her piety and humility, was a little grieved at
the affront. Colonel Fleetwood being then present in
mourning for his wife, who died at the same time as her
lord died, took occasion to introduce himself, and was
immediately accepted by the lady and her father, who
38 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
designed thus to restore his daughter to the honour she
had fallen from. Cromwell's plot took as well as he
himself could wish ; for Lambert, who saw himself thus
cut off from half his exaltation, sent the House an inso-
lent message, that if they found him so unworthy of the
honour they had given him as so soon to repent it, he
would not retard their remedy for six months, but was
ready to surrender their commission before he entered
into his office. They took him at his word, and made
Fleetwood Deputy and Ludlow Commander of Horse,
whereupon Lambert, with a heart full of spite, malice,
and revenge, retreated to his palace at Wimbledon, and
sat there waiting an opportunity to destroy the Parlia-
ment. Cromwell, who had done this, flattered Lambert
and helped to inflame him against the Parliament.
Lambert dissembled, and at last Lambert, Harrison, and
Cromwell turned the Parliament out. 1 After the expul-
sion of Parliament the subject of this memoir took
a leading part in the council of officers and in drawing
up the ' Instrument of Government ' which was to form
a basis for a new Administration. Ludlow says : 'After a
few days a council of field-officers was summoned, when
Major-General Lambert, having rehearsed the several
steps and degrees by which things had been brought to
the present state wherein they were, and pressed the
necessity incumbent upon the army to provide something
in the room of what was entirely taken away, presented
to them a paper entitled " Instrument of Government,"
which he read in his place. Some of the officers, being
convinced that the contents of the " Instrument" tended
to the sacrificing all our labours to the lust and ambition
of a single person, began to declare their unwillingness
JOHN LAMBERT 39
to concur in it. But they were interrupted by the
Major-General, and informed that it was not to be
disputed whether this should be the form of government
or not, for that was already resolved, it having been
under consideration for two months past, neither was it
brought before them with any other intention than to
give them permission to offer any amendments they
might think fit, with a promise that they should be
taken into consideration. At the next meeting of
officers it was not thought fit to consult them at all,
but they were openly told by Major-General Lambert
that the General would take care of managing the Civil
Government ; and then, having required them to repair
to their respective charges where their troops and com-
panions lay, that they might preserve the public peace,
he dismissed them.' This extract gives us some idea of
the arbitrary way in which those who had fought against
what they regarded as a tyranny now imposed their
wills upon the nation. He now strongly supported
Cromwell as President of the Council appointed by the
army, and he offered him the protectorship. The part
he took in the ceremonies at the installation of the
Protector is thus referred to by Ludlow : ' At West-
minster Hall on December 16, 1653, the Commissioners
of the Seal, the Judges, the Barons of Exchequer
marched first, the Council of the Commonwealth follow-
ing them, and then the Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen
of London in robes. After them came the General
with a great number of the officers of the army, Major-
General Lambert carrying the sword before him into
the Court of Chancery, where after the General had
heard the "Instrument of Government"" read, and taken
40 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the oath as directed in the said " Instrument," Major-
General Lambert, kneeling, presented him with a sword
in the scabbard, representing the civil sword ; which
Cromwell accepting, put off' his own, intimating thereby
that he would no longer rule by the military sword,
tho 1 like a false hypocrite he designed nothing more/
He also began to talk of making the protectorship
hereditary. It is thought that his reason for so speak-
ing was to hide his own ambition. There was every
probability that he might some day succeed to the
Protector's position, if he could get rid of one or two
rivals. ' His interest," says a news-letter in April, 1653,
* is more universal than Harrison's, both in the army
and country ; he is a gentleman born, learned, well
qualified of courage and conduct, good nature and
character. 1 ' This which Lambert aimed at he hath
effected, 1 says a letter in December following. 'The
General will be Governor and stay here ; he will get the
command of the army, it cannot be avoided ; Harrison
is out of doors, having joined with the Anabaptists.'
When Major-Generals were appointed, to his care was
committed the oversight of the five northern counties
(Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, Westmoreland,
and Cumberland), but he acted through Colonel C.
Howard, and Robert Lilburne. On questions of State
policy his views almost coincided with those of the
Protector. He advocated the war with Spain, and he
was anxious to keep the Sound from falling into the
hands of the Dutch, and Danes, or any single Power.
He was in favour of liberty of conscience, as it was then
understood. Like Cromwell, he believed in the necessity
of limiting the power of Parliament by constitutional
JOHN LAMBERT 41
restrictions. In dealing with republicans who refused
to own the legitimacy of Cromwell's Government, no
one of the Protector's Council was less conciliating.
To outsiders he seemed to be equal to the Protector.
He was the army's 'darling. 1 As fast as recalcitrant
officers were cashiered, he filled their places with his
supporters ('Dictionary of National Biography'). * It
lies in his power,' wrote a contemporary (Carte,
Original Letters,' ii. 89), ' to raise Oliver higher or
else to get up in his place. One of the Council's
opinion being asked what he thought Lambert did
intend, his answer was that Lambert would let this
man continue Protector, but that he could rule him as
he pleased.' In the year 1657 an event occurred which
for the time put an end to Lambert's political life.
There was a resolution brought into the House for a
revision of the Constitution under the name of ' The
Humble Petition and Advice,' and one feature of the
document was a proposal that the Protector should
receive the title of King with power to nominate his
successor. This proposal was opposed by Lambert,
although four years before he had been in favour of royal
honours for Cromwell. But, much to the Protector's
disappointment, the revival of the royal title was not
acceptable to the army, and after some negotiations
with Parliament Cromwell refused the proffered honour.
What caused this change of front in Lambert is a
matter of conjecture. It has been said by Gardiner
(' Cromwell,' p. 278) that ' possibly he regarded a
kingship by the grace of Parliament less of a boon
than a kingship by the grace of the army. Still more
probably was he moved by a personal grievance in
42 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
seeing Fleetwood, who had now returned from Ireland,
higher than himself in the favour of the Protector,
perhaps even in the favour of the army. In any case,
he carried on the campaign with consummate skill,
keeping aloof from the constitutional question, and
throwing all his strength into the argument which the
rudest soldier could understand that the army had
not rejected one King in order to set up another.'
From this moment, to say the least, a coolness sprang
up between the Protector and his powerful lieutenant,
and an incident occurred which widened the breach.
By * The Humble Petition and Advice ' it was provided
that an oath should be taken by those of the Assembly
and Council not to do anything against the present
Government, and to be true and faithful to the
Protector according to the law of the land. This
oath Lambert refused to take, whereupon Cromwell
sent for him, and told him that if he was dissatisfied
with the present posture of affairs, he desired him to
surrender his commission and his offices. He took the
hint, and after a few days resigned all the appoint-
ments which he held under the Government. He was
at that time a member of the Council, Lord Warden
of the Cinque Ports, a Major- General in the army,
Colonel of a cavalry and also of a foot regiment, and
he held other offices about the Court with emoluments
amounting in the aggregate to ^6,500 per annum.
After his resignation, he retired to his house at Wimble-
don, which he had purchased when the Queen's lands
were sold. Here he amused himself with his favourite
occupation of gardening (cf. letter to Lord Hatton in
Appendix), and Cromwell, it is said, fearing to make
JOHN LAMBERT 43
too much of an enemy of a man having so much
interest amongst the soldiers, settled ^2,000 per
annum upon him. But Lambert did not live long in
retirement. The death of Cromwell, on September 3,
1658, called him forth again to a life of political and
military activity. About six months before he died
Cromwell was anxious for a reconciliation with Lambert,
and sent for him to Whitehall. 'When he came the
Protector fell on his neck and kissed him, and inquired
of " Dear Johnny " for his Jewel (wife) and for all his
children by name. On the following day Lady Lambert
visited Cromwell's wife, who fell immediately into a
kind of quarrel for her long absence, disclaimed policy
or statecraft, but professed a motherly kindness to her
and hers which no change should ever alter 1 (cf.
' Dictionary of National Biography ').
When Richard Cromwell succeeded his father in the
government of the Commonwealth, a Parliament was
elected on January 7, 1659. In this assembly Lambert
represented Pontefract, and he was again appointed a
member of most of the public committees. He was
as active and resolute as ever in defence of the Consti-
tution which he had taken so much trouble to establish.
The Royalist party, who now saw the direction in which
political affairs were tending, were anxious to secure the
co-operation of Lambert. ' I wish Lambert were dead, 1
writes one of their agents the day after Cromwell's
death, ' for I find the army much devoted to him ; but
I cannot perceive that he is in any way to be reconciled
to the King. So that it is no small danger that his
reputation with the army may thrust Dick Cromwell
out of the saddle, and yet not help the King into it. 1
44 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
He was also courted by the supporters of the new
Protector, and to a certain extent he gave them his
countenance. When the Bill for the establishment of
the new Protector's authority was brought in, Lambert
uttered these significant words : ' We are all for this
honourable person who is now in power. 1 At the same
time he counselled the House to limit the Protector's
authority over the army and his veto in legislation.
' The best man, 1 he said, ' is but a man after all, and I
have cause to know it ; therefore, whatever engagement
they entered into with the Protector, let the people's
liberties be on the back of the bond. 1
In this same year, as is well known, Richard Crom-
well, feeling the difficulties of government too great
for his quiet disposition, dissolved his Council and
Parliament, and soon after resigned the Protectorship.
The government of the country fell for the time into
the hands of the army, and Lambert once more received
a military command. He was made Colonel of two
regiments, and acted as the chief representative of
the army. He now negotiated with Lenthall the
Speaker for the restoration of the Long Parliament,
and its members again sat at Westminster. Lambert
was made a member of the Committee of Safety and of
the Council of State, and he was one of the seven
commissioners for the nomination of officers.
In August, 1659, a rising in favour of the King
occurred in Cheshire under Sir G. Booth. The Parlia-
ment entrusted Lambert with the charge of the expedi-
tion against the Royalists. On the 22nd he sent the
following graphic account of his movements and victory :
' On Thursday morning, although it proved very un-
JOHN LAMBERT 45
seasonable for rain, yet, judging your service required
expedition, and finding a great resolution in the soldiery
to encounter all difficulties, according to former reso-
lution, upon full debate with the superior officers, rest-
ing upon the providence of God, we advanced towards
Chester ; and being marched about five miles, we had
certain intelligence that the enemy, with about 4,000
or 5,000 horse and foot, were marching towards North-
wich, which caused us to alter our resolution and to
march directly to the forest of De la More, over which
they were to pass ; and having arrived there, we had
notice that they were about three miles before us.
Your forces marched with that cheerfulness, that had
we had day enough we should in all probability have
engaged them before they left Northwich ; but, do
what we could, we only gained a view of their Rear-
guard in the duske of the evening, and took 3 or 4
prisoners. That night they quartered at Northwich,
and we at a small village called Weeverham, from
whence the next morning we advanced very early to-
wards them, and before we had march't a mile we
discovered both their horse and foot half a mile on this
side Northwich, drawing amongst the inclosures where
it was impossible for horse to doe service, and not with-
out difficulty for the foot to break through. We
presently engaged them, and after a short dispute they
quitted their ground, and retreated from hedge to
hedge, yet in that order that they suffered very little
damage, it being impossible for our horse to fall in
amongst them, and at length came to Winnington
Bridge, behind which they retreated, without any other
loss than that of reputation, and discouragement in
46 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
meeting with those whom they found of equal courage,
but engaged in a better cause. Their next endeavour
was to secure that Bridge, which they had good reason
to hope for, considering the advantages they had in
regard the river, which was unfordable, the Bridge
narrow flanked with a strong ditch on the farr end and
a high hill upon which no horse could pass otherwise
than along the side of a narrow path. But the forces,
having their former courage increased by seeing the
presence of God with them, fell on as if they had been
on equal terms ; and after a short dispute the enemy,
having spent two or three good volleys, our men still
advancing upon them, they quit their station, and gave
way for both horse and foot to march over. Our horse,
which hitherto had been useless, advanced over the
bridge together with some foot. The horse made
towards a party of them, which I judge was of their
choicest, and came to secure the retreat of their foot,
and the foot charging up the hill after their retreating
column, our horse charged, but by reason of the narrow-
ness of the way in small parties. To speak the truth,
that of the horse on both sides was performed like
Englishmen, but ours got the better, and the enemy
turned their backs. We had the pursuit of them above
a quarter of a mile, where they again made head, but
were routed, and thereupon their horse and foot fled on
all hands, and our work was only to give them chase.
Most of their foot got into enclosures and escaped, our
wearied foot not being able to overtake them. Their
horse divided, some toward Chester and Warrington,
where they could proceed no further. And although I
cannot say that your victory was great in respect of
JOHN LAMBERT 47
prisoners and slain, yet I judge it a total rout, or which
by the providence of God may be improved into so
much. I cannot hear that we have above one man
slain outright, and not above three dangerously
wounded : of the enemy not above 30 slain : of
prisoners, I have not full account yet, but I suppose
about three hundred, whereof most are horsemen, and
some field Officers of quality." 1
The Parliament, to show their appreciation of this
exploit, passed a resolution that ' a jewel of ^1,000
value, with a letter of thanks, be presented to Lord
Lambert as a mark of favour for this signal service. 1
In September, 1659, he left Chester, and returned to
his seat at Calton in Craven. Good for him would it
have been if he had stayed there ; but his restless spirit,
it seems, was not satisfied with the quiet life of a
country gentleman of those days. He desired the
position of Major-General again, which practically gave
him command of the army ; but the Parliament, who
feared his ambition, lest he should try to make himself
Protector, refused him this honour. Clarendon says :
'Lambert, instead of coming to town, found some
delays in his march (as if all were not safe) to seize
upon the persons of delinquents. He was well informed
of their good purposes towards him, and knew that the
Parliament intended to make a peace with all foreigners,
and to disband their army, except only some few
regiments, which should consist only of some few
persons at their devotion. He foresaw what his por-
tion must then be, and that all the ill he had done
towards them would be remembered and the good
forgotten. He therefore contrived a petition, which
48 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
was signed by the inferior officers of his army, in which
they desired the Parliament that they might be
governed, as all armies used to be, by a General who
might be amongst them, and other officers according to
their qualities subordinate to them/
The address was entitled the ' Humble Petition and
Proposals of the Army under the Command of Lord
Lambert in the late Northern Expedition. 1 * They
asked also that the army might be committed to Fleet-
wood, and that Lambert might be made Major- General.
This was done by Lambert's advice, as he knew that he
could govern Fleetwood. But the petition was refused
the House did not collect Custom or Excise and then
proceeded to cashier Lambert and eight other principal
officers, and committed the whole government of the
army to seven commissioners. These measures drove
Lambert to a very high-handed proceeding, similar to
that which was so successfully accomplished by his
illustrious colleague when he said, ' Take away that
fooFs bauble P only in this case the scene was enacted
outside the walls of the House of Commons. Again,
we quote the words of Clarendon : ' Lambert placed
himself in King Street to expect when the Speaker
would come to the House, who at his accustomed hour
came, in his usual state, guarded with his troop of
horse. Lambert rode up to the Speaker, and told him
that " there was nothing to be done at Westminster,""
and therefore advised him to return back again to his
own house, which he refused to do, and endeavoured to
proceed, and called his guard to make way, upon which
Lambert rode to the Captain and pulled him off his
horse, and bid Major Creed, who had formerly com-
JOHN LAMBERT 49
manded that troop, to mount into his saddle, which
he presently did. Then he took away the mace, and
bid Major Creed conduct Mr. Lenthall to his house.
Whereupon he made his coachman turn, and, without
the least contradiction, the troop marched very quietly
till he was alighted at his own house, and then dis-
posed of themselves as their new Captain commanded
them.'
Lambert told Ludlow a few days later that he had
no previous intention of interrupting Parliament, that
he was urged on to the steps he took for his own
preservation, saying that Sir A. Haslerig was enraged
against him, and that he would be satisfied with nothing
but his blood.
The Council now made Lambert Major- General, and
he became a member of the Committee of Safety. The
fifth monarchy men, it is said, distrusted him as having
no religion or show of it. The Royalists expected him
to make himself Protector, and were eager to bribe
him to restore the King (cf. ' Dictionary of National
Biography').
In an imaginary conversation between Vane, Fleet-
wood, Ludlow, and Lambert, published at this time,
the latter, in answer to Fleetwood's question, * What
do you intend to be ?' Answer, 4 Why, all the world
may guess : I intend as fast as I can bring it about to
be King of the three nations.' This pamphlet is entitled
'A Brief Account of the Meeting, Proceedings, and
Exit of the Committee of Safety,' taken in shorthand
by a clerk of the said Committee. London : Printed
for I. Williamson, 1659.
The importance and influence of the Major-General
4
50 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
at this crisis may be gathered from the following
proposals, which it is said were made about this time :
Lord Mordaunt proposed a match between the Duke
of York and Lambert's daughter, and Lord Hatton
suggested that the King should marry her himself.
' No foreign aid, 1 wrote Hatton, ' will be so cheap nor
leave our master so much at liberty as this way. The
race is a good gentleman's family, and Kings have con-
descended to gentlemen and subjects. The lady is
pretty, of an extraordinary sweetness of disposition,
and very virtuously and ingenuously disposed ; the
father is a person, set aside his unhappy engagement,
of very great parts and very noble inclinations.'
Whilst these altercations were taking place between
Lambert's party and the Parliament in England, there
was a shrewd General in Scotland, commanding a por-
tion of the army, who was quietly watching the course
of events. This was General Monk, who was anxious
to bring about the restoration of the Royal Family
when he could find a favourable opportunity ; but at
present he kept his own counsel, and merely declared
for the Parliament which Lambert had tried to sup-
press. Monk with his army now marched towards
England, saying that he came for the better settlement
of the government there. The Committee of Safety,
on hearing of the movements of Monk, sent Lambert
with an army of 7,000 men to meet him on his march,
and, if he could not win him to co-operation with the
army, to resist his advance by force.
They also sent a deputation to Monk, which he
graciously received, and as he seemed inclined to fall
in with the views of the Committee of Safety, negotia-
JOHN LAMBERT 51
tions were opened. But there was now a strong feeling
in the country in favour of the restoration of constitu-
tional government. The fleet under Admiral Lawson,
on December 1 7, and the troops in London and in the
South, declared themselves in favour of Parliament.
On Christmas Eve Desborough's regiment, which
Lambert had sent back to check these movements, on
hearing the news at St. Albans also declared for
Parliament. On the 26th the ' Rump,"* as it was called,
met at Westminster, and amongst other resolutions
they ordered that Lambert and other officers should
give up their commissions and retire from London.
They also sent an order to Lamberts soldiers to leave
their officers. In this they were obeyed, and Lambert
soon found himself with only about 100 men. At
Northallerton his officers took their leave of him with
tears in their eyes, and he retired to his house in
Craven. Consequently, General Monk marched on to
London unopposed. On his arrival he did all he could
to strengthen the Royalist party in the House of
Commons and in the country. Lambert's opportunity
of effecting anything was now past. After he had been
deprived of his commission, he was ordered to go to
Holrnby House in Northamptonshire. Shortly after-
wards a proclamation was ordered for his arrest on the
charge that he was privately lurking in London, and
that he had provoked the mutiny which occurred on
February 2. At the beginning of the next month he
surrendered himself to the new Council of State.
Ludlow says : ' Lambert, who had hitherto concealed
himself in hopes of finding an opportunity to appear
at the head of some party, and thereby prevent the
42
52 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
design of Monk, finding that the army had for the
most part submitted to the authority of the secluded
members, surrenders himself to the new Council of
State, in hopes of better terms from them than he
could have promised himself from the former, who, he
thought, would have been more likely to resent the
force he had put upon Parliament ; but they, contrary
to his expectation, requiring him to give security 1
(c J 20,000) ' for his quiet deportment, upon his refusall
commit him to the Tower ' (March 5). The Republican
party by this time began to realize more fully that
Monk's intention was the restoration of Charles II.
And when they looked around for someone to help
them in their extremity there was no one more suited
for that purpose than the intrepid Major-General who
was now languishing in the Tower of London. Accord-
ingly, they effected his escape from the Tower, which
took place on April 10. His escape is thus related by
Rugge : ' That about eight of the clock at night he
escaped by a rope tied fast to his window, by which he
slid down, and in each hand he had a handkerchief;
and six men were ready to receive him, who had a
barge to hasten him away. She who made the bed
being privy to his escape, that night, to blind the
warder when he came to lock the chamber-door, went
to bed, and possessed Colonel Lambert's place, and put
on his night-cap. So when the warder came to lock
the door, according to his usual manner, he found the
curtains drawn, and conceiving it to be Colonel John
Lambert, he said : " Good-night, my lord." To which
a seeming voice replied, and prevented all further
jealousies. The next morning, on coming to unlock
JOHN LAMBERT 53
the door, and espying her face, he cried out : " In the
name of God, Joan, what makes you here ? Where
is my Lord Lambert ?" She said : " He is gone, but I
cannot tell whither." Whereupon he caused her to
rise and carried her before the officer in the Tower, and
she was committed to custody. Some say that a lady
knit for him a garter of silk, by which he was conveyed
down, and that she received ,100 for her pains.'
As soon as he was free, Lambert sent messengers to
his friends in the country to meet him with as many
soldiers as they could raise at Edgehill in Warwick-
shire, in order that together they might make one last
effort to maintain the republican form of government
in England, and frustrate the designs of Monk.
But Lambert's party was too much divided and
demoralized to make any adequate effort. Only six
troops of horse arrived and a number of officers. The
Parliament, on hearing of Lambert's escape and inten-
tions, sent a few soldiers under Colonel Ingoldsby with
orders to seize the fugitive. The two forces met near
Daventry. A Captain Haslerig with his troop, at the
solicitation of Ingoldsby, deserted Lambert, and as the
remainder of his soldiers refused to fight, the hero of
many victories, after some parleying, in which he tried
to induce Ingoldsby to join him in obtaining the
restoration of Richard Cromwell, but without success,
surrendered himself to the Colonel. He was brought
back to London. Burnet, in the ' History of his Own
Times,' vol. i., p. 85, relates the following anecdote,
which he said he had from Ingoldsby : * When he was
taken the people were in crowds shouting for the suc-
cess of his capture. " This reminds me," said Lambert,
54 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
with great good humour, " of what Cromwell once said
to us both near this very place as we were going with
a body of officers after our troops, marching into Scot-
land, in the year 1650, the people as now shouting and
wishing us success. I observed to Cromwell I was glad
to see we had the nation on our side. Cromwell
answered : ' Do not trust to that, for these very people
would shout as much if you and I were going to be
hanged.' " Lambert said to Ingoldsby : " Now he looked
upon himself in a fair way to that, and began to think
Cromwell prophesied " ' (Whitaker's ' Craven,' 3rd ed.,
p. 259).
After the Restoration an Act of Indemnity was
passed, and many who had taken part in the rebellion
were sentenced to death. But as Lambert had taken
no part in the King's trial and execution, he was
excepted with twenty persons for punishment not ex-
tending to death. Some of the lords desired to mitigate
his punishment, and as Lambert sued for pardon,
declaring that he was satisfied with the present govern-
ment, and was ready to spend the rest of his life in
peace, he was merely banished to Guernsey in 1660.
On February 17, 1661, a license was granted to Mrs.
Lambert, with three children and three maidservants,
to go to Guernsey and remain with her husband. In
April, 1662, the General was, with Sir H. Vane, brought
to England and tried in June of the same year for
levying war against the King. On Friday, June 16,
Lambert behaved with great moderation when before
his judges; he pleaded for his life, saying in extenuation
of the part he had taken against Sir G. Booth and
Monk that he was ignorant of their intentions, neither
JOHN LAMBERT 55
of them having then declared that they designed to
restore the King. However, he was condemned by the
court, but his sentence was commuted to banishment,
and he was sent back to Guernsey. On July 25 a
warrant was issued to Lord Hatton, the Governor of
the island, ' to take into his custody the person of John
Lambert, commonly called Colonel Lambert, and to
keep him a close prisoner as a condemned traitor till
further orders. 1 On November 18 following, directions
were given from the King, by the intervention of Lord
Clarendon, to Hatton 'to give such liberty and indul-
gence to Colonel John Lambert within the precincts of
the island as will consist with the security of his person.'
In 1664 he was again closely confined for a time. Two
years after, a plot for his escape being discovered, the
Governor was instructed to shoot his prisoner if the
French landed. A clandestine marriage between Mary
Lambert and the Governor^ son further strained his
relations with Hatton (' Dictionary of National Bio-
graphy '). A gentleman living in the Isle of Guernsey
in the eighteenth century says (cf. Hurtley's ' Malham, 1
pp. 198, 199): 'The General was kept a prisoner in a
fortress called Castle Cornet situated on a rock near the
entrance of this port. He was permitted now and then
to come to the Island, when he mostly spent his time in
roving about the fields culling of simples. He had a
great taste and talent for botany, and knew the nature
and virtues of all medicinal herbs and plants. He was
looked upon as a great physician by the people, who
constantly resorted to the Castle to consult him on every
disorder they were afflicted with for at that time there
were no physicians or surgeons on the island and he
56 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
gave a number of useful receipts to a gentlewoman re-
siding in the country who was known to many persons
now living.''
In 1667 he was removed to St. Nicholas Isle in
Plymouth Sound. There he was visited, in 1673, by
Miles Halhead, a Quaker, and he charged Lambert with
permitting the persecution of that sect in the time of
his power. This the captive General denied. Halhead
thus alludes to his interview : ' So he and his wife and
two of his daughters and myself and a Friend of
Plymouth discoursed two hours or more in love and
plainness of heart, for my heart was full of love to him,
his wife and children ; and when I was free I took leave
of them and parted with them in love/
In December, 1667, the petition of Mrs. Lambert
that Colonel Lambert and herself and children might
take a house to live in was granted, he giving security
that he would remain a prisoner. He died in the severe
winter of 1683. His death is registered in the books of
St. Andrew's Church, Plymouth, on March 28, 1684.
Although he was only sixty-four years of age at the
time of his decease, the exertions and hardships of his
former years had left their mark upon him, so that he
became prematurely aged, and he lost his ' memory
and sense' some time before he died. He had ten
children. The only son who survived his father was
John Lambert, of Calton, who was Sheriff of Yorkshire
in 1699. He married Barbara, daughter of Thomas
Lister, Esquire, of Arnoldsbiggin, Gisburn. It appears
from the deed of the marriage settlement in 1672 that
the manors and estates in the neighbourhood of Calton,
which had been forfeited in consequence of his father's
JOHN LAMBERT 57
attainder, were repurchased from Lord Bellasys, to
whom they had been granted by King Charles II. in
1663. This John Lambert died, and was buried at
Kirkby Malham (March 20, 1701). He had four children,
but only one daughter Frances, baptized at Kirkby
Malham May 26, 1675 survived him. She married,
at Kirkby Malham (June 15, 1699) Sir John Middleton,
Bart., of Belsay Castle, co. Northumberland. As she
inherited all the Lambert estates, they passed into the
Middleton family through this marriage, but they were
sold again some time in the eighteenth century. The
present representative of this family is Sir Arthur E.
Middleton, of Belsay Castle, to whose kindness I am
indebted for the reproduction of the interesting picture
of Cromwell and Lambert which stands at the beginning
of this memoir.
There are now few traces of this once powerful family
of the Lamberts to be found in Malham parish. But
there is an old tradition of the General's soldiers
seizing on some oatmeal belonging to a neighbour at
Scotsthrope ; they shovelled it out of an old oak ark,
or kist, in which it was customary for people in Craven
to keep their winter supply. The meal was then put
through a window by the soldiers into a waggon
stationed below.
It is also said, that a troop of Lambert's soldiers
passing through Airton had an altercation with some
persons who were sitting in the front of a house, on
the right hand side as you enter the village from
Skipton. The soldiers slew two of them, and they
were buried in a field near the garden of the house.
The tombstones remained until a few years ago, when
58 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
they were taken away and used for some building
operations in the neighbourhood. I had these tradi-
tions from one who has long known the neighbourhood
and who heard them from an old inhabitant whose
family had been resident in the parish of Malham for
many generations. Thus, the story had been handed
down for 250 years a striking instance of the survival
of an oral local tradition ; for I am not aware that
these little incidents have ever before been committed
to paper.
The house at Calton in which the General lived was
burnt to the ground in the lifetime of his son, who
erected a plain stone mansion on its site. This build-
ing, having fallen into decay, was replaced in the early
part of the nineteenth century by the present white
house. An ancient sundial, inscribed ' I. L. W. F.
(W. Fairfax), 1688,' still remains, and a portion of an
old archway may have belonged to the seventeenth-
century house.
Winterburn Chapel the first Dissenters' 1 meeting-
house in Craven was built by Mrs. Lambert, the wife
of General Lambert's son, and she attended the prayers
and preaching there ; but her husband always went on
Sundays to Kirk by Malham Church. Mr. Ralph
Thoresby, in his Diary (vol. i., p. 264), relates a
curious incident, in which this lady's religious habits
are mentioned :
1694. ' From Skipton, over the river Aire eight
times in three miles to Gargrave ; thence, on to Con-
niston, where the young man lived that was of late
years so remarkably converted by reading some pages
(dropped from Madam Lambert, of Cowton [Calton]
JOHN LAMBERT 59
as she was reading in the book on her way to the
meeting) of Mr. Baxter's " Call to the Unconverted,"
strangely brought into the house by a little dog. 1 And
then he adds, as he journeys towards Settle : ' Saw the
place where General Lambert's younger son was lately
drowned.'
At Kirkby Malham Church a photograph of the
General's sword is framed in the vestry. The sword
itself, which is at Farnley Hall, is * a hanger, serrated
at the back, the handle formed of gilt brass, represent-
ing a lion on his haunches and holding with his fore-
paws the guard, which consists of a single bow. The
blade bears the blade-mark of a dolphin, and date
1648 ' (cf. Speight's ' Upper Wharfedale ').
The register in the same church records the marriage
of Martin Knowles of Middlehouse to Dorothy Hartley
of West Marton on January 17, 1655, before Oliver
Cromwell. Doubt has been thrown upon the authen-
ticity of the signature, but perhaps without sufficient
reason. In the beginning of that year the Protector's
movements are known till January 11 ; after that date
for a short time there is no record of his actions. May
we not, therefore, assume that he was in Yorkshire ?
There is another entry of a marriage on July 25 of the
same year, with the signature ' Oliver Cromwell ' ; but
in this case it is possible to prove an alibi, for the
Protector was present at Councils of State in London
on July 24 and 26. There is also a third signature of
his on the same page, which has been partly obliterated
by a later hand. It has not been remarked by those
who have examined the registers that in these pages of
the Commonwealth period most of the entries were not
60 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
signed by the magistrate, except that 4 Assheton '
(Sir J.) signed one or two. I would therefore submit,
as a solution of the difficulty about the Cromwell
signatures, that the Protector was present at one of
these marriages as the guest of General Lambert
and that he was asked, as the first magistrate in the
realm, to sign the others, at which he was not present,
by the friends and relatives of the contracting parties,
who wished, in a turbulent period, for a greater security
than a mere unsigned entry.
Lambert was fond of art, and bought divers rare
pictures which had belonged to Charles L, and he him-
self is said to have painted flowers, and even a portrait
of Charles I. Walpole (cf. ' Anecdotes,' Dallaway's
ed., vol. ii., p. 362) says : ' He was a good performer
in flowers ; some of his works were at the Duke of
Leeds' at Wimbledon, and it was supposed that he
received instruction from Baptist Gaspars, whom he
retained in his service. The General's son, John
Lambert, painted portraits.' The father was also
wont to amuse himself with gardening. In a satirical
romance he is described as the ' Knight of the Golden
Tulip,' and he is credited with having introduced the
Guernsey lily into England.
As two hundred and fifty years have passed away
since the subject of this memoir took a prominent
part in the affairs of his country, it is difficult to form
a true estimate of his character and abilities ; and this
difficulty is increased by the fact that, unlike Ludlow,
Whitelock, and Clarendon, he did not leave behind
him any Diary or Memorials of his times. From his
portraits and there are three or four which are well
JOHN LAMBERT 61
known : one at Gisburne Park, another at Eshton
Hall, besides those at Belsay Castle and in the National
Portrait Gallery his high forehead, prominent nose,
and firm chin proclaim him to have been a man of
great parts. His courage and skill as a warrior were
fully displayed on the fields of Marston Moor, Dunbar,
and Worcester. He was never beaten except in one or
two minor engagements. It is said that he was generous
to his opponents, and kind to his prisoners. He seems
to have possessed something of that magnetic attrac-
tion for the soldier which marks the great commander.
In political life he did not shine so brilliantly. He had
the reticence and shrewdness which are so often found
together in this part of the country ; but it was not
easy even for his friends always to understand his policy
or to probe his feelings, so that on one occasion Crom-
well spoke of him as ' Bottomless. 1
A recent historian (S. R. Gardiner) mentions 'his
poverty of ideas, his readiness to be drawn aside by
personal considerations, and his disinclination to
commit himself to any distinct line of action. 1 It is
quite evident, from the part which he took in 1659,
when he imitated Cromwell in the suppression of
Parliament, that although his influence was very great
in the military circle, yet he lacked that commanding
personality and that accurate insight into the spirit of
the time which in one case caused this arbitrary action
to be the means of placing the greater man at the head
of the nation, and in the other case brought about the
ruin of the weaker man.
However, it must be admitted by impartial readers
that he was a true patriot. He believed that the
62 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
country required a reformation in government, with
greater liberty ; as he said, * let the people's liberties
be in the bond. 1 He was to a great extent free from
the hypocrisy and religious fanaticism which was some-
times to be found in the party which claimed him as
an adherent. And although we cannot agree with all
the methods he used to accomplish his ends, we are
bound to confess that, after all, he was a great English-
man.
APPENDIX.
Letters frwn the Rawlmson MSS. in the Bodleian
Library, and from the Harleian MSS. in the
British Museum.
' To THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD FAIRFAX, GENERALL
OF ALL THE ENGLISH FORCES IN THE NORTH FOR
KING AND PARLIAMENT.
' I have received yours, and I am exceedingly glad
to hear of your health, for some waveringe reports
made your friends uncertain (ye last weeke) and fearful
of you. I have hitherto been kept from wayting upon
you by reason of my indisposicon, but now, though not
altogether so healthful as formerly, I shall be upon my
journey this next weeke. The housses have this day
ordered that you shall command the army in these
parts, which is to consist of 6,000 horse, 1,000
dragoones, and 14,000 foote. The names of the
Colonels whereof this enclosed paper reportes. For the
list of weekes, passages, I must refer you unto the
enclosed, and only add that the newes of the defeat of
JOHN LAMBERT 63
Coll. Gerrarde is since confirmed, and likewise the
Confinement of the three Lordes att Oxford. Sir Peter
Killigrew is hourly expected to returne with his
message from the Kinge. And thus I shall humbly
take leave, and resting
' Your most faithful humble servant,
' J. LAMBEET.
4 LONDON,
< Jan. ye 21st, 1644.'
6 To LORD HATTON.
' MY LORD,
6 I formerly gave your Lordship the trouble of
an acknowledgment of your favourable inclinations for
the settinge up of younge Gardener, and had before
this seconded it by the intended (?) catalogue there
mentioned, but that Dr. How did assure me he had
sent one which I gave him, being such flowers and
plantes as upon the first view of his book I did judge
desirable, since which I have received this further advise
that your Lordship desires to know the intent of some
marginal marks, and if I shouJ4 leave your Lordship to
your own judgment, you would be able to make a better
choice for me. For the marks were only such as the
Doctor himself made, being such plantes as he was able
to furnish me with himself, which in regard to his
indisposition I suppose he forgot to strick out ; and for
the other I judge it so obliging and advantageous a
Proposal for me that (that it may not occasion you too
great trouble, or that you have not already made too
large a Proceede) with thankfulness I do embrace it,
and desire you to order them as you judge best. For
64 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the ^Enemones they are by the description of their
colours so rare and unknown here as I shall deem your
Lordship to adde what more about them you judge fit,
and also the same for the Irises and the Tulips I chiefly
desire the " Precox " that I may know the price of the
dearest before your Lordship comes to ... but this I
speak with that indifference as I beseech you it may
not in the least kind either disorder or alter any
proceed already made. My Lord, this enclosed has the
confidence to present your Lordship with the names of
half a dozen plants which I find not either in the Duke
of Orleans 1 or Monr. Morins 1 Catalogue. If they be
strangers, your Lordship may command them or any-
thing else in the power of him who begs your pardon
for this great confidence, and remains,
4 My Lord,
4 Your Lordship^s very humble
4 J. LAMBERT.
4 LONDON,
6 Sept. 7 1 (probably 1657 or 1658).
4 To SECRETARY THURLOE.
4 1 was yesterday att Whithall to have waited upon
you, but some other occasions not permittinge, and my
little affaires wanting and hoping for }our further
assistance, in which expedicon will be as necessary as
anything. I have taken this freedom to desire you to
permitt Will Walker to acquaint you with so much of
it as may leade to understand ye groundes of my
further desires to you. If your leisure permitt you to
give a hearing to any mention of it, he will account it
JOHN LAMBERT 65
to you. Sir, if I were of a craving nature, your former
readiness upon all occasions would so far correct that
spirit that it durst not appear to press anything further
than your own satisfaction dictates, therefore I shall
say no more but to assure you that I am,
4 Your affectionate friend and very humble servant,
' J. LAMBERT.
' WIMBLETON,
6 23rd of October, 1658.'
EDWARD WILSON
'He had piety without superstition, and moderation without
meanness ; an open and liberal way of thinking, and a constant
attachment to the cause of sober and national liberty both civil
and religious. Thus he lived and died, and few men ever passed
through this malevolent world better beloved, or less censured
than he.*
ON June 6, 1739, a little baby-boy was christened by
his father, the incumbent, in the chapel at the remote
hamlet of Halton Gill. This child, whose career forms
the subject of this chapter, was destined to become the
first tutor of that well-known statesman William Pitt,
for it is true, as the Greek poet writes :
' T&V a$o/cr)TQ)V Tropov rjvpe #eo?/
The reader will naturally enqure in what kind
of surroundings was the boy brought up who was
afterwards allowed to instruct and give the earliest
lessons to that great mind, which in a critical period
of English history, exercised a mighty influence over
a considerable part of the civilized world. First, we
notice that his father, Miles Wilson, was a remark-
able man. He was probably a Dalesman, and he had
not received a University education, but that he was a
man of no mean attainments is evident from the list
[66]
EDWARD WILSON, M.A.,
CANON OF WINDSOR,
AND
THE REVEREND THOMAS WILSON, M.A.
EDWARD WILSON 67
of books in his library which has been preserved. The
following works : ' A Hebrew Exposition of the Psalms,'
1650 ; < Horse Hebraicse et Talmudicae,' 1658 ; 4 Aris-
tophanis Comediae,' 4to., 1625 ; and Minucii Felicis
Octavius,' 4to., 1662, with many other volumes in the
three sacred tongues, all go to prove that he had some
acquaintance with those studies and languages which
should form a part of the education of every clergy-
man. And that his reading passed the ordinary range
of theological and classical literature may be inferred
by another glance at his list of books. Turning over
the pages of the catalogue we notice these : ' Epitome
of Navigation,' 1698 ; Eikon Basilike,' 1648 ; Sys-
tema Compendiosum Totius Mathematicis per Keeker-
man,' 1621 ; ' An Account of a Voyage from Archangel
in Russia,' 1697 ; * Cantipratani Bonum Universale de
Apibus ' ; * Hampstead Wells, or Directions for Drink-
ing of those Waters,' 1734 ; A Sure Guide to Hell,'
by Beelzebub (no date). So if it be true that a man
may be known by his library, we may conclude that
Miles Wilson was a man of a very versatile and yet
well-instructed mind. But he was not content with
making a wide acquaintance with many and various
authors ; he also contributed his own little quota to
the literature of his times in the form of a small book
entitled 'The Man in the Moon.' The work is thus
described by Dr. Whi taker, the author of the ' History
of Craven ' : ' " The Man in the Moon " was seriously
meant to convey the knowledge of common astronomy
in the following strange vehicle. A cobbler, Israel
Jobson by name, is supposed to ascend first to the top
of Penigent, and thence, as a second stage equally
52
68 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
practicable, to the moon, after which he makes a tour
of the whole solar system. From this excursion, how-
ever, the traveller brings back little information which
might not have been had upon earth, excepting that
the inhabitants of one of the planets, I forget which,
were made of pot-metal. The work contains some
other extravagances; but the writer was, after all, a
man of talents, and has abundantly shown that, had
he been blessed with a sound mind and a superior
education, he would have been capable of much better
things. If I had the book before me I could quote single
passages here and there which in point of composition
rise to no mean degree of excellence. 1 As far as I have
been able to ascertain, no copy of this work is now
extant. The learned historian of Craven is a little
hard upon Mr. Wilson's eccentricities. He had also
a genius for mechanical work of various kinds, as the
few memorials of his skill abundantly testify. These
consist of a weather-glass, a representation in wood of
an ape blowing a trumpet, and a figure of a human head
which stood on a base of wood, and could be moved
to and fro. The fame of this human head reached the
ears of Dr. Whitaker. He says : ' Miles Wilson had
good mechanical hands, and carved well in wood, a
talent which he applied to several whimsical purposes.
But his chef-cTceuvre was an oracular head like that of
Friar Bacon and the disciple of the famous Escotillo,
with which he diverted himself and his neighbours, till
a certain reverend wiseacre threatened to complain of
the poor man to his metropolitan as an enchanter.
After this the oracle was mute. 1 Report says that the
parson was given to the practice of the curious arts,
EDWARD WILSON 69
and he had the reputation of being able to prognosti-
cate future events.
Under the tuition of his clever but eccentric father
and the care of his mother (Dorothy Lambert, a
yeoman's daughter), Edward Wilson passed his youth-
ful days at Halton Gill during the reign of George II.
They were not eventful years in the political world,
like those which he passed through at the end of
the century. He would have no recollections of
any public events in his boyish days except the
reports which he may have heard of the consterna-
tion which the march of the Stuart Prince, in the
rebellion of 1745, must have made in the neighbour-
hood of Halton Gill when the army passed not many
miles to the west of his home. When he became older
and passed out of his father's hands in the matter
of instruction, he was sent, with his younger brother
Thomas (baptized June 10, 1743), to finish his educa-
tion at Appleby Grammar School, where the celebrated
Mr. Yates was master, and he had amongst his associates
there, Langhorne, afterwards a well-known scholar and
writer, and Collinson, who became Provost of Queen's
College, Oxford. Edward Wilson was matriculated at
Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, as a Sizar, on June 22,
1757. The entry in the college books is next but one
to that of the poet Gray.
It is much to the credit of their father when we are
able to say that, with his ' unwealthy mountain bene-
fice,' and without any considerable private means, he
was able to educate his two sons and send them to the
University of Cambridge. Tradition says that these
two Craven students were accustomed to walk the dis-
70 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
tance between their father's home and the University
when the end of the term brought them into Craven,
or the end of the vacation required their return to the
University. After Edward Wilson had taken his
degree (Junior opt. B.A. 1761, M.A. 1769) he was
appointed tutor to the two sons of the Earl of
Chatham. From this time he was on the road to high
preferment.
He had charge of the education of the two boys for
eight years from William Pitts' sixth until his four-
teenth year. He resided with them, first at Wey mouth,
and then at Burton Pynsent, the seat of the Chatham
family. I have also heard that he had the Pitts with
him at Binfield. Three letters of Edward Wilson,
written in 1766 from Weymouth to Lady Chatham, are
published in the ' Chatham Correspondence ' (vol. iii.,
p. 26), in which he speaks of her younger son's
wonderful precocity and engaging manners. In the
year 1773 he accompanied him to Cambridge, and
resided in the same rooms with him. Bishop Tomline
says : ' On account of the private manner in which
he had been hitherto educated, his tender age, and
the extreme delicacy of his constitution, it was thought
right that Mr. Wilson should live with him for a
few weeks in the same college apartment, without,
however, having any concern in the direction of his
studies.' The Bishop adds : ' He was so quick, it was
justly observed by Mr. Wilson he never seemed to
learn, but always to recollect.' The following letter
written by the Earl of Chatham to Mr. Joseph Turner,
Senior Tutor of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, indicates
how high Mr. Wilson stood in his lordship's esteem :
EDWARD WILSON 71
'SIR,
' Apprehensions of gout about this season forbid
my undertaking a journey to Cambridge with my son.
I regret this more particularly as it deprives me of an
occasion of being introduced to your Personal Acquaint-
ance and that of the gentlemen of your society, a loss
which I shall much wish to repair at some other time.
Mr. Wilson, whose admirable instruction and affectionate
care have brought my son early to receive such further
advantages as he cannot fail to find under your eye, will
present him to you. . . .
' Yours, etc.,
CHATHAM.'*
In other letters the Earl of Chatham thus alludes
to Mr. Wilson. In 1773 : With what ease of mind
and joy of heart I write to the loved William since
Mr. Wilson's comfortable letter of Monday. My
affectionate remembrances go in great abundance to
Mr. Wilson. 1 The Earl had apparently provided a
horse for his son's tutor, and writes thus : ' Stucky will
carry Mr. Wilson safely, and I trust not unpleasantly.
The brother of the turf may hold the solid contents of
his shoulders and forehand somewhat cheap, but by
Dan's leave he is no uncreditable clerical steed.' And
Pitt in his greatness did not forget the instructor and
companion of his youth. He obtained for Edward
Wilson the Rectory of Binfield (instituted December
31, 1767), a Canonry at Windsor, to which he was in-
stituted on March 13, 1784, and a Canonry at Gloucester
Cathedral, all valuable preferments. Wilson was also a
* Cf. Lord Rosebery's < Pitt/
72 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
magistrate of the County of Berks and Domestic Chap-
lain to the Earl of Chatham. Consequently, from his
close connection with the royal residence at Windsor
and his friendship with the Pitt family, the son of Miles
Wilson of Halton Gill associated with many of the
most distinguished men of his day. Why he was not
raised to the episcopal bench may perhaps be explained
by a remark in the Rev. E. Paley's life of his father, the
Archdeacon, where he says : ' The Rev. E. Wilson, who
was Mr. Pitt's early tutor, whose rise is said to have
been limited by some doubts of his orthodoxy to a
Canonry at Windsor and Rectory at Binfield, seems to
have been a much valued friend. 1 A series of letters
which the Canon addressed at various times to his
sister Jane, who married a farmer, Mr. Knowles,
and who continued to reside at Halton Gill after
her father's death, throw some light upon the state of
the Church and Nation in those troublous times, and
they give us glimpses of the kind of life which a
distinguished ecclesiastic lived at the end of the
eighteenth century. In the first letter Mrs. Wilson
describes her eldest son's (Giffin) marriage to a Miss
Jouve^al in 1787. ( Mr. Giffin Wilson afterwards
became Recorder of Windsor, K.C., a Master of the
High Court of Chancery. He received the honour of
knighthood from King George IV. in 1823, and he died
in London August 4, 1848. His second wife was
a sister of General George Hotham.) ' I beg your
pardon for not sending you an exact account of our
wedding. It was only because I was afraid your spirits
were not enough composed to relish the jovial details,
or I would have hastened it to you directly ; briefly
EDWARD WILSON 73
then, It was as private as possible, nobody there but
one young lady of Miss JouvencaFs acquaintance who
was bridesmaid. Glocester (the second son) was father ;
he gave the lady away. It was in compliance with her
wish that even my brother Tom should not be there,
altho' he is a very great favourite of hers, and she was
much delighted with a visit he made here a fortnight
after. But to my story. We endeavoured to make
all our poorer neighbours as happy as we could. Every
farmer's wife in the parish had a pound of good plum-
cake and a bottle of wine sent her. A calf was killed
and with ale and wine distributed to the populace. All
our workmen, labourers, servants, etc., had a table and
supper provided for them, the ringers another, so that
one old man in the name of the rest, declared the oldest
man in Binfield, never saw such a wedding. And in the
Evening they all came and gratefully danced before our
door for near an hour. So far all was delightful and
comfortable, but I am sure you will grieve to hear that
the young lady herself is in a very ill state of health/
The following letter will show that Canon Wilson
still retained an interest in his native dale and its
inhabitants :
4 BINFIELD,
' August ye 25th, 1789.
' DEAR SISTER,
4 1 do not know who wrote last, but I have
intended to write to you a great while, and have waited
from day to day only to learn what were my brother's
plans, as he talked of coming to the North this summer,
and to take us in his way. We have been expecting to
see him ever since May ; I wrote to enquire what was
74 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
become of him, and told him that he would let the
summer slip through his fingers, and yesterday I had an
answer from London to inform us that he was on the
road, and would be with us to-morrow. I therefore
should have postponed my letter till after his arrival,
but, as Admiral Leveson and Commodore Bowyer have
just made me a morning visit, the opportunity of pro-
curing a Frank induces me to write to-day. I wish to
tell you that the next small Living that falls vacant in
the gift of the Dean and Canons of Windsor will probably
be at my disposal, but I desire you to understand that
I only say this in secret to you, for I know people
enough that would be desirous of it ; but bearing in
mind what you said about L of Deepdale and
A of Litton Hall, I shall be glad to know all that
you know of them both, and whether your wishes con-
tinue as favourable to them as they were. If L
has taken a degree at College, and the Living of All
Saints in Herefordshire should drop first, it may be in
my power to give it him, or exchange it for something
else in the gift of the Bishop of Carlisle, who wants it
for a friend of his. In the latter case, a Living in
Westmoreland or Cumberland might be full as desirable
to the A "s, but let me know whether Richard is
full four-and-twenty, and whether from what you know
of him he would do credit to my Patronage. My
knowledge of the family does not entitle them to any
favours from us, but as You say Duke and his wife have
behaved well to you, I shall be glad to put it in your
power to shew them favour for it. I have made some
private enquiries about him at Oxford, and hear nothing
amiss of Richard there, but I fear he is not yet old
EDWARD WILSON 75
enough. He must be complete 24 to take a Living,
and we cannot keep it vacant above six months. I
heard of Timothy Hill a few weeks ago by Birkbeck,
who had seen him at Settle, from which I conclude he
still follows the old trade of badgering. I am glad to
hear that he is still able to do it ; for my part, it would
now be a serious journey for me to ride from Hal ton
Gill to Settle and back. I am about the same distance
from Windsor, but tho" it is all the way a level gravel
walk or a pleasant green turf, shaded almost all the
way with trees, I have only gone on horseback once
this summer. I frequently ride to Bracknell, or perhaps
as far as 5 or 6 miles out, before dinner ; but 10 miles
out is a great undertaking, and especially to get on
horseback after I have dined. I do not feel to myself
larger than when you saw me last, but as Selina says I
am a great deal, and many people are inclined to be of
the same opinion, I suppose they are better judges than
I am. Selina and all of us are at present very well,
and feel no little comfort in having got rid of workmen
of all kinds, and being settled in a very elegant house '
[Canon Wilson lived at the Grove, Binfield, now owned
and occupied by Sir Robert Wilmot, Bart.] ' every way
fit for a man of two or three times my income, with
delightful gardens and hedgerow walks belonging to it,
in a situation that wants nothing but water to make it
everything that is beautiful. I wish I could show it
you, but I suppose it would be as difficult a task to get
you hither as for me to rifle to Halton Gill on horse-
back. All here join in love, duty, and all good wishes
to yourself, Wilson, Molly and Ann Holmes, and all
friends with your affect, brother,
c E. WILSON.'
76 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
4 BlNFIELD,
'Nov.yelSth, 1789.
' DEAR SISTER,
6 1 have this day sent off a box for you, directed
to the care of the Postmaster at Settle, which I have
ordered to be booked to you by Friday's waggon from
the Castle in Wood Street. You will find in it a parcel
of old ragged school-books, the relics of my little
seminary, of little value in themselves, but they may
be of use to Wilson, and save you some money. To
fill up the box I have thrown in two or three other
things 8 or 10 of my latest newspapers, the last but
one of my sermons that remained undisposed of (as my
brother informs me you have lost the two that I sent
by him), and I have filled up the box with a few flowers
roots and seeds that were unknown at Halton Gill when
I was an inhabitant there. I intended to have seen
the roots taken up myself, but the arrival of a message
from Lord Barrymore obliged me to leave it to the
gardener. I have also sent Lord Barrymore^s letter
that you may see how merrily we live. I have excused
myself from waiting on his Lordship, as I shall be in
residence at Windsor ; but Mrs. W. has sent for tickets
for the first and last nights to accompany Giffin, Nancy,
and Glocester.
'Wargrave is about 6 miles from Binfield, in the
way to Henley, where his Lordship has built a Play
House. I told the gardener what things I meant to
send, but I find, as I feared, that he has not done as I
directed him ; he has omitted some of the things that
I named to him, and sent others that are very common
with you. I unfortunately left it till the Higler's cart
EDWARD WILSON 77
was ready to set out, that the roots might be as little
out of the ground as possible, and by that means the
business has been very ill-conducted. The list he has
given me is as follows :
SEEDS. ROOTS.
Larkspur, 3 sorts. Mich. Daisy, 2 sorts.
Carnation Poppy. Golden Rod.
LobePs Catchfly. Monarda, or Oswego Tea.
Annual Snapdragon. Phlox alba.
Sea holly. Veronica.
Ten Week Stocks. Pale French Honeysuckle.
Candy Tuft. Campanula.
Scabious. Catesby's Catchfly.
Sweet Williams. White Lilly.
Orange do.
Peonys.
Pinks.
'We purpose going to the Audit at Glocester on
Tuesday next and returning to London for a day or
two the beginning of December. We have been much
pressed by the Dowager Lady Chatham to go to
Burton Pynsent, but the badness of the weather and
the season of the year, as we both are very susceptible
of cold, has induced us to put it off till next summer.
' The first of January I go into residence at Windsor,
and the first of February at Glocester, so that, except-
ing about a fortnight or three weeks the latter end of
December, we shall now see little of Binfield till the
beginning of April. Selina is so attached^to Binfield
she does not like moving from it at all, especially in
winter-time ; but as that is the time when Binfield is
78 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
dressed in its worst clothes, and as my preaching spirits
are always best in cold weather, I shall always wish to
leave it at the same time ; and as I am now senior . . .
at Glocester and nearly half-way up at Windsor, I
think I shall scarce find any difficulty in getting what
month I chuse. As I prefer going to Windsor on
Sunday, I shall keep this letter till then in the hope
of getting a Frank for it. If you wish to know where
my house is in the plan of Windsor Castle, it is that
with the little garden before it in the shape of a forti-
fication ; but if an opportunity offers I should chuse
either the house that projects on the right hand or left
hand of it, but rather the left, as more spacious of the
two. I forgot to say that I have sent Will. Preston
two pieces of the paper with which my house is covered,
as my brother tells me he expressed some surprise at it.
Selina joins in love and comp ts to yourself, Wilson, and
all friends with your affect, brother,
' E. WILSON.'
' BlNFIELD,
' DEAR SISTER,
' I accompanied Mr. Armitstead yesterday morn-
ing to Windsor, and assisted the Bishop of Carlisle
(John Douglas) in ordaining him priest. I should
have made a point of doing the same the Sunday
before, when he was ordained deacon, but the indis-
position of my Curate obliged me to stay at home to
take my own duty. He returned to Oxford yesterday
from Windsor, from whence he purposes, as indeed I
have advised him, to return to Litton very shortly
EDWARD WILSON 79
unless any occasional duty should present itself that
will repay the expense of staying in college. We have
received no answer yet from Lord Lonsdale, but, con-
sidering the man and his present engagements in
Elections, we do not wonder at it, particularly as he
expects to see the Bishop of Carlisle soon in Cumber-
land, and probably he may wait for that. The Bishop
intends to set off from Windsor sometime next week,
and will reach his palace at Rose Castle in about ten
days or a fortnight. From these circumstances you see
we must expect to remain some weeks longer in dark-
ness respecting the Chapel at Whitehaven. As the first
idea of it was a proposal from Lord Lonsdale himself,
I cannot allow myself to entertain a doubt of it ; but
if it should fail the Bishop will take the very first
opportunity in his power to provide for Mr. Armitstead,
and on that assurance he has been so good as to ordain
him both deacon and priest without a title. He is,
therefore, now ready for any preferment that offers;
and the Bishop has also further had the goodness to
write to Lord Lonsdale and say that he has had the
opportunity of seeing the young man both at Windsor
and Binfield, and that in person, address, and under-
standing he fully answers the character I had given of
him. Indeed, Armitstead has had the good fortune to
obtain the good opinion of us all. We have had his
company a whole week, and both in private and in
public he has comported himself in a way that has
given us great pleasure and set him very high in our
esteem. I have great hopes of his doing extremely
well in life, and I am happy in the opportunity I have
had of giving him this first introduction into the world,
80 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
as it is in all its parts both creditable and honourable.
He was ordained in our magnificent chapel, received
the Sacrament afterwards in the King's private chapel,
slept at the Deanery within the Castle of Windsor,
had repeated opportunities of seeing the whole Royal
Family both at Chapel and on the Terrace, and of
associating with very distinguished characters in an
easy, familiar way. As you have been very desirous
that I should do something for Mr. Armitstead, I
thought it would be a pleasure to you to know all the
above particulars; and for everything respecting us,
as you will see him very soon, I refer you to him, as he
has now a tolerable knowledge of both Binfield and
Windsor, and our associates in both. . . . With all
good wishes and regards to yourself, Wilson, Molly
Holmes, and Ann, and all friends.
' Your faithful and affect, brother,
<E. W.
'P.S. Fam at present quite unhorsed. I have sold
one this week that was quite a beauty to look at, but
he was not sure-footed enough for me to ride him with
any comfort, so I was glad to get rid of him. I have
desired Mr. Armitstead to look out for one in the
North.'
We can imagine with what eagerness all these details
about Windsor and the ordination would be read by
Mr. Armitstead's friends in Littondale, and as we
read in the letter how the ordination was hastily
conducted in the Royal Chapel by a Bishop who was
not in his own diocese, and the two orders of deacon
EDWARD WILSON 81
and priest were conferred upon Mr. A. in a single
week, contrary to the rubric, and that without a title,
we are impressed by the fact, as we think of the careful
ordinations and the severe preparation required in the
present day, that a great change has passed over the
Church in this respect, for the better, since the eighteenth
century.
' BINFIELD,
6 October yeVbih, 1791.
' DEAR SISTER,
* I have just now sent off a basket of flower roots
and seeds directed to you as follows : For Mrs. Knowles,
at Halton Gill, near Settle, Yorkshire, from the Castle,
Wood St., London, October the 20th, 1791. I have
given a charge that it be booked at the Castle to-
morrow, and it will, of course, come off on Friday, not
knowing whether the coach to Settle comes off from
the Inn. I have not directed by what carriage it is
to come, but whether it be by coach or waggon, it is
packed so carefully I have no doubt the roots will all
come safe and without any detriment to their growth.
I have not sent anything that requires a hot-bed or
greenhouse, as they would be useless to you, but I think
I have sent you everything else that my garden affords,
excepting some things that I am sure you have, or that
I sent before. I have also sent along with them a
Gardener's Calendar that I think may be useful to you
in directing you how to manage them. I have sent you
such Tulip roots as I have, but I have none of higher
price than about 5 or 6 shillings per hundred, having
no taste for beds of flowers by themselves, but only
intermixed with flowering shrubs and trees; for the
6
82 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
same reason I do not excel in Anemonies or Ranun-
culuses, as they are not well suited to such borders as
mine. I have, therefore, sent you all I have, such as
they are ; they cost me at the rate of a guinea a
hundred ; I believe they are almost all Ranunculuses,
but as they were taken up together I have not
attempted to separate them. The large roots mixed
with the Tulips are a dozen Crown Imperials. I have
written all the tickets myself for the roots, but now
I recollect I made one mistake viz., the Mich, or
Winter Cherry, Capsicum; instead of Capsicum I
should have written Physalis. The name of the smaller
seeds I have left to the gardener, and have no doubt
many of them are wrong spelt, but I think you will
be able to make them out. The little paper of
Larkspur seed was given me this morning by Mrs.
Elliott's gardener, for whose marriage the bells are
ringing very merrily. He says they are very curious
sorts, and you will consider them of superior value
when I tell you that they are all that I have got by
the wedding. Selina on seeing the number of tickets
says, Where will you put them ? I think they will fill
your whole garden, and require pretty good manage-
ment in the disposal of them. I lament that there is
no Sweet Sultan seed, as that is, in my opinion, the
most beautiful flower in the garden, but the gardener
has saved no seed of it. If I can get any of it in the
country I will endeavour to send it in a frank, tho'
franks are at present rather scarce amongst us, as we
have in a great measure lost Bishop Douglas, and our
new Dean, Bishop Cornwallis, is not yet come amongst
us, and we do not find that he intends to be much at
EDWARD WILSON 83
Windsor. The female Peony that I have sent you is
not so beautiful in its flower as in its fruit; at this
very time it is the most beautiful thing in the garden.
I have just sent a whole plant of it, carefully packed
up in a box, to little Miss Eliot at Burton Pynsent,
as I find it is not known in that county ; the pods open
about this season of the year, and display a charming
show of black and red seeds. I had a letter from my
brother about a fortnight ago from Colney, Gibson's
new living, near Norwich. Gibson was to return with
him in about ten days'* time to Soham, so I suppose
they are both there by this time. They are the most
constant couple I ever knew. They are scarce ever
apart all the year round. I therefore generally address
my letter to both of them it is brother Gibson and
brother Wilson and they frequently (that is, when they
write, but that is seldom) both write to me on the
same sheet of paper. . . .
' P.S. The gold and silver fishes in my garden bason
are almost famished for want of water, but we have
had some plentiful showers to-day, and the air looks
as if we should have a good deal of rain. Our travellers
returned about ten days ago. Giffin came from Ostend
to Dover, and then Post to London and to Abingdon
to attend the Quarter Sessions, where there was nothing
to do, and from thence to Binfield viz., from Sunday
morning, three o'clock, to Tuesday night at ten with-
out going to bed. But they are all very well, and
much pleased with their excursion. 1
Horticulturists will be sorry to hear that none of the
6 2
84 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
plants and bulbs which were sent from Binfield have
survived the rigours of more than a hundred Craven
winters.
' LONDON,
< May ye 31rf, 1796.
6 DEAR SISTER,
4 Your letter has found me here. If it had
arrived a few days sooner it wou'd have found my
brother with us. It is full two years since Selina and
I saw him last, but we both have the pleasure of think-
ing that he looks very well, and we are glad to find
that he talks of being with you in June. If wish could
effect it we should be of the party ; but I am too feeble
and too frequently ill to attempt so long a journey, and,
besides, the great expense of fitting out Glocester, etc.,
etc., have cut short many excursions that are more
within my reach. We have had a very pleasant trip
to Burton Pynsent, and had the pleasure of finding
Lady Chatham better than usual ; but I was repeatedly
very poorly both there and on the road, tho" we had
neither mountains nor any other inconvenience to
encounter. I am sorry that you did not remember
Tom Hill. I surely told you that I never meant to
fail him, tho 1 1 did not wish him to reckon on it. I have
paid my brother up to the first of May %8 7s. Od. as
usual viz., Twenty guineas for you, six for A H , and
one for Tom which I hope will not come too late for
him. I think you have done right to take A H home
to you, as it will be better for both than moping alone,
and especially for you on W going to Kendall, which, as
I hear from my brother, is the plan now in agitation for
EDWARD WILSON 85
him. It is certainly full time that something should
be determined on his walk in life, otherwise he will be
lost to himself and all his connections. We have had
several letters from Glocester in the course of the last
fortnight, from which we have the satisfaction of learn-
ing that he arrived at Barbadoes on Easter Monday,
which was a holiday to the Blacks, and he had the
pleasure of seeing them dressed out in all their finery,
singing and dancing and showing every mark of hilarity
without liquor, without expence, and without disputing
and quarrelling, which he cou'd not have thought possible
if he had not been witness of it. The troops that had
got there seven weeks before him were in as good health
as they cou'd have been in Europe, and out of 190
dying men that were in one of their ships they all
recovered on being put ashore except two. He had
a very prosperous voyage, and found the heat far more
tolerable than he expected. His last letter expresses
great impatience at being detained there viz., a fort-
night for want of an Admiral to appoint a convoy, as
he by that delay has broken into another quarter, and is
very desirous of knowing particularly the nature and
value of his appointment, and of being in the receipt
of something that he can call his own. We hope to
learn by the next Pacquet that he is arrived in Jamaica,
as it is not a week's sail from Barbadoes. Your account
of Preston's death is very curious. My brother had in-
formed me of his anxiety to see his coffin, but not of his
making it himself. I am glad that your apple-tree is
alive ; when it is old enough to bear fruit I think you
will be pleased with it. The plant that looks like Balm
is, I suppose, Monarda or Oswego Tea. The leaf is
86 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
broader than the Balm leaf, has a strong perfumed
smell, and bears a red flower. . . . Lincoln's Inn
Fields, which is the largest square in London, and to the
right commands a most beautiful view of Lincoln's Inn
Gardens, which are separated from the Fields, or, rather,
Square, only by a wall. So that the house stands as
open and airy and as little exposed to fire as any in
London. , .'
( WINDSOR,
' January ye llth, 1797.
6 DEAR SISTER,
6 We came into residence here on the last day of
the old year ; indeed, my residence commenced on the
23rd of December, but as many Binfield parochial
matters require my personal attendance there at Christ-
mas, partly respecting the Poor and partly respecting
myself, I always endeavour to get somebody to exchange
with me the last week or ten days. This year I was
obliged to come and do my own duty here on Christmas
Day, and I think it was the very coldest day I ever
experienced. We got up at half-past five, for Mrs.
Wilson came over with me. The ground was covered with
snow, and as it had fallen two days before, the drifts
had been cut away so as to make a road for the Coach,
so that we got to Windsor by nine ; but both our men
were so pinched with the severity of the weather as to
be fearful that they must give it up, and I find the
Thermometer was many degrees lower than ever it was
known to be in this country. Nevertheless, we went
home to dinner, and Giifin and Nancy came and met
us here from London in an open chaise, and went to
EDWARD WILSON 87
Binfield with us. Last Sunday Lord and Lady Chatham
were on a visit here with the King and Queen, and as
My Lord has been to call upon us this morning, it has
given me the opportunity of procuring a frank for you.
We have thought it a very long time since we heard
from you, and as I have had as much to do in the
writing way as my eyes are capable of managing, Mrs.
Wilson has long intended to write to you ; but the same
failure of eyes, or perhaps a greater, and the waiting to
procure a frank has induced her to postpone it till now,
and at present her eyes are so tired out that I take up
my pen instead of her. The seeing Lord Chatham at
Windsor Chapel on Sunday was quite a surprise to me, and
the King good-humouredly said in the Chapter room
where we always receive the Royal Family to his lord-
ship that he wou'd now have the opportunity of hearing
a lesson from his old Tutor that he supposed he might
not have done for many years. This was a pleasantry
highly gratifying for me to hear, and this is not the
only one with which we have been entertained within
these few days. On Friday last, Lord Chesterfield, one
of the Post Masters General, told one of my brother
Canons that he considered Glocester as one of the most
promising young men in their department, that his
letters from Jamaica . . . upon them every Packet, that
they wanted very much an able and vigilant young man
in that quarter to root out a nest of hornets, and that
Glocester was doing it most effectually, and that his
talents appeared in so very superior a light in his
correspondence with them as to strike more forcibly
every letter he wrote. This report was so grateful to
us both I have every day since we heard it felt so much
88 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
obligation to his Lordship as to determine to take the
first opportunity to pay my respects to his Lordship, who
has a house within a few miles of this place, and thank
him for his openness and candour in saying all this of my
son; but I have been every day and all day since I came
here so engaged in Chapter as to have had no time for
it except between the services on Sunday, which we
devoted to Lord and Lady Chatham, and then we
heard what makes me still more anxious to do it, viz.,
that Lord Chesterfield was of the party with the King
and Queen the Evening before, and that he had there
resumed the same subject and repeated all his praises
of Glocester to the Royal Family and their Visitors in
the hearing of Lord and Lady Chatham. But enough
of this subject. I now proceed to tell you that we
were above three months without hearing at all from
Glocester, viz., all September, October, November. We
find the cause of it was that one Packet was taken by
the French and carried into America. This has made
a sad gap in our correspondence, as he refers in his last
letter, which consists of five sheets of paper, to many
things in a former letter, which is wholly lost ; but we
are comforted with his writing apparently in good
health and spirits, tho 1 he tells us he has been six
months there without seeing any money of his own. The
inland Post Masters are so dilatory in their payments
to him, and his Clerks have been so long masters, that
he believes he must turn them all off and get a new
set before he shall be able to do justice either to his
office or himself. Nevertheless, he has seen enough of
his place to inform us that it is not of less value than
it was reported to be, and that he hopes he may in
EDWARD WILSON 89
time leave it in the hands of a Deputy and return to
us again. My eyes are so tired I must Jay by my
pen for a time, but I will leave my letter open in the
hope of resuming it again before the Post goes out.
I resume my pen again to tell you that Mrs. Jennings,
my tenant at Glocester, has been confined to her bed
with water on the brain. As she lies in bed she is toler-
ably easy, and even cheerful when all is quiet about
her, but can bear no noise, and if she attempts to raise
her head she is in agonies of pain. As she is near 70
it is supposed she cannot recover ; but as she is not in
a situation to be removed, I am obliged to give up my
residence this year at Glocester and forfeit ten shillings
(per day). . . .'
In the following letter Canon Wilson informs his
sister at Halton Gill of the death of his brother, the
Rev. Thomas Wilson, who graduated at Pembroke
College, Cambridge, 10th Wrangler, B.A. 1766, M.A.
1769, and who was equally fortunate in obtaining
preferment. He held the three livings of Soham,
Whaddon, and Gedney (present value about ^2,600
per annum) in addition to his fellowship. In one of
his letters to his sister he says : ' You must drink the
health of King George in a bumper, for he has just
given me the Living of Gedney, which I may hold with
Whaddon and Soham.' These were the days of plural-
ism. In the picture of the Canon and his brother,
which by the kindness of Mr. Martin Knowles, of Long
Preston, stands at the beginning of this memoir, the
Canon is in a sitting posture and his brother standing
by his side.
90 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
c WINDSOR,
< February 19th, 1797.
' MY DEAREST SISTER,
4 The colour of my seal will have already apprised
you that the melancholy event which my last was
intended to prepare you for has actually taken place.
Before I set out for London, as I was then about to
do immediately, I received another letter from Giffin to
inform me all was over ; indeed, it was over when he
wrote his first, but he was unwilling to tell me so
abruptly. The gout had flown to his stomach, and
carried him off almost instantaneously above nine days
before Giffin knew it. In consequence of a letter found
in his pocket Gibson had been written to immediately,
but he was not at home till several days after the
arrival of that letter, from which it happened, tho' he
died the 30th of January, he was not buried till the
llth of this month. As soon as I knew it I sent to
desire he might be buried at Binfield, but ... it was
absolutely necessary it shou'd be buried immediately,
Gibson and Giffin took upon them the task of giving
directions about it. The corpse was conveyed to the
nearest chapel in a Hearse, and they two accompanied
it in a mourning coach. This has been a most un-
expected and affecting stroke to us all, and we know
that it will not be less so to you. The addition of more
years might have enabled him to be looked up as a rich
uncle, for his income this last year was above .1,300 ;
but his best days were evidently over, and he has lately
appeared to us all to be breaking up very fast, and now
I understand from Gibson that his expenses have been
greater than his income. He has died without a will,
EDWARD WILSON 91
and therefore it falls upon me to administer to his
effects and discharge his household at Soham ; but
having been confined for a fortnight by a severe cold,
Giffin has undertaken to go to Soham for me. I wou'd
gladly have persuaded Gibson to come hither for a few
days, and then go to Soham with me, that, as he knew
my brother's affairs more minutely than anybody, and
all his wishes about his servants and neighbours, I
might have the assistance of his council and advice ; but
I have not been able to prevail : he is quite broken-
hearted, and says he must go into Norfolk to recruit,
but promises to come and see us all when he can bring
his mind to see London again. As my brother has not
been in the habit of communicating any of his affairs
to me, I am an utter stranger to the times or manner in
which he has been accustomed to furnish you with
money ; but as that office now devolves upon me, I beg
that you will immediately write and tell me all about
it) that I may have the satisfaction of knowing that you
are not unprovided. My next great anxiety is to see
W placed in some promising way of procuring
a comfortable livelihood in which he may be happy
in himself and a credit to his connections. I have no
doubt I cou'd manage this in a way as honourable to
himself and all his relations as if he had been born in
a much more elevated situation, and it is now full time
that something shou'd be done for him ; but on this
subject it is highly desirable that you and I should have
some personal communication. It is a matter that
cannot well be managed by letter. I therefore hope to
find leisure, and muster up health enough, some time in
the summer to come and see you and settle this matter,
92 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
which now on W *s account grows very pressing, as
all the happiness of his life depends upon it. It also
grows very pressing on account of the increasing
infirmities and years of both you and me, and the
opportunities that I might probably avail myself of are
opportunities of the present time only. I shall only
add that Mrs. W. joins in all good wishes and regards
to you both with your ever affect, brother,
6 BlNFTELD,
< July ye 21th, 1800.
* DEAR SISTER,
' As I hope to-morrow or the next day to
procure a frank, I have taken up my pen to prepare
for it, and to ask you how you do ? It is now a long
time since we heard from you, and the summer is flying
away apace. Our neighbourhood has been extremely
gay for the last six weeks. We have had above 20,000
men encamped within a few miles of us, and some of
their reviews have been within reach of my glass without
going out of doors. At the farthest extremity from us
My Lord Chatham commands a brigade of Infantry.
We returned from him yesterday evening through the
thickest part of the Encampment at a time when
several regiments were all drawn out on parade. The
evening was enchantingly fine, the music of the several
bands most charming, and the whole drive as delightful
a sight of military splendour as you can conceive.
I wish you and Wilson had been with us to see it ; as it
was, we were quite alone, for Giffin and his wife are not
yet come into the country, neither will they till about
EDWARD WILSON 93
the 5th of August. They are at this time on an
excursion by water at Margate perhaps, or Ramsgate,
with a party of Glocester's friends in the Custom house
yacht. They set sail on Thursday last, and purpose
being in London again on Tuesday morning. They have
had most extraordinary fine weather for the purpose;
indeed, it has been with us 6 or 7 weeks of the
finest weather that was ever seen. I have got in all my
hay, 53 acres, without a drop of rain, but I had the
smallest crop I ever had in my life ; upon the cold clay
land, where the water had lain so long, the grass did
not grow at all, it was scarce worth mowing. Many of
my neighbours were in such a hurry to make the most
of the fine weather they have been obliged to cut their
ricks to pieces again to prevent their firing. You must
have had, I think, a most excellent turf time, and got
in enough, I hope, for 2 or 3 years' consumption.
I should rejoice to have a 100 loads of them. I am
now laying in my coals at % 17s. Od. a chaldron, ex-
clusive of carriage from the water-side, which is at least
12s. more. This is higher than I have ever known
them at this time of the year, but I hope the times are
beginning to mend. A farmer at Reading market
yesterday sold a load of wheat (i.e., 40 bushels) for
dt J 30 5s. Od. which he refused 40 guineas for the
Saturday before. The price of corn has now fallen
very considerably every week for 3 or 4 weeks past.
Butchers' meat is also lower, but we must not expect
much alteration here while our camp continues. We
expect to lose a part of it this week, as the King goes
to Wey mouth on Wednesday night, and they are to
attend him there; but we have reason to think that
94 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the largest part of them will continue here some weeks
longer. The nearest regiment is about 8 miles from us,
the most distant 9, extending in length nearly 7 miles,
and in breadth about 2. They have been most fortunate
in weather ; nevertheless, from heat and violent exercise
many of them have suffered from illness. I went one
day to see a battle, but choosing to have my breakfast
first, the engagement was not only begun, but one
party was put to flight and driven to a distance of
seven miles before I got to the ground. I heard the
cannonading at a distance, and now and then saw part
of them, and clouds of smoke from an eminence on which
I stood waiting three hours in expectation of their
return, but all to no purpose. The way to see it
effectually would have been to gallop on horseback all
day near to the King ; but for this I am not young
enough, though a year younger than him, and full as
light. He bears it better than all his subjects ; is at it
every day and all day, and is never tired. There is to
be a grand day to-morrow, on Tuesday he goes to town
to prorogue Parliament, on Wednesday he is to have
another grand day at the camp, and set off immediately
to travel all night to Weymouth. To see these daily
shows hundreds of people in all sorts of cariages, on
horseback, and on foot pass by this house every day,
and equal numbers in all directions. But I have got to
the end of my paper, and, therefore, shall only add that
Mrs. Wilson joins in love to Wilson and yourself, with,
dear sister, your affectionate brother,
'E.W. 1
EDWARD WILSON 95
4 BlNFIELD,
4 December ye 8th, 1800.
'DEAR SISTER,
6 Your letter met me in London at my return
from the audit at Glocester, where I had left Mrs. W. to
be GimVs housekeeper for two or three weeks. We
were all very sorry for W ^s disappointment in an
object that both you and he seemed to have set your
hearts upon, and I shou'd have written to say so from
London ; but I had really no time, being obliged to
return to Windsor on Saturday, and hither yesterday,
and having the intermediate time wholly occupied by
indispensable business. As I purpose going to Maiden-
head Sessions this morning, I write this previously in
the hope of meeting somebody there to frank it, other-
wise I shall have no chance of any such thing till the
first of next month, when I go into residence at Windsor,
and expect to meet a Bishop or two. The intermediate
time here I shall be confined within my own parish
preparing for an absence of three months as usual,
tho" 1 probably I shall not reside at Glocester in
February and March as I have done for many years
past, as our new Dean has undertaken the care of my
duty, and Giffin and his mother are very desirous of
our spending those months in London. We all per-
fectly approve of W 's forbearance in not engaging
in anything that is evidently too dear, and as that line
of life is so much his wish we hope something more
promising will soon present itself. We do not at all
lament his not being a shopkeeper, as that is a business
extremely hazardous, and what we think him very unfit
for. In the meantime I hope he will diligently exercise
96 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
himself in trying to write a good hand and making
himself expert in all sorts of arithmetick, as those are
qualifications that will be sure to turn to his account in
every situation of life. There can be no doubt of your
right to demand five per cent, for your mortgage, but it
may be attended with expence and trouble not suited
to your situation. I shall be very glad to learn that
you have sold it. The funds will pay you very nearly
five per cent, at the present price, and you may have
the money again any day when you choose to sell it out
at an hour's notice. We have the comfort of thinking
that we have left Giffin better reconciled to his loss,
and also Glocester in better health and spirits than he
has been for some years. We expect to see them both
about Christmas, either here or at Windsor, tho" they
will probably not be able to be with us at the same
time. . . .
' P.S. I do not perceive that there is any chance of
our having either bread or flesh meat much cheaper for
several months to come, but I flatter myself now we
are in no danger of a famine, as there was reason to fear
a few weeks ago ; by economy and substitutes I now
think we shall get safely thro' the winter. I have just
bought fourteen hundredweight of Rice for this parish,
which the Overseers will be able to sell at 3 Jd. a pound. 1
' WINDSOR,
'January ye Z5th, 1802.
'DEAR SISTER,
' After a second very trying autumn, that
deprived me of all powers of exertion both in mind and
body, I have been for 6 or 8 weeks tolerably well, and
EDWARD WILSON 97
have gone through the greatest part of my residence
here better than I expected to do, for the last 3 or 4
days and nights I have been in an agony of pain with
my feet, particularly my great toes, which I am inclined
to believe is the gout, and Mrs. Wilson wishes me joy
of it as likely to remove my other complaints and give
me firmer health. I can scarce hobble to Chapel, tho"
it is nearly under the same roof, tho' whatever it is
it appears to be going off. The pain is considerably
abated, and my feet are not quite so tender as they have
been. Mrs. Wilson is in better health than she has
been at this season for two or three years past, and we
purpose going from here to London in about 10 days
to spend a couple of nights again with Giffin while he
continues single ; he says he has no use for a house but
to receive his mother and me, as his Chambers would
answer his own purpose equally well, and at a much
cheaper rate. On the adoption of this plan I have for
this year again given up the idea of keeping Residence
at Glocester, and the Dean there has been so good as
to undertake the superintending the Church for my two
months. Giffin passed a few days here about a week
ago, and is in better health and spirits than we ever
knew him. We have not seen Glocester at all. His
time has been wholly taken up at the Board of Customs
in attending for others who attended for him in the
summer, while he was at Bath and Bristol. He might
have come to us here for a couple of nights, but as he is
so soon to see us in London, and as he does not move
about with the same alertness as Giffin does, he did not
attempt to come to Windsor. I have the pleasure to
assure you that the King was never better in health in
7
98 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
his life. He staid in London a whole week about the
Queen's Birthday, but was down here on Friday morn-
ing by eleven o'clock, and went out on horseback after-
wards. I was contriving all the middle of the week how
to be carried into the Pulpit, as I was apprehensive I
should neither be able to walk or stand in the presence
of His Majesty, but I am to-day so much better as to
have got thro' it better than I expected. I had a
conversation with the Queen about the cow-pox. She
observed that " it was not in fashion when I might have
used it on my children," and I had the honour of telling
her that the Glocester gentlemen had entered into a
large subscription, many of them of five guineas each,
throughout the whole county for a piece of plate to be
presented to Dr. Jenner, who has the credit of being the
inventor of it, tho', in fact, he is only the reviver of it.
Mrs. Wilson joins, &c.'
' BlNFIELD,
' July ye 24^, 1802.
* DEAR SISTER,
' I wrote more than half a letter a month ago
with the expectation of finishing and franking it at
Windsor, but as the Parliament was that day dissolved
it did not succeed, so I burnt it. In the hope of finding
the Bishop of Norwich at Windsor to-morrow I have
now taken up my pen again, and have to tell you that
your letter followed me to Town to attend the King's
birthday, and when that was over Glocester had
prepared for us an excursion on the water in the
Custom House yacht. The weather was not very
favourable when we set out, but it improved every
EDWARD WILSON 99
hour ; and when we got to the mouth of the river, the
wind being fair for us to go to France, we immediately
determined to go to Calais ; we arrived then to tea . . .
(illegible). We were much gratified with our enter-
tainment, tho 1 not sorry to set sail again for England,
for their butchers' meat and poultry were almost
carrion, and their bread so bad as to be worse than
ours two years ago, and a file of soldiers with drawn
swords attending the sale of it to prevent the people
seizing more than their share, tho" the price is very dear.
We were detained twelve hours longer than we intended
by their demanding 20 guineas to permit our vessel to
sail again, and we were at last obliged to give ... for
it, if their Government should persist in it. The whole
place seemed to be very poor and wretched, tho' our
entertainment, except the badness of the bread, was
extraordinary good, and not so dear as at home. We
slept one night at Calais and four nights on board.
Our company were Mrs. Wilson and two young ladies,
Giffin and Glocester, and myself. . . .'
The letters cease at this date.
Canon Wilson was the author of a few little works.
In the year 1773 he published ' Three Letters to the
Tithe Association at the Crown and Anchor in the
Strand. ' By a Country Parson. London, 8vo. The
first letter contains an examination of the several
charges that have been brought against tithe. The
second letter gives a short account of ' The Right of
Tithes and of the History of Tithes, and a Comparison
between the Levitical and Evangelical Priesthood with
regard to their Services and Revenue.' In this letter
100 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the Canon traces tithes and offerings from the very
earliest times, showing that even in heathen nations a
provision of this kind was made for the teachers of
religion, and not omitting in the Old Testament the
practice of Abraham, and the requirements of the Mosaic
Law, in this matter.
In the New Testament account (Acts xi.) of the
forming of a ' common fund ' he finds the beginning of
the system, and in the weekly collections (1 Cor. xvi.)
ordered by St. Paul. He says, that for the first 200
years, ministers, and the poor in the Christian Church,
subsisted out of a common fund.
Early in the third century the Roman Emperors
looked upon the wealth of the Church with envious
eyes, and St. Lawrence, the deacon, was seized and put
to death in order that the common fund of the Church
might be utilized for State purposes. In the year
370 the Emperors tried to put a stop to the liberality
of laymen who offered gifts to the Church.
Turning to England, he says that Ethelwolf
(A.D. 855), the first hereditary monarch of England,
made a law by which he gave to the Church the tithe
of all his kingdom. But this statement about King
Ethelwolf has been proved since Canon Wilson's time
to rest on a misconstruction (as learned men are now
agreed) of a document not really relating to tithe (cf.
Selborne's < Defence of the Church of England,' p. 131).
The celebrated historian, Professor Freeman, puts the
matter more correctly when he says : ' The nearest
approach to a regular general endowment is the tithe,
and this is not a very near approach. The tithe can
hardly be said to have been granted by the State. The
EDWARD WILSON 101
state of the case rather is that the Church preached
the payment of tithe as a duty, and that the State
gradually came to enforce that duty by legal sanctions '
(cf. Freeman's ' Disestablishment and Disendowment,
p. 19,1885).
The third letter contains ' Observations on the Pro-
posals of the Association, and a Demonstration that
the Present Institution is susceptible of more Advan-
tages than any other that the Society at the Crown and
Anchor can reasonably expect to devise. 1 He then
criticises the various proposals made by the Association,
and he tries to show that the mode of collecting the
tithe then in use was the best for that time. Speaking
of a modus per acre in corn which had been proposed,
he says : ' What grain could be chosen for the purpose ?
Oats and barley were the bread corn of our ancestors ;
now they are no longer eaten except by Horses and
Hogs.' He must have forgotten that oatmeal cake was
generally eaten at that time in Craven. ' Wheat has
borne the nearest proportion to the general price of
provisions in our days, and it is in our days almost the
whole bread corn of these Kingdoms ; but who can
undertake to say what changes another century may
introduce ? Perhaps by that time it may be thought
fit only for the Distiller and Starchmaker. In Gerrard's
" History of Plants " (p. 780) we find that potatoes, not
200 years ago, were thought unequal to the severity of
our climate. They were at that time considered as an
article within the confectioner's province. They were
infused in wine and eat with prunes ; now they are a
material part of the diet of the poor, and not, indeed,
banished yet from the kitchens of the rich, yet their
102 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
credit will probably be of short continuance, and they
may be succeeded by other fruits as much out of our
knowledge as potatoes were out of the knowledge of
our ancestors. 1 The writer's forecast has not yet come
true, but it is interesting to have this glimpse into the
early history of this vegetable.
In the year 1789 King George III. suffered from one
of those mental attacks which ultimately deprived
him of his reason. But in the spring of that year he
recovered. A day of thanksgiving was appointed to
be observed in the Churches, and on March 8 Canon
Wilson preached a sermon in Gloucester Cathedral on
His Maj esty's recovery, which was printed by request. In
the preface the Canon thus apologizes for its appearance :
4 This publication is not with A he smallest view of any
personal advantage to the author. Having his ambition
fully gratified by his long and distinguished connection
with the late Earl of Chatham and the supreme honour
of having been Preceptor to the present First Lords of
the Treasury and Admiralty, and having through their
friendship early obtained that provision which gratified
all his wants, and that preferment which is the comple-
tion of all his wishes, he has no interested motives to
prompt him, no selfish object to pursue, neither is it
a measure very consonant to his feelings to obtrude a
sermon of his upon the public; but at the pressing
entreaty of many respectable auditors he has been
induced to commit this to the press.' The text was
taken from Prov. xxix. 2 : ' When the righteous are in
authority the people rejoice.' After enlarging on the
advantage of a just and wise and moderate Government
and a righteous ruler, he says : ' The late unhappy
EDWARD WILSON 103
calamity which suspended for a time the exercise of
royal authority seems to have taught us sufficiently,
if we wanted the lesson, that our gracious Sovereign
reigns not only over the persons, but in the hearts of
his subjects. Rouz'd into a quick sense of the dangers
that threatened us, and animated with a lively recollec-
tion of the happiness we enjoy "d, we were justly alarmed
at the precipice on which we stood. No eloquence of
tongue, no brilliancy of talents, no measure of integrity,
no union of interest in the characters we had to look to,
cou'd contribute in any satisfactory degree to diminish
the dread or lighten the affliction that overspread this
island. While his health remained perfect, tho 1 we
enjoy 'd all the benefits of his Sovereignty, we might
not properly estimate their value or consider the
Source from whence they are derived. Though our
happiness and peace were equally secure, and our joys
and comforts flowing in full channel, all might not be
sufficiently grateful to the Dispenser of these favours,
nor duly sensible of our obligation to Heaven for such
distinguished blessings. 1
The year 1795 was a time of great scarcity, and
consequently of great distress throughout the country,
chiefly on account of some adverse seasons in the
agricultural parts of the land. And Canon Wilson, as
a magistrate for the County of Berks, frequently rode
into Reading and sat on the Bench, and in this way
he was fully aware of the poverty which was then
prevalent amongst the working classes. To call atten-
tion to the distressed state of the country he wrote a
small pamphlet entitled * Observations on the Present
State of the Poor and Measures proposed for its
104 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Improvement. 1 This little work, which was afterwards
printed at Reading in 1795, was first read to the
Magistrates of Berks, and in the minutes of the Meet-
ing of Quarter Sessions at Abingdon on October 6, 1795,
the following entry was made :
' Ordered, on reading the " Observations on the
Present State of the Poor, &c.," addressed by the Rev.
Mr. Wilson to the Magistrates of Berks, that the
thanks of this Court be conveyed to Mr. Wilson for
these " Observations, &c.," and his consent requested to
have the same printed.
< W. BUDD,
' Cleric of the Peace:
When we hear so much now about the forlorn con-
dition of the country districts, their depopulation, and
the need of fresh legislation to make the villages
more attractive, it is interesting to hear from Canon
Wilson's 'Observations' what was the condition of
affairs in the rural districts more than 100 years ago,
and what were the measures proposed for their improve-
ment. The writer begins by saying :
' The distress to which multitudes have been exposed
by the late extraordinary high price of corn, and the
insufficiency of the earnings of many poor families for
the support of their necessary expenditure, have exerted
on the public mind an anxious solicitude to administer
to their relief. The chronicles of former ages present
us with greater instances of scarcity and dearth, but
they furnish us with few such examples of benevolence
and charity as have been universally shown on this
occasion/
EDWARD WILSON 105
He traces the ill-condition of the labouring classes at
that time to the following causes :
1. Public-houses, which, he says, were once useful
resources to the wayfaring man in affording him quiet
and convenient refreshment, but now they seduce the
poor to desert work, and to intemperance.
2. Village shops. * These, 1 he says, ' practise every
artifice to get poor families into their power; they
encourage by seductive credit the purchase of articles
not immediately necessary, they impose extravagant
prices on all items of common consumption, and hold
out upon trust a supply for every present want that
deadens the operations of thriftiness and frugality."
He suggests as an antidote a village shop under the
management of the parish officers, for ready money
only, and supported partly at the expense of the rates,
and with only reasonable gains.
3. The exclusion of the peasantry from an interest
in the soil. ' Every cottage should have land enough
about it to supply the family with vegetables at least,
if not to afford sustenance for a pig or cow, and to
furnish the occupier and his children with occasional
employment at intervals of leisure from their usual
labour. In the 31st year of Queen Elizabeth a law was
made for this very purpose, and it is a great misfortune
for the community that it has not always been enforced. 1
It is satisfactory to find a Canon of Windsor so far in
advance of his age, and we are reminded that the
proposal of ' three acres and a cow ' is not, as has been
usually supposed, the invention of political agitators in
the nineteenth century.
4. * An unfortunate propensity in all ranks of people
106 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
to imitate the follies and fashions of their superiors.
This unhappy bias draws multitudes away to the
Metropolis and other places of resort, drains the
villages of their opulent inhabitants, deprives the poor
of the comfort, assistance, and support they might
derive from their richer neighbours, and introduces
habits of luxury and expense universally dispropor-
tionate to means, which greatly increase the number of
the indigent, and contribute to their degeneracy and
debasement.'
Again we seem to be reading the words of some
critic reviewing the state of the country in these days
of excitement and easy transit in the twentieth century.
A writer had suggested, at this time, that the raising
of wages would meet the difficulties of the crisis. To
this the Canon replies that wages cannot be regulated
by law. c The price of labour must necessarily precede
rather than follow the prices of the necessaries of life.
And the annals of this country bear no small testimony
to the truth of this maxim. Bread has in all ages
constituted so large a portion of these necessaries, it
has been generally assumed as a standard for the whole.
Yet Smith in his "Wealth of Nations," shows that
corn was dearest when labour was cheapest. The
average price of wheat per quarter in the thirteenth
century was 50s. 5d., in the fourteenth 35s. 8d., and in
the fifteenth 18s. 2d., reckoning money at its present
value. The price of labour in the same centuries was
in the thirteenth, 3d., in the fourteenth, 4d., and in the
fifteenth, 6d. per day. The price of corn was falling
when the price of labour was rising. From 1 595 to 1 795
the average was 45s. 4d. The average of the century
EDWARD WILSON 107
ending 1694, was 48s. O^d. ; the average of the century
ending with 1794, was 46s. 4|d. But the price of labour
increased in the last 50 years, during which time the
average was 9d. per day. Now (1795) it is more than Is.'
Another remedy proposed was the establishing of
Provident Parochial Banks, kept by the Vicar and
Churchwardens and Overseers, supported by the parish
rates, or subscriptions. They were to be open on
Sundays. And for every lid. deposited, Id. would be
added at midsummer. If the sum remained till the
next midsummer it would receive interest at the rate of
3 per cent., and it would be invested in the public funds.
These and other suggestions, which since that time have
formed part of the organizations of so many parishes,
show that Mr. Wilson was possessed of sound common-
sense, and that he deeply sympathized with his poorer
brethren in their distress. In an appendix he gives the
cost of living at that period from some statistics
collected by Mr. J. H. Da vies between the years
1787-1795, when the price of a half-peck loaf ranged from
lid. to Is. 4d : The weekly expenditure of a labouring
man and his wife and one child was 5s. 8d. ; with 2
children, 6s. 7Jd. ; with 7 children, 8s. lOJd., reckon-
ing a loaf at Is., and allowing a loaf and a half for a
man, a loaf for a woman, and f for each child, and
2s. 6d. per week for household expenses, and for clothing
6d. per man, 4d. for a woman, and 2d. for a child
(rent, fire, casualties are put down at 70s. per annum),
and the weekly expenditure includes bread, flour,
bacon, or meat, salt, tea, sugar, butter, cheese, beer,
milk, potatoes, candles, soap, starch, blue, thread, thrum,
worsted, yarn.
108 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
By the time he had reached sixty years of age
Mr. Wilson had become rather corpulent, and he
suffered from various ailments, but he was able to dis-
charge his duties at Windsor and Binfield. During his
latter years he found his recreation in the care of the
garden at the latter place; but his journeys to Halton
Gill to see his sister became less frequent, and about
the beginning of the nineteenth century they ceased, as
he was unable to bear the fatigues of a coach journey
to Yorkshire, with a ride on horseback of ten miles over
the hills from Settle. We can imagine how, when these
visits became impossible from want of strength, Mr.
Wilson's thoughts would turn to those early days which
he had spent in that secluded spot, surrounded by the
beauties of nature, amid his native hills. And what
would make the place doubly dear to him was the fact
that the old home was still a home ; for his sister
(Mrs. Knowles) lived on in the house where she and her
brothers had been born, and which is now the property
of Mr. Martin Knowles, and is occupied by Mr. W.
Taylor. In the spring of the year 1804 his powers
visibly failed, and, after a short illness, he died on
August 23, and was buried at Binfield. The following
inscription was placed in the north aisle of the church
to his memory :
'I.H.S. The Rev. Edward Wilson, Canon of
Windsor, Prebendary of Gloucester, and nearly 40
years Rector of this Parish, ob* die Aug. 23, 1804,
aetatis suae 66. He was Chaplain to the 1 st Earl of
Chatham, and Tutor to his son the present Earl,
Master-General of the Ordnance, and to Right Honour-
EDWARD WILSON 109
able William Pitt, first Commissioner of the Treasury
and Chancellor of the Exchequer.'
Mrs. Wilson was a daughter of Thomas Giffin, Esq.,
formerly of Leadenhall Street, London. She died at
Chelsea July 4, 1810, aged seventy-six.
She thus breaks the news of her husband's death to
his sister at Halton Gill :
4 WINDSOR,
6 August 30th, 1804.
' MY DEAR SISTER,
' I feel most truly grieved that I must pain your
heart by telling you what almost breaks mine. You
will guess our loss by the Seal. Mr. Wilson, after
several years declining health, was seized with an
increase of fever on Monday, the 6th of August the
day we had been married 39 years took to his bed,
where he lay for a fortnight, and on the 23rd of August
expired. Thro' this whole sickness he possessed a firm
unshaken mind, suffered little, was drowsy, lost his
strength tho* he had tolerable good nights and at
last had apparently very few struggles. He seemed, as
they tell me for I cou'd not remain in the room as
if he was going to sleep ! This was a comfort to us
all ; let it be so, my dear sister, to you. You will
never otherwise feel this loss, for it is some years now
that a journey to Halton Gill wou'd have been impos-
sible for his strength, so that you never wou'd have
seen him more. We must, you know, all go to him ; he
cannot come to us. Your annuity he has tied down to
you by will. . . . And now that we have done with
money matters, let me entreat you to support your
110 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
spirits as well as you can under this affliction. You
have lost a brother. You shall find in me a sister who,
tho" we cannot have for each other the same natural
affection that you and your brother had, yet shall you
find in me a true and sincere sister one who will to
the best of her power advise and assist both you and
Wilson whenever I can be of use. And I do hope you
will constantly write, as you used to do to Mr. Wilson,
and tell me exactly how you both do, and how Wilson
goes on. I hope he will be a comfort to you. I believe
I must at present have done, for my nerves are in a sad
state. Adieu, my dearest sister ; your nephews desire
their love and duty with your truly affectionate
<S. WILSON/
Again in October of the same year Mrs. Wilson
writes :
'My DEAREST SISTER,
' I fear you will think I have forgotten you.
But, indeed, my hands as well as my heart have been
full ever since I wrote last, and now in my confusion I
have mislaid your letter among the thousand papers we
have been assorting ; but I think you ask'd where your
dear brother was buried. It was in a slip of the church-
yard here next his own garden. He objected to parade
in a funeral, or he shou'd have been interred in
S. George's Chapel, Windsor, where he had a right to
lay ; but there must have been much state go with it.
I do assure you, what with fatigue and thinking of him
night and day for he is scarce ever out of my thoughts
I feel at times quite lost. I have no comfort but in
EDWARD WILSON 111
crying. The confusion I am in is occasioned by being-
obliged to remove from every house I have enjoyed
with him for near 40 years ; and I, who am almost as
much devoted to the spots I have liv'd in as you,
almost sink under the weight of so much pressure both
of head and heart. I have nobody to help me. For
tho' Giffin is down with me, and is very good in settling
my accounts, men have no talent for packing, and
moving, and planning, and thinking about what they
call women's affairs. The worst is, I know not where
to take up my abode. I can be at GimVs till March,
and no longer, and that, God knows, will soon be here
too soon, alas ! before I can be ready for it. So,
having nowhere to put anything, I have been obliged to
see my furniture at both houses sold for a song, whilst
I in a few weeks must give double for what I shall like
less, for what we have enjoyed together is more valuable
to me than all the furniture in the King's Palace. I
fear I do not write legibly. My eyes are dim with cry-
ing, and my head filled only with sorrow and fatigue.
I desire my love to Wilson, and shall love him in
proportion as he makes you happy. . . .'
In the postscript November 8, Mrs. Wilson relates
the terrible misfortune which happened to her man-
servant during her removal to London.
'I have, my dear sister, had no means of sending
this. I have been so taken up with packing, and
contriving, and labour, and grief, that I did not
leave the dear spot till last night. William, our
coachman, who had lived with us near twelve years,
I left with our horses and all my valuables to follow
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
us closely with the waggon. I was just broken-
hearted to leave the dear spot and my dear Mr. Wilson
behind me; and judge, then, my further distress to learn
by an express this morning, that poor William had been
run over by the waggon and killed, that he lay dead at
a public-house, that my waggon was not at first found,
that when it was, some of my valuables were flung into
the pond, and spoiled. Some say, the Horses will be
seized by the Crown, and others, that the waggon and
its contents will. I am sure I am almost distracted
about it altogether. Once more, Adieu. To-morrow, if I
have not more bad accounts to half turn my brain, I will
get a bank-post bill to send in this. Adieu, my dear
Sister. What a world this is !
' CASTLE INN, WINDSOR.'
In the year 1806 Mrs. Wilson writes from 2, Lindsey
Row, Chelsea, on March 3 :
' I shou'd have written to you soon after I received
your last letter, but I got an unlucky fall stepping
out of a coach, and after being confined above three
months, and under a surgeon's hand, I am told I shall
never more have the proper use of my right hand;
indeed, it is very painful if I use it at all, for my elbow
is divided at the joint, and I can scarcely write a few
lines without feeling it at my heart. This has lowered
my spirits very much, but I must make the best of it,
and thank God it is no worse. . . . What times are
coming God knows, but the loss of my right arm has
hardly lowered my spirits more than the death of
Mr. Pitt has done. Mr. Wilson loved him so dearly.
EDWARD WILSON 113
The last words I heard him utter were his name. He
was one of the greatest and most uncorruptible Ministers
this country has ever known. He has died of a broken
heart after twenty years 1 unremitting labours to check
the progress of that scourge of human nature Bona-
parte. Providence, no doubt, for wise purposes, still
upholds the miscreant, and as he only feared Lord
Nelson and Mr. Pitt, and they are both removed out of
his way, we shall see what he will do next. I dare say
when you heard of Mr. Pitt's death you thought over
old times. I am sure I have done nothing else since it
has happened, and read over old letters, and cry'd over
circumstances that can never now return again. Out of
five pupils only Lord Chatham is left, and as he has no
children the name threatens to be extinct. 1 *
And thus we must bid our readers take leave of the
first tutor of that famous statesman, whose influence
was evidently as great in private circles as it was in
the political world, and who, in spite of whatever faults
he may have had, so won the affections of his first in-
structor that, as Mrs. Wilson tells us, he ended his
useful life with his pupil's name upon his lips.
Mr. Wilson was very charitably disposed. Besides
the help which he afforded to his relations, an old book
of the Binfield Charities records 'that the Revd. Edward
Wilson, Rector of this Parish, by his will dated 30th
April, 1803, left the Reversion (after Mrs. Wilson's death)
of 500 three per cent, reduced annuities, to be invested
in the names of the Trustees of the Bowes and Batson's
Charities, to be annually distributed with the dividends
arising from those Charities.'
8
114 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Letter of Mr. Thomas Wilson to his Sister, Mrs. Jane
Knowles, of Halton Gill.
6 68, MARGARET ST., CAVENDISH SQ.,
' Aug. ye 18th, 1795.
'DEAR JINNEY,
' I received your letter at Soham, and sent
Mr. Dawson's part of it to my brother, but I dare say
he will not trouble Mr. Pitt about it. I am sorry you
have lost so many shrubs. My plantations are in such
a thriving state that I promised a neighbour in the
country to stock a shrubbery for him about two days
before I got your letter. I shall, however, have plenty
left for you, and I will take care when the sap has gone
down, which will be in 6 or 7 weeks' time, to make up
a parcel for you. I will also ticket them with proper
directions where to plant them according to the different
sizes they will grow to. You must loosen the earth
about the roots, and water them well when you plant
them, but not give them much water afterwards till
they strike root. I have some very fine weeping ashes
and weeping willows, but you have no place for them,
they grow so large. You would hear of Mr. Morrits'
death. About 6 weeks since I went to Whaddon, and
as it was market-day at Cambridge I avoided the town
and crossed the river about 2 miles above it. There
was a crowd of people about the river, and upon riding
up to them I found they had just drawn out two young
gentlemen of Trinity College drowned in bathing and
found locked in each other's arms. I was extremely
shocked to find one of them was the only child of my
old friend Wilkinson, a very promising young man, and
EDWARD WILSON 115
much esteemed both at school and College. I have
been to see Wilkinson this morning, and he and his
wife remain inconsolable. Give my compliments to
Mr. Lindley, and tell him I was much pleased with
Wilson's exercise. My squire (Drage) is dead. He
has left 10,000 to two of his nieces 1 sons, the eldest
not two years old. 1 4,000 in cash were found in the
house. I said nothing about coming down, but had
very near put it into execution about two months ago.
I had an offer of two Livings in Lincolnshire from the
Bishop of Lincoln (by Mr. Pitts' means), and we hoped
to make them tenable with Soham, but could not
manage it. I meant after taking possession to have
come on to you and Gibson to the Anglers' Inn. I am
sorry to hear such a poor account of ...
' I am, your affectionate Br.,
' THOMAS WILSON.
' I shall return to Soham in a fortnight's time. I am
glad the cheeses came safe.'
82
WILLIAM PALEY
e La prova che il ver mi dischiude
Sou 1' opere seguite, a che nature
Non scaldo ferro mai, ne batte incude.'
Risposto fummi : ' ' Di' , chi t' assicura
Che quell' opere fosser ? Quel medesmo
Che vuol provarsi, non altri, il ti giura."
t( Se il mondo si rivolse al Cristianesmo,"
Diss' io, senza miracoli, quest' uno
E' tal, che gli altri non sono il centesmo.'
DANTE : Paradiso, c. xxiv.
' "The works that followed evidence their truth";
I answered : " Nature did not make for these
The iron hot, or on her anvil mould them."
' ' Who voucheth to thee of the works themselves/'
Was the reply, " that they in very deed
Are that they purport? None has sworn so to thee."
" That all the world/' said I, " should have been turn'd
To Christian, and no miracle been wrought,
Would in itself be such a miracle,
The rest were not an hundredth part so great. "'
IT is no small achievement to have written a treatise which
has maintained its position as an important text-book
in the examinations of one of our ancient Universities
for more than a century. The 'Evidences of Christ-
ianity/ the work of William Paley, is still read by all
[116]
WILLIAM PALEY, D.D.,
ARCHDEACON OP CARLISLE.
WILLIAM PALEY 117
students in the University of Cambridge who pass what
is called the ' previous examination,' and William Paley
may be justly claimed as a Craven man. He was born
at Peterborough in the year 1743 (baptized in the
Cathedral on August 30), where his father held a minor
canonry, which he resigned when he returned to his
native place oh his appointment to the head mastership
of Giggleswick School : his son William being at that
time a year old. The Paleys were an old and very
respectable yeoman family which had been settled at
Langcliffe, in the parish of Giggleswick, for many gen-
erations, and one branch of the family still holds an estate
at Langcliffe and the patronage of the church in that
village. It is always interesting to know something of
the antecedents of remarkable men, so we will here say
a few words about the relations of Paley. He used to
speak of one of his great uncles who kept a hardware
stall on market days at Settle, and who, on being
directed by a witty neighbour to make a common sewing
needle in value less than one farthing, not only did so
with great diligence and simplicity, but gravely charged
half a crown for a very bungling piece of workmanship.
And a kinsman of his who kept a little grocer's shop
in the same town, and whom he took great delight in
assisting to make, or perhaps to wrap up, tobacco, was
held out to his own family as a model of perseverance
and industry because he separated two pounds of black
and white pepper which had accidentally been mixed?
and went thirty-six times (as he used to calculate) into
his shop for a farthing' (cf. E. Paley 's 'Life of
W. Paley ').
The father of the subject of this memoir was born in
118 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
1710. He was educated at Giggleswick, and at Christ's
College, Cambridge, and he held the head mastership of
his school until his death in 1799. His grandson,
E. Paley, says that he was liberal to profusion for his
income, yet not only economical on a plan, but even
scanty in his allowance to his family. He was a cheerful
and jocose man, a great wit, an enlivening companion,
in his days of activity fond of field sports, and more
fond of company than was relished at home. In his
neighbourhood he was esteemed a good and even
popular preacher. He was twenty years curate of
Giggleswick, and afterwards of Horton in Ribblesdale.
He was also Vicar of Helpstone, near Peterborough, for
sixty-four years. But his fame in the estimate of
himself and others was built on his school. ' He was
altogether a schoolmaster both by long habit and in-
clination, and when at the age of eighty-three or eighty-
four he was obliged to have assistance (which was long
before he wanted it in his own opinion), he used to
be wheeled in his chair to his school ; and even in the
delirium of his last sickness insisted on giving his
daughters a Greek author over which they would
mumble and mutter to persuade him that he was
still hearing his boys Greek.' His grandson adds,
continuing his account of his old age : ' He was found
sitting in the hayfield among his workpeople, or sitting
in his elbow-chair in the fields nibbling his stick, or
with the tail of his damask gown rolled into his pocket
busying himself in his garden even at the age of
eighty, and if he could not improve it was not seldom
detected in making a common destruction of walk,
border, or grass plot. 1 He married, in 1742, Elizabeth
WILLIAM PALEY 119
Clapham, of Stackhouse. She is said to have ridden on
horseback behind her husband from Stackhouse to
Peterborough, where she undertook the duties of house-
keeping after her marriage. Her grandson says ; she was
the most affectionate and careful of parents. She was
a little, shrewd-looking, keen-eyed woman of remarkable
strength of mind and spirits ; one of those positive
characters that decide promptly and execute at once ;
of a sanguine and irritable temper, which led her to be
always on the alert in thinking and acting. Her
characteristic excellence was in the conduct of her
family concerns. It was much the fashion of her day
and of her neighbourhood to have, or aim at having,
the reputation of good management. She was so thrifty
in her housewifery that it not only formed the chief
object of her attention, but gave rise to the only
characteristic trait recorded of her in her family, viz.,
her turn for practical drollery. If she could surprise
her servants in bed at four o'clock in the morning she
seized the opportunity of sparing herself the trouble of
a scold, and yet gaining the advantage of it by carrying
up their breakfast and, with a curtsey, presenting it to
the ladies/ He adds : * She was certainly a clever manag-
ing woman. She had for fortune ^400, which in those
days, and in that neighbourhood, was almost sufficient to
confer the title of heiress ; at least it was a fair sum for
one of good family.' With two parents gifted with so
much originality, it is not to be wondered at that
William was not a commonplace child. He is described
as a tall, awkward boy, with great liveliness of spirits,
very talkative, but clumsy in his attempts at dexterity
and boyish sports, but with a strong inclination for
120 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
acute but good-humoured retorts. From the awkward-
ness of his gait, his unwillingness to join in active sports,
his fondness for tricks and mimicry that had some-
thing beyond the general habit of boys, or from being
one of those boys to whom such names easily and
naturally attach, he was always called ' Doctor' by his
schoolfellows. When he was very young he was caught
pulling out a little girl's tooth because he had seen
a quack doctor, the celebrated Dr. Katerfelto, amongst
some mountebanks in his village performing the same
operation. He was rather delicate in health, and accord-
ingly not noted for personal courage. On being told of
the death of a schoolfellow he said he did not much
wonder, for he was the only boy in the school he ever
did or ever could thrash. The only sport for which he
showed a strong partiality, which lasted throughout his
life, was fishing ; but in this he did not attain to any
great degree of efficiency, yet he was satisfied if he
fished for a whole day and only obtained a nibble. He
was very sensitive, and averse to cruelty towards animals ;
but he, with the rest of the Giggleswick scholars,
attended the cockfights which frequently took place in
that neighbourhood. E. Paley says : ' It is necessary to
say that by a school, or rather schoolboy's, charter leave
was obtained by the governors or trustees at the annual
audit for not only the boys, but the masters to attend
a cockfight, which the whole neighbourhood frequented.'
When a mere boy, probably from the same principle
which tempts others to imitate their father, he was
found preaching at the market-cross of his village, and
bawling out to a circle of old women and boys :
' Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile/ ' Ay,
WILLIAM PALEY
for sure,' said an old lady who was passing. ' Everybody
knows that thou art a guileless lad. 1
He was educated by his father at the Grammar
School, and was diligent in his studies, but more from
fear of his father than from love of reading. On one
occasion he ran away from school with one or two com-
panions, but after the boys had spent a night on a wild
moor, one professed to have heard a message similar to
that which fell upon the ears of Dick Whittington ;
thereupon they returned, and were found in their places
on the next morning.
William Paley, whose future career was decided when
he gained a sizarship at Christ's College, Cambridge, at
the age of fifteen, does not seem to have impressed his
mother with his abilities ; but his father evidently
recognised his extraordinary intellectual powers, for he
is reported to have said : ' My son has gone to college.
He'll turn out a great man, very great indeed ; I am
certain of it, for he has the clearest head I ever met with
in my life.' His first journey to Cambridge was accom-
plished on horseback, and he used often to describe the
disasters which befell him on the road. 'I was never
a good horseman, and when I followed my father on
a pony of my own on my first journey to Cambridge,
I fell off seven times. I was lighter than I am now, and
my falls were not likely to be serious, so that I soon
began to care very little about them. My father,
though at first a good deal alarmed at my awkwardness,
afterwards became so accustomed to it that on hearing
a thump he would only turn his head half aside and say,
" Get up and take care of thy money, lad " ' (Meadley's
< Life of Paley,' p. 6). Another incident concerning his
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
feats on horseback in his later years may be given here :
' It was scarcely less painful to see his attitude on
horseback than it was for him to use it. It was not
only exercise to him, but a most laborious exertion.
He kept constantly a slow and regular pace mounted
on a very safe-footed and sober old hunter, bought and
presented to him by the Bishop of Carlisle. He used
to be much amused at relating a freak of this animal,
which, on hearing the cry of a pack of hounds, forgetting
whether it might be equally agreeable to its rider,
undertook to carry him a hunting, not at all for his
pleasure, though he remarked it was pleasant enough.'
After his matriculation at Cambridge he returned to
the North for one year in order that he might study
mathematics ; and as the curriculum at Giggleswick
was at that time more classical than mathematical, he
was sent to Dishforth, about four miles from Ripon, to
be under the tuition of a Mr. Howarth, who had been a
master at Giggleswick. And here the little eccentricities
which characterized him throughout his life began to
be remarked. His most frequent resort was a pump
in the middle of the village ; and his master observed
that when they walked together to the neighbouring
town, what was eight miles to him, his friend Paley,
by his strange turnings and twistings and stoppings,
managed ingeniously to make sixteen.
Mr. Howarth must have been an excellent teacher,
for when Paley went to Cambridge he came into
residence A in October, 1759 Mr. Shepherd, his tutor,
excused him from attending his college lectures with
the men of his year on account of his superior attain-
ments in mathematics ; but Paley attended his tutor's
WILLIAM PALEY
public lectures which he gave as Plumian Professor,
and he worked privately at problems which were
submitted to him. On December 5, 1759, he was
appointed to one of the scholarships founded by Mr.
Carr and appropriated to the boys from Giggleswick
School. On the following day he was elected a scholar
on the foundation of his college, and appointed to the
exhibition founded by Sir Walter Mildmay. And in
addition to these emoluments he was elected (May 26,
1761) to the scholarship founded by Mr. Ban try, one of
the college tenants. He soon became very popular with
his associates at the University, though it is said that
at first the uncouthness of his dress and manners caused
not a little mirth among his fellow-collegians. But
as the superiority of his genius and his real worth were
soon discovered, these singularities did not long deprive
him of their esteem and admiration. Besides, he was a
most excellent companion, and had the happiest knack
of turning the laugh against himself by relating some
absurd or ridiculous blunder which he had committed ;
and his absence of mind and inattention to the common
usages of life supplied him with many such stories.
In his merry humours he could always find something
to laugh at in himself, and, indeed, he was often heard
to say that a man's laughing at himself was no such
mark of folly as is usually supposed, for it proved that
he had some ideas : 'And again, that a man who is not
sometimes a fool is always one/
During the first two years of his residence he did not
make the best use of his time, and was by no means a
hard reader. And his rooms became a sort of rendez-
vous for some of the idle men in college. But in his
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
third year he changed his manner of life. How this
was brought about shall be told in his own words,
although some doubt has been thrown upon the
accuracy of the story. He says :
' I spent the first two years of my undergraduateship
happily but unprofitably. I was constantly in society
where we were not immoral, but idle and expensive.
At the commencement of my third year, however, after
having left the usual party at rather a late hour in the
evening, I was awakened at five in the morning by one
of my companions, who stood at my bedside, and said :
" Paley, I have been thinking what a fool you are. I
could do nothing, probably, were I to try, and can
afford the life I lead ; you could do everything, and
cannot afford it. I have had no sleep during the whole
night on account of these reflections, and am come
solemnly to inform you that if you persist in your
indolence I must renounce your society." I was so
struck,' Mr. Paley continued, 'with the visit and the
visitor that I lay in bed a great part of the day and
formed my plan. I ordered my bed-maker to prepare
my fire every evening in order that it might be lighted
by myself. I rose at five, read during the whole day
except such hours as Chapel and hall required, allotting
to each portion of time its peculiar branch of study,
and just before closing of the gates (9 o'clock) I went to
a neighbouring coffee-house, where I constantly regaled
upon a mutton-chop and a dose of milk-punch. And
thus on taking my bachelor's degree I became Senior
Wrangler.'
This distinction was not achieved without the help
of a private tutor, and Mr. Paley was fortunate in
WILLIAM PALEY 125
securing the assistance in his studies of a Mr. Wilson,
who afterwards became famous at the Bar, and who had
been Senior Wrangler in 1761. Paley's appearance
in the schools to keep his first act is said to have
attracted general attention. He was usually noticed
to be untidy and slovenly in his habits, so that for
some time there was a saying in Cambridge : ' You may
be a sloven, but don't think you are a Paley.' But on
this occasion he came with his hair full dressed, a deep
ruffled shirt, and new silk stockings, which, aided by
his gestures, his actions, and his whole manner when
earnestly engaged in a debate, excited no small mirth
among his spectators. ' On being posed by his adver-
sary, 1 says his son, 'he would stand with his head
dropping upon one of his shoulders, and both his
thumbs in his mouth ; on striking out his answer with
the animation of a evprjica, he would stretch out his
arms, rub his hands, and speak out his exaltation in
every feature of his face*and muscle of his body. His
delivery, though not hesitating, was considerably em-
barrassed. So rapid was his flow of ideas, and so wide
the range of his conceptions, that between hunting out
proper expressions for them and preserving his short
and pithy mode of delivering his sentiments, his
language was full of unevenness and his enunciation
rather entangled."
An amusing : ncident occurred in connection with a
question which had been set in the schools for Paley to
dispute upon. Mr. Watson, afterwards Bishop of
Llandaff, one of the Moderators, says : ' Paley, I
remember, brought me, for one of the questions he
meant for his act, the following, sentence, "^Eter-
126 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
nitas poenarum contradicit Divinis attributis." I had
accepted it, and, indeed, I never refuse a question either
as Moderator or as Professor of Divinity. A few days
afterwards he came to me in a fright, saying that the
master of his college (Dr. Thomas, Dean of Ely) had
sent to him, and insisted on his not keeping on such a
question. I readily permitted him to change it, and
told him, that if it would lessen his master's apprehen-
sions, he might put in a non before contradicit, and he
did so."
Instead of remaining in the University after attaining
to such high honours, as most men would have done,
he engaged himself as an assistant in an academy at
Greenwich kept by a Mr. Bracken, who obliged his as-
sistant, very much against his own inclinations, to wear
a wig. Here he taught the lower classics, for which he
had little taste, and he used to confess that Virgil was
the only Latin poet whose works he could read with
satisfaction. It was at this time that he said, when in
the company of a party of young men who were
discussing somewhat pompously the summum bonum of
human life : ' I differ from you all ; the true summum
bonum of human life consists in reading Tristram
Shandy, in blowing with a bellows into your shoes in
hot weather, and in roasting potatoes in the ashes under
the grate in cold.' This was said with a half- smile and
in a sarcastic tone.
Whilst at Greenwich he lived most economically in
order that he might pay off some debts which he had
contracted at Cambridge, and it is quite probable that
his departure from the University may have been
mainly determined by his despair at not being able
WILLIAM PALEY
to accomplish this in the midst of his many friends, and
under circumstances which made economy more difficult
to practise. Alluding to this period in after-life, he
used to remark that such difficulties might afford a
useful lesson to a young man of good principles, and
that the privations to which he thought it his duty to
submit produced a habit of economy which had been of
infinite service to him ever since.
Paley was very fond of studying human nature under
various aspects. At Cambridge he would go to the
fair held at a little village about two miles from the
town, and, mixing with the crowd, he would watch the
puppet-shows and other exhibitions. And when he
was near the Metropolis he would frequent the Houses
of Parliament, and the Courts of Law for the same
purpose ; and he would sometimes walk from Greenwich
without his dinner to see Garrick act.
In the year 1765 he gained the prize for the
Bachelors' Latin Essay at Cambridge. The title of
the essay was ' Utrum civitate perniciosior sit. Epicuri
au Zenonis philosophia T In this essay he shows a
partiality for the Epicureans. His connection with
the school at Greenwich was brought to an end by a
little quarrel which he had with the headmaster con-
cerning the distribution of some money which had been
sent by the parents of the pupils for the benefit of the
assistants. He now became tutor to the son of Mrs.
Ord, who lived in Greenwich (afterwards Dr. Ord, of
Fordham, near Bury St. Edmunds, Prebendary of
Lincoln, and a magistrate. He accompanied Paley to
Cambridge). As an example of the way in which
Paley practised economy, it is said, that as he had no
128 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
carpet, he caused his pupil to stand on the bellows
whilst he repeated his lessons. But the authorities of
his Alma Mater did not intend to lose sight of one who
had given such indications of extraordinary ability. He
was elected to a fellowship at his college on June 24,
1766. The appointment was worth about ^100 per
annum. In the meanwhile he had taken Holy Orders,
and had acted as curate to Dr. Hinchcliffe, Vicar of
Greenwich. Personally, he was very popular, but he
acquired no reputation in the pulpit. His sermons at
this period were verbose and florid, declamatory in style,
and without the close reasoning which marked his later
discourses. Before he took up his residence at Cam-
bridge he was ordained priest by Dr. Terrick, in the
Chapel Royal, on December 21, 1767. On his arrival
at the University he was made assistant tutor with his
friend Mr. Law. Under their influence the discipline
of the college was improved and its reputation in-
creased. Paley lectured on Moral Philosophy, the
Greek Testament, and Divinity. He was one of the
few men at that time who could make metaphysics
interesting and intelligible to ordinary minds. He
showed his moral courage by opposing an application
for the use of the college hall by a nobleman whose
morality was not above suspicion. His friends and
associates were Dr. Law; the Rev. W. Fellow, of
St. John's ; Lord Ellenborough ; the Rev. Dr. Ord
(formerly his pupil) ; the Rev. E. Wilson, of Pembroke
Hall, who was also a Craven man, Mr. Unwin,
the friend of Cowper the poet, and many other emi-
nent men in the University. Paley, who belonged
to no party, is said to have been very popular.
WILLIAM PALEY 129
He often detained the Fellows 1 dinner-table by his wit
and drollery, and he was the life and soul of the com-
bination room. His private friends spoke of him as
' benevolent, candid, affable, lively and sprightly, and
ready at all times to communicate whatever he thought
or whatever he knew, with a perfect unconsciousness of
his own superiority or the least suspicion of his own
importance, and with such peculiar buoyancy of spirit
that they at once saw that he was not only interested
in what he was about, but did not care a rush for his
own trouble or inconvenience.'
In the year 1770 he was appointed Whitehall
preacher, a position in which it is probable he did not
feel at his ease, for in after-life he was wont to say
that he preferred to preach to a country congregation.
In fact, in the midst of his success at Cambridge, he
was constantly hankering after the life of the country
clergyman. He made periodical visits to his home at
Giggleswick, and often in the company of Mr. Law,
afterwards Bishop of Elphin, in Ireland. In these
visits, whilst Paley amused himself with fishing in the
Ribble, his companion would scramble over the hills
and stone walls, which are a feature of this country.
His son gives an amusing anecdote relating to these
visits, and one which is very characteristic of Craven :
' An old man of Giggleswick who accompanied Mr.
Paley in fishing was the only person, he used to say, who
gave him a true view of the folly of affected condescen-
sion, for on being asked to ride with Mr. Paley in his
gig, which was intended to gratify the old man, " Nay,"
said he, " I'd as well walk beside you, for, if you wouldn't
shame with me in Settle I should with you." '
9
130 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
It was probably at this period of his life that he
expressed a wish that he might some day be Vicar of
Arncliffe. There is no doubt but that during some of
his fishing expeditions in this neighbourhood he would
make an acquaintance with Littondale, and its beauties,
and he would become sensible of the many facilities
which such a cure would allow for the exercise of his
favourite pastime, and especially as at this time the
father of his old Cambridge friend, Canon Wilson, was
living at Halton Gill. My authority for this remark
was the late Archdeacon Boyd, who wrote these words
on the back of a small portrait of Paley now in my
possession : ( As a boy he was educated at Giggleswick
school, and used to take long exercise over the hills
to Arncliffe, botanizing, etc. He was wont to say
that to be Vicar of Arncliffe was the height of his
ambition.'
In spite of the success which attended his work in the
University as a lecturer, he determined to take the first
offer of preferment in the country which came to him ;
and he had not long to wait, for the Bishop of Carlisle,
the father of his friend Law, presented him to the
rectory of Musgrave in Westmoreland, then worth a little
more than ^?80 per annum. He was inducted to this
benefice on May 28, 1775, and afterwards spent much
of his time between Rose Castle and Mr. Law's house in
Carlisle. He soon afterwards married Miss Jane Hewitt
of Carlisle. At Musgrave he passed some of the
happiest days of his life. He spent any time he could
spare from study and parish work in angling and in the
management of a small farm, but he had forgotten his
own want of knowledge of husbandry. ' I soon found,'
WILLIAM PALEY 131
he said, when alluding to the failure of his project,
4 that this would never do. I was a bad farmer, and
almost invariably lost. 1 In the next year (December,
1776) his duties made more demands upon his time, for
he was presented by the same patron to the living of
Dalston in Cumberland, worth then about ^90 per
annum. On July 15, 1777, he preached, at the visita-
tion of the Bishop in the cathedral at Carlisle, a sermon
which he afterwards published with the title ' Caution
recommended in the Use and Application of Scripture
Language. 1 On September 5 he resigned the living of
Musgrave, and on the 10th day of the same month he
was instituted to the more valuable Vicarage of Appleby
(^00), on the presentation of the Dean and Chapter of
Carlisle. He now divided his time between this place
and Dalston, residing alternately six months at each.
Whilst he was at Appleby he published a small volume
for the use of the Clergy, entitled ' The Clergyman's
Companion in Visiting the Sick. 1 The book was much
appreciated, and for several years it had a large circula-
tion. The schoolmaster at Appleby during the first
years of Mr. Paley 's residence was the celebrated Mr.
Yates, and between him and the Vicar a close friendship
was formed. They often spent their evenings together.
Mr. Yates would send a message to the Vicar saying
that the schoolmaster desired his society. The answer
sent back on one occasion was that Mr. Paley was busy
knitting. Another message was sent to desire that he
would bring his knitting with him, when Mr. Paley
would good-humouredly put it in his pocket, and
exhibit it to show that he was in truth knitting
a stocking for his first child. Mr. Yates died in his
92
132 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
eighty-first year, and Paley wrote, what one of his
biographers terms, the just and striking eulogy which is
inscribed on the marble monument erected to this able
teacher's memory in Appleby Church. On June 17,
1780, the subject of this memoir was collated to the
fourth prebendal stall in Carlisle Cathedral, and in
consequence of Mr. Law's appointment to an Irish
bishopric, he was shortly afterwards made Archdeacon
of Carlisle (the living of Great Salkeld is annexed to
the archdeaconry). This office was at that time a mere
sinecure, as the duty of superintending the affairs of
the clergy devolved upon the Chancellor of the Diocese,
an office which also came into Paley 's hands later on
in life.
At the consecration of his friend to the bishopric of
Clonfert and Kilmacduagh in the Castle Chapel, he
preached the sermon, which was published under the
title of 4 A Distinction of Orders in the Church defended
upon the Principle of Public Utility, 1 in which he
supports Episcopacy upon utilitarian grounds, consider-
ing it to be of the bene esse of the Church rather than
of the esse. The sermon gave rise to a controversy
on the subject. At this time he was engaged on the
production of the first of those important works which
have kept his name so long before the world. ' The
Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy ' appeared
in 1785 in quarto form. The circumstances under
which it was published are thus related by Dr.
Meadley : ' When the manuscript was ready for the
press it was offered to Mr. Faulder, of Bond Street, when
dining at Rose Castle, for one hundred guineas ; but he
declined the risk of publishing it on his own account.
WILLIAM PALEY 133
After the success of the work was in some measure
ascertained, Mr. Paley would have sold it to him for
<300, but he refused to give more than ^250. Whilst
this treaty was pending, a bookseller from Carlisle,
happening to call on an eminent publisher in Paternoster
Row, was commissioned by him to offer Mr. Paley one
thousand pounds for the copyright of his work. The
bookseller on his return to Carlisle duly executed the
commission, which was communicated to the Bishop of
Clonfert, who, being at that time in London, had
undertaken the management of the affair. " Never did
I suffer so much anxious fear," said Mr. Paley, in re-
lating the circumstance, " as on this occasion, lest my
friend should have concluded the bargain with Mr.
Faulder before my letter could reach him." Luckily, he
had not, but, on receiving the letter, he went immedi-
ately into Bond Street and made the new demand.
Mr. Faulder, though in no small degree surprised and
astonished at the advance, agreed for the sum before
the Bishop left the house. " Little did I think," said
Mr. Paley, in allusion to this affair, " that I should
ever make a thousand pounds by any book of mine."
A strong proof of unassuming merit.'
The book was a great success both for the author and
publisher. It passed through fifteen editions in the
author's lifetime. The plan which he adopted in the
work was taken from his College lectures on Ethics.
The object of moral philosophy is to supply information
on those points which the Scriptures have left undecided,
that is, to be silent when the Scriptures speak, and to
speak when they are silent. Paley's system of philosophy
may be said to rest on ' expediency ' rather than on
134 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
' duty. 1 ' Virtue, 1 he says, ' is the doing good to
mankind in obedience to the will of God and for the
sake of everlasting happiness. The " good of mankind,"
therefore, is the subject, the " will of God," and " ever-
lasting happiness," the motive of human virtue. All
obligation consists in being urged by a violent motive
resulting from the command of another. As the will
of God, then, is the rule, to inquire what is his duty,
or what a man is obliged to do in any instance, is, in
effect, to inquire what is the will of God in that instance,
which consequently becomes the whole business of
morality. There are two methods of coming at the
will of God on any point : by His express declarations
when they are to be had, and which must be sought for
in Scripture; and by what can be discovered of His
designs and disposition from His works, or, as it is
usually called, the light of Nature. The tendency
of any action to promote or diminish the general
happiness, is the fairest criterion for ascertaining the
will of God by the light of Nature ; since the many
proofs of benevolence apparent in the works of creation
warrant the conclusion that He wills and wishes the
happiness of His creatures ; and that those actions are
agreeable to Him, or the contrary, which promote or
frustrate that effect. Actions in the abstract, then,
are right or wrong, according to their tendency. What-
ever is expedient is right. It is the utility of any moral
rule alone that constitutes the obligation of it. 1
Dr. Paley took great interest in the efforts which
were then being made for the abolition of the slave
trade, and in 1788 he addressed a meeting in London
for the furtherance of that end. And when, in the
WILLIAM PALEY 135
next year, the subject was discussed in the House of
Commons, he drew up a short treatise, which, however,
was never published, entitled, ' Arguments against the
Unjust Pretensions of Slave-dealers and Holders, to
be Indemnified by Pecuniary Allowance at the Public
Expense, in case the Slave Trade should be Abolished.'
He also presided at a meeting held in Carlisle in 1792 for
the purpose of petitioning Parliament for the abolition
of the slave trade, and after his very able speech a
resolution was passed condemning this iniquitous traffic.
In June, 1789, the Bishop of Ely (Dr. York) offered
him the mastership of Jesus College, Cambridge.
Paley thus alludes to the offer : ' I send the enclosed
letter, for my father to see, from the Bishop of Ely, a
man I know no more of than I do of the Pope. I was
never in a greater quandary. I have reason to believe
that the situation would be a step to the highest pre-
ferments. On the other hand, to leave a situation with
which I am well satisfied, and in which I am perfectly
at ease in my circumstances, is a serious sort of change.
I think it will end in declining it.' And this was his
decision ; but he gracefully alludes to the Bishop's
kindness in his dedication of the ' Evidences, 1 published
a few years after, where he says : 6 When, five years
ago, an important station in the University of Cam-
bridge awaited your Lordship's disposal, you were
pleased to offer it me. The circumstances under which
this offer was made demand a public acknowledgment.
I had never seen your Lordship ; I possessed no con-
nection which could possibly recommend me to your
favour. I was known to you only by my endeavours,
in common with many others, to discharge my duty
136 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
as a tutor in the University, and by some very imper-
fect, but certainly well-intentioned, and, as you thought,
useful publications since. In an age by no means
wanting in examples of honourable patronage, although
this deserves not to be mentioned in respect to the
object of your Lordship's choice, it is inferior to none
in the purity and disinterestedness of the motives
which suggested it.'
In 1790 he published the most original of his works,
the ' Horae Paulinae,' or the truth of the Scripture
history of St. Paul evinced, by a comparison of the
Epistles which bear his name with the Acts of the
Apostles, and with one another. By a comparison of
the indirect allusions in the Epistles to circumstances
related in the Acts of the Apostles, or casually referred
to in some other Epistle, Mr. Paley derives his great
argument, that, independent of all collateral testimony,
their undesigned coincidence affords the strongest proof
of their genuineness, and of the reality of the transactions
to which they relate. It was translated into German
at Helmstadt in 1797.
As bearing on the present value of this work, I quote
the following passage from Mr. F. Ballard's ' Miracles
of Unbelief,' pp. 191, 192 : 'A modern judge, giving his
opinion as to what kind of evidence most deserved cre-
dence, expressed himself to the effect that it is " not that
of hardy and direct assertion, but that which receives
incidental confirmation from the putting together of
incidental circumstances " ; in short, he said, the sort
of coincidences in Paley's " Horae Paulinae." This was
not spoken with reference to theology, but simply as
indicating a certain kind of evidence. And nothing
WILLIAM PALEY 137
that modern criticism has established avails in the
least to diminish the evidential value of the marvellous
network of undesigned coincidences to which Paley
directs attention. 1
His thoughts were now turned to the disturbed state
of the country, and to the agitation which the French
Revolution had engendered, and which the publication
of Tom Paine's ' Rights of Man ' had increased among
certain classes of the community. He expressed his
thoughts in a pamphlet, entitled ' Reasons for Con-
tentment: Addressed to the Laboring Part of the
Population ' (Faulder : 1793). And he further exerted
himself for the improvement of the condition of the
working classes by taking a leading part in the estab-
lishment of a dispensary, and by compiling a little
work for the use of Sunday-schools in Carlisle. This
publication caused him some annoyance, as he was
accused of plagiarism by a Mr. Robertson in the
Gentleman's Magazine. It was customary then for
Sunday-schools to teach, amongst other things, spelling
and reading, and Paley's little book contained some
examples of words for spelling which he had apparently
copied from another book of the same kind. Paley
was able to explain satisfactorily his motive in doing
this, and after a few more letters in the Magazine the
subject was dropped. On May 27, 1792, he received
a further acknowledgment of his great abilities from
the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle by his institution to
the Vicarage of Addingham, near Great Salkeld, which
he held with his other preferments. It is said, that it
was with reference to this benefice, that he observed to
his Bishop : ' My Lord, though I am a plurist in prefer-
138 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
ments, I am a much greater plurist in children.' He
had four sons and four daughters. Mrs. Paley died
in 1791, after a long illness. On March 15, 1793, he
vacated the living of Dalston, and was collated by the
Bishop of Carlisle (Dr. Vernon) to the Vicarage of
Stanwix, which is near to Carlisle. His reasons for
accepting this living and vacating Dalston were once
given to a clerical friend with a frankness which was
characteristic of the man: 'Why, sir, I had two or
three reasons for taking Stanwix in exchange : first, it
saved me double housekeeping, as Stanwix was within
twenty minutes' walk of Carlisle ; secondly, it was fifty
pounds a year more in value ; and, thirdly, I began to
find my stock of sermons coming over too fast again/
He was now revolving in his mind a subject which had
long engaged his attention. In 1795 he printed what
may be called his chef-d'oeuvre, the publication of which
has given to his name a kind of immortality. ' A View
of the Evidences of Christianity,' in 3 vols., ISmo.,
took the literary world by storm, and the whole of the
first edition was sold out in a day. Nine editions
appeared in the author's lifetime. He asked and
obtained for the copyright of this work and the ' Horae
Paulinse ' the sum of ^500. The University of Cam-
bridge passed a 'grace' to the effect that the work
should be placed amongst those books which are re-
quired for the ' previous examination,' and the ' Evi-
dences ' still remains in that favoured position. The
author seems to have anticipated something of the kind
when he wrote to his bookseller : ' I have good reason
to believe the "Evidences" will become a standard
book for persons entering into " Orders," and for the
WILLIAM PALEY 139
Universities, the Bishop of tells me so ; if so, it
is not unlikely to command a regular sale for some
years. I have no wish that it should go into other
hands. I will offer you fair terms, and I may be
tempted by other offers.' This work presented in a
clear and readable form most of the arguments in favour
of Christianity in a manner which was new to Paley's
generation. And he showed in doing so that many of
the pleas against Christianity put forth by the Deists
of the eighteenth century were untenable. The work
was not original. He had gone over much of the same
ground in his lectures at Cambridge, and his son says :
' that the rough cast of his " Evidences " seems to pro-
ceed upon, and to be a sort of abstract of the second and
third books of Grotius" " De Veritate," 1 ' etc. 1 He adds :
' The " Evidences of Christianity " are an aggregate of
many circumstances, not any one of which would be
alone sufficient, and yet altogether convey a complete
and entire satisfaction. This I mention for the sake
of those who are uneasy because they have not some one
single proof to turn to, which, like a demonstration in
Euclid, makes an end of the question at once.'
And Dr. Chalmers remarks : ' It is a work which has
been justly termed a desideratum on theology. Many
large systematic books, says a critic, have been written
for the use of the learned, and many smaller tracts have
been composed for common use, in which the leading
heads of argument have been stated in general terms,
without fatiguing the reader with historical details and
learned quotations, but a succinct treatise was still
wanted which should contain all the essential proofs of
the Divine origin of the Christian religion digested
140 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
into a connected train of reasoning, supported where
necessary by a reference to ancient writings, yet brought
within such a moderate compass, and expressed in such
easy language as to render it fit for general reading."*
His professed design was to preserve the separation
between evidence and doctrine as inviolable as he could,
to remove from the primary question all considerations
which have been unnecessarily joined with it, and to
offer a defence of Christianity which every Christian
might read without seeing the tenets in which he had
been brought up attacked or decried. His merits,
which up to this time had not been adequately recog-
nised by those who had the disposal of the higher
preferments at their command, now received a more
general recognition. The Bishop of London collated
him to the Prebend of St. Pancras in St. Paul's Cathedral.
The value of this prebend was small, but, as there were
no specific duties attached to it, he was not required to
reside in London. The Bishop of Lincoln (Dr. Pretyman)
soon after this promoted him to the office of Sub-dean
of Lincoln Cathedral, and his lordship, in making this
offer, gives his appreciation of his writings as his reason
for thus promoting him : ' Solely, 1 he says, ' from the
great respect I have always entertained for your
character, and which has just been confirmed and raised
by the very able manner in which you have supported
the general evidences of Christianity in your two last
publications. As I feel I could not give this piece of
preferment to any other person with so much satisfaction
to my own mind, so I am convinced that I could not
otherwise dispose of it with so much credit to myself in
the opinion of all who have any regard for the interests
WILLIAM PALEY 141
of religion. It was at this time that his old Craven
friend, Canon Wilson, of Windsor, and formerly W. Pitt's
tutor, said that 4 he never envied Pretyman his bishopric
before. 1
That King George III. valued the ' Evidences ' very
highly, the following letter, written from Windsor
(January 11, 1797), shows:
' It is a proof of great friendship, my dear sir, that
you call my last letter an interesting one, as it was
filled wholly with concerns of me and mine. I have
now somewhat to say that respects you. . . . On the
very Sunday that I received your letter this little
dialogue took place in the Chapter-room of St. George's :
'KiNG. Majendie, do you know who has taken my
" Paley " out of my library ?
' M. No, Sir ; I have not.
' KING. Do you think Fisher has ? It is bound in
dark calf, and has blue letters on the back. I value
the book highly, and would not be without it on any
account. Pray, where does Dr. Paley reside now ?
6 M. At Wearmouth, Sir, I believe principally ; but
Mr. Wilson knows best.
'KING. Does he never come into this part of the
world, Mr. Wilson ?
' WILSON. I hope. Sir, to have the satisfaction of seeing
him with me next summer.
' And there for the present the conversation ended.
The Sunday fortnight after, Mr. Wilson told me that
the King had not yet found his " Paley." Neither
Majendie or Fisher have it. He has now but one
chance of finding it again. He thinks he must have
left it at Weymouth. He knows he took it with him
142 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
in his pocket ; it is probable he has left it behind him.
On this supposition he will send for another immediately,
and he is rather pleased with the circumstance, as he
shall now have one there to recur to as well as here, for
he thinks it a very useful and valuable publication.
Now, my dear sir, if you are above royal praise I have
done wrong in taking up your time and mine, but
I confess I felt so proud of it, I could not resist the
impulse of telling you."
He was installed as Sub - dean of Lincoln on
January 24, 1795, and he proceeded to Cambridge
immediately afterwards, and took his degree of D.D.
His concio to the clergy at his D.D. degree was founded
on Heb. xii. 18, and in it he gives an interesting account
of the Shechinah. Before he left Cambridge he was
astonished to receive a further mark of appreciation from
the Episcopal Bench. This time the offer of the valuable
living of Bishop Wearmouth was made to him by the
Bishop of Durham (Dr. Barrington). When he paid a
visit to his patron in London and was about to express
his gratitude, the Bishop cut him short with the remark :
' Not one word more of this, sir ; be assured that you
cannot have greater pleasure in accepting the living of
Bishop Wearmouth than I have in offering it to you. 1
Between this place and Lincoln he spent the ten
remaining years of his life, for he resigned his three
livings in the Diocese of Carlisle. He came to Bishop
Wearmouth in March, 1795 ; and thus writes concerning
this living soon after his appointment :
' I was told at Durham that it is one of the best
parsonages in England, and that there are not three
WILLIAM PALEY 143
Bishops who have better. There is not a shilling to be
laid out upon it, and you might have rubbed it down
from top to bottom with a white handkerchief without
soiling it. With the house which, if it had been half
as good, would have contented me as well the gardens
and grounds are of a piece. There is nearly half a mile,
I think, of wall, planted with fruit trees ; a rich field of
10 acres, surrounded with a well-paved walk ; garden
and shrubbery grounds, commanding some pretty views
of the Wear ; two or three hot-houses, and a greenhouse.
Coal five shillings a cartful. We stand at the end of
Sunderland, which is three or four times the size of
Carlisle, but made into a separate parish. My house is
about a mile from the sea ; fish plentiful, market rather
dearer than Carlisle ; fine country, good roads.'
Whilst he held the living he gained some popularity
by dealing liberally with the tithes, which were then
paid in kind, but which Dr. Paley, to avoid any future
disputes, leased to some of the landowners on advan-
tageous terms. And he also granted leases of his glebe
lands and quarries at very moderate rents, so that after
his decease the lessees presented a piece of plate to his
representatives to mark their appreciation of this
liberality.
On July 29, 1795, he was appointed by the Bishop
of Durham to preach the assize sermon in the cathedral.
He took for his text the words : ' For none of us liveth
to himself (Rom. xi. 7), and he deduces from them the
great truth that each station in life has its peculiar
duties with regard to others. Every man has his work.
At a Durham visitation sermon, he says of the clergy :
' Retiredness is the very characteristic of our calling. It
144 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
is impossible to be a good clergyman and to be always
in the streets, or to be continually mixing with the
diversions, the follies, or even the business or pursuits of
the world. Perhaps no moments are passed with so much
complacency as those which a scholar passes in his study/
When he was fifty-two years of age (on December 14,
1795) he took to himself a second wife, Miss Dobinson,
of Carlisle, who survived him, and died in 1819. His
life at Bishop Wearmouth was a very pleasant one. He
was fond of society. His wit, talent, and pleasantry
made him a welcome guest anywhere, and his apparent
desire for information and the keenness with which he
entered on any subject made him a visitor worthy of
attention. But as his health was not very good during
his sojourn at Bishop Wearmouth, he preferred to have
his society in his own house when he could do so. His
son, speaking of this period, says : ' His health at no
time in his life was sufficiently strong to do without
management, and though he was utterly regardless of
his own personal convenience, and so far from using any
unnecessary caution was, partly from inclination and
partly from pretended conviction, negligent of the
common means of guarding against the disorders of his
constitution by diet or medicine, yet he was not less
sensible of its craziness than patient and resigned under
the most painful attacks of a nephralgic complaint,
accompanied with a species of melaena. This constant
liability to violent disorder led him to a certain method
in his rides and walks, in order that he might have
certain hours in his study. 1
'I seldom, 1 he writes to a friend two years after
his arrival in Bishop Wearmouth, ' go out of the gates
WILLIAM PALEY 145
but to justice meetings and upon public business, except
when we visit. The field and garden are my ride and
walk, my exercise and my amusement. The wind blew
my hat to the top of the house the other day, where it
stuck in the gutter, or it might have been in Holland
by this time.'
His taste for the objects and works of Nature rather
than any skill in natural philosophy led him still to be
fond of gardening, though it now rather became a more
gentlemanly work of superintendence. For an hour
after breakfast and dinner he had his regular walks of
musing and recollection, with which he let nothing inter-
fere, nor anyone share except his youngest daughter,
who with a basket under her arm, to pick up anything
that he chose to put into it, followed him haud cequis
passibus. At such times he seldom spoke a single word,
but now and then he used to surprise his youthful
companion by bursting out into the most immoderate
laughter, or muttering out scraps of poetry or sentences
of prose ; ' or, with the handle of his stick in his mouth,
now moving in a short, hurried step, now stopping at a
butterfly, a flower, a snail, etc., at one instant pausing
to consider the subject of his next sermon, at the next
carrying the whole weight and intent of his mind to the
arranging of some pots in his green-house, or preparing
with the greatest gravity to remove some stick or stand
that offended his eye, he presented the most prominent
feature of his mind very obviously, but made it, perhaps,
happy for his public character that he chose to be
alone.' From his choosing this manner of life he was,
as he said, looked upon by some of his neighbours as a
4 curiosity,' and his eccentricities made him appear to
10
146 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
many as a little c odd. 1 In the evening he seldom con-
versed much with his family, though he would have
them around him, and left them quite at liberty to
employ such times in their own way.
However, when the occasion required it, Dr. Paley
could be very practical. In the year 1799 there was
a great scarcity of provisions throughout England.
Meetings were held in most parishes by the local
authorities, and resolutions were passed asking people
to restrict themselves in the consumption of food of
various kinds. At a meeting held in Dr. Paley's district
he drew up some rules asking people to refrain from
the use of pudding and pastry, and any sort of bread
except ordinary wheaten bread ; to discontinue the
giving of oats, beans, or peas to horses ; to procure
oatmeal, rye, beans, peas, and rice to sell at a cheap
rate ; and to recommend gentlemen to apply the leavings
of their tables to soup shops, to be provided and sup-
ported by the township and parish. This, like the
projected plan of lessening the consumption of sugar in
order to check the slave trade, was attended with at
first indifferent success, though rigidly followed up in
his family and elsewhere.
He acted for several years as a Justice of the Peace
for the County of Durham, but in this capacity he was
sometimes thought to be a little irritable and hasty.
Although during the whole of his life he was a pluralist
in the matter of holding livings, yet he saw the dis-
advantages of non-residence amongst the clergy, and in
his latter years he drafted a Bill for promoting the
residence of the parochial clergy. His method was to
tax to the extent of five shillings in the pound all non-
WILLIAM PALEY 147
residents for the benefit of the poorer livings, the tax
to be paid over to Queen Anne's Bounty Fund, so that
if a clergyman held two livings, he would pay this tax
for the one on which he did not reside ; eight months 1
residence was to be considered sufficient.
He usually lived at Lincoln from Christmas till May,
and he attained a high degree of popularity in the
cathedral city. His hospitality was unbounded, and
he often had a French refugee Roman Catholic priest
at his table; and when someone ventured to remonstrate,
and suggested that possibly the priest might be making
converts, Paley merely answered : ' He convert anyone !
He never converted anything in his life except a neck of
mutton into chops P
The Sub -dean belonged to a literary society at
Lincoln which held meetings once a fortnight at a
principal inn, where, after taking coffee, choosing books,
and a little chit-chat, the evening was closed with a
barrel of oysters and a rubber of whist, which Dr. Paley
highly enjoyed, and he often, though in pain, kept the
table in a roar of laughter. His anecdotes were ren-
dered the more entertaining from the manner in which
they were delivered, by a peculiarly animated coun-
tenance and a characteristic curling of the nose. He
had nothing of those forbidding and overbearing
manners which are too frequently attendant upon
superior talents and abilities. An old clergyman once
asserted, in the presence of his Bishop and Dr. Paley,
that, though he had been married almost forty years,
he had never had the slightest difference with his wife.
The Bishop, pleased at so' rare an instance of connubial
felicity, was supposed to be on the very point of a
102
148 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
compliment, when Dr. Paley archly exclaimed : ' Don't
you think, my lord, it must have been very flat ?' A
lady once observed to him, at a card-table at Lincoln,
4 that the only excuse for their playing was that it
seemed to kill time. 1 * ' The best defence possible,
madam,' replied he, ' though time will in the end
kill us. 1
He sometimes made excursions into Craven and
Cumberland on the journey between Bishop Wear-
mouth and Lincoln, for his father resided at Giggles-
wick until his death, which took place on September 29,
1799, at the age of eighty-eight. A small brass plate
in the church of that parish marks his resting-place
and that of his mother, who died in March, 1796, at
the age of eighty-three years.
In 1800 his health began to fail, and he had to give
up public speaking and preaching ; but with great
resolution he determined to devote himself to literary
work with the little strength which remained to him,
so that if he could not benefit the Church through his
voice he might still be of some use with his pen. In
May, 1802, he was induced to try the Buxton waters,
and although he was suffering from the progress of a
fatal malady, he was busy with the composition of the
last of his important works. For in that year appeared
Dr. Paley's 'Natural Theology; or the Evidences of
the Existence and Attributes of the Deity collected
from the Appearance of Nature.' The author of this
work read very widely, and collected together a vast
number of scientific illustrations, which made the work
very readable. The progress of science since his time
has, perhaps, caused some of his arguments to lose much
WILLIAM PALEY 149
of their force, but the greater part of the work may
still be read with profit. A well-known writer
(F. Ballard, The Miracles of Unbelief, 1 4th ed., 1902,
p. 50) says : ' It would be a great gain if all modern
doubters could be induced even to give Paley's" Natural
Theology" a thorough perusal. For amongst the
modern fallacies of to-day none is more delusive than
the common notion, so eagerly fostered in some
quarters, that such treatises as these are too anti-
quated to be of any value."
The celebrated argument from design, suggested by
the finding of a watch upon the ground, is said to
have been borrowed from Nieuwentyt, whose religious
philosophy was translated into English about the middle
of the eighteenth century. It occurs also in Tucker's
' Light of Nature,' and is traced by Hallam to a
passage in Cicero's ' Natura Deorum ' (cf. ' Dictionary
of National Biography,' article Paley). Professor le
Gros Clark, President of the Royal College of Surgeons,
says in the introduction to his edition of this work :
' The modern doctrine of evolution does not necessarily
carry with it a confutation of the argument from the
appearance of design. If this theory shall ever take its
place among the universally recognised truths of science
it will undoubtedly affect what may be called the inci-
dence of the argument, and render the application of it
more remote. But a little consideration will show that
the argument itself will retain its essential validity, and
by no means be robbed of its force or become antiquated
or useless.'
As there seemed little hope of his recovery from
his complaint, he resigned the Archdeaconry of
150 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Carlisle and the Rectory of Salkeld in 1804. His
valuable life was now drawing to a close, and the
powers of nature, gradually exhausted by repeated
sufferings, were less able to resist the attacks upon his
constitution, yet he kept his residence at Lincoln for
the last time in 1805. He died at Bishop Wearmouth
on May 25 of the same year, and was buried in the
north aisle of Carlisle Cathedral.
In stature he was rather tall, and corpulent in his
latter years. He had inherited, says one well capable
of judging, the qualities of a long line of sturdy North-
Country yeomen. He was the incarnation of strong
common-sense, full of genial good-humour, and always
disposed to take life pleasantly. He had no romance,
poetic sensibility, or enthusiasm, but he was thoroughly
genial and manly. He was a very affectionate husband
and father, and fond, like Sidney Smith, of gaining
knowledge from everyone who would talk to him. He
said he only met one person in life from whom he could
learn nothing. As a preacher, his language was forcible,
his reasoning strong, and his matter interesting ; but
his manner in the pulpit was awkward and his voice
weak, and he preferred preaching to small country
congregations. And yet he is said to have been accept-
able to all classes by the plainness and originality of his
illustrations, the homeliness and familiarity of his style,
and the expressiveness of his language; and it ought
to be added that he was peculiarly striking, even to
children, in some of his discourses.
A great French writer has said : ' La parole a ete
donnee a Thomme pour cacher sa pensee,' but the
charge of obscurity could never be brought against
WILLIAM PALEY 151
Paley. If he was not profound, he was always clear.
Whatever faults of style he had, no one could mistake
his meaning, although all might not agree with his
conclusions.
When lecturing on preaching he once told his
pupils that, if they had to preach every Sunday,
they should compose one sermon and steal five. By
which advice he meant that young preachers, instead
of striving after originality at the beginning of their
ministry, should carefully study the sermons of eminent
divines, and try to reproduce the best thoughts which
are to be found in such discourses. He was not above
using this method with his own sermons.
To sum up his position in the religious world.
We cannot claim this Craven worthy as a great
divine or as an original thinker. He founded no new
school of philosophy, nor did he attach himself to any
party in the Church. He added little by his works to
our general stock of religious knowledge. But he was
eminent as an able interpreter to his own generation
of the meaning and position of Christianity ; and he
placed before the men of the eighteenth century the
historical evidence for our holy religion and its moral
claims with a perspicuity and a force which was new to
them. The controversy with the opponents of Christ-
ianity has taken a new departure since Paley's time, and
other modes of defence are required; nevertheless, his
works still contain a valuable repertory of arguments in
favour of revealed religion. To thousands of intel-
lectual inquirers his writings have brought an edifica-
tion and a satisfaction which have been wanting else-
where.
152 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Only the other day a neighbour told me that, when
he was at Cambridge, a friend with whom he had
arranged to take a walk came to him and asked to be
excused that afternoon, as he had found such an inter-
esting book that he wished to read it to the end
without delay. The book turned out to be Paley's
' Evidences/
His general character is ably set forth by Dr. Mead-
ley, who saw so much of him in his latter years. He
was, he says, ready on all occasions to promote the
general interests of society, or to accommodate his more
immediate neighbours with any civilities or kind
offices in his power. Though economical on principle
as well as from early habit, he was liberal, and even
generous, in all his pecuniary transactions with others.
He was charitable to the poor, and known to be in the
habit of serving street-beggars on this avowed principle,
that the hardheartedness which might arise from an
indiscriminate rejection of all who thus implore assist-
ance was a far greater evil than the chances of being
sometimes imposed on. He was invariably more
highly esteemed and beloved in proportion as he was
better known, for he had none of those seeming virtues
which dazzle at a distance but shrink from more
accurate examination ; he acted on no false pretences,
and assumed no disguise. His little defects, it is
possible, might strike the common observer more
forcibly, but they were not only such that might be
borne with, but such as afforded his friends continual
opportunities of discovering under them the goodness
of his heart.
Dr. Paley has been fortunate in his biographers.
WILLIAM PALEY 153
Dr. Meadley, the Rev. E. Paley, and Dr. Chalmers have
all written most appreciative lives of this eminent man.
The latter of these writers sums up the record of his
life with the remark that what Dr. Johnson said of
Goldsmith is yet more applicable to Paley Nullum
quod tetig'it non ornavit.
GEORGE CROFT
' Genus et proavos et quae non fecimus ipsi,
Vix ea nostra voco.'
OVID.
c Nought from my birth or ancestors I claim ;
All is my own, all self-acquired fame.'
IN these days of School Boards and of universal educa-
tion, when, by means of county and other scholarships,
poor students can be passed on from our elementary
schools to the Universities, we are apt to think that a
century or two ago there was no opportunity for boys
born in the humblest class of life, to rise to distinction
in Church or State. But that this was by no means
the case, the career of George Croft testifies. He was
born of humble parents in the township of Beamsley,
which forms a portion of the parish of Bolton Abbey.
He was the second son of Samuel Croft, baptized
March 27, 1747, and was educated in the Grammar
School at Bolton, which had been founded by the
Hon. Robert Boyle in the first year of the eighteenth
century. Mr. Thomas Carr (the father of Mr. W. Carr)
was the master of the school and incumbent of the
parish, and he found in George Croft such a promising
pupil that he taught him without fee. In a short time
[154]
GEORGE CROFT 155
George became so celebrated for his rapid advance in
learning that not un frequently strangers who visited
Bolton Abbey sent for this young scholar, and either
attempted to puzzle him with knotty passages from
classical authors, or proposed to him questions in
Divinity. An uncouthness in his external appearance,
accompanied by a slight paralytic affection of the head,
increased the astonishment of his examiners at the
readiness and correctness of his answers. ' He was in
his early years considered a living harmony of the
Gospels, for when a passage was quoted to him out of
one of them he rarely failed to recollect and repeat the
parallel passage from the others. This, however, was
remarkable in his memory, that he seldom retained
what he did not at least suppose himself to understand/
Mr. Carr, who was proud of his pupil, determined that
he should proceed to the University of Oxford when
he reached a suitable age. Consequently, in the year
1762, when George was only fifteen years of age, his
master solicited and obtained some subscriptions from
his friends and neighbours towards the expense of his
talented scholar, who was matriculated at University
College, Oxford, as a Bible Clerk. As he entered on
his studies at the University at a period when it was
not distinguished for intellectual activity, he was for-
tunate in becoming a member of a college where the
general decadence in learning and discipline (cf. p. 183)
had not taken place, for a recent historian (cf. Carres
' University College, Oxon.,"* pp. 184, 185) assures us
that ' the last half of the eighteenth century proved a
golden period, during which the staff of teachers was
distinguished for learning and ability, and their pupils
156 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
in after-life attained the highest positions in the
service of the State and in the learned professions/
Such teachers would not be slow in recognising the
merits of the Bolton Abbey scholar. But, as it was
before the age of class-lists, we are unable to say in
what position he stood when he took his B.A. degree
in 1768. In the same year he became known to the
whole University as the successful competitor for the
Chancellor's English essay, which had only just been
established as a University prize. The title of the
essay was, ' Artes prosunt reipublicse/ As the essays
were not printed at that time, I am unable to give the
reader a specimen of its contents.
He was elected a scholar of his college on May 9,
1768. He now took pupils, and amongst his associates
were W. Jones (afterwards Sir William), the great
Oriental scholar, and the two brothers Scott, of whom
one became Lord Eldon, and the other Lord Stowell
(1821). Croft did not remain long in residence after
taking his B.A. On December 6, 1768, he accepted
the headmastership of Beverley Grammar School, and
so came back to his native county. In the next year
he proceeded to the degree of M.A., and ten years later
he became a Fellow of his college (July 16, 1779).
On December 11 of the same year he was instituted
to the Vicarage of Arncliffe, in Craven, to which he
had been presented by his college.
In 1780 he took the degrees of B.D. and D.D., and
about this time he became chaplain to the Right Hon.
the Earl of Elgin. On October 12 he married Ann,
daughter of William Grimston, of Ripon, by whom he
had one son and six daughters.
GEORGE CROFT 157
After holding the office of headmaster at Beverley
for about eleven years, he accepted the same position
in the Grammar School of firewood, in Staffordshire,
an appointment which he held until 1791, when he
was made Lecturer at St. Martin's Church, Birming-
ham, and Chaplain of St. Bartholemew's, in the
same parish. He now took up his residence at St.
Martin's Parsonage, and it is said that he preferred
this position to that which he had left at firewood
on account of its proximity to Oxford, which he fre-
quently visited, and sometimes he preached before the
University.
His first publication was a University sermon,
preached on October 25, 1783, printed at Stafford in
1784. The text was taken from Prov. xxi. 21, 'My
son, fear thou the Lord.' After holding up to admira-
tion our Government and Monarchy, he says : 'It is
true that an unfortunate and expensive war' (the
American War) ' has brought upon the people immense
burdens, but the censurious must confess that those
burdens fall upon a part of the community best able
to bear them. And if the weight of them shall be
instrumental in restraining luxury and encouraging
industry, even our misfortune may turn to our ad-
vantage.' In this sermon he gives evidence of those
strong Tory principles which he maintained throughout
his life.
He was an ardent supporter of the connection be-
tween Church and State as it then existed, and, as we
shall see, he defended the 'Test Act.' During his
residence at St. Martin's Parsonage, which continued
till his death, it is said that he enlivened it with great
158 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
hospitality. And he was much respected on account
of the interest which he took in all the public business
of the town. The poor resorted to his house for advice
and assistance, and he devoted so much time and
attention to the widows and orphans of soldiers and
sailors, in forwarding their claims to Government, that
he was commonly, but most unjustly supposed, amongst
the ignorant, to have had a regular salary for his
trouble.
At Arncliffe his duties as vicar were performed by a
resident curate, but it was difficult for Dr. Croft, living
so far away in the South, to preserve always peace and
harmony amongst his parishioners. In fact, from a
few letters which have been preserved for more than a
hundred years in the Vicarage, we learn that, on more
than one occasion, complaints were made by the
parishioners through the churchwardens to their ab-
sentee vicar. Sometimes these complaints were treated
as frivolous, and only brought upon the parishioners a
sharp reprimand from the reverend doctor, who, in one
of his letters, finishes by congratulating himself that he
was able, through having scholastic work, to live away
from those who were far from agreeable. Other matters
which gave him trouble at Arncliffe were the collection of
the tithe, the conduct of his curate, and the services
of the church. On August 10, 1790, he writes the
following letter from Brewood to one of his church-
wardens :
'SIR,
* I should have thought myself obliged to you if
you had come to me and shewn me upon what plea
GEORGE CROFT 159
you claim an exemption from tithe. If your land was
before barren, if you had been put to great expense in
manuring and making it fit for tillage, you have a right
to be free from the payment. But if this ground was
good pasture, if it produced lamb or wool, or was in
any way titheable, under those circumstances you are
at least obliged to pay as much as you would have done
had it not been broken up. On this business I have
taken an opinion, and if you mean to act like an honest
man, you will fairly say what expenses you have been
at, and you shall always experience in me the fairest
and most open dealing. With regard to the Leads of
the Church, I desired that Mr. Preston would do the
Leads as they ought to be done, not wishing to be under
the necessity of presenting them (the churchwardens)
at the next visitation. And I hope I shall hear no
more of putting slate in the place of lead, because if I
do, I will write to the Archdeacon (the Archbishop
having nothing to do with it except near the time of
his visitation), and he will either visit, or appoint others
to visit, the church and compel you at a great additional
expense to repair the Leads and the timber as you
ought. You are the more inexcusable in neglecting
this business because you have lands to pay the expense.
I have desired the workmen to do my part of the
repairs, and I hope they have done them. You have
relations who are Clergymen ; consult them, and they
will tell you that you cannot insist upon the Church
being served otherwise than according to custom.
(During the eighteenth century in Arncliffe Church
there was only one service on Sundays, as the curate
also served the Chapel of Hubberholme on the same
160 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
day.) Old Mr. Tennant always served Arncliffe and
Hubberholme together. I was two days in the Parish.
Why did you not complain to myself? I could have
gone with you to the Archbishop. And to point out
how absurd you are about residence, when I took the
Living the Archbishop said there could not be a better
excuse for non-residence than the care of a school. To
this school I am licensed, and also to a perpetual curacy ;
the attendance upon each will be a sufficient excuse
even in a Court of Law. And in the court of conscience,
in the mind of every thinking person, there is not a
more useful employment than that of instructing others.
Go, then, to the Archbishop, if you chuse it, and ask
him what he thinks. If your Church had been a
sufficient maintenance, I might have been free from the
troublesome office of teaching. With your present dis-
position to quarrel because I only ask what is my due,
I think myself happy in living at a distance, and still
more in having two excuses for doing so, which no Court
of Law will set aside.
4 1 am, sir,
6 Your most obedient humble servant,
<G. CROFT.'
With reference to the complaints made by parishioners
as to his curate and the small number of services, he
writes :
' BREWOOD,
1790.
' It was no small disappointment to me that Mr. B.
would not agree to the reference proposed, but has
GEORGE CROFT 161
rested the matter entirely upon me. I have therefore
referred him to the Archdeacon, to whom I may myself
write in a post or two, although I do not absolutely
engage to do so. In order to give you as plain an
account as I can of the difficulty I am under, I wish to
tell you in a few words what the points were which the
two gentlemen would have had stated, and upon which
they were to have decided. The first and most material
was, What has been the customary duty of Arncliffe for
the last 70 or 80 years ? Did Mr. Tennant (Vicar
of Arncliffe from 1681 to 1732), the father, serve
Hubberholme usually with Arncliffe or no ? Can any-
thing be inferred from Mr. Kay's short incumbency
(1732 to 1737), and what ? Did Mr. Chapman (Vicar
from 1737 to 1764) always employ a Curate at Hubber-
holme, or was it a disordered state of body and mind
which caused him to employ Mr. Wilson both at
Hubberholme and Arncliffe? Did not Mr. Tennant,
the last Vicar (from 1765 to 1779), employ a curate
of Hubberholme, Mr. Ibbotson, the elder, to do his
duty at Arncliffe along with that of the Chapel ? Does
the addition of the tithes, a donation of the College,
come at all under the observation of the Ecclesiastical
powers ? Was not Hubberholme Chapel a portion of
the Vicarage of Arncliffe, and only separated to obtain
the Queen's Bounty, and the separation of the care of
Hubberholme from the care of Arncliffe lay upon the
Curate of the one or the Vicar of the other ? I should
be much obliged to you if you would desire one or both
of the gentlemen to examine these points, because,
though I am much indebted to the Archdeacon for his
favourable opinion, yet I am not yet convinced that
11
162 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
less duty is done than has usually been done ; and if
people on weekdays in Lent be so inattentive as not to go
to Church, I think, whatever the former custom might be,
a Clergyman cannot be expected to read to the bare walls.
The nine Sundays neglect of Hubberholme I find was
only three, and Mr. , of Kettlewell, was engaged
for the fourth, and got drunk on the way. I have
before hinted why Hubberholme and Arncliffe were
joined together not that the Curate of Hubberholme
should support the Curate of Arncliffe, but that the
Curate of Arncliffe should support the Curate of Hubber-
holme. I have the credit of the Church so much at
heart that neither the Curacy of Hal ton Gill, nor of
Hubberholme, shall in future stand alone; for whatever
becomes of the present question, one person shall either
have the two Chapels, or the Curates of the Chapels shall
divide the Curacy of Arncliffe between them. . . .
I am obliged to you for the assistance you are kind
enough to promise respecting the Church, but I must
take time to consider the comparative difference be-
tween Lead and Slate. In which I shall ask experienced
workmen, and if they give an opinion in favour of slate,
I have a friend who will tell me how far the Ecclesiastical
Court can allow of the alteration ; subject as the valley
is to violent hurricanes, there may be reasons upon the
spot which workmen do not advert to. Desirous as I
am to proceed upon all points with moderation, I can-
not forbear blaming the Parishioners for not acquainting
me at the beginning, and finding some difficulties now
which did not exist then. I hope you will consult the
wisest Clergyman you can meet with (if Mr. Dawson or
Mr. Wilson cannot conveniently favour us with their
GEORGE CROFT 163
sentiments), and give them a statement of facts. This
opinion will be deemed a favour by,
'Sir,
' Your very obedient servant,
<G. c:
On September 1, 1790, he writes from Brewood :
<Sm,
4 By some delay in the Post I did not receive
your first letter with the names of the Parishioners
annexed till Saturday last. With respect to your tithes,
I had sent J. H. such a general direction as would not
only enable him to judge of your case, but of all of the
same kind. There is therefore an end of that claim.
And I repeat it again, that had you stated to me before
what you have now stated, I should not have hesitated
a moment.
' The Act of Parliament by which you are exempted
for seven years was founded in the strictest justice.
The notice paper was not meant for your case, because
I consulted Counsel upon it, and received my answer
upon my return home. With respect to the duty of
the Church and Mr. B., I have frequently lamented
that the complaints were not made when I entered upon
the living. He had then lived eight or nine years
amongst you, and the only wish seemed to be that he
would teach a school, from which I concluded the
Parish had a favourable opinion of him. As I shall be
sorry to be thought covetous or mercenary, I wish to
remind you that his salary is 4iQ per annum from me.
He pays me ^10 for the land he holds, which he says is
rather dear, but he has part of the house for nothing.
164 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
You cannot but know that the increase which was made
to the Living was a gift from the College, and is no part
of the original endowment. What the College gave it
may take away, and were I to entail upon the Vicar of
Arncliffe more duty than was originally done by old
Mr. Tennant, Mr. Kaye, and Mr. Chapman, he would
have reason to complain. With respect to the duty in
Lent and Saints' Days, I requested Mr. B. five years
ago, when the first complaint came, to do it regularly,
and nothing can be an excuse for his omitting it but
the want of a congregation. The first year I came into
this county I read prayers in Lent in my Church, but
never finding more than seven at one time, I no longer
deemed it to be public worship, and so dropped it.
How far this observation does or would apply to
Arncliffe I cannot say. We do not expect crowded
Churches on weekdays, but we do expect something
like public worship. I have a difficulty in Mr. JB.'s
case which none of you are aware of. He was licensed
to serve the Church. If he does the accustomed duty
at Arncliffe I know not whether I can dismiss him. If
the congregation at Hubberholme have any complaints
against him they must carry them to the Archbishop or
Archdeacon at the Visitation. This Chapel was formerly
united with the Parish Church and served along with it,
but it is now separated for the sake of the Queen's
Bounty, to which it could not otherwise be entitled.
And however I shall act at present, I shall take care if
a vacancy happen during my Incumbency that a future
Curate of Hubberholme shall either serve Hal ton Gill
in part, or Arncliffe in part, that the smallness of the
salary at Hubberholme may never be held out as an
GEORGE CROFT 165
excuse for admitting improper persons into Orders.
This excuse was, however, made eight or nine years
before I had Arncliffe by the Archbishop's Chaplain
when I was ordained Deacon. You, some of you, seem
to think the Living of Arncliffe a handsome thing. It
is 80 per annum less than I was taught to expect, and
everything is good in proportion to what a man by a
little patience may obtain. A single year's waiting
would have given me a much better. As Curate of a
Church in the East Riding of Yorkshire I received no
more than 4tO per annum, though I read prayers
every Sunday afternoon except in bad weather or on
some urgent occasion. But I had little satisfaction in
so doing, for they were very ill-attended, though not
one of my hearers was further from the church than a
quarter of a mile, most of them as near as the village of
Arncliffe.
' I am clearly of opinion that the Church ought to be
leaded : (The church at this time was covered with
lead. Dr. Croft alludes to the proposed rebuilding of
the church, which was soon to be undertaken, when the
leaden roof was replaced by slates, in spite of the Vicar's
wishes.) Nor do I think the higher powers that is,
either the Archbishop or Archdeacon would suffer an
alteration. If you are not a Churchwarden you have
much less reason to be surprised that I had not con-
sulted you. In matters where Churchwardens and
Parishioners have a discretionary power, both decency
and civility require that they should be consulted.
But they have no such power here. They might be
compelled if the case appeared critical and dangerous.
The Blasts of another winter might have been followed
166 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
by very disagreeable effects. I have directed every
repair to be done which belonged to me, and surely
had a very good right to enforce with the Parish what
I had exemplified in my own conduct. . . .'
I give these letters, not because all the contents are
of public interest, but rather as illustrating the way
in which Churchmen regarded Church affairs in the
eighteenth century. There are those amongst us
laudatores temporls acti who say that the world
and the Church went very well then ; there are others
who refuse to see any virtue, and anything of good
report, in that age. Documents like these, which have
just been put before the reader, as they come to light,
will do more than anything else towards giving us the
data upon which we can form a just estimate of the
conduct of affairs in Church and State at that critical
period of the nation's life. We, in the twentieth cen-
tury, read with astonishment, some of the statements
which appear in these letters, and the admissions which
are made, and perhaps we are inclined to criticise the
actions of the writers ; but we must try to place our-
selves in imagination in their position : we must not
forget their surroundings and traditions, and then we
shall be able to judge more kindly of a period which
had some special difficulties of which we have no ex-
perience. In these letters there is frequent reference to
the condition of the fabric of the church at Arncliffe.
In the year 1795 the parishioners, with the advice and
assistance of the Vicar, determined to rebuild the church,
with the exception of the tower, which, with the other
parts of the fabric, had been erected (on the site of a
GEORGE CROFT 167
Norman church) in the early years of the sixteenth
century. It was not an easy matter for a comparatively
poor country parish to achieve this. There were no
wealthy landowners living in the parish, and the popu-
lation consisted chiefly of small yeomen, farmers, and
cottagers. So recourse was had to the usual method of
raising money for such purposes in those days, by a
'Brief:
Some of my readers will remember that there is still
an allusion to ' Briefs ' in the rubric after the Creed in
the Communion Service of the Book of Common
Prayer. If a ' Brief ' were required the churchwardens
and some of the chief parishioners would go before the
magistrates at Quarter Sessions, and the case would be
examined, and, if it was thought fit, letters patent
would be issued by the King, and collections would be
made in all the churches in the area specified in the
' Brief.' In the case of Arncliffe Church, collections
were made in the counties of York, Derby, Chester,
Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln, and Nottingham.
As such documents are rarely now to be met with,
the text of the ' Brief ' is here given :
* Represented as well upon the humble petition
of the Minister, Churchwardens, and principal in-
habitants of the Parish of Arncliffe in the West
Riding, as by certificate under the hand of the
Justices of the Peace assembled at the Quarter
Sessions of the Peace at Skipton on Tuesday, July 19,
36 George III., 1796, that the Parish Church of
Arncliffe is a very ancient structure and greatly
decayed in every part, and, that notwithstanding the
inhabitants have done all in their power to keep the
168 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Church in repair, yet the same through length of time
is now become so ruinous that it cannot any longer be
supported, but must be wholly taken down and rebuilt.
The truth of the premises made to appear at Quarter
Sessions by the oath of Thomas Corlass, an able and
experienced architect, who hath carefully viewed the
Church, and made an estimate of the charge of taking
down and rebuilding the same, which, upon a moderate
computation, amounts to the sum of 561 10s. 9Jd.,
exclusive of the old material, which sum the said in-
habitants are not able to raise among themselves, being
mostly tenants and labourers, and burthened with a
numerous poor, and therefore incapable of undertaking
so great a work without the charitable assistance of well-
disposed Christians. Trustees and Receivers : Thomas
Garforth, William Waineman, Mathew Wilson, Peter
Garforth, and Thomas Brown, Esquires ; Charles Tindal,
Charles Cart, William Stevenson, and John Stevenson,
Gentlemen, and the Minister and Churchwardens for
the time being' (Yorkshire Archaeological Journal^
part 61).
How much was collected by ' Brief I have not
been able to ascertain ; but from an old account I am
able to give the cost of rebuilding the church, which
will compare very favourably with the cost of such
a building in the present day.
It seems that the old materials, including, I suppose,
the old lead, sold for <276 Is. Id. The estimate made
at the time of the ' Brief ' amounted to <845 12s. lOjd.
It will be interesting to record the items, which were
as follows :
GEORGE CROFT 169
s. d.
Mason work 230 14 6
Roof ... 104
Lead for trough and flashes ... 27 4 6
Ridge Roof lead 16 13 9
Slating 72
Glass and Sashes 80 15 3
Seeling ... 29 19
Reeding Desk, Clerk's Desk,
Pulpit, Alter Rails, Alter
Table 47 10
Seats according to the plan ... 160 13
520^ yards two coat plaister on
Walls at 9d 19 10 4J
Do. on Seeling and Cornish ... 34 2 6
Vestry door ... 1 10
Steeple pointing 7 10
Taking off old lead and wood ... 540
Four doors 850
X845 11 10J
And there is a further estimate for ' extra work '
amounting to 19. Unfortunately, as there was a
non-resident Vicar, nothing but economy was studied.
The rebuilding was accomplished in the worst taste
possible, after designs which were too common in the
eighteenth century, and in a style which has been
described as ' Churchwarden's Gothic. 1 In this case
a pretty, sixteenth - century, Perpendicular - Gothic
church, with pillars and a north aisle, was replaced
by a hideous structure of oblong shape, with modern-
looking wooden sash windows, and a flat ceiling instead
170 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
of the timber roof. The old and elegant proportions
of the chancel were swept away to make room for high
pews, and a three-decker. Dr. Whitaker, who visited
the valley shortly after the rebuilding of the church,
describes what had been done in caustic language, in
which he gives vent to his indignation, and he shows,
by his remarks, that he was far in advance of his day in
his knowledge of the true principles of ecclesiastical
architecture. And, as the Gothic revival in architecture
took place a few years after his death, chiefly in the
first instance under Mr. Pugin, it is plain that he
anticipated, with a prophet's eye, the great change which
was shortly to pass over the country in this respect.
Dr. Whitaker says : ' The Church itself, growing ruin-
ous, was lately taken down, excepting the tower, and
rebuilt with all the attention to economy and all the
neglect both of modern elegance and ancient form which
characterizes the religious edifices of the present day.
If the disposition of our ancient Churches cannot be
adhered to, if modern art can no longer imitate the
solemn effect produced by clustered columns and pointed
arches, by the dignified separation of family chantries
and the long perspective of a choir and the rich tracery
of its ramified window, surely the genius of an Estab-
lishment calls for something in its most frugal erection
more imposing than bare walls and unbroken surfaces
something at least that may inform the stranger that
he is not putting his head into a conventicle. Even the
rubric requires that chancels shall remain as they have
done in times past. It would be well if all plans of
new Churches, or the rebuilding of old ones, were
subject to the immediate cognisance of the Ordinary or
GEORGE CROFT 171
the Archdeacon. At present the business is usually
transacted between a selfish vestry and a junto of
ignorant masons, while the faculty is granted, as a matter
of course, by those who have no object but their fees. 1
After remarking that the age of Henry I. and of
Henry VII. were the two great eras of church-building
in Craven, he continues : 'The present reign (George III.)
may be considered as the third era of Church-building
amongst us. Of the last, what can be said but that,
excepting weakness and deformity, it has no character
at all ? a plain, oblong, ill-constructed building with-
out aisles, choir, columns, battlements, or buttresses,
the roof a wainscotting of deal, the covering of slate,
and the walls running down with wet. To the builders
of such edifices the scoff of Tobiah the Ammonite may
justly be applied : " That which they do build, if a fox
go up, he shall even break down." It is but lately that
this spirit has shown itself in Craven, and, indeed, the
Church of Arncliffe is as yet the only perfect specimen
of it.' About thirty years later Kettlewell Church was
rebuilt in the same style.
Then follow some very severe remarks upon the bad
taste shown in the destruction of ancient features in the
restoration of buildings at that period, and some sound
principles are set forth which have been generally acted
upon by every judicious restorer in more recent times.
If we cannot say that Dr. Croft was very successful in
using his influence with the parishioners of Arncliffe
towards a more conservative spirit in the rebuilding of
their church, it must not be forgotten, that in addition
to his scholastic duties at Brewood and his parochial
labours at Birmingham, he was constantly engaged in
172
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
literary work. He printed no less than seven various
publications dealing chiefly with theological matters,
and questions of the day. In 1784 he published at
Wolverhampton c A Plan of Education Delineated and
Vindicated. To which are added a Letter to a Young
Gentleman designed for the University and for Holy
Orders, and a Short Dissertation upon the State, Pro-
vision and Reasonable Expectation of Public Teachers.'
But the Bampton Lectures which he preached at Oxford
in 1786 may be considered as his magnum opus. These
lectures are eight in number, and they deal, as the will
of the founder of the lectures (John Bampton, Canon
of Salisbury) directs, with subjects which are calculated
4 to confirm or establish the Christian Faith. 1 Dr. Croft
gives the following titles to his discourses : * Objections
against Inspiration considered.' ' The Authority of the
Ancient Fathers examined. 1 ' On the Conduct of the
First Reformers.' 1 ' The Charge of Intolerance in the
Church of England refuted. 1 ' Objections against the
Liturgy answered. 1 * On the Evils of Separation. 1 'The
Present State of Religion, with some Conjectural
Remarks upon Prophecies to be fulfilled hereafter. 1
In this volume he is a staunch defender of the position
which we often hear spoken of now as the * Reformation
Settlement. 1 On the question of patronage, he says,
quoting a learned prelate : ' I must observe to you that
in parishes and places where people chuse their own
ministers, there are the greatest feuds and passions
remarkable as unqualified ministers as in other places,
and perhaps it may also be said the greatest number
of Dissenters from the Established Church. Nothing
hath been the cause of greater violence and strife and
GEORGE CROFT 173
ill-will among neighbours than this choice ; and the
time of election is commonly the time of heat and anger,
and it ends often in a bad choice and in the alienation
of the minds of many men from their brethren, and
from their minister, worthy or not worthy. 1 Of the use
of externals in worship, he says : ' Of externals in general,
we can only say that excess should be avoided ; that in
our own Church it has been avoided; that our cere-
monies are few and expressive ; that our vestments are
suited to the nature of the sacred function ; that in all
important offices it is necessary to distinguish between
the individual and the public character he sustains ;
that some of the Dissenters have acknowledged the use
of sacerdotal habits by partly adopting them, and the
less we assimilate the outward circumstances of worship
to the outward circumstances of common life, the greater
reverence we shall express in the congregation of the
faithful/ He deprecates attention to trifles in religion
in these pregnant words : ' Men little consider that so
much attention paid to things of inferior moment, by
disputing their use and propriety, creates an indifference
to the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith. In the common transactions of life we deem
it an argument of a contracted and a mean understand-
ing to dwell upon minute circumstances, or to consume
much time and labour in adjusting even slight inac-
curacies. The eye which is very microscopic is seldom
very comprehensive. The Christian who is rich in good
works may be compared to the rich Householder.
Minuteness concerning trifles would in each of them
be meanness.' With regard to the observance of Sunday
in his day, he utters words which show that the laxity
174 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
of which we now complain, as if it were peculiar to our
own times, was not unknown at the end of the
eighteenth century. ' To avoid puritanical severity, do
we not seek pleasure ? Do we not imitate the practice
of the Continent, and render that ordinance the means
of corruption which was intended to be the means of
animating our piety and strengthening our virtue?
The salutary laws enacted for the better observation
of the Lord's Day are little attended to and but seldom
executed, and they whose time is most in their own
power are the most notorious delinquents. Without
any reverence for the service of the Church, without
any compassion for beast or man, they hasten forward
to business or recreation, which might be postponed
or omitted, or they are wearied out with the tedious-
ness of the day, which yet is accompanied with no
painfull nor rigorous seclusion from rational society.'
On the whole, the Bampton Lectures of 1786 may be
said to have been quite up to the average of the
lectures which were preached from the same foundation
at that period. In 1790 there appeared from his pen
a sermon preached at St. Philip's Church, Birmingham,
on a Sunday in January, under the title of ' The Test
Laws defended,' with a preface containing remarks on
Dr. Price's Revolution Sermon, and other publications.
The text is from % Tim. ii. 21. Speaking of the
religious condition of the country generally, he says :
' The increase of Deism on the one hand and Methodism
on the other is owing to causes which no denomination
of Christians can prevent or destroy the luxury of high
life, the profligacy of low life, the lukewarmness of some,
the love of novelty in others.' The whole sermon is
GEORGE CROFT 175
a strong protest against the proposed abolition of the
* Tests, 1 founded on an historical survey of the previous
character and actions of those who were supposed to
hold principles subversive of the connection, as it then
existed, between Church and State. Apparently the
sermon attracted some attention, and one of his critics,
the Rev. S. Hobson, remarks : ' There are persons
in Birmingham who deem your Sermon a masterpiece
of composition, and for accuracy of reasoning against
the repeal of the Test Laws not to be equalled. 1 The
sermon was, however, severely criticised by his opponents,
and not without a certain amount of personal abuse.
One of them writes : * I need not tell you that the
titles of a ' thing in black ' have an influence peculiar to
themselves, and that an error falling from the mouth of
plain George Croft falls to rise no more ; that the same
error from the mouth or pen of George Croft, D.D.,
gains consideration ; that should the Vicar of Arncliffe
and Chaplain of the Earl of Elgin assert it, it moves
from the limit of error into the boundaries of truth.'
Three years later (1793) there appeared another
pamphlet from his pen. This time he comes forward
as a Tory politician who is opposed to the extension of
the franchise. The pamphlet is entitled, 'Plans of
Parliamentary Reform, proved to be visionary,' in a
letter to the Rev. C. Wyvill, late Chairman of Associa-
tions. It was printed at Birmingham. He argues
against the extension of the franchise because of the
tumult, riot, idleness, and ebriety which ensues. He
also maintains that it is fitting that only those who
exercise the suffrage with propriety, decency, and peace,
should be allowed to vote. He adds : ' Many of you
176 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
have assumed, as a fundamental proposition, that every
subject of this kingdom having a claim to life and
liberty, as well as to the produce of his labour, should,
of consequence, have a right to vote for a representative.
That such a right was once exercised cannot be denied.
But the 8th of Henry VI., C. 7 will shew why that
right in county elections was taken away.' He is strongly
in favour of members of Parliament being allowed to
vote according to their convictions, even if opposed to
those of their constituents. On this subject he quotes
Edmund Burke, who says : 'It is his duty to sacri-
fice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfaction to theirs?
and, above all, ever and in all cases to prefer their in-
terest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature
judgment, his enlightened conscience he ought not to
sacrifice to you, to any men, to any set of men living.
These he does not derive from your pleasure ; no, nor
from the law and the constitution. They are a trust
from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply
answerable. Your representative owes to you not only
his industry, but his judgment, and he betrays instead
of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.'' The
noble sentiments of the great orator are worthy of the
consideration of our politicians, and if they had been
generally acted upon, the pages of our national history
for the last hundred years would have contained more
noble deeds of political heroism. Dr. Croft adds the
following quaint adage :
' If my suffrage can't be free,
St. Stephens were a gaol to me/
The pamphlet bears throughout traces of the author's
GEORGE CROFT 177
strong Tory principles, and we feel as we read it that
the writer was a child of the eighteenth century.
The next production from his pen appeared in 1795,
* Thoughts concerning the Methodists and the Estab-
lished Clergy. 1 8 vo., London. In this work he severely
criticises the labours of the Methodist teachers. He
admits that in some places they had done good, but he
calls them to account for some strong and unfair words
which they had used, at that time, against the clergy
of the Church of England. In 1803 he made his final
literary effort. The work contains 'A Short Commentary
with Strictures on Certain Parts of the Moral Writings
of Dr. Paley and Mr. Gisborne. To which are added
Observations on the Duties of Trustees and Conductors
of Grammar Schools, and Sermons on Purity of Principle
and the Penal Laws.' 8vo., Birmingham.
He commences with an apology in the spirit of the
Roman poet. 'Cum de se loquitur non ut majore':
' I sincerely declare that I enter not into general
competition with divines whose leisure and information
are so much superior. But it happens in literary com-
position as in architecture, inferior talent will discover
slighter defects and oversights which have escaped the
observation of great and comprehensive minds.' He
ably defends Dr. Paley's principle, in his moral philo-
sophy, of expediency against the strictures of Mr.
Gisborne. But Dr. Croft disagrees with Paley in his
advocacy of indiscriminate almsgiving. He says, while
we relieve their wants, we corrupt their morals. Paley's
celebrated comparison of the ' pigeon ' is censured by
the Vicar of Arncliffe as not being true when applied to
human society, and also as dangerous in its tendency.
178 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
The work abounds in shrewd observations on many
subjects connected with the Church. He shows himself
in advance of his age when he says : ' It were devoutly
to be wished that the Convocation was allowed to sit, in
order that no improper, no hasty, no ill-digested Bill
might be brought into Parliament wherein the Clergy
are immediately or remotely concerned. ' The Church
had to wait fifty years before the Doctor's wish was
fulfilled. Speaking of the condition of the clergy, he
says : ' Every clergyman should sustain the twofold
character of a diligent scholar and conscientious pastor,
he may be forewarned with propriety to remain ever
mindful of both otherwise even his regular attendance
on the Church may cany him into useless engagements
and an improper waste of time. With a laudable pur-
pose of cultivating the acquaintance of his parishioners,
he may gradually glide into tedious and unnecessary
visits, and in acquiring a little popularity as a worthy
neighbour may sink into forgetfulness of his learning
and his books.'
In 1802 he received preferment from his old friend
Lord Eldon by his appointment to the Rectory of
Thwing in the East Riding, which the Archbishop of
York allowed him to hold with Arncliffe by dispensa-
tion. He is said to have had considerable attainments
as a classical scholar, and was well versed in Hebrew and
Syriac and in some modern languages, and he had an
extensive acquaintance with ecclesiastical law. His moral
character was without reproach, and he showed himself
a dutiful son by supporting his parents in their declining
years ; and he proved his generosity by extending
similar support to an infirm and aged uncle. He died
at Birmingham in 1809.
GEORGE CROFT 179
In Dr. Croft we have a bright example of one who,
being richly endowed with talents, made the best of his
opportunities, and by a careful use of his abilities and
by great industry, discharged his duties with much zeal,
and served his own generation faithfully. A monument
was erected in St. Martin's Church, Birmingham, which
bears the following inscription :
4 To the memory of the Rev. G. Croft, D.D. This
tablet is erected by the Congregation of S. Martin's in
testimony of their gratitude for his valuable services as
their Lecturer during a period of 18 years ; of their respect
for his learning as a scholar and his zeal as a supporter of
the Establishment in Church and State ; of their esteem
for his integrity as a man, his hospitality as a neighbour,
his active and unwearied benevolence as a counsellor of
the poor, and his virtues in private life as a husband
and father. He was a native of Yorkshire, Rector of
Thwing, and Vicar of Arncliffe in that County, and
some time Fellow of University College in Oxon, and
formerly Head Master of Brewood School in Stafford-
shire. He died an inhabitant of Birmingham, xi. of
May, 1809, aged 62, and was interred in this aisle.'
In 1811, two volumes of his sermons, including a series
of discourses on the Minor Prophets, which he had
preached before the University of Oxford, were pub-
lished, with a brief sketch of the author's life, by the
Rev. Rann Kennedy of Birmingham Grammar School.
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE
' Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife !
To all the sensual world proclaim,
One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name.'
THE river Ribble, which, like the Aire and Wharfe,
rises within the confines of Craven, is nowhere seen to
more advantage, as it makes its sinuous course to the
sea, than when viewed from the elevated terrace on
which stands Gisburne House, the home of the Lister
family. For nearly six hundred years the name has
been known amongst the landowners of this district.
There are few families now resident in Craven which
can boast of such a long list of ancestors descending in
the male line and remaining in the same parish, and
finally obtaining one of the few peerages which have
been bestowed on Craven men. The first of this name
of whom we have any record was Sir Thomas Lister,
whose son John married Isabel, daughter and heiress of
John de Bolton, Bowbearer of Bolland, in the year
1312. Through this marriage he became possessed of
lands on the borders of the Ribble. From this Sir
Thomas Lister the subject of this memoir was the
eighteenth in lineal descent. On the female side the
[180]
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THOMAS LISTER,
THE FIRST BA110N BIBBLESDALE.
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 181
Listers can claim a much more remote and distinguished
ancestry. For Isabel de Bolton, it is said, was descended
through the illustrious families of Clare, Gant, and
Roumare, from the old Saxon Earls of Mercia, William
de Roumare, one of the great Norman Barons, having
after the Conquest married Lucy, sister and heiress of
Edwin, the last Earl, and thereby possessing, as it is
quoted by Sir W. Dugdale in his ' Monasticon, 1 'Craven-
nam et Couplandiam et Allerdale et Cockeram jure
hereditario.' The two most distinguished members of
this family in the seventeenth century were Sir Martin
Lister, the fifth son of Sir W. Lister, of Thornton,
a celebrated Court physician, and his grand-nephew,
Mr. Martin Lister, who attained a high reputation as
a student of natural history and medicine (cf. Collins'
' Peerage, 1 vol. viii., p. 585).
Arnoldsbiggin, a house which stood on an elevated
situation to the south-west of Gisburne, was the original
home of the Listers ; but in the early part of the
seventeenth century the present edifice in Gisburne Park
was erected as a more elegant and commodious resi-
dence. This mansion received several additions in the
eighteenth century, when the oval dining-room was
built by the first Lord Ribblesdale, and decorated by
Mr. Adam, who is said himself to have worked at the
vine stalks, which stand out and away from the frieze,
at the same time that he did his work at Nostell Priory.
Some very handsome ceilings and mural plaster work
in the French style were also placed on the staircase,
entrance-hall, and in the suite of rooms on the east and
south sides of the house at Gisburne.
In August of the year 1648, Oliver Cromwell passed
182 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
a night at this house (cf. ' Life of Lambert, 1 p. 32) when
he was on his way to Preston, where he defeated the
Marquis of Hamilton. The room in which the Protector
slept is still pointed out to visitors. And no doubt he
would meet with a hearty welcome from the inmates of
Gisburne Sir John and Lady (formerly Mrs. Lister,
the widow of Mr. T. Lister) Assheton, as they were
almost neighbours to General Lambert.
The park at Gisburne was for a long time celebrated
for a herd of wild cattle, descendants of the indigenous
breed which once crowded the forests of Lancashire.
This species, being without horns, differs from those
which existed at Lyme, in Cheshire, and at Chillingham
Castle, in Northumberland. They were white, save the
tips of their noses, which were usually red or brown,
and not black, as has been stated by Dr. Whitaker
(cf. Appendix). They are said to have been mis-
chievous, and insidious in approaching the object of
their resentment. The last of the breed was killed in
1859. A head of one of these cattle is preserved in the
ancient kitchen at Gisburne.
Thomas Lister, the first member of this family who
was raised to the peerage, was born at Gisburne on
March 11, 1752. His mother's name was Beatrix,
daughter of Jesop Hulton, Esq., of Hulton Park,
co. Lancaster. She died in 1774. When he was only
nine years of age he had the misfortune to lose his
father, Mr. Thomas Lister, M.P. for Clitheroe. He
was educated at Westminster School, and proceeded to
Oxford at the early age of seventeen. He matriculated
at Brasenose College (May 2, 1769), which has always
been a favourite resort with the gentlemen of Lancashire
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 183
and its borders. What Oxford life was like at the time
when Thomas Lister went to the University has been
graphically related by a well-known writer, who says :
' The undergraduates (in 1770) rose early, but spent
their days in idleness. Practically the Colleges were
without discipline. Tutors gave no lectures. It is
difficult to divine how a studiously disposed youth was
to learn anything. " I should like to read some Greek,"
said John Miller, of Worcester, thirty years later.
" Well, and what do you want to read ?" " Some
Sophocles." " Then come to-morrow morning at nine
o^clock." He went and read 100 lines, but could never
again effect an entrance.
' This state of things was effectually remedied by the
examination statute and by the publication of the Class
List, but neither came into effect until the year 1801.
The dinner-hour was two, and for an hour previous
impatient shouts of " Tonsor ! Tonsor !" were to be
heard from every casement. The study, or inner room,
was reserved for the " powdering." Blue coats, studded
with bright buttons, shorts, and buckles, were the
established costume. A passage from Scripture was
read during dinner, the last lingering trace of the
ancient practice enjoined till yesterday by statute, of
having the Bible read during meals. At eight all
supped on broiled bones and beer. There was not to
be seen till long after a carpet in a single Oxford
Common Room. What need to add that undergraduates
were without carpets ? Every academic of any fashion
resorted to the coffee-house during the afternoon. The
dons frequented some adjoining tavern or coffee-house.
Mr. James Wyatfs premises in the High Street (known
184 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
at that time as " Tom's Coffee-house") were the favourite
resort of seniors and juniors alike. The undergraduates
drank and smoked in the front room below as well as in
the large room overhead, which looks down on the
street. The older men, the choice spirits of the
University, formed themselves into a club, which met
in a small inner apartment on the ground-floor (remem-
bered as the "House of Lords"), where they also
regaled themselves with pipes, beer, and wine.' The
writer goes on to say that the coarseness and low moral
tone which pervaded England was not absent from the
Universities (cf. Burgon's * Lives of Twelve Good Men,'
pp. 5, 6).
In such surroundings the young Craven student
remained until the year 1772, when he was created
M.A., and a year later (July 8, 1773) he took the
degree of D.C.L. As soon as he came of age, on his
return to Craven he entered on his political life. His
uncle, Nathaniel Lister, of Armitage, who since his
brother's death had represented in Parliament the
family borough of Clitheroe, accepted the Chiltern
Hundreds to make room for the young heir, who was,
accordingly, returned to Parliament as one of the
members for Clitheroe. He was returned again in
1774, in 1780, and in 1784. In 1790 he retired. In
the House of Commons he supported the Coalition
Administration, which consisted of the Whig followers
of Fox with the Tories who still clung to Lord North.
It has been said that the course of true love never
did run smooth. The same may be said in many cases
of political life, and so Mr. Lister must have found it.
The borough of Clitheroe returned two members to
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 185
Parliament. It was at that time what was called a
' pocket-borough. 1 The possessions and interest of the
Lister, family in that place were so considerable that
they were able to retain both seats in their own family.
In the year 1780 the two members were Mr. Thomas
Lister, and his brother-in-law, Mr. John Parker, of
Browsholme. It appears from a curious pamphlet in the
British Museum, entitled, ' An Answer to the Apology
for the Conduct of Thomas Lister, Esq., respecting the
Borough of Clitheroe,' 4to., n.d., that the election of
Mr. Parker was the cause of a quarrel in the family.
Mr. Lister's grandfather had married a daughter of
Sir Ralph Assheton, and a Mr. Curzon the other
daughter of the same Sir Ralph. By the marriages of
these co-heiresses the family of Lister had increased
their interest in the borough, and for some time the
two families of Lister and Curzon had divided between
themselves the representation of Clitheroe in the House
of Commons. The election of Mr. John Parker in
1780, with the consent and through the interest of
Mr. Lister, and as his co-member, caused a remonstrance
on the part of the Curzon family, and apparently,
Mr. Lister had to vindicate his connection with, and
his influence in, the borough from the aspersions cast
upon his conduct in supporting Mr. Parker by writing
a statement of the case, and showing that he was quite
at liberty to act as he had done with regard to the
political representation of Clitheroe.
It has been thought well to allude to this little
episode in his career, as the pamphlet mentioned gives
some interesting facts respecting the Listers' connection
with Clitheroe. The author of the apology asserts that
186 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
it can be proved by vouchers that the family had large
estates in the neighbourhood, and lived at Middop,
and Eadisford, which is within a mile of Clitheroe, in
the beginning of the reign of Edward III. By an
inquisition taken in the sixteenth year of Queen
Elizabeth, on the death of Thomas Lister, of Arnolds-
digging, Esquire, it appears that he died possessed of
a considerable estate in the borough itself, and par-
ticularly of six burgages paying each Is. 4d. borough
rent. In an old rental of the family there is a survey
of their estates in Clitheroe, taken in the year 1614,
which specifies each close and messuage, the whole
amounting to 62 customary acres and 3 falls, or
upwards of 100 statute acres, which, considering the
very narrow limits of the borough, exclusive of the
commons, must undoubtedly have been the largest
property within it in the hands of any one family.
The earliest record of the return of members of
Parliament for Clitheroe was in the first year of Queen
Elizabeth (1559). One of the two members then men-
tioned was Mr. Thomas Greenacre. He was succeeded
in the office by his son. His daughter and heiress
married a Mr. Thomas Lister in 1572, and in 1603, a
Martin Lister sat as member for Clitheroe. In 1693
Mr. Christopher Lister was chosen as a member, and
again in 1695, 1698, and in 1700. In the elections of
1710, 1713, and 1715, Mr. Thomas Lister was returned
to Parliament. The pamphlet records also that, from
that time till 1780, some members of the Lister family
had successively sat in Parliament for the borough.
The total number of votes in the constituency was
102, which was made up of 53 joint votes i.e. 9
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 187
on property belonging to the Curzon, and Lister
families 30 separate votes belonging to the Lister
property, and 19 votes belonging to Mr. Curzon
and others. Thus, we learn how powerful was the
influence of the owners of Gisburne at that period.
But the future Baron was no armchair politician.
When the American War broke out in the seventh
decade of the eighteenth century, he recognised the
danger in which this country stood, and he determined
to do what he could to help her in that great crisis.
Accordingly, he fitted out, at his own charges, a hand-
some frigate named the Enchantress, which he placed at
the disposal of the Government for public service.
This ship did good work in those anxious days, and
carried letters of marque. She was eventually pur-
chased by the Admiralty.
Four pictures, by Powell, of this vessel are painted on
the ' round ' of the dining-room at Gisburne, and they
are fitted into four mahogany overdoors of very pure
design by Adam. This public-spirited act on the part
of Mr. T. Lister was much appreciated by the Govern-
ment of that day. But his patriotism was not ex-
hausted. In the year 1779, whilst the American War
was being carried on with small success, England was
threatened with an invasion from the combined fleets of
France and Spain, the two European Powers which had
espoused the cause of America. On June 3, in the
same year, the fleets of these two countries, numbering
sixty-eight ships of the line, set sail for our shores, and
for two or three months menaced the south coasts of
England. Some French frigates anchored in Cawsand
Bay, and captured a few merchant vessels.
188 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Admiral Hardy, who was sent with a much smaller
fleet to oppose this vast armament, pursued it to
the Scilly Islands, and then into the Channel, and had
much difficulty in preventing the enemy from effecting
a landing. Never since the days of the great Armada
had such a mighty squadron threatened the coasts of
England. The news of these dangers stirred the
country to a military activity, and Mr. Thomas Lister,
with many others, resolved that they would help the
Government to the utmost of their power. Defenders
were needed on all sides. Accordingly, Mr. Lister, who
was in London at that time watching the course of
events, wrote to the War Office offering to raise and
equip at his own cost a regiment of light dragoons.
The fallowing letters passed between the author of this
generous offer and the War Office :
4 GEORGE STREET,
' HANOVER SQUARE,
'June 25, 1779.
* Mr. Lister proposes to raise and mount a corps of
Light Dragoons, to consist of a Major Commandant,
3 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, 3 Cornets, an Adjutant,
3 Quartermasters, 12 Sergeants, 12 Corporals, 3 Trum-
peters, 3 Farriers, and 162 Privates. The officers to
receive pay from the date of their commission. The
privates from the time they are attested. The horses
to be subsisted by Government from the day they are
effective. All these in the same manner as other corps
of Light Dragoons in the King's Service. Upon being
disbanded, they will neither desire to be allowed half
pay, nor retain rank in the army, except such as may
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 189
be taken out of the Regular Regiments, or from half
pay. Mr. Lister to appoint his own officers, and
Government to engage that this Corps shall not serve
out of Great Britain.'
To this letter Lord North replied as follows :
* DOWNING STREET,
< 26 June, 1779.
<SiR,
6 1 have it not yet in my power to give you a
direct answer to the very handsome and public spirited
offers you authorise me to send to Lord Amhurst (the
Commander-in-Chief) on Friday, but I take the
liberty of transmitting to you a letter I have just
received from his Lordship upon the subject of it ; and
have the honour to be, Sir, with the greatest respect,
* Your very humble servant,
NORTH.'
The letter referred to is given below :
' Lord Amhurst presents his compliments to Lord
North. He has received his Lordship's letter enclosing
Mr. Lister's proposals for raising Light Dragoons ; he
has also received His Lordship's note enclosing several
applications for raising Corps. Lord Amhurst will give
answer to the last mentioned, as they are none of them
within the rules which are observed. In regard to
Mr. Lister's proposal, tho' the King has not approved
of any Regiment of Dragoons or Hussars being raised
from the Proposals which have been laid before His
190 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Majesty, Mr. Lister's Proposal is so Public spirited, so
void of any pecuniary profit, and without any stipula-
tion of Rank or Half Pay hereafter, that Lord Amhurst
will certainly show all the attention he can to so good
a friend to the Public by laying before the King on the
first occasion the Particulars of the Proposal, and will
have the honour of acquainting Lord North with His
Majesty's Pleasure therein.'
On July 3, 1779, Mr. Lister received a further com-
munication from the Prime Minister :
' Lord North presents his compliments to Mr. Lister,
and as Lord Amhurst is in the Country upon Particular
Business, Lord North takes the liberty of informing
Mr. Lister that His Majesty has approved of his pro-
posal for raising a Corps of Light Dragoons, and if
Mr. Lister will take the trouble of calling on Mr.
Morse, Lord Amhurst's Secretary, he will give him every
Assistance and information he can wish to receive
upon the matter. Mr. Morse is to be found at Lord
Amhurst's, or at his house, next door to Lord North's,
in Downing Street.'
Mr. Lister also received a letter from the Commander-
in-Chief of the same date, and to the same effect. The
following letter from the Secretary of the War Office
ought not to be omitted :
' Mr. Jenkinson (afterwards first Earl of Liverpool)
presents his compliments to Mr. Lister, and acquaints
him that he mentioned to the King his wishes that the
Facings of the Corps might be blue, and that it might
be called "Royal," but he found that this wish of
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 191
Mr. Lister's could not be complied with. These dis-
tinctions have sometimes been given to Corps raised by
cities or Corporate bodies, but never to Corps raised by
Individuals, unless there is some special reason for it.
Mr. Jenkinson thinks that the name and Facings Mr.
Lister has chosen are very proper ones/
[Copy of Beating Orders.]
' GEORGE R. Whereas we have thought fit to order a
Corps of Light Dragoons to be forthwith raised under
your command which is to consist of 3 Troops with
four Sergeants, Four Corporals, One Trumpeter, One
Hautbois, and 54 Private men and Horses in each
Troop (besides the usual number of non-commissioned
officers), which men are not to be sent out of Great
Britain. These are to authorize you, by Beat of Drum
or otherwise, to raise so many men in any County or
part of our kingdom of Great Britain as shall be
wanted to complete the said Corps to the number
(207 in all) above mentioned. And all Magistrates,
Justices of the Peace, Constables, and other Civil
Officers whom it may concern, are hereby required to be
assisting with you in providing Quarters, impressing
Carriages and otherwise as there shall be occasion.
' Given at Our Court at St. James' the 10 th day of
July, 1779, in the 19 th year of Our Reign. By His
Majesty's command,
'C. JENKINSON.
'To T. and W d Thomas Lister, Esqre, Major Com d
of a Corps of Light Dragoons to be forthwith raised,
or to the officer appointed by Him to raise men for the
said Corps.'
192 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
From other letters it appears that 5 feet 4 inches
was the minimum height allowed in the regiment, and
from eighteen years to forty years was the limit for
age. Mr. Lister's appeal for recruits in Craven met
with such a ready response that by August 6 the troops
were complete. But there was some delay in getting
the arms, clothing, and accoutrements from London.
Consequently, when the order came for the troops to
march to Exeter, many of them had to start without
their saddles and carbines. They journeyed under the
command of Major Lister, on September 10, by Burnley,
Rochdale, Stockport, Leek, Stafford, Wolverhampton,
and Worcester. The two other troops took a slightly
different route, under the command of Captain Sir John
Ramsden, and Captain Wrightson ; but shortly after
they left Lancashire their destination was changed, and
they were directed to proceed to Salisbury, at which
place they arrived on September 26. Here the troops
did not remain for many days, for orders came from
headquarters that they should now march to Exeter by
way of Blandford, Dorchester, Bridport, and Axmouth.
After their arrival at Exeter they were ordered to assist
in recruiting for His Majesty's service in Devonshire.
The difficulty of getting sufficient men for the Navy
is evidenced by this extract from an order given to
Major Lister by the War Office in July, 1780 :
' The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having
represented to me that there are no means at present of
enforcing the Press at Dartmouth and the neighbour-
hood thereof without some further strength in addition
to what their Lordships can furnish for that purpose,
and they have requested that, in order to complete the
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 193
complement of several of His Majesty's ships, which
want only men to enable them to put to sea at this
critical juncture, the military may be directed to aid
the officers and men of His Majesty's Fleet employed in
the Impress service.'
We can well understand how important it was that
the fleet should be efficient. Six months before this
time Sir C. Hardy, the English Admiral, who had been
sent to oppose the combined fleets of France and Spain,
had only thirty-eight vessels. At the end of August he
anchored off Spithead, and was prepared to give the
allies battle, in spite of their superiority in numbers.
Large masses of soldiers and volunteers were collected
on the coast, where it was expected that the enemy
might land. The excitement in England was intense.
But the foreigners, seeing that the English were so well
prepared to meet them by land and by sea, hesitated to
give battle. They quarrelled amongst themselves. The
Spaniards were in favour of landing, but the French
held back. Finally they separated, and returned to
their own coasts without having effected their purpose.
The immediate danger was passed when Major Lister
and his troops reached the South, but there was much
to be done in providing against any future contingency,
and one urgent need was an increase of men for the
navy. So the Yorkshire Regiment visited several
places in Devonshire and Cornwall, being quartered
successively at Totnes, Tavistock, Dartmouth, and
Launceston, and on one occasion they were ordered to
quell a riot which had broken out at Dartmouth, and
which was probably caused by the severe measures used
by the press gang. On another occasion we read of
13
194 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
their being in charge of some Dutch prisoners on
their way to Bristol. The Craven Light Dragoons con-
ducted 197 of them from Mill Prison to Ashburton.
Although the fleets of the enemy had disappeared
from our coasts, an order, given on March 24, 1781,
shows that the scare and the fear of invasion had not
died away. Major -General Grey, commanding the
troops in the West of England, sends instructions to
the Yorkshire Regiment with the purpose of teaching
them how to act in the event of an invasion : ( in case
an enemy comes in such force as the Troops immediately
opposed to them cannot prevent their making a landing
good, that the most may be made of the tract of
country entrusted to their care by making an impression
on the enemy on every possible opportunity, constantly
hanging upon them, keeping them in alarm, defending
every post, throwing every possible obstruction and
impediment in their way, by breaking up walls, cutting
down trees, and driving of horses, carriages, and all other
cattle, protracting time by delay as much as possible,
but not to hazard too much or anything decisive till
reinforced and orders arrive from the General com-
manding the districts, when it is not doubted that the
enemy will have reason to repent their rash attempt.'
The regimental book from which this extract is taken
ceases to give any information after August, 1781.
Accordingly, we are unable to say at what date the
troops were disbanded, or in what work they were
subsequently engaged. In order to give the reader a
specimen of Mr. Lister's epistolary style, we insert here
a letter which he wrote to the Commander-in-Chief
with reference to his regiment in June, 1780 :
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 195
' MY LORD,
' Not having the honour of meeting your Lord-
ship at home, I take the liberty to enclose a letter
which I have just received from Lieutenant Lowther,
wherein he expresses a desire to resign the commission.
His Majesty has often been graciously pleased to listen
to my recommendation of officers that I fear your Lord-
ship will think me presumptive in requesting you to
lay before the King the names of two officers in the
Corps which, from their zeal and attention to the Duties
of their station, I can with great truth declare to be
worthy of Promotion. The first is the oldest Cornet,
Mr. Christopher Clapham, whom I could much wish
might succeed to the Lieutenancy. The other is the
Adjutant, Mr. Thomas Robinson, whose steady conduct
and indefatigable exertions in the discipline of the
Corps deserve every commendation that I can give
them. Mr. Robinson is at present Adjutant and
Quarter Master, and should His Majesty be pleased to
promote him to a Cornetcy, a very useful man might
be obtained from one of the long-established Regiments
of Light Dragoons for Quarter Master. I need not
repeat my assurances that from the origin of this Corps
there has been no money transaction, nor has a single
officer been subjected to any expense whatever save the
Captains, who voluntarily and very generously bore the
expense of one Troop between them.
4 1 have the honour to be, My Lord, with the greatest
esteem and respect,
' Your Lordship's very H ble servant,
C T. LISTER.
4 To LORD AMHURST."
196 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
In the year 1794 the Squire of Gisburne raised three
troops of Yeomanry designated by the title of the
Yorkshire * West Riding Cavalry.' This regiment was
disbanded in 1799. In the same year Major Lister
served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire, and in 1797 his
generosity and public spirit received a well-merited
recognition from the hands of his Sovereign. He was
offered a barony, which he gratefully accepted, with
the title of Baron Ribblesdale of Gisburne Park.
In 1804, when England was liable to an invasion
from the victorious armies of Napoleon Buonaparte,
Lord Ribblesdale raised another force for the protec-
tion of his country, consisting of cavalry and infantry,
known as the 'Craven Legion.' His lordship was
appointed Colonel of the Legion, an appointment
which he held until his death. The colours of the
Legion, after they had been consecrated at Skipton on
February 17, 1804, by the Rev. Josias Dawson, Senior
Chaplain to the Legion, and Domestic Chaplain to
Lord Ribblesdale, were presented to the Legion by
Lady Ribblesdale, who on this occasion made the
following address :
'Altho', my most Honoured Lord and Gentlemen,
it is with the utmost diffidence, yet I feel the highest
Gratification in presenting this distinguished Legion
with their colours. In more virtuous, more loyal and
truly patriotic Hands they cannot be lodged. May
your noble resolution to defend them be propitious,
and may the Almighty aid and support you in the
awful hour of Peril, and vouchsafe to crown your
glorious cause with victory. Permit me only to add
that the Hearts of your dearest Relatives overflow with
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 197
Gratitude for your generous Protection, from your
wives and children an Eternal Affection.'
To this Lord Ribblesdale replied as follows :
' I may venture in the name of the Craven Legion to
return your Ladyship their sincerest thanks for the
kind and generous Sentiments you entertain of them.
That good opinion I am certain will on their part
never be forfeited. These sacred Banners, my gallant
Comrades, which have just been presented to you by
one of the best of Women, will recall to our Memories,
whenever or wherever they are displayed, our Wives, our
Children, our Parents, our dearest connections whom
you have so nobly stept forward to defend ; but above
all they will remind us of the duties we owe to our dear
country in the Protection of our virtuous Monarch, our
incomparable laws, our invaluable Constitution, our
pure religion, with all the comforts and enjoyments of
social and domestic life. We prostrate ourselves before
the altar of this revered country, determined never to
abandon it but with our Existence. If we survive the
Conflict with our ferocious Enemies, we shall joyfully
return Home to those we most love and admire ; but if
it is the will of the Almighty that some of us should
fall, we shall fall covered with the Gratitude and the
Blessings of this and all succeeding generations of
Englishmen. Let the motto of " God and our Country""
reign in our hearts as it waves over our Heads ! And
may Conquest, Honor, and Renown, attend the Craven
Legion wherever its destiny may lead it. 1
The scarce pamphlet which gives these speeches con-
tains also the form of the consecration of the colours
(cf. Appendix). The officers of the legion, to mark
198 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
their appreciation of their Colonel's kind services, pre-
sented him with a very handsome silver tray, richly
embossed with an exquisite pattern on the margin.
The tray bears this inscription : ' In grateful acknow-
ledgment to his most kind and generous comrades, their
Colonel, Lord Ribblesdale, dedicates this plate. 1 It
contains the names of the officers of the cavalry and
infantry regiments, which are printed at the end of this
memoir.
After the restoration of peace his lordship spent
his days in retirement at Gisburne, amusing himself
with country pastimes and by improving his large
estates. He planted a vast number of trees in the
valley of the Ribble. Dr. Whitaker says 1,200,000 oak
trees and an uncounted number of other trees, and he
adds : ' I know not a more patriotic work, nor one
which could better entitle its author to the barony of a
valley so adorned and improved. 1
In those days the family estates were very extensive,
and it was the first Lord Ribblesdale's ambition that he
might be able to ride from Pendle Hill to Malham
Tarn (where he had a shooting-box) on his own land.
To accomplish this he added to his estate from time to
time by buying up several parcels of land. His lord-
ship kept a commonplace book from year to year on
his forestry and farming operations, in which his
appreciations were entered with point, originality, and
pains. Unluckily, this manuscript book with the diary,
which he kept when he went on his travels in France and
Italy, were burnt in a destructive fire which occurred
in the present Lord Ribblesdale's house in Manchester
Square some years ago. This is much to be regretted,
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 199
as the books would doubtless have thrown considerable
light upon the state of agriculture in Craven at that
period, and upon the conditions of travel and society in
those countries through which his lordship passed at a
time when they were not so well known or accessible as
they are at the present day.
In the obituary notice which appeared in the
Gentleman \s Magazine, it is said that his lordship's
opinions were upon all questions truly in accordance
with the principles of the Constitution as settled in
1688. He was a patron of the fine arts, and possessed
a collection of pictures at Gisburne Park consisting of
oil-paintings by the best-known foreign artists, which
he purchased and brought to England when he made
the ' grand tour ' in Europe, including a Van de Laer,
6 Trajan's Pillar at Rome' ; two views of Venice, ' The
Grand Canal ' and ' S. Mark's,' by Canaletto ; ' A Por-
trait of a Muscovite,' by Rembrandt; 'Virgin and
Child,' by Raphael ; ' St. Sebastian,' by Guido ; a pair
of landscapes by Domenichino ; ' Ferdinand, Infant of
Spain,' by Vandyke ; and many others.
The present Lord Ribblesdale, to whose kindness and
courtesy I am indebted for placing at my disposal
various sources of information, informs me that
Mr. James Ward, R.A., was a friend of the first Lord,
and often stayed with the family at Gisburne. At the
request of his patron, he painted on a very large canvas
4 Gordale Scar,' with the white cattle, fallow deer, goats,
and sheep in the foreground. ' The picture,' says Lord
Ribblesdale, 'is of too heroic a size for any ordinary
room or house, and I believe the first Lord intended to
present it to the National Gallery. When finished it
200 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
was sent to London with the canvas rolled up, and was
deposited at the British Museum for safety. There it
appears to have been mislaid, and after many years it
was returned to Gisburne by Lord John Russell, then
Prime Minister, during my father's minority. The
Gallery Trustees purchased it from me about the year
1879, and it is now hanging on the main staircase. 1
There are two or three water-colour sketches of
terriers, done by James Ward, at Gisburne still,
evidently the house-dogs of that time, and two very
nice little oil-pictures, ' Winter ' and 'Summer,' signed
and dated. His lordship adds : ' I think there is little
doubt that the original sign of the White Bull was
painted by "Old Ward," but successive signboard
artists have left their several identities upon the first
presentment of the great artist.'
Lord Ribblesdale also encouraged local literary talent.
He assisted Mr. T. Hartley in bringing out his interest-
ing volume on the ' Natural Curiosities of Malham,' and
the work is dedicated to his lordship.
He married in 1789, at the Hotel de Ville at Fon-
tainbleau, in France, and again on November 7, 1789,
at St. James's Church, Westminster, Rebecca, daughter
and co-heiress of Joseph Fielding Esq., of Ireland, by
Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Jackson, of the
county of Nottingham. By this marriage his lordship
had one son, Thomas, who succeeded him, and two
daughters, Catherine and Rebecca Adelaide. A portrait
of the first Lord as a boy was painted by Sir Joshua
Reynolds. Another portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence
is reproduced at the beginning of this memoir. He
died at Gisburne on September 22, 1826, in the seventy-
THE FIRST BARON RTBBLESDALE 201
fourth year of his age. His funeral is thus described
in the journal of that day: 'The remains of this
amiable and lamented nobleman were on Saturday, the
30th of September, deposited in the family vault in the
Church at Gisburne. It was the particular desire of
the late Lord that his funeral should be as private as
possible, and that his corpse should be carried on foot
by his own tenants from the house to the Church.
This, owing to the long distance through the Park, and
the great weight of the coffin, was a matter of some
difficulty, and the tenants relieved each other by relays
of ten each. A large concourse of people were as-
sembled, who by their tears and respectful demeanour
demonstrated the feelings of affection they entertained
toward the deceased nobleman, who had been to them
during a long period a kind and liberal landlord, and
a friendly and unassuming neighbour. The mourners
were : His son, the present Lord, and his daughter, the
Hon ble Mrs. Parker, and the Rev. J. Parker ; Thomas
Lister,* Esq., of Armitage Park ; and Thomas Lister
Parker, Esq., of Browsholme, who appeared deeply
affected by the loss they have sustained.'
In conclusion, it is the hope of the writer of these
pages that England may never again be surrounded by
such a series of dangers and difficulties as those which
beset her in the closing years of the eighteenth century,
when Lord Ribblesdale offered his services and his
substance to his country. But if history should repeat
itself, and we should once more be threatened with
invasion, he prays that there may never be wanting
* T. H. Lister, the author of ' Granby' and other once popular
novels, was a member of the Armitage Park branch of the family.
202 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
a supply of men ready to come forward in their
country's defence, and eager to sacrifice their wealth and
ease with a liberality and devotion equal to that which
distinguished the first Baron of the beautiful valley of
the Ribble.
APPENDIX
The names of the officers of the * Craven Legion," 1 as
inscribed on Lord Ribblesdale's silver tray :
CAVALRY.
Lieut. -Colonel Rich. Wainman, Major John Ingleby.
Captains.
John Cockshot, Rich. Greenwood, John Dyneley,
John Geldard, William Tindal.
Lieutenants.
Will. Buck, Henry Wilkinson, John Heelis, W. Tipping,
Thos. Cowper.
Cornets.
Stephen Johnson, Thos. Parkinson, Thos. Browne,
Will. Foster, Anthony Stackhouse.
Chaplain.
Josias Dawson, A.M.
Surgeon.
Thos. Cowper.
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 203
INFANTRY.
Lieut. -Colonels Thos. Garforth, Richard Heber.
Majors.
William Birtwhistle, Charles Ingleby.
Captains.
Thos. Peel, Lister Ellis, Robinson Chippendale, John
Carr, Will. Ellis, Henry Owen Cunliffe, Abraham
Chamberlayne, Rob. Willis, John Armitstead, Josias
Robinson, Rich. Carr, Thos. Cockshot.
Lieutenants.
Rob. Tipping, John Moffat, Samuel Westerman, Thos.
Clayton, John Craven, Joseph Cooper, Rob. Hodgson,
Robert Redmayne, Will. Hargreaves, Rob. Benson,
Thos. Delafaire, John Nightingale, Chas. Tindal, George
Baynes, Thos. Newton, John Spencer, Christ. Johnson,
Thos. Moorhouse.
Ensigns.
Thos. Spencer, Thos. Baynes, Christ. Lancaster,
I. O. Overend, Thos. D. Heaton.
Lieutenant and Adjutant.
David Hewit.
Chaplam.
Robert Dyneley.
Surgeon.
Christopher Simpson.
Quarter Master.
Thos. Dawson.
204 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
' Form of Consecration of the Colours of the Craven
Legion at Skipton, February 17, 1804. By the Rev.
Josias Dawson, A.B., Senior Chaplain to the Legion
and Domestic Chaplain to the Right Hon ble Thomas
Lord Ribblesdale. Colne : printed by Earnshaw.' I am
indebted to Mr. T. Brayshaw for the loan of the
pamphlet containing the ' Form. 1
Divine Services used on this Occasion.
' The humble emblems, designated as the Standards
of honourable, patriotic & Religious Valour, and thus in
great Humility submitted in Thy Divine Presence, deign,
Almighty Father, graciously to accept and sanctify.
Deeply conscious of our own personal Frailties and of
the utter Imbecility of all human Prowess without Thy
Aid, O God, yet engaged, we trust, in the virtuous
Defence of everything that can be deemed just and
sacred among Men, permit us Supreme Protector ! to
flee with devout Solicitude for succour and support
under the Shadow of Thine Omnipervading Wings.
Defend, then, Lord of all Power and Might, these
hallowed Banners with Thine Omnipotent Protection,
and us Thy Servants with Thy heavenly Grace, and
grant that we may continue Thine for ever, and daily
increase in Thy Holy Spirit more and more, until we
come to Thine Everlasting Kingdom. Thro" Jesus
Christ our Saviour.
'May the Almighty Lord, who is a most strong
Tower to all who put their trust in Him, to whom all
things in Heaven, in Earth, and under the Earth do
bow and obey ; be now and evermore our Defence, and
make us to know and feel that there is none other Name
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 205
under Heaven given unto Men, in whom and thro'
whom they may receive health and salvation, but only
the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1
(Benediction by the Rev. Robert Dyneley, A.E.^ Chaplain
of Infantry.}
( Unto God's gracious Mercy and Protection we
therefore commit you. The Lord make His face to
shine upon you, and be gracious unto you ; the Lord
lift up the light of His Countenance upon you, and
give you Grace and Security now and for ever. Amen.'
WILD CATTLE OF GISBUENE PARK.
(Extract from Rev. J. Storeys < Wild White Cattle of
Great Britain,' p. 287.)
'I give first the information I received from the
present Lord Ribblesdale, who succeeded to the remains
of this herd in 1832, as a minor not 5 years old, and
who reaped the consequences of the neglect and in-
difference with which it had been previously treated.
His Lordship says, in a letter to me dated January 29,
1874: "The cattle that used to be here have been
extinct about 15 years. I could not keep them on any
longer ; they got delicate from breeding in and in, and
always bred bulls at last. They were, I believe, the
inhabitants of the forests of this part of the county "
(p. 292). From the evidence, we may, I think, fairly
draw the following conclusions as regards origin : That
the Gisburne Park cattle came first from Whalley
Abbey, and were most likely obtained from the
Asshetons, the two intermarriages of the family
206 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
through both of which the Listers obtained property
rendering it certain that they had every opportunity of
obtaining some of the wild cattle from the same source.
That they did so is confirmed by tradition, and still
more by the circumstance that both herds were of the
same variety. As regards colour, it seems quite certain,
from Bewick, Whitaker, and the first Lord Ribblesdale,
that from 70 to 80 or 90 years since these cattle were
red or brown-eared, and it appears that some of them
were so when Mr. Potter saw them in 1836. Their noses
Dr. Whitaker describes as black, and very possibly he
saw some of that colour ; but generally they were at the
above time red, brown, flesh-coloured, and so some of
them must have been, according to Mr. Staniforth's
account, at a much later period. Finally, by selection
these colours were extirpated : ears, muzzles, even hoofs,
were white, and they entered the Manchester Museum
as the " White Variety." They had anciently, according
to Bewick, more tendency to white than most other
wild herds, and that colour being cultivated finally
prevailed. As regards wildness, they were more
ferocious formerly than at last ; but even to the end
they were very pugnacious towards one another. As
regards size, there is abundant evidence to show that
they were a large, fine breed of cattle, fair milkers, and
of good quality ; even in their very last days, when
they had much degenerated and deteriorated, there is
clear enough evidence to show that they were as large
as ordinary shorthorns. P. 293 he says : " The great
cause of their extinction long-continued interbreeding
has been clearly shown ; they were ' bred out. 1 And
the evil must have been much intensified, and its opera-
THE FIRST BARON RIBBLESDALE 207
tion quickened, by the small number of the herd ; for
many years they must have been bred from close
relationships. Once in the time of the late Lord
Ribblesdale, who died in 1832, an exchange was pro-
posed through a mutual friend, Mr. Spencer Stanhope,
of Cannon Hall, Yorkshire, by Edward, third Lord
Suffield, of Gunton Hall, Norfolk, whose grandfather
had inherited and removed to Norfolk the Middleton
herd. The negotiation was carried on for some time,
and turned upon the question whether ' black or red
noses had been the fashion at Gunton,' thus clearly
showing that the latter colour was not then considered
alien to the Gisburne cattle. As the Gunton cattle
had, however, black muzzles, Lord Ribblesdale would
have none of them, and so lost for ever the chance of
perpetuating the herd. In one of his letters his lord-
ship mentions a curious fact. He says : ' I have two
bulls, I think the handsomest I ever remember of the
kind.' Such is one of the singular effects of long-
continued in-and-in breeding when verging to its close ;
it occasionally perfects the single animal, but annihilates
the race." '
In the copy of Whi taker at Gisburne is the follow-
ing note in the first lord's handwriting : ' The ears and
noses of this species of cattle are never black, but most
usually red or brown.'
THOMAS LINDLEY
' He turn'd
For a life's stay,, though slender yet assured,
To this remote and humble chapelry. '
THE poet Wordsworth, in his ' Duddon Sonnets '
and in the 'Excursion, 1 has immortalized the simple
pastor of Seathwaite, who was well known in the
eighteenth century as the ' Wonderful Walker. 1 And
Canon Parkinson has added considerably to our know-
ledge of this remarkable man by his publication of the
' Old Church Clock,' one of the most charming books
in the English language, which gives us all that can
now be known about the life and labours of Richard
Walker. Now, the life of Thomas Lindley of Halton
Gill in many respects resembles that of the Lake clergy-
man. We have had our ' Wonderful, 1 although most
of us have been unaware that the same life of almost
Apostolic simplicity has been passed in our own
district. The ministry of Richard Walker extended
over a period of sixty-seven years (1735-1802), and that
of Thomas Lindley from 1777 to 1847, a period of
seventy years. The life of the latter, as has been said,
was a reproduction but of course unconsciously, as
they were unknown to each other of the life of the
[ 208 ]
THOMAS LINDLEY 209
former in almost every particular, with one important
exception the curate of Halton Gill was never married ;
so that if we are astonished at the liveliness of mind
and the skill and ability displayed by Walker in
his numerous avocations, we must remember that he
enjoyed the care and comfort of a good wife and a
healthy family to stimulate and cheer him in his remote
home. But with the ' wonderful ' pastor of Halton
Gill, it was far otherwise. No wife, or even relative,
shared his rural seclusion amid the fastnesses of Upper
Wharfedale. His life of ninety-four years was almost
that of a hermit. The Lake clergyman had his roomy
cottage, but Mr. Lindley lived in his priest's chambers
under the same roof as the little chapel. The whole
area of the building, which stands at the west end of
the chapel, was only about 17 square feet, and here
there was certainly no room for wife or family. He was
a man of very humble origin, and was appointed to the
curacy of Halton Gill on the death of Mr. Wilson, the
father of Canon Wilson, whose life has been described.
He was born at Hipperholme, or Coley, near Halifax, in
the year 1753, and was educated at one of the Grammar
Schools in that district, and, being an apt scholar, he
was ordained deacon, October 27, 1776, by Archbishop
Drummond, and priest, July 27, 1777, by Archbishop
Markham, at Bishopthorpe. His license to Halton
Gill bears the same date.
It was the custom in those days for the Bishops to
ordain from the Grammar Schools young men of ability
and good character, who, after receiving their education
at the school, continued their connection there as
ushers until they reached the canonical age for ordina-
14
210 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
tion. It was in this way that both Walker and
Lindley obtained Holy Orders. Such candidates for
the ministry were usually sent to the smaller curacies
and benefices in the North of England, and they did
good work in their time as schoolmasters and clergy-
men.
There is a tradition that when Mr. Lindley had been
appointed to the curacy, but had not yet come to reside
in the parish, he was accustomed to walk from his native
place to his curacy at the end of the week, and to return
also on foot after the Sunday service had been per-
formed. But this arrangement continued for only a
few weeks, for he soon took up his abode in the humble
apartments, consisting of one room on the ground-floor
and two small bedrooms above, which had been built
for the minister in the seventeenth century, and which
have since Mr. Lindley's time been converted into a
schoolroom for the township.
In this secluded spot, he spent the long years of his
ministry, undisturbed by those great troubles which
threw most of the countries of Europe into convulsions,
and taxed the resources of our own to the utmost.
Here there was no risk of invasion. The curate of
Halton Gill could say with Horace: 'Beatus ille qui
procul negotiis,' etc. And yet we know that this
district joined in the general outburst of joy and
thanksgiving which marked the proclamation of peace
in 1813, for one noted dalesman, who died only a few
years ago, told the writer that he could remember how
Mr. Lindley presided at a dinner which was served in
the little green court lying on the south side of the
chapel, to commemorate this great event.
THOMAS LINDLEY 211
Although it was not an age of daily newspapers or
monthly periodicals, yet the pastor of Halton Gill seems
to have taken a great interest in the political contests
of his county. For we have it on good authority that
during the contest between Lord Milton and Mr.
Lascelles in 1807 (when the poll was kept open for
fourteen days, and most of the inns and hotels kept
open house at the expense of one or other of the candi-
dates), he rode to York to record his vote in favour of
Mr. Lascelles, and was in danger of being roughly
handled on his return homewards at Otley, where he was
assailed with sods by the mob, who cried, 'He's a
parson and a blue ; let's kill him !'
In addition to his duties as priest of the township,
Mr. Lindley performed those of schoolmaster, an office
with a very small endowment which was then united to
the curacy; and from the year 1807, till his death, he
held the curacy of Hubberholme, another chapelry in
the parish of Arncliffe.
To perform the ecclesiastical duties of this chapelry
from Halton Gill was no easy task, for each visit to the
district involved a climb over the Hawes, or Horse's
Head, a hill which rises to the height of 800 or 900
feet above the village. This journey he performed
every week, or at least every fortnight. He was then
protected by a woollen covering for the legs and thighs,
called ' cockers.' And so assiduous was he in the dis-
charge of this portion of his duties that, after crossing
the hills on a very wild day, he was thus accosted by a
Hubberholme woman : * Mr. Lindley, why do you fash
yourself to cum on such a day as this ?' He answered :
' Duty must be done.'
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
In his old age Mr. Lindley usually rode up the hill
on a white pony, from which he dismounted on arriving
at the top, and, sending the pony back by his servant
to Halton Gill, he walked down into Langstrothdale.
His visits into this dale were continued until his
eightieth year. He took a funeral at Hubberholme for
the last time in 1833. From this date until his death
the chapelry of Hubberholme was in charge of Mr.
Metcalfe as stipendiary curate, who was afterwards
appointed to the incumbency by Mr. Boyd.
A quaint story is told concerning him which may
well be repeated here. Mr. Metcalfe was fond of going
into the woods and pastures with his gun in search of
rabbits, but he was rather a poor shot. Once one of
his parishioners met him, and said: 'Well, Mr. Metcalfe,
then you have been killing rabbits this morning ?' ' No,'
he answered, ' killing time P
A short description of the township in which Mr.
Lindley passed his long life shall now be given. Who
that has approached Halton Gill from the hills which
shut it out from Ribblesdale could ever forget the scene
as the little hamlet bursts into view ? Opposite to the
traveller as he descends from the slopes of Penyghent
are the high range of hills the Horse's Head, the
Hag, etc. which form the backbone of the Craven
portion of the Pennine range. The deep and dry beds
of ancient water-courses furrow the hills and break the
monotony of the dull-brown mountain sides ; under one
of them, lying snugly and facing south, is the little
hamlet, 1,000 feet above sea-level, consisting of seven
or eight well-built farmhouses. The whole area of the
township is no less than 7,000 to 8,000 acres, chiefly of
THOMAS LINDLEY 213
moorland, with the hamlet of Foxhope and a few out-
lying farmhouses. It has been well described as the
township of the three hills, three gills, and three rills,
as within its borders are situated the hills of Peny-
ghent, Cosh Knott, and Fountain's Fell, with the
ravines and becks which lie between and separate them
from each other. In the eighteenth century it had a
population of about 150. The census in 1811 gives
141 (seventy-seven males and sixty-four females), living
in twenty-three houses. Now there are but fifteen
houses with seventy inhabitants, and in Mr. Lindley's
days the township had not been deserted by the
principal landowners, as is now the case. Then the
Dawsons of Halton Gill, and the Fosters of Nether
Hesleden were resident.
The decrease of population is mainly owing to the
same causes which have been at work in the depopulation
of so many of our villages and hamlets the invention
of machinery, the use of steam and electric power, and
the consequent rise of our large towns. Accordingly,
the hand spinning-loom is no longer heard in our sweet
villages, ' making the cottages murmur through the
silent hours as with the sound of summer flies." 1 Now
the young workers who cannot find employment on the
farms have to seek for it in the various trades and
manufactures of the neighbouring towns. But before
the present century has expired things may change, as
there is enough latent electric power in the water-
courses of Upper Wharfedale to light the whole of
Yorkshire, and to keep in motion all the machinery of
the West Riding.
And as in the latter years of Mr. Lindley's ministry
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the population became thinner, so the Church life of
the township became colder and more feeble. The
chapel was not heated in the winter months; con-
sequently in the severe weather (and at 1,000 feet
above the sea the snow often lies for one or two months
with a depth of 6 or 9 inches) the congregation was
very scanty, and occasionally Divine service was not
performed owing to the lack of worshippers. It is
said that once when the aged pastor entered the
chapel, being somewhat disappointed at seeing only
about half a dozen of the members of his flock in
attendance, he was heard counting them as he passed
up the aisle, saying, 'One, two, three,"* etc., and he
added : ' The more to pray for I 1
The following quaint anecdotes illustrating his
character may be given here.
One Sunday afternoon the congregation if it may
be so called consisted only of a servant girl from a
neighbouring farm. Mr. Lindley said the prayers as
usual, but when the time came for the sermon, he rose
from his knees and said to the girl : ' I have a sermon,
but it will not do for you.' Her curiosity was naturally
excited, and she became at that time a regular
attendant at the chapel services, with the anticipation
of some day hearing the discourse. After a few
Sundays the congregation grew larger, and the long-
looked-for sermon was preached ; and then it was found
to be a charity sermon !
At some particular period in his life Mr. Lindley
was involved in a lawsuit with a landowner. He had
ridden over to Settle (ten miles) on horseback to look
after the affair. The case went against him. He then
THOMAS LINDLEY 215
commenced to walk home rapidly, absorbed in his own
reflections. After proceeding about three miles, he
suddenly stopped, and, looking at his boots, exclaimed :
' Spurs ! spurs ! Then I must have had a horse. 1 Where-
upon he turned back and remounted his steed. The
landowner with whom he had this dispute was a lady.
So when he reached Halton Gill, and was accosted
by his parishioners, who wished to know the verdict,
the only information they could gain from him was
expressed in the words, ' Jinny banged the weaver. 1
I have been told that when he was engaged in teach-
ing, and was sometimes a little irritated at having to
reiterate the pronunciation of some word to a dilatory
pupil, on such an occasion he would raise his eyes
from the page, and say : ' Call it Cappadocia, and
go on.'
Although he had not received a University education,
he was a man of some learning. This will be readily
granted when it is mentioned that amongst his books
which were dispersed after his decease there was a copy
of 'Josephus 1 in the original Greek, and a Hebrew
lexicon, with other works of a learned character. In a
sermon preached early in the nineteenth century in aid
of the National Society, the old clergyman advocates,
long before the age of Education Acts and Board
Schools, a universal system of education. He increased
his narrow income by taking young men as pupils who
lodged in the village. He also kept the accounts of
the township, and, like the 'Wonderful Walker, 1 was
able to make himself useful in various occupations. He
was very abstemious, and in the early years of his
residence at Halton Gill he lived quite alone, without
216 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
a servant of any kind in the house. In stature he was
short, and in his latter years was rather corpulent.
He was a good pedestrian, but he seldom entered the
houses of his parishioners unless he was asked to make
a parochial visit. It is not known that he ever took a
holiday. His chief recreation was coming down to
Arncliffe on Saturday afternoons to visit the curate
who resided there, in order that he might read his
weekly newspaper. His manner of life and conduct
were most exemplary no small praise when we bear in
mind that he lived in an age which was not noted for
the strictness of its morality, and when drunkenness
was thought to be no great disgrace even among the
clergy. And so amid such surroundings, he was called
away at the advanced age of ninety-four years. His
life and character are well depicted in those beautiful
lines of the poet of the Lakeland in the sixth book of
the ' Excursion.' For the curate of Halton Gill was
one of those ministers
' Detached from pleasure, to the love of gain
Superior, insusceptible of pride,
And by ambitious longings undisturb'd ;
Men, whose delight is where their duty leads
Or fixes them ; whose least distinguished day
Shines with some portion of that heavenly lustre
Which makes the sabbath lovely in the sight
Of blessed angels, pitying human cares.'
His body rests from its labours under a handsome
monumental slab at the east end of the churchyard at
Arncliffe, and a brass has been placed in the chancel of
the church by the Venerable Archdeacon Boyd, which
bears this inscription :
THOMAS LINDLEY 217
<S.M. Thomae Lindley de Halton Gill annos LXX
presb : Vir eruditus vita moribusque simplex prae ceteris
longgevus. Obiit A.D. 1847. ^Etatis suae xciv. 1
In the chapel at Hubberholme the Book of Common
Prayer on the reading desk bears the following inscrip-
tion :
6 Presented to the Chapel at Hubberholme by J. C.
Ramsden, Esq., M.P., in token of respect to the Rev.
Thomas Lindley, many years minister of that Chapel.
November, 1833.'
WILLIAM CARR
f . . . anticum genus ut pietate repletum
Perfacile angustis tolerant finibus sevum.'
LUCRET.J ii. 1168.
' An ancient race, to simple duties vowed,
In narrow bounds an easy life endured.'
To pay a visit to Bolton Abbey for the first time in
one's life is an event never to be forgotten. To live
there for fifty years is an inspiration in itself, and such
we think the ' worthy ' whose name stands at the top
of this page must have found it during the long period
of his incumbency.
He was a member of an ancient Craven family
whose names appear in the records of this district for
four centuries. The Carrs came originally from North-
umberland. A branch of the family was established at
Stackhouse as early as the fifteenth century. Stephen
Carr was living at Stackhouse in 1483, and to the same
generation belonged James Carr, described as priest
and tutor, the founder of the Rood chantry in Giggles-
wick Church. He is mentioned in the Latin verses
over the door of Giggles wick School, ' Alma Dei Mater
defende malis,"* etc. The subject of this memoir was
[218]
WILLIAM CARR, B.D.,
INCUMBENT OF BOLTON ABBEY.
WILLIAM CARR 219
bom in 1763 (baptized June 29), and educated at
Giggleswick School, where one of his ancestors had been
headmaster (John Carr [1688-1745], M.A., of Christ's
College, Cambridge ; he married Anne, daughter of W.
Dawson, of Halton Gill). A part of the south aisle of
Giggleswick Church is still known as the Carr Chapel.
A window has recently been placed in this aisle as a
memorial of the family by Mr. W. Carr. M.A., J.P., of
Ditchingham Hall, Norfolk, the senior representative
of the family, to whose kindness I am indebted for the
portrait of his kinsman.
William Carr, after his education at Giggleswick,
matriculated at University College, Oxford, in October,
1781. He gained a scholarship in 1782, took his B.A.
degree in 1785, and was elected to a fellowship at
Magdalen College in 1787. He proceeded to the
degree of M.A. in the same year, and became a B.D. in
1795.
The period when Mr. Carr matriculated at the
University was marked by much slothfulness and want
of literary activity, but, as we hinted in the memoir of
Dr. Croft, this was by no means the case at University
College. And, on his appointment to a fellowship
at Magdalen College, Carr would come into contact
with the learned Dr. Home, the President at that time,
and with Dr. Routh, whose name and reputation will
long be remembered in the University, and whose
diligence, erudition, and piety did much to wipe away
the reproach which Gibbon, not without some reason,
cast at the college authorities of his own day (cf.
Wilson's 'Magdalen College, 1 pp. 221-224).
In 1803 he received preferment from his college, when
220 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
he became Vicar of Aston Tin-old, and Tubney, near
Oxford. The latter living was in those days a sinecure.
The incumbent, on his appointment, was accustomed
to drive to the parish, and as there was no church, he
would ' read himself in ' under a well-known tree.
But long before this time Mr. Carr had returned to
Yorkshire. In August, 1789, he succeeded his elder
brother in the incumbency of Bolton Abbey, where he
continued to reside until his death. The Carrs had
been incumbents of Bolton from the year 1726, for in
that year James Carr, A.B. of Christ's College, Cam-
bridge, Rector of Addingham, and grandfather of
William, was appointed to the living. He died in
1745, and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Carr, A.M.,
of University College, Oxon., Vicar of Bugthorpe, and
headmaster of Skipton Grammar School. After hold-
ing the living for some years, he resigned it in favour
of his eldest son, Thomas, also of University College,
Oxon., who died in 1789, and was succeeded by his
brother William. Thus three generations of the same
family were in charge of the spiritual interests of Bolton
for a period of 117 years. The reader can imagine with
what delight the young Craven student would return to
his native district, how contented he would be to have
the opportunity of settling down in such a lovely spot
as that where Bolton Priory stands.
But we should be mistaken if we were under the
impression that the surroundings of the Priory were
very much as we see them now. No. They owe much
of their picturesqueness to Mr. Carr. For it was he
who induced the sixth Duke of Devonshire to con-
sent to the opening out of the woods, the making of
WILLIAM CARR
beautiful peeps, and the construction of twenty-eight
miles of roads and footpaths. And all this was done
by the advice, and under the superintendence, of the
Curate of Bolton. To his sagacity, indefatigable
attention, and love of the beautiful, the woods and
glens of Bolton owe much of their attractions. Their
charms, which before had been ' long concealed and
almost inaccessible,' were now made known to the public.
Wordsworth (' Notes,' vol. iii.) records his appreciation
of Mr. Carr's work at Bolton in these words : ' W. C.
has most skilfully opened out its features ; and, in
whatever he has added, has done justice to the place,
by working with an invisible hand of art in the very
spirit of nature.'
But if he had a deep affection for the natural
features of the country in which it was his lot to
dwell, he had also at heart the temporal well-being and
the spiritual interests of the inhabitants of the parish ;
for, as Dr. Whitaker says : ' The pursuits of taste are
by no means incompatible with the active exertions of
a good parish priest.' He was, in an age not famous
for clerical strictness and devotion, a model pastor of
the old sort. He was zealous in his parochial ministra-
tion, and it is said he knew all his parishioners so well
that he could detect their absence from church on
Sunday without difficulty. Consequently, on Monday
mornings he was wont to ride round the parish on
a white pony to make inquiries amongst the absentees
as to the cause of their non-attendance on the previous
day. A few of his sermons are still extant ; by the
kindness of the Rev. A. P. Howes, formerly Rector of
Bolton to whom I am under an obligation for several
222 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
details I am able to give the reader a short extract
from one of them. After dividing his subject into
three heads, he proceeds : ' There is some difficulty
with respect to the literal meaning of a part of this
narrative. The miracle as related by S. Matthew is
easy to be understood, but S. Mark mentions that
" the time of figs was not yet." Hence, at the first
view, it might be thought incredible that our Lord
should look for figs at a season when, according to the
Evangelist's own confession, there was no probability of
finding any. But the fact is, the time of figs means,
not the season when, according to the fixed laws of
Nature, no figs could be growing, but the time of
gathering them ; and as that time was not yet fully
come, there was every reason to expect that the whole
crop was upon the tree still ungathered. Thus, the
very time in which we should expect to find wheat in a
field that was sown with that grain would be just before
the harvest, or, in other words, when the time of wheat-
reaping was not yet come, and we should justly esteem
it a very barren and unprofitable field if our expecta-
tions were thus disappointed. The fruit of the fig-tree
grows at least as early as the leaves, and therefore, as
the foliage was luxuriant, there was ground to hope that
the fruit also was abundant. I thought good to men-
tion this matter to show how very easily, with a little
care and attention, apparent difficulties in Scripture
may be removed, and thence to advise you not to
stumble at trifling objections merely because you are
not able to answer them, but rather to apply for
instruction to those that are. Such, then, is the literal
meaning of the miracle. As for its prophetical meaning,
WILLIAM CAKR
all are agreed. The Jews had enjoyed every advantage
of care and culture ; they had been selected by a special
Providence from the surrounding nations, and had been
repeatedly admonished by their priests and their prophets,
yet they constantly disappointed the expectations of
their God. They professed themselves indeed His
peculiar people, but they brought forth no fruit that
was suited to that relation. 1 And then, applying the
text, he continues : ' God expects His people to be
fruitful in good works ; nor will He acknowledge us if
we disappoint His expectations. Many who make a
great profession of religion appear at a distance to
flourish abundantly ; but the misfortune is, that when
we approach nearer and examine more closely, we find
nothing but leaves, and no fruit. Those who have the
fairest outside have frequently nothing within but all
kind of wickedness and corruption. It is a melancholy
matter to think how small is the number of real
disciples. Set aside those who openly reject the counsel
of God against themselves, and set aside those who are
hypocritical professors of religion, who are loud in their
talk respecting godliness, who love to have the pre-
eminence, who are wonderfully learned in matters of
doctrine, and who have constantly the Gospel in their
mouths, tho 1 I fear seldom in their hearts set aside
all these, and we shall indeed find the flock of Christ to
be a little flock. 1
In these days, when with many the era of education
for the poor is supposed to have begun with the
Education Act of 1870 and the advent of School Boards,
it will be well to make a quotation, also from another
of Mr. Carr's sermons. It was preached on behalf of
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the National Society, that great Church organization
which was founded in 1811, and which has done so
much towards the education of the poor by assisting in
the foundation of more than half of the Church schools
now in existence. His text is taken from Exod. ii. 9, 10.
After enlarging on the benefits of a religious bringing-
up and education, he says :
4 Another observation which we may gather from the
history before us is this, that children owe more to
those from whom they receive their education than they
do to those from whom they derive their birth. It is,
indeed, a most melancholy reflection that any should be
born in a Christian land and yet should be strange to
the saving truths of the Gospel. Nevertheless, it is not
to be dissembled that there are some who live in
Egyptian darkness even in the midst of Goshen. It is
therefore wisely provided that National Schools should
be formed as well for propagating Christian knowledge
amongst the ignorant at home as amongst infidels or
idolaters abroad. By the establishment of National
Schools, that religious education which many poor
children, thro 1 distress and shameful neglect of their
parents, wanted, is thro' the bounty of well-disposed
Christians, to their great comfort and blessing, supplied.
. . . You have already heard the returns made this
year by the National Society for Promoting the Educa-
tion of the Poor in the Principles of the Established
Church, and have heard the welcome news that this
comprehensive plan of education has 3,084 places with
schools in its connection affording religious instruction
to nearly 400,000 children.'
This sermon would be preached nearly eighty years
WILLIAM CARR
ago, and we venture to think that it will be news to
some of our readers to find Church schools so widely
spread throughout the country, and the interest of the
clergy so keen in this matter in the early years of
the last century.
Before we leave the incumbent of Bolton Priory and
his sermons it ought to be noted, for the benefit of any
clerical readers, that the sermons, which are all written
in a clear and bold hand, show traces of careful
phraseology, and in some of them the author has care-
fully gone through his MS. after writing it, and has
crossed out words which seemed on second thoughts
to be difficult for the members of his flock, and he
has inserted simpler words in their place e.g.,
' real ' instead of * genuine,' ' spreads ' for ' diffuses,'
4 expectation ' for ' anticipation,' ' uneasiness ' for
'solicitude.' Would it not be well if some preachers
took a hint from Mr. Carr, and thus simplified their
language ?
The incumbent of Bolton, like many of the clergy of
his day, took a keen interest in agriculture, and farmed
a small portion of land, and it is in connection with
these farming operations that his name will probably
live longest in Craven. Many of us are familiar with
the sign of more than one inn in Craven called the
' Craven Heifer,' and the picture of the celebrated
heifer is still to be found in many an old farmhouse in
the neighbourhood ; but most likely not all of us who
have seen the picture are aware that the animal was
bred by a Craven parson. The heifer, which was born
in the year 1807, was bred at Bolton Priory by Mr.
Carr.
15
226 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
By the kindness of the Rev. A. P. Howes, I am able
to give some account of a journey which this celebrated
heifer made, for show purposes, to Smithfield from
Wakefield, in the care of G. Pickop and I. Kitchen.
During the whole journey they seem to have received
^164 Is. Id., but they spent 11% 5s. 7Jd., and thus
incurred a loss of something over 8. The animal was
shown at Wakefield, and then the journey was con-
tinued by way of Pontefract, Doncaster, and Rotherham,
arriving there on December 2, at the time of the fair,
then on by Sheffield, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Ripley,
Derby, Loughborough, Leicester, Market Harborough,
Northampton, Newport Pagnell, Woburn, Dunstable,
St. Albans, and Barnet, to Smithfield, which was reached
on January 30, 1812. The time occupied in moving
the animal from Wakefield to London was seventy-
three days (November 19, 1811, to January 30, 1812),
and from the numerous items of expenditure for
' carriage ' or ' moving ' it seems evident that she
was conveyed in a van. The immense proportions of
this beast are given in a copy of the following notice,
which advertised her arrival in London :
' Just arrived to be seen at the Cock Inn, Hay-
market, a wonderful four-year-old Short Horned Craven
Heifer, Bred and Fed by the Rev. W. Carr on one of
his Grace the Duke of Devonshire^ Estates at Bolton
Abbey, near Skipton, in Craven, Yorkshire, now the
property of Messrs. Watkinson and Co.
WILLIAM CARR 227
' Dimensions.
Ft. In.
Length from the nose to the top of
rump ... ... ... 11 4
Height at the shoulder ... ... 54
Breadth over the back in three
different places ... ... 33
Girth behind the shoulder ... 810
in the thickest part of the body 10 2
over the loin ... ... 9 11
round the fore-leg ... ... 7
Weight, 312 stone, 8 Ibs. to the stone.
'Admittance, Ladies and Gentlemen, Is. ; Servants, 6d.
' This beast is allowed by all who have seen her to be
the largest and fattest of her age of any ever shown in
England. An engraving of this fine heifer is now pub-
lished, and may be had of the proprietor at one guinea
each. Printed by W. Glindon, Rupert Street, Hay-
market. '
Mr. Howes says : ' During its five years 1 existence
(1807-1812) it was at once the wonder and admiration
of the farmers in many an English Shire. At four years
of age the animal was bought from Mr. Carr by one
John Watkinson, of Halton East, for <200, and he
travelled with it round the country ; but, as we have
heard, the speculation did not pay. In the end
Watkinson allowed the heifer to be competed for in a
cock-fight, an ignominious end to a beast that once
grazed within the precincts of Bolt on Priory. Its fame
has been handed down by the picture, which has till
152
228 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
recently adorned the paper money of the Craven
Banking Co/
Mr. Carr's energies were not exhausted by his atten-
tion to farming and his parochial duties. He also
devoted himself to one particular branch of literature,
and was well known as an authority on archaeology, and
as an antiquary. He counted amongst his friends the
celebrated Dr. Whitaker, the author of the ' History of
Craven, 1 and it was Mr. Carr who first suggested that
such a work ought to be undertaken by one who was so
well qualified to do it. Dr. Whitaker acknowledges his
obligations to him in the first edition of his work, where
he says : ' My highly esteemed friend, the Reverend
William Carr, B.D., Minister of Bolton Abbey and late
Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, as he first sug-
gested the idea of the present work, has continued to
urge it on through every part of its progress with a
zeal and activity which merit my warmest thanks/
In the second edition he writes : ' While Mr. Carr, the
unshaken friend of the author and his family, by
diligent researches among the evidences of the Cliffords
at Londesborough, has brought to light by far the
most numerous and valuable additions to this volume ';
so that the student of the history of Craven must hold
in honour the memory of one who was the supporter
and encourager of the author of that exquisite and
never-to-be-forgotten record of the antiquities of this
district. But Mr. Carr's greatest literary fame was
achieved in philology.
In the year 1824 he published in two volumes
6 Horae Momenta Cravenae ; or, The Craven Dialect
exemplified in Two Dialogues between Farmer Giles and
WILLIAM CARR 229
his Neighbour Bridget, to which is added a copious
Glossary." By a native of Craven. A second edition,
much enlarged, was published in 1828 under the title of
a ' Glossary of the Craven Dialect." It was a bold
venture. At that time there were few works of the
kind. Those who are competent to judge on such a
subject say that many of Mr. Carr's derivations are
fanciful and inaccurate. However this may be, the
work is a valuable record of old Craven words, of which
the meaning is fast dying out among the natives of this
part of the country. The present system of education
is killing the dialects in every part of England. The
writer of these pages, who has lived in his parish in the
centre of Craven for over twenty years, finds that,
although he is not a native, he knows more dialect
words than the rising generation of his parishioners. In
fact, he may say that the use of dialect words has
almost ceased, but the old pronunciation of many words
still lingers. Mr. Carr complains of the same process
going on in his days : < I can from my knowledge and
experience testify that many words and expressions in
Craven which were in constant use 30 or 40 years ago
are either lost or imperfectly understood by the rising
generation.' But, he truly remarks, many of the words
used by old English authors are now unintelligible to
the inhabitants of the southern part of this kingdom,
though they are well understood by those who inhabit
the North. For he maintains that what is called the
Craven dialect is the old language uncorrupted.
In reading the Authorized Version in the services of
the Church, one is often struck by the occurrence of
phrases and words which would require explanation in
230 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the South, but which are quite intelligible to those who
live in Craven, such as : 'To loose,' at the end of a
school session; 'to profer,' to offer; 'to bid" i.e., to
invite to a funeral or feast ; ' provender,' food for cattle ;
' to straw,' to scatter about ; ' to frame,' to endeavour ;
' to summer' (of cattle), Isa. xviii. 6, still used as a verb
in Craven ; ' to throng,' to press upon, and ' to be throng,'
i.e., to be busy; 'collops,' slices of meat (Job xv. 27);
'gatherings,' collections (1 Cor. xvi. 2); 'meat,' still
used of food generally.
All these words are in common use in Craven, but to
speak in this way in the South would be to court a
misunderstanding, and would savour of affectation.
Mr. CaiT has made a dry subject interesting by the
notes which he has introduced here and there into his
glossary, giving the local traditions about a plant or
tree, or an account of some quaint custom connected
with a word. Of the Rowan tree, or witch hazel
(Sorbus oMCUparia), he says : ' A tree of wonderful
efficacy in depriving witches of their infernal power,
and she was accounted a very thoughtless housewife
who had not the precaution to provide a churn staff
made of this precious wood. When thus guarded, no
witch, however presumptuous, had the audacity to
enter. Sometimes a small piece of it was suspended
from the buttonhole, which had no less efficacy in
defending the traveller. May not the sailor's wife in
" Macbeth " have confided in the divine aid of this tree
when she triumphantly exclaimed, " Aroynt thee !" (alias
a royn-tree). "With the supernatural aid of this"
(pointing, it may be supposed, at the royn-tree in her
hand), "I defy this infernal power!" The event
WILLIAM CARR 231
evidently proved her security ; for the witch, having no
power over her, so completely protected, indignantly
and spitefully resolves to persecute her inoffensive,
though unguarded, husband on his voyage to Aleppo. 1
On the word ' pitcher, 1 he remarks : 4 To pitcher a
man or, as it is frequently called, " pitchering " is
a ludicrous ceremony observed in Craven (now obsolete)
when a person goes to see his sweetheart the first time.
It is performed thus : One of the young inmates of the
family takes a small pitcher, and half fills it with water ;
he then goes, attended by his companions, and, present-
ing it to the lover, demands a present in money. If he
is disposed to give anything, he drops his contribution
into the pitcher, and they retire without further
molestation. He is thus made a free-man, and can
quietly pay his visits in future without being subject to
any similar exaction. But if, after repeated demands,
the lover refuse to pay his contribution, he is either
saluted with the contents of the pitcher, or a row
ensues, in which the water is spilt and the pitcher is
broken. 1
Mr. Carr's literary works gained him many friends,
amongst whom the most celebrated was the poet Words-
worth, who stayed with him at Bolton Parsonage, and
probably at that time went over that portion of the
country which he describes so well in his poem, ' The
White Doe of Rylstone. 1 Sir Edward Landseer was
also sometimes a guest at the Parsonage.
Besides his duties as perpetual curate of Bolton
parish (the living was not made into a rectory until
the year 1864), the subject of this memoir was also
master of the Grammar School, which had been
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
founded by the Hon. Robert Boyle in A.D. 1700. The
building, which is now used as the Rectory, served at
that time for both parsonage and schoolroom, and the
building at the east end of this house was erected in
Mr. Carr's days as a Sunday-school. For many years
he was assisted in his scholastic duties by a Mr.
Umpleby, who was also assistant curate, and he
eventually succeeded to the incumbency. Mr. Carr
was never married, but his home was kept bright and
cheerful by the presence of three nieces, the Misses
Crofts, who looked after his domestic concerns. They
all survived him, and one of them (Mary Crofts)
married Mr. W. Sidgwick of Skipton, and became the
mother of Mrs. Benson, the wife of the late Archbishop
of Canterbury. Dr. Benson always had a strong affec-
tion for Bolton. In his early years it is recorded in
his biography that he visited the Priory a few years
after Mr. Carres death, and then wrote to Mrs. Mary
Sidgwick (the mother of his future wife): 'The ever-
glorious and the sacred scenes of Bolton for such I feel
them to be in a way I cannot describe nor fully account
for did my heart and mind worlds of good. When I
reached the Abbey, I went first to the graves (of Sidg-
wicks, Carrs, and Crofts). The two were in nice order.
I cleaned out the word " Presbyter," which was ob-
scured, and freed the cross from some decayed leaves
which had gathered on it, but I did not disturb the
green moss till I heard from you. If it will not hurt
the stone, its light fresh green is beautiful, and touching,
too. I did the same by the others.'
Mr. Carr was noted for his genial manners and
generous hospitality. He was a good raconteur. There
WILLIAM CARR 233
is a story which I must not omit, for he often told it
to those who assembled at his table. The Duke of
Devonshire (probably the sixth of that name) was
accustomed to invite some of his tenants to an annual
dinner at the Hall. On one of these occasions there
was a certain widow who partook freely of the viands,
and seemed thoroughly to enjoy herself. With the
dessert the usual finger-glasses appeared, whereupon
the widow immediately drank the contents of the one
which had been placed before her. The footman, who
saw what had occurred, with a smile filled the glass
again, and again the widow consumed the contents. A
servant, to keep up the joke, filled it once more, and
this time the widow, with a look of dismay, merely said,
' Thoull bust me P On the next day some of her
friends happened to ask how she liked the Duke's
dinner. Her reply was that she liked it all very much
except the ' watter-course.'
Many other amusing stories are known to have come
from his lips during his long life at Bolton. He was
fortunate in possessing good bodily health and a fine
presence. He continued his parochial labours till
within a few weeks of his death, which occurred in the
summer of 1843. He was buried within the ruins of
the Priory on July 25, and the following inscription
has been placed on the handsome monumental stone
which marks his resting-place :
' Gulielmus : Carr : P.'B.'R. : hujus : loci : per :
annos : LIIII : sacellanus : obiit : octogenarius : anno :
XPI : MDCCCXLIII.' (i.e., W m Carr, Priest, Minister of this
Parish for 54 years, died 80 years of age, in the year of
Christ 1843).
JOHN SAUL HOWSON
THE surname which stands at the head of this page can
be found in the parish register of Giggleswick Church
as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century.
The father of the late Dean of Chester, the Rev. John
Howson (born in 1788, died January 23, 1859) was
second master of Giggleswick School for forty -five
years. He married Margaret Saul, of Bentham, by
whom he had six sons and one daughter. The future
Dean was the eldest of the family. As he has told the
story of his own life so simply and so well in a short
autobiography, which I am able to reproduce through
the kindness of a friend, I cannot do better than intro-
duce it here, adding some additional information for
which I am indebted chiefly to his eldest son, the
Rev. G. J. Howson, Rector of Christ Church, Salford,
who has published a short memoir of his father, which
is prefixed to the Dean's little work on ' The Diaconate
of Women in the Anglican Church.'
The Dean says: 'I was born on May 5, 1816. I
well remember how the battle of Waterloo used to be
the epoch in conversation when I was a boy. . . . The
earliest thing I remember is the death of George III.,
[234]
JOHN SAUL HOVVSON, D.D.,
DEAN OF CHESTER.
JOHN SAUTL HOWSON 235
and the recollection is very distinct. My father was
walking into Settle with my hand in his, and we met a
friend, who said, " The King is dead." I suppose the
thoughts involved in the words " king " and " death "
made a deep impression upon me. My father's house
being full of boarders, all our employments were
regulated on the hours of school. I believe that I went
to school at six years of age, and that before I was
eight I had said the Latin Grammar through four times
without understanding a single word of it; indeed,
without the least idea that it was intended to have any
meaning. Suddenly I observed that, if the parts of
speech are eight, " declined and undeclined " made the
whole number up to ten. This raised an enquiry in my
mind which I can remember as a distinct intellectual
movement. Meantime I could say the Latin Grammar
by heart. I was never very fond of games. I played
cricket very badly, but I enjoyed football, especially
when there was a violent scrimmage. I used to play
marbles by the hour with a boy named Thomas
Whi taker, who was my dear and intimate friend. We
used to wander on holidays over the hills in search of
flowers. I fancy that we both were very full of boyish
poetry. He was nearer heaven than I was in more
senses than one. I remember his stopping at the stile
just below the mains, and speaking of the sunset as
though it were the very gate of heaven. He went soon
afterwards to Macclesfield School, and died there very
young. I still possess some of his letters. I am sorry
to say that I was very passionate. One instance affords
an illustration of my father's admirable mode of
management. In a quarrel with a boy named Ken-
236 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
worthy I hit him on the head with a ruler and inflicted
a very bad wound, so that the surgeon was sent for
from Settle in haste. My father said nothing to me,
but simply told me to remain in the room where Ken-
worthy was put to bed. I well remember the agony
with which I knelt down and prayed for Divine pardon,
and the terrible punishment which came to me through
hearing and seeing the other boys at play in the sun-
shine. Some incidents which I recall were comical.
We had a boy at school named O'Reilly, who had been
at Eton and was a capital cricketer. His Latin and
Greek, however, were very defective. He lodged at
Miss Craggs', and he asked me to go and see two white
mice. No sooner was I entered into the room than he
locked the door, and said he would give me a sound
thrashing unless I made his Latin verses for the week.
I knew the weight of his fist too well to refuse. The
verses were made with due admixture of blunders, and
I was rewarded by seeing his white mice.
' It was a great disadvantage to me that I was at the
head of the School at an early age. In consequence of
this my father at one time entertained the idea of
sending me to Shrewsbury for two years. My mother,
however, was opposed to this, and it was decided to
send me to Trinity College, Cambridge, at seventeen.
I was idle and desultory at school, and my father
thought that the severe conflict to which I should be
thus exposed would have a bracing effect upon me. So
far he was right. Before I leave my boyhood I ought
to add that my father's botanical tastes led me to an
early study of plants, which has been of the utmost
service to me ever since. Not that I was in any sense
JOHN SAUL HOWSON 237
scientific, but I ranged over the whole neighbourhood
and knew the habitat of every flower, and ever since
have enjoyed the advantage of intelligently observing
vegetable forms and colours.
' CAMBRIDGE. My career at Cambridge was dwarfed
by my going to the University so young. I succeeded,
however, in obtaining a good many prizes both in the
College and in the University, and in securing a place
in the first class on taking my degree in both classics
and mathematics. My mother died in the autumn of
1834, when I was spending my first long vacation at
home. I had the comfort of being with her constantly
during her last painful illness till within two or three
days of the end. I remember her saying to me that I
had never caused her a moment's anxiety. I wondered
then, as I wonder now, at a mother's power of for-
getting. As I dictate, I call to mind my father's agony
of grief when he told me on the morning of her death
that he had lost his best adviser. I have omitted to
say that during two vacations immediately preceding
this I had been sent to read with an eminent
mathematician named Slee, near Ullswater. It was
at that time that my intimacy with the Lake Country
began, which has been a delight to me ever since.
Intellectually, Cambridge was everything to me. It
would be impossible for me to describe my obligations
to my College and my University. Men of eminence
were all around me, and all the subjects of the day
opened themselves out with absorbing interest. This,
however, is not the highest debt to Cambridge which
ought to be reverently recorded. As regards religious
influence, I will first mention two circumstances. I
238 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
heard Simeon's latest sermons, and was present at his
funeral. Once, when he preached on the text " That in
all things He might have the pre-eminence," he began
his sermon as follows : " The pre-eminence He must
have, the pre-eminence He shall have." And the old
man quivered so violently with emotion that for some
time he could not speak. In another sermon I remember
his saying that no man could reach heaven unless he
had discovered his besetting sin. I am just old enough
to have heard the Rev. Hugh James Rose's last sermon
in S. Mary's. Some of Melville's sermons in that church
I vividly recollect. Another circumstance to which I
must refer was this : that at that time a very large
number of the most distinguished classics and mathe-
maticians in the University were distinctly religious
men, teaching in a well-known Sunday-school, visiting
the poor in the neighbouring villages, promoting zeal
in Missions, etc. Among these my chief friends were
found. I took my degree in 1837, and that year I
went with two pupils to Ambleside, one of them being
the second son of the Vicar of Gargrave. This stay at
Ambleside gave me an opportunity of making the
acquaintance of F. W. Faber. I also became acquainted
with Hartley Coleridge, and had the honour of one
walk with Wordsworth, during which he pointed out
the trees which came earliest and latest into leaf.
Another memorable opportunity was becoming ac-
quainted with Dr. Arnold. During that long vacation
the Queen's accession took place, and we had great
excitement in Ambleside. This period of my life
distinctly connects itself with the beginning of my
friendship with A. P. Stanley, whom I was in the habit
JOHN SAUL HOWSON 239
of seeing year by year till the day of his death. I had
memorable visits to Oxford at this exciting time.
' TRAVELLING. After leaving Cambridge, I became
tutor in succession to the Marquis of Sligo, the present
Duke of Argyll, and the present Duke of Sutherland,
not, indeed, without interruption. But I may group
these subjects together, because of the valuable oppor-
tunities they gave me of travelling.
' LIVERPOOL. After quitting the Duke of Argyll, I
came to help my friend, Mr. Conybeare, as Senior Classical
Master in the Liverpool College, then called the Colle-
giate Institution. From this work I was invited to
become tutor to the Duke of Sutherland, and after this
I was invited to become Head of the College, which
post I held for more than sixteen years. The character
of this group of schools was peculiar and very interest-
ing. There was an upper school for those who were
destined for the Universities and those of the same class.
There was a lower school at a level higher than the
highest national school. Between the two there was a
middle school. Thus I was encouraged to mature a sys-
tem of promotion which had excellent results. Several
who attained high distinction in the Universities had been
in the lower school. It is desirable to state accurately
another feature of these schools : they were distinctly
religious, being based on Church of England principles
with a conscience clause, and they had risen in this form
out of the great conflicts of the time. I had no greater
happiness during this period of my life than that which
I spent every morning with my senior pupils in reading
the Greek Testament. On the other hand, when I
undertook this office there was a debt of ^8,000 upon
240 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
the building, and the schools dwindling. I began with
about 450 pupils, and ended with about 900, with 36
masters under me, and ^10,000 had then been saved.
One very important step, as I regard it, in this period
of my life was that I was enabled to found in Liverpool
a girls 1 college on the same general principles. This
was an anticipation of the system of high schools which
has recently come into existence, but with this difference,
that the school was under its own directors, without any
" company," and that it was distinctly religious. . . .
' LITERARY WORK. A large amount of the occupa-
tion of my life being of this kind, it is convenient to
place it all under one head separately. After some
slight descriptive papers in a periodical called the
Cambridge Portfolio, I wrote some that were more
elaborate on " The Antiquities of Argyllshire " in the
Transactions of the Cambridge Camden Society. . . .
I may add that about this time I edited a little work
on the Greek Church, with some notes of my own.
More important writing, as I felt it to be, followed in
the Quarterly Review. The first article I wrote there
was upon Greece. Subsequently I wrote articles on
French, Algeria, on the Geography and Biography of
the Old Testament, and on Dean Milman. Thus I
had the honour of being included sometimes in parties of
Quarterly Reveiw writers, at Mr. Murray's, at Wimble-
don and elsewhere. About the time of the beginning
of my work at Liverpool, the agreement was made with
my friend Mr. Conybeare to publish -a book on " The
Life and Epistles of S. Paul," with a view of presenting
the Apostle in proper combination with the circum-
stances which surrounded him, and with his own
JOHN SAUL HOWSON
writing, the translation being undertaken by him, and
the descriptive parts by myself. This book was pub-
lished in 1853, and had a great success. We made,
however, a very unfortunate bargain with Messrs.
Longman, the publishers. About the same time my
marriage with Miss Cropper of Dingle Bank, Liverpool,
took place. An article of mine which was printed
in the Quarterly Review in the autumn of 1860 on
the subject of Deaconesses was published afterwards
in a volume with enlargement, and led to important
results in much discussion, and in the founding of
" Deaconesses 1 Institutions." I was appointed Hulsean
Lecturer at Cambridge in 1860, and my lectures on the
" Character of S. Paul " have been fortunate enough to
reach a third edition. About the same time I was
made Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Ely, and
was thus brought into the most interesting contact
with his ordinations during many years. I am re-
sponsible for the publication of somewhat frequent
pamphlets, and sermons, and articles in Good Words
and other magazines. I have also published the follow-
ing books: "Meditations on the Miracles of Our Lord";
" Essays on the Metaphors of S. Paul "; The Com-
panions of S. Paul"; and lectures delivered at Phila-
delphia on " The Evidential Value of the Acts of the
Apostles." At the present moment a book on the
Collects and another on Saints 1 Days are about to appear.
'Mention must here be made of Convocation at
York, a scene of official duty during the years since
I occupied my present post. The subjects which have
been discussed there have been of the most animated
and various kinds, and have implied a close contact with
16
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
public religious questions of the utmost importance.
I have also had my full share of sermons in the
University pulpits of Oxford and Cambridge, and in
Westminster Abbey and S. PauPs. Here I think
I ought to name visits to the United States in 1871
and 1880, during the former of which I attended with
Bishop Selwyn the meeting of the General Convention
of our sister Church in America, and during the latter
preached the annual sermon at the Diocesan Convention
of Connecticut. It is impossible to refer to these
occasions without naming the opportunities thus gained
for making the acquaintance of the American poets,
Bryant, Longfellow, Emerson, Whittier, and Wendell
Holmes, and without referring to some days spent at
Ottawa, a place of extraordinary interest in connection
with our hopes for the future.
' WORK IN CHESTER. After somewhat more than ten
years of this kind in Liverpool, my health began to fail,
and I thought it better to resign my post at the head
of the College, which was flourishing. After a rest of
six months, the Bishop of Ely appointed me to the
Vicarage of Wisbech, in Cambridgeshire, and that post
I held for about fourteen months. During these months
a new mission church was inaugurated. The late Lord
Derby then appointed me to the Deanery of Chester.
His letter contained a most gratifying allusion to my
work in Liverpool. The fabric of Chester Cathedral
was then very much dilapidated, some parts of it being
indeed in a dangerous condition. I undertook the work
of restoration in conjunction with the late Sir Gilbert
Scott, and during the ten years between 1868 and 1878
I was fortunate enough to obtain the sum of about
JOHN SAUL HOWSON 243
J?100,000 for that purpose. The public must judge
of the result. During the eighteen years I have spent
in Chester, I have been desirous that the general useful-
ness of the Cathedral, and its free and friendly con-
nection with all parts of the Diocese, should be increased.
One beneficial change, too, which has been secured has
been a large increase of preaching, and especially great
benefit has resulted from the establishment of choral
evening services in the nave. During recent years
restorative and decorative work has been prosecuted
without intermission. . . . Chester has a school older
than Giggles wick. ' (N.B. This autobiography was
originally written by the Dean for the Giggleswick
School Magazine.) ' Its King's School or Cathedral
School was founded by Henry VIII, and it has been
my happiness to take a successful part in bringing this
school into wider life, more general usefulness, and
active contact with the Universities. ... I am rather
proud of a motto which I have composed for this school,
and I send it from Chester as a blessing to Giggleswick,
" Rex dedit benedicat Deus." Among collateral enter-
prise has been the founding of a girls' school in Chester
of a higher kind, on principles similar to those in
Liverpool. This school has been thoroughly successful
in winning public confidence and obtaining a large
number of pupils. Finally, I may include here, as
a successful work in Chester, the recovery of the Theo-
logical College at Birkenhead, through the happy co-
operation of zealous friends, from a state of serious
decay, and its restoration to large and growing use-
fulness.
* LAST WOEDS. These notes were in fragments at a
162
244 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
time of somewhat serious illness. I wish to record my
thankfulness for the domestic comfort which surrounds
me. Of my five children, three are sons. The eldest,
George John, is the Rector of Overton in the Diocese
of S. Asaph (now of Christ Church, Salford) ; the
second, Edmund Whytehead, is a master at Harrow ;
and the third, Francis James, is senior Curate of the
parish of Lambeth (now Vicar of Christ Church,
Chester).
' The Deanery, Chester,
Oct. 13, 1885/
The Dean's son says : ' I cannot help thinking that
he felt that his work of activity in this world was draw-
ing to a close a year or two before he died, for often he
used to say : " I want to give the rest of my life to
devotional reading and practical spiritual good. I do
not wish to enter any more into the world of contro-
versy ; I must leave that to others. 1 ' The last two
books, which appeared just at the time of his death,
are instances of this wish. Still, he died in harness.
On Sunday week before he entered into his rest (he
died at Bournemouth, December 15, 1885, and Mrs.
Howson survived him only a few days), he had finished
the work of handing over all the care of the Cathedral
into other hands; and when he had done this, it seemed
that his active work was done. " Rest and peace for
me " were some of his last words, and indeed that was a
true experience. It was a touching incident in his last
hours that a book, " Our Collects, Epistles, and Gospels,"
he had much looked forward to publishing should have
arrived the night before he died, and the first copy of
JOHN SAUL HOWSON 245
which he had intended for my mother. She who had
with lovely devotion, in spite of her severe accident,
travelled hither, was brought to his bedside at his
whispered request, and he with great difficulty placed it
in her hands. The other, " Thoughts for Saints' Days,"
which was to appear at the same time, came from the
publisher the day before my mother was called home.
In the second of these two volumes, the last chapter is
devoted to the subject of the death of a Christian in its
aspect of " Sleep in Jesus," and it closes with words most
indicative of his own life : " David, after he had served
his own generation, fell on sleep." I cannot refrain from
giving a sketch of a sermon he himself gave me just
before my ordination on that text, to show what it
seems must have been constantly before him as his ideal
of Christian service :
* " INTRODUCTION. Here we have S. Peter's view of the
life and death of David. The view of any great man of
another is sure to be interesting. (1) Life a service.
Whose I am and Whom I serve. I serve Jesus Christ.
(2) Sphere of service. Our own generation. God's
appointed place. (3) Consecrating principle of service.
The will of God. (4) Its end and reward. Falling
asleep. Compare the expression used of the death of
S. Stephen.
1 " CONCLUSION. Exhortation that our life should be
in accordance with this."
' Perhaps a son may be allowed to mark some charac-
teristics of his father's life as an example to all time,
though he shrinks from criticising the personal goodness
of his character. Two grand features of my father's
life seem to be characteristic of him. The first was
13 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
this: a strong sense of self-control and of sobriety.
The second was his habit of doing things thoroughly
and without waste of time. As an instance of this fact
I may just quote a thing he used often to say: "Always
try to do things with both hands ;" and to indicate the
latter habit : " I have often written a Sermon amongst
the oil cans and tow in the porters' cabin at a roadside
station."
' Of his personal character, let others well known to
him and to the world speak : " I shall always think of
your father as one of the very whitest souls I have met
in the course of my pilgrimage. You must console
yourself with the thought that few men in this genera-
tion will part with a father whose life was of equal
value, whose character was so noble and Christian, and
who leaves behind him such permanent memorials of life.
There was a moderation in spite of his zeal, a charity
towards others, notwithstanding the strength of his
convictions, as he opposed them, and a peculiar fresh-
ness which one does not often find in men of his age.
We shall sorely miss him in council, the Church will
miss him, but, above all, how will you not all miss him !
Life is a much poorer and sadder business to me from
the death of one who has been to me like a kindly
sunshine." '
WILLIAM BOYD, M.A.,
ARCHDEACON OF CRA.VEX.
WILLIAM BOYD
' Some there are in every age whose blessed office it seems to
be rather to impart tone and colouring to the circle in which
they move than to influence the historical facts of their time.
They are to society what sunshine is to a landscape,, or expression
to the human face. Remove them in thought from the scene in
which they play their part, and the facts are observed to survive
unaltered ; but that nameless grace which beautifies existence,
that secret charm which imparts to the daily intercourse all its
sweetness, has fled.'
'THE Patriarch of the Dales' was the significant
phrase which was once used by the present Bishop of
Ripon when speaking of the life and work of the subject
of this memoir. And it was a well-chosen epithet
when one bears in mind that Archdeacon Boyd's
ministry and interest in the Church life of Craven
extended over a period of fifty-eight years. So that
although we cannot claim him as a ' Craven worthy '
by birth, yet his long and useful life in this locality
entitles him to a place amongst those whose careers
deserve an honourable mention, and whose lives added
something to the general welfare of their parish and
diocese. He belonged to an old and well-known
Northumbrian family. His father was a member of
[247]
248 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
a firm of bankers in Newcastle-on-Tyne, and it was
in that city that his second son, William, the future
Archdeacon of Craven, first saw light on April 21,
1809. He was educated at Witton le Wear under the
Rev. Mr. Newby, and after distinguishing himself at
school, he matriculated at University College, Oxford,
on June 29, 1827. It was, of course, before the time of
railways, and he was accustomed to relate how he, and
other North Countrymen, used to ride in company to
Oxford, spending several pleasant days upon the journey.
University College was no doubt chosen in preference to
other colleges, from its connection with Northumberland,
and the County of Durham. Several Fellowships at the
college were in those days tenable only by graduates
who had been born in those counties.
The position and tone of the College at that time are
thus described by a friend and contemporary of W. Boyd
Mr. W. H. Rooper : I left school in 1828, and went
into residence at University College, Oxford. Dr. Rowley
was Master, and the Reverend F. Plumptre, who suc-
ceeded him, was senior tutor and Dean. The Reverend
I. Watts was junior tutor. The number of under-
graduates was only forty, and most of them were sons of
North Country gentlemen. The College was more famous
for the prowess of its members in the hunting-field than
for hard reading. Several of my contemporaries, how-
ever, graduated in honours, and some rose to eminence.
Robert Gray became Bishop of Capetown, and A. Oxen-
den Metropolitan of the Church in Canada. Lord
Sherbrooke, better known as Bob Lowe, was a little
junior to me. Archdeacon Boyd told me a story of Bob
Lowe which shows the goodness of his heart. A
WILLIAM BOYD 249
Fellowship at University College had become vacant,
and Archdeacon Boyd meant to stand, but his prospect
of winning it was hopeless if Bob Lowe stood against
him. The latter called one day, and said : " I have other
chances of getting a Fellowship ; I will not stand for this
one." This formidable opponent being removed, Boyd
was duly elected Fellow of University College.'
In addition to the names mentioned above, we may
also add those of George Clarke, afterwards an Arch-
deacon in the Welsh Church ; W. Fox, better known as
Sir W. Fox, Governor of Auckland ; and G. B. Twining,
as friends and associates at the same College. W. Boyd
rowed in his College ' Eight ' in 1831 and 1832, and he
might have had the honour of being included in the
inter-'Varsity Boat Race for one of those years ; but as
he was anxious to win his Fellowship, he was obliged to
decline this coveted distinction. He graduated as B.A.
in 1831, and M.A. in 1833, in double honours, taking a
third class in Classics, and a first class in Mathematics.
For a short time after gaining his Fellowship (June,
1833) he was a mathematical tutor in the college.
About this time he made the first of those tours on
the Continent in which he delighted, and in which he
indulged even in old age. His companion in this tour
was George Clarke, and they travelled through France,
Switzerland, and Italy. He was ordained deacon at
Oxford on May 25, 1834, and for a few months he
acted as curate of Newburn-on-Tyne. In June, 1835,
he returned to Oxford, and was ordained priest on the
19th of that month.
In the same year the living of Arncliffe, in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, which was then in the gift of the
250 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
College, became vacant by the death of Mr. Norton.
As Mr. Boyd was a North Countryman, he was sent by
the Master and Fellows to inspect the vacant living, and
to report to the College. He thus describes the first
visit to what was to be his future home for the rest of
his life. (He came accompanied by his eldest brother,
Mr. Robert Boyd.) ' They journeyed from Newcastle to
Ripon in one of those famous old stage coaches the
" Highflyer." They had to leave the northern turn-
pike road, and strike directly west from Ripon. Staying
at the hotel, they inquired for a trap to take them to
Arncliffe. They were a little surprised to find that no.
one in the " yard " or anywhere else had ever heard the
name of such a place, much less of its whereabouts.
ArnclifFe ? No ; no such place about here. At last,
after some delay and inquiry, a man and horse were
found. " He knew a famous big rock," he said, " called
Kilnsey Crag, and he fancied Arncliffe was near that/" 1
They started in the afternoon of a day in March, but
the horse grew tired, or lame, or both, and darkness
overtook them before they reached their destination.
Staying all night at a clean little " public " at Kilnsey,
they drove four miles the next day up the valley of the
Skirfare, and reached the little secluded village of Arn-
cliffe. The Vicarage was found to be a well-built stone
house in the midst of a field. It was not easy, however,
to judge of its accommodation, for one part of it was
filled with wool and another was used as the " poor
house," and Betty Simpson was off " sticking," and she
had the key in her pocket' (cf. 'Littondale, Past and
Present,' p. 2).
The future Vicar then returned to Oxford, and gave
WILLIAM BOYD 251
in his report to the College, little thinking that the
offer of the living would be made to himself, as he was
the junior Fellow. But it was refused by one Fellow
after another, although at that time a stipend of 500
per annum was allowed by the College to the Fellow who
became Vicar. However, one felt himself unable to go
on account of the absence of any medical aid within
a moderate distance, another preferred to wait for a
living in a hunting district, and a third was dismayed
at the isolation which the holding of such a cure
involved.
So the offer came at last to the junior Fellow, who
decided to leave Oxford and become the spiritual pastor
of this remote parish. His unique experience at his
interview with the Archbishop and first arrival in the
village as Vicar shall be given in his own words. He
took an early opportunity of going to York, for the
Archbishop of York (Harcourt) was at that time his
diocesan. The Diocese of Ripon was not formed until
1836:
' After a short conversation with the Archbishop,
and on saying that he had come to be instituted to the
living of Arncliffe, His Grace sharply said : " Arncliffe !
ArnclifFe ! I have no such living in my diocese, sir. 11
He rang for his registrar, who on referring to his books
found that it was in the far west of his diocese. Of
course, the Archbishop was obliged to be satisfied, and
then went through the necessary forms of institution,
wondering, he said, that such a young fellow should
think of burying himself in such seclusion.''
The Archbishop's ignorance of the place is easily
accounted for by the fact that no vacancy of the living
252 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
had occurred since 1808 ; and as Bishops in those days
were not so diligent in visiting their outlying churches as
now, it is not wonderful that Arncliffe, which is some
fifty miles from York, should have been quite a terra
incognita. On his arrival at the church gates on his first
Sunday, the Vicar was duly met and welcomed by two
churchwardens, and their welcome to him, if warm and
real, was yet, to a stranger to the district, somewhat
singular. The elder said : ' Ye Ye varra young, 1 to which
the Vicar replied with happy readiness : ' Well, sir, what-
ever other faults I may have, that's one of which I
shall mend every day. 1 The younger man, with great
warmth and a kindly handshake, was content with saying,
* Fse glad ye're cum. 1
And now what kind of a place was the Arncliffe
of those days when this young Fellow of University
College determined to settle down to pastoral work ?
It was a beautifully situated, but most remote, parish
at the head of Upper Wharfedale. To use his own
words : ' Arncliffe is situated in the " Dales," which I
suppose may be described as those districts which lie
near the sources of our rivers, where the little rivulets
and tributaries water narrow valleys which run up to
the watershed of a country separated from one another
by more or less elevated ridges, and where the scanty
" Dales," consisting entirely of grass land, afford
occupation to a few labourers and their families. Our
population, as a rule, lies in the valleys or Dales a few
houses scattered on the moors are the exception ; for
example, I cannot go from my parish north, south, or
west to any neighbouring village, not in our own Dale,
without mounting nearly 1,000 feet.
WILLIAM BO YD 253
' Our villages are situated about two or three miles
from each other, each holding from 50 to 100
people more or less. In my own case, the principal
village in the Dale where the Church is situated contains
150 people, with two villages two miles away with fifty
people in each. We have usually few resident land-
owners, but we still have some of those old-fashioned
class of proprietors who farm their own land Yeomen
as we call them, or Statesmen, forming a wholesome
link between the big landowner and the tenant
farmer/
Such is his own account of the general condition of
the parish in which he made his home in 1835. And
he says in another place :
6 In those days communication with the outer world
was slight. Railway or Post Office there was none,
and the carrier after a journey of thirty-two miles used
to bring up on Saturday night our most anxiously
looked-for letters. Ordinarily we could not answer
m
them till the following Friday night, when the carrier
used to arrive at Skipton in time for the mail to the
South, where they reached Charing Cross in some forty
hours. The railway did not reach Leeds till somewhere
about the year 1840, and then it hesitated to proceed
to Skipton for many a day. 1
We need scarcely inform our readers that things have
changed at Arncliffe in this respect since that time.
The opening of the Skipton and Grassington Railway in
the year 1902, and the introduction of the telegraph
into the Dale, have made the village more accessible and
in touch with the outer world. The first work to
which the young Vicar set his hand was the enlarge-
254 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
ment and improvement of the Vicarage. There had
been no resident Vicar for more than half a century,
and the Vicarage and its surroundings were cold and
uninviting. Accordingly, several rooms were added to
the house, and a picturesque garden was laid out around
it, trees were planted, and other improvements effected.
The following quaint letter was written to W. Boyd by
a friend and Fellow of the College who had just
accepted a country living, and had been carrying out
similar alterations in his own parsonage :
< December 30, 1835. .
6 DEAR BOYD,
' I plead guilty to your charge of silence, tho 1
not of forgetfulness or negligence. ... If a man can
keep single he is of infinitely more ministerial use to a
Parish, if a large one especially, and the perfection of
clerical utility I conceive to be most nearly attainable
in this life with a religious sister who objects not to be
Trap6evos paKpov ty ^povov (don^t forget the force of
the S?)), or, who has lost one, and wishes not for another
husband. Nevertheless, a wife is of much use among
the womenkind, and hoc genus omne. With their
gossiping tongues and little winning ways they can
touch on some sympathetic chord, which opens an access
to the heart, that men could never gain. My dear
wife is a good soul, and I believe takes well with the
poor, and when we get thoroughly settled and used to
our new life, I do not doubt that she will, under God's
blessing, be a " helpmeet for me." She read your letter,
and gives the verdict in your favour. I must say OVK
, for you are a bit of a favourite, and she
WILLIAM BOYD 255
desires, when you write, that she may be kindly remem-
bered to your sister. Touching your own celibacy, I
think you are right in form ing a matrimonial Trpocupeai,?.
But who will be the lady is another matter. I am sure
my wife could not be happy there with her South-
Country notions of society. If B had a sister, she
would be the person. Be careful, dear Boyd, in your
choice. It will be Cocsar aut nullus with you. And
you deserve a superior woman. Only do be sure you
marry in the Lord. And recollect on this head women
are really very deceitful, having first deceived themselves.
I would come a long way to tie the knot if no earlier
friend were near. . . . You will think I judge right
in rebuilding on an elevated site with most beautiful
scenery at command, though it is nothing so grand as
Arncliffe. We mean the first peregrination which we
take to visit you ; that was all which you were to under-
stand by my much misunderstood letter.
4 1 had in my own mind projected several plans for the
alteration of your house. I should add to the already
square house a side as under projecting east and
west, with one south window, and one east in drawing-
room and dining-room, one of which would be over the
other. There would be a little hitch about the outlet
of the new stairs, but any architect would put that
right. Indeed, if my memory serves me now as to the
locality of the bedroom, I could make it go right
myself, having with that most obliging of men, F. P.'
(F. Plumptre, afterwards Master of the College), ( drawn
so ire twenty plans for the patching of K , and for
rebuilding in toto. All this, recollect, in answer to
your request two letters ago. You would get two
256 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
good attics over the new part, a store-room with a fire,
and borrowed light from half your present right-hand
sitting-room ; the other half would be a passage from
the Hall. Cut away the present best staircase. Make
a small room over it. Turn kitchen into your own
study; a most beautiful one, too, it will make. Turn
the left-hand sitting-room into kitchen, and put a
double window, as it looks west. Run a wall, as dotted
line, to west of new entrance as far as plantation, to
keep out the not gentle zephyr. Cover it with ivy or
small plantation ; there must be a hole for the pretty
brook. You may fancy this house large, but take my
advice : do have your house large enough for plenty of
friends at a time, and (as the Master prophesies most
boldly of your irat^oiroita) for plenty of Boydiculi. . . .
My better half is now calling on me to walk out, and
I must obey. . . .'
Mr. Boyd carried out the alterations in the Vicarage
very much on the lines suggested in this interesting
letter. And he also followed his friend's advice and
example in taking a wife. He married Miss Isabella
Twining on October 11, 1836, whose father was a
partner in the well-known firm of Twining and Co.
in the Strand, and she proved herself to be a very
sympathetic and devoted helpmeet for him during the
long period of forty-five years. She took great interest
in the Sunday-school, and for many years trained the
village choir, as she had a good knowledge of music.
The issue of this marriage were four children : a
daughter who died in infancy ; William Boyd, Esq.,
of North House, Long Benton, Newcastle-on-Tyne ; the
WILLIAM BOYD
25?
and Mr. Robert Boyd, who died in Scotland in
1883.
Having put the Vicarage and its surroundings
into order, the next work was the improvement and
restoration of the village house of prayer. For a
description of the church, which had been rebuilt in
the end of the eighteenth century in ' Churchwarden
Gothic 1 style, we refer the reader to p. 169 of this
book. It is sufficient to say that it by no means
commended itself to the mind of the young Vicar, who
had just come from Oxford, at a time when the in-
fluence of the Gothic revival was making itself felt,
and who was desirous that his own church should have
an ecclesiastical and reverent appearance. Accord-
ingly, his plan was to preserve as much as possible of
the eighteenth-century church with the sixteenth-
century tower. The walls of about two-thirds of the
nave were left standing, but the remaining third at
the east end was taken down, and a handsome chancel
built on the site of the old foundations of a previous
chancel of the eleventh century. The hideous semi-
Gothic windows were replaced by Gothic windows of the
Perpendicular style ; a timber roof was raised over the
ceiling. But all this was not accomplished without
difficulty. In the first place, the proposed alteration
ran counter to the feelings of the parish and neighbour-
hood. The church was said to be ' dry, warm, and
comfortable.' The following letter from a friend of
one of the chief landowners, who were non-resident, will
give the reader some idea of the kind of opposition
which the young Vicar had to encounter :
17
268 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
' DEAR SIR,
' The have requested me to thank you for
sending them the Plan of the proposed alterations of
Arncliffe Church, which I now return to you. We are
sorry that occasion should occur for any difference of
opinion between us and yourself as Vicar of the parish,
but as we consider the Church in its present state quite
adequate for every purpose of Divine worship, we cannot
give our concurrence to an alteration which we think
unnecessary. The Church, comparatively speaking, is a
modern structure, and tho"* its architecture may not
accord with the taste of everyone, still, having been
built at a considerable expense, and in a way considered
at the time sufficient for its intended purpose, we think
it ought not to be remodelled without some stronger
reason than a matter of taste, which might lead to
endless alterations, according to the opinion of each
successive Vicar. The have contributed to the
erection of several Churches and Chapels in places
where they have no interest whatever, except as being
members of the general community of Christians, and
they hope they would not be found backward in con-
tributing to any necessary improvement to the Church
of their native parish.'
After mentioning some other objections, the writer
adds :
4 And if they can by any means in their power prevent
it, they will certainly feel themselves justified in doing so."
This was enough to damp the spirits of the most
ardent architectural reformer, but the Vicar was not
to be turned from his purpose. He was in advance of
WILLIAM BO YD 259
his neighbours in his ideal of church life and work,
and he knew that the time would come when the ill-
constructed and hideous structure would be considered
a disgrace to the parish. So Mr. Salvin, of Newcastle,
was engaged as architect, and the financial difficulty
was partly overcome by the generous gift of X J 100 from
the Dawson family ; Mr. John Hammond gave ^20, and
the College contributed to the erection and embellish-
ment of the chancel. The Vicar also took pupils
young men to be prepared for the University. Among
these were the father of the present Marquis of
Normanby ; William, eldest son of the late Sir T.
Pilkington ; and the late Colonel Starkie, of Huntroyd.
A portion of the profits received from this source was
devoted to the restoration of the church. At a later
date (about 1850) he took boys as pupils to educate
with his own sons. They all lived in the Vicarage
under the care of a tutor. But there were other
hindrances besides local opposition and want of funds.
The Archdeacon thus alludes to them :
'The difficulties were very great, as was the ignor-
ance of everybody concerned. Parker's most useful
"Glossary 11 was just published (1840), "The Ecclesio-
logist " not till 1843. In so remote a place it was not
easy to find either masons or joiners who knew what an
ogee arch was, or to carry out the plans or suggestions
of an architect. Something, however, was done, and
though not so well as it could be done at this time,
still, perhaps as much and as well as could reasonably
be expected under the circumstances."
Certainly it was not an easy task to transform the
interior, or exterior, for that matter, into anything of
n 2
260 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
an ecclesiastical character. Outside every alternate
window was removed altogether and replaced by a
buttress, and in the place of the rest as good a design
for a ' late ' window as Mr. Salvin could give. The
interior, perhaps, was worse. The three-decker pulpit
was certainly a wonderful specimen of its kind ; out of
the upper or preaching story a good-sized preacher
was said to be able to touch the flat ceiling, which
extended from east to west, an unbroken surface of
unlovely whitewash. Of course, it was not easy to do
much to relieve this baldness. On the removal of the
ceiling the bare timbers of the roof presented so mean
an appearance that anything tolerable was hardly pos-
sible. The old-fashioned Vicar in the next parish could
never be persuaded to say more of it than that it was a
great ' alteration "* ; he never would say ' improvement/
At the same time Mr. Boyd turned his attention to
the improvement of the educational facilities of his
Dale. With the aid of a grant from the College, and
some donations from two or three landowners, he
rebuilt, in an elegant style, the schoolroom at Arncliffe,
which was situated upon the glebe land, and made it
more commodious than the old one. In the hamlet of
Litton he built, chiefly at his own expense, an entirely
new schoolroom ; the landowners in that little village
seconded his efforts by conveying to him a site suitable
for the purpose.
Another branch of work into which Mr. Boyd threw
himself heart and soul was the improvement of the
schoolmasters in his neighbourhood. He was glad to
help those who were already in office by suggesting
books for their private reading, and also by recommend-
WILLIAM BOYD
ing improved methods of teaching in the schools. It
was no unusual thing for him to have three or four
young men lodging in the village, and undergoing a
preliminary training to fit them for their work. This,
it must be remembered, was done long before the estab-
lishment of training colleges, and nearly a quarter of a
century before the Education Act of 1870. He was
also careful to set on foot ' Cottage Lectures, 1 on week-
days during a part of the winter months, in the two
hamlets of Litton and Hawks wick.
Having thus got his small parish into good working
order, and secured help in his clerical work from the
incumbent of Halton Gill a small chapelry at the
west end of the parish who generally acted as curate,
and superintended the parish in the absence of the
Vicar, he soon had an opportunity afforded to him by
his Diocesan (Dr, Longley) of extending his sphere of
usefulness. In 1847 4 the office of Rural Dean was revived
in the Diocese of Ripon, and the charge of the North
Craven deanery was offered to Mr. Boyd, and accepted
by him.
4 Amongst the Rural Deans, 1 says an old friend, ' the
Vicar of Arncliffe was facile princeps. The appoint-
ment to him was not one of mere dignity, but an incen-
tive to greater work in a wider sphere. In his examina-
tion of the churches in his deanery he found many of
them in a slovenly and dilapidated condition, and by
his exhortation and example, these evils were soon
remedied, a wave of church restoration passed over the
whole district, and now it would be difficult to find any
deanery in which the churches are more lovingly cared
for/
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
He lived to see every church in the deanery restored
or rebuilt, Giggleswick being the last ; and at the
reopening of that church he preached the sermon, and
made an allusion to this fact. There was one other
feature connected with this deanery which was more
difficult to grapple with, and that was the poverty
of the endowments and the large number of small
livings. Many of them were considerably less than
100 per annum. It was found then, as it is now, that
for ten people who will subscribe to church restoration,
only one could be found who would add to the endow-
ment fund. But this did not deter the Rural Dean ; .he
at once established a fund for the increase of the
endowments of small livings in North Craven. This
fund has been in existence for more than forty years,
and has done such good work that all the livings in the
deanery are now well over ^lOO per annum, and the
aim of the present committee of the fund is to raise them
all to the modest sum of ^200 per annum. Six out of
the sixteen benefices are still under that sum.
This work, it must not be forgotten, can be traced
to the energy and perseverance of one man, and it might
be said to his liberality, for he was a large contributor
to this good work. He was blessed with ample means
on the death of his father, and he used them as a trust,
and not as a possession. He preached, and, what is
more, he practised the Christian duty of putting aside
and devoting to charitable uses one-tenth of his income.
In fact, I think I am right in saying that his liberality
must often have exceeded that proportion. Many of
the Church societies, local, diocesan, and general, knew
him as a liberal subscriber. He was always deeply
WILLIAM BOYD 263
interested in the extension of the colonial episcopate.
When his old College friend, Bishop Gray, was ap-
pointed to Capetown, he was a most generous con-
tributor towards the requirements of church work in
that diocese. And it is no secret now that, during one
of his visits to Arncliffe in 1852, the Bishop tried to
induce the subject of this memoir to allow himself to be
nominated for the Bishopric of Natal. Could he have
been drawn from his seclusion and consecrated Bishop
of Natal, many of those troubles which fell upon the
South African Church and crippled the energies of
Bishop Gray might never have happened. But how
true it is that ' L'homme propose, mais Dieu dispose.'
Mr. Boyd was accustomed to hold frequent Chapters
of the clergy at various centres in his wide deanery (the
largest in area in the diocese). On such occasions a
portion of the Greek Testament was 'udied, and a
paper on some current ecclesiastical t< pic was read.
But it was no easy matter sometimes for one living at
Arncliffe to hold such meetings. He has told the
writer that on more than one occasion, he has started
in his carriage or trap with a spade for the purpose
of cutting the snow, which sometimes accumulates
in drifts of a great depth on the roads, and forbids
all further progress unless they can be removed. He
also made periodical visits to the schools of the deanery,
and examined the children in secular as well as in
religious knowledge, at a time when Government inspec-
tion was unknown.
In the year 1860, Bishop Bickersteth showed his
appreciation of his labours in the diocese by appointing
him to an Honorary Canonry in Ripon Cathedral. The
264 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Bishop writes: 'It has been represented to me that
there are several Clergy in the Diocese to whom it
would be a source of gratification to accept the appoint-
ment to an Honorary Canonry in the Cathedral of
Ripon. An " Order in Council " of May, 1844, gives
the Bishop the power of founding a certain number of
such Canonries in the Cathedral. And I have deter-
mined to avail myself of this power. My object in
writing to you is to ask if it would be agreeable to you
to accept such an appointment, as a mark of the sense
which I entertain of your long and valuable services in
the Diocese, and of the success which it has pleased God
to grant to your labours in Arncliffe. I regret that the
office has no emolument, but the only fixed duty is to
preach once on some given Sunday in the Cathedral in
the course of the year/
In 1865 the clergy of the archdeaconry gave him a
mark of their confidence by electing him to be one
of their proctors in Convocation. He was re-elected
in 1873, and was a regular attendant at the sessions at
York, but he usually gave a silent vote. In fact, he
seldom spoke at any public meetings, and never felt very
happy in doing so. He once expressed his regret to the
writer that he had not taken more pains to acquire a
facility in public speaking in his early days.
Busv as he usually was with church work of various
kinds in his own diocese, Mr. Boyd did not forget the
needs of the church in his native county. He had
noticed in visiting Newcastle from time to time that
there was much .need for increased church accommoda-
tion amongst the poorer parishes in the east end of that
city. By his initiation, and mainly owing to his energy
WILLIAM BOYD 265
and liberality, and with the help of some of the members
of his family who still resided in that neighbourhood, the
parish of All Saints was divided, and two new churches
St. Michael's, and St. Cuthbert's were built and
endowed.
It has often been assumed that Mr. Boyd, coming
from Oxford and from the midst of University life
there, must have thought his lot a hard one, when he
was cast into such an isolated parish. But this was by
no means the case. His life at Arncliffe was very happy,
for he had a versatile mind with many interests. He
explored the botany of the district. Nothing delighted
him more than to set out in an afternoon with a small
party of friends in quest of some rare flower, and for
several years, when the Cypripedium calceolus (the
Lady's Slipper) grew in the valley, he tried to pre-
serve it, and to shield its habitat from detection by
pinching off the blossoms as soon as they appeared.
But in spite of this precaution, it soon became extinct
in the Dale. He also made a small collection of fossils
of the mountain limestone and of the Yoredale series,
which form the geological strata of the parish. He
found, perhaps, more pleasure still in his leisure time in
making sketches in water-colours of the most beautiful
6 views ' in which the valley abounds, for he had the eye
and skill of the artist, and was very clever with his
pencil and rapid in his execution, and he has left in the
possession of his son a series of water-colours executed
during his frequent Continental tours in France, Switzer-
land, and Italy, which for an amateur (and I believe he
was entirely self-taught) rise to no mean degree of
excellence. He was to be seen at his best when he was
266 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
surrounded by a group of friends, to whom he would
describe the scene of one of the pictures and recall
a little incident with which some of the party would be
familiar.
The Vicar was a charming host, and he was ' given
to hospitality.' At his house in the summer months
were to be found ' all sorts and conditions of men,' for
he had a large circle of friends and admirers. An over-
worked clergyman and his wife, a friend from the South
of England, or a casual visitor who had come to see
the beauties of the Dale, were all to be found at the
hospitable board of the Vicarage. With such pleasant
intercourse, with frequent little tours to picturesque
spots in Great Britain and the Continent, he passed
through his long life pleasantly and happily.
It cannot be said that he was a student, although he
took a keen interest in all that was passing in the theo-
logical world and possessed a valuable library, but he
seldom put his pen to paper except for the purpose of
writing his sermons. Accordingly, the literary works
which he has left behind are few and scanty. Only one
of his sermons was printed, and that was preached at
Ripon Cathedral at the Ordination on Trinity Sunday,
1850. It was published at the request of the priests
and deacons who were then ordained. The subject was
6 The Work of the Ministry '; the text was taken from
Eph. iv. 11. The sermon, which consists of a vindication
of the Apostolic source of the ministry, with a reminder
of its responsibilities, contains several quotations from
Hooker, Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Wilson, Jebb, Bull,
and S. Chrysostom, and shows signs of wide and careful
reading.
WILLIAM BOYD 267
As a specimen of his style one or two short quota-
tions are given : ' The form and economy of this
ministry we of the Church of England have received
from Apostolic times, and have kept it, too, as a sacred
trust. Through good report and evil report, in the
days of prosperity and adversity, through days of dark-
ness and of light, we have by the good providence of
God kept unimpaired that succession of authority and
order handed down to us of our fathers, and this our
Church teaches in her ordinal . . . and therein she has
made express and exact provision for the continuance
and permanence for ever of such functions.' Com-
menting on his text, he continues : ' Nor do the words
of the text militate against this assertion. We have a
kindred passage in the same Apostle's Epistle to the
Corinthians (1 Cor. xii. 28). In neither case is the
Apostle enumerating the orders of the ministry, but
the sundry gifts and graces and abilities which Christ
bestowed on His servants for the benefit of His people,
for the edifying of His saints. Some of them are the
ordinary and some the extraordinary gifts which are
needed for building up the Christian Church in her
infancy. Any of them might be, and many were,
exercised by those who had been duly called to the
ministry by the laying-on of Apostolic hands. The
prophets, evangelists, and teachers spoken of were not
distinct and permanent orders, but vocations and
varieties of grace exhibited through the gift of the
spirit by those who were apostles, or priests, or
deacons. And thus, as our Hooker says, no man's
gifts or graces can make him a minister of holy
things unless ordination do give him power. And we
268 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
nowhere find either prophets or evangelists to have been
made so by ordination, but all whom the Church did
ordain were either to serve as presbyters or deacons/
And again he says : ' But if one consideration more
than another can increase the seriousness of our thoughts
on the subject, it is that the ministerial office is the
most important which a man can undertake an office
and function in the very service of Christ's mediatorial
work. It is impossible to have too high a conception of
the reverend dignity of this ministry, as it is to have
too low an estimate of ourselves who are entrusted with
it. We cannot magnify our office too highly, for
wherein we magnify the office, therein we multiply our
responsibilities. 1
Here, perhaps, is the place to say something about
his preaching generally. He was in no sense an orator,
and he preferred to preach from a manuscript to his
small country congregation. This manuscript he held
in his hand, and the closeness with which his eyes
followed the page detracted somewhat from the effect
of his delivery, which was clear and impressive. His
sermons were usually sound, judicious, simple, and
eloquent expositions of Scriptural truth, and the matter
was always weighty and carefully considered. His habit
at Arncliffe was to preach only once on Sunday ; in the
afternoon he catechized the children in the face of the
congregation, as the rubric directs. But in his latter
years this practice was given up, and an address, partly
extempore or from short notes, was given after the
second lesson at Evensong, a custom which is still
retained in Arncliffe Church. His zeal and his earnest-
ness made his preaching generally acceptable, and he
WILLIAM BOYD 269
was often asked by his clerical brethren to preach in
their churches on special occasions. Few who have
heard him will ever forget the impassioned manner in
which he could plead for the poor of a London slum, or
urge the claims of some institution in which he was
interested.
In the year 1854 the Yorkshire Architectural
Society visited Craven, and Mr. Boyd acceded to the
request that he should read a paper on The 4 Churches of
North Craven. 1 The paper was afterwards printed in
the Transactions of the Society, and was illustrated
with engravings of some ancient fonts, etc., in the
district, from his own drawings. In the year 1878 he
was chosen to read a paper at the Church Congress, held
at Sheffield, on the difficulties of Church life in small
parishes. The title of his paper, which was received
with much applause, was the ' Church in the Dales. 1
He began by saying that a leading journal had asserted
c that after a parish priest has been twenty years in the
same place in the country, he is not worth his salt.' ' I
have been, 1 he said, ' twice twenty and more.' His long
experience gave him at once the attention of the meet-
ing, and he held it whilst he described his parish and
his difficulties. He spoke of the isolation caused by his
being sixteen miles from a railway, of the difficulty of
getting up meetings in a climate where the rainfall is
60 inches in the year. ' You have fixed the day and
the time (for the missionary meeting), and by way of a
treat to your people you have arranged for some
accredited " Deputation " or friend of the Society's
work to come and speak to them. The day comes
and the night a heavy downpour of rain all day
270 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
succeeded by a heavier downpour at night. You repair
anxiously to the schoolroom; you find the school-
master and three children. You wait awhile ; six or
seven drop in in their soaked garments. With some
misgiving you ask the " Deputation " to pour out his
eloquence to your ten or twelve people. This happened
lately in a neighbouring village, and that was not
as bad as once in my own village, where the audi-
ence consisted of two the schoolmaster and one
other f
He also advocated the use of laymen to minister in
our small hamlets in schoolrooms, or mission-rooms when
the people are placed at some distance from the church.
It is certain that many a Dissenting chapel would not
have been built if this system of licensed lay help had
been adopted many years ago in our smaller villages in
the way that it has been used in towns and large
parishes. And hoping for a further increase of the
episcopate, he said : ' It then might be possible that
such remote places might be cheered by an occasional
visit from the Mother Church, the Parson would be
encouraged, would feel his isolation lessened, and would
recognise more his close connection with the body ;
whereas now, in some places, he seems so far from the
centre that he feels but indistinctly and feebly the
pulses and throbs of the heart. Such a visit would
restore and quicken his animation and refresh him in
his work. If our Bishops were increased in number,
only fancy what a cheer it would be to have him stay
in the parsonage for a week, see his schools, his chapels,
his Sunday work, and get advice and counsel, and, if
need be, reproof/
WILLIAM BOYD 271
He then added a few words on the poverty of the
clergy and the need of increasing the endowments,
if men of high attainments and ability were to be
obtained for country places. And he concluded with
these touching words : * The " Dale Parson " may be
sometimes tempted to think that he is removed from
all the stirring work that is going on for Christ in
the busy city, that, while the battle is raging in the
front, he is useless in the rear. Still, he ought, I pre-
sume, to be satisfied that, tho' in a little corner, he
is yet graciously permitted to be working for the
Master ; and though the post be distant or insignifi-
cant, still, He has called him and placed him there
to keep it, and Duty bids him be found watching, like a
sentinel at an outpost, watching till the Captain comes. 1
His last and most important literary effort was under-
taken in his old age. It was only a few weeks before
his death that he completed the little work, in conjunc-
tion with the present writer, entitled ' Littondale, Past
and Present. 1 In the first part of the book 'Fifty
Years in Arncliffe' he told briefly the story of the
Dale. It is a charming little work, in which the
antiquities and the main physical features of the Dale
and its recent history are simply but impressively
related. But it is much to be regretted that Mr. Bojc
did not keep a diary during his long sojourn in Arn-
cliffe. Such a record, giving the natural history of the
Dale, with notices of the habits of birds, insects, etc
after the manner of Wnite's 'Selborne, 1 would have
been invaluable ; and the Vicar was quite equal to the
task, as he was a keen naturalist, and delighted in
observing the natural phenomena of the Dale. He is
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
said to have preserved the Dipper, or Water Ousel (so
common here) from extermination in this district.
When a decree for its destruction had gone out from
the members of a fishing club, on the ground that the
bird devoured fish spawn, Mr. Boyd proved that it was
guiltless of this crime, and the crusade against the
bird ceased. He helped the Meteorological Society by
taking the rainfall at Arncliffe for more than forty
years, so that now it is one of the oldest records in
the country, as the rainfall is still carefully registered
at the Vicarage. He was particularly fond of trees,
and planted a considerable number on the glebe land
at Arncliffe. In his latter years, he founded a little
club, which he named the 'Littondale Forestry Club,'
the object of which was to induce others in the Dale
to plant trees in positions which needed them, and the
club effected something in this respect. It is said that
on one occasion when he saw a small farmer about to
fell a tree in a hedgerow close to the main road, the
Vicar offered the owner the value of the tree if he
would allow it to stand. His kind offer was accepted,
and the tree remains to this day. But his little book
is somewhat disappointing as a record of his life and
work, and is wanting in personal details. However,
we must refer the reader to it if he wishes to know
something of the antiquities and ancient manners and
customs of the Dale, which, as Mr. Boyd says, had in
many instances died out in his incumbency.
To return to the narrative of his life. When he had
been forty-five years in the parish the most important
preferment of his life came to him. In 1880 the
Archdeaconry of Craven became vacant, and Bishop
WILLIAM BOYD 273
Bickersteth offered it to the veteran Vicar of Arn-
cliffe. The Bishop writes : ' There is not a clergy-
man in the Archdeaconry better entitled than
yourself to receive this appointment, nor one better
qualified to discharge the duties with advantage to the
Diocese and Church. I shall therefore be gratified to
find that you are willing to undertake the duties, and
I trust that you may long be spared to perform them
with comfort to yourself, and for the glory of God and
the welfare of the Church.' He was then over seventy
years of age, and living in a very inaccessible parish.
His first impulse was to refuse this important post ;
but he was prevailed upon by his friends to reconsider
the matter, and he finally allowed himself to be
appointed to the office.
In the same year he retired from the office of Rural
Dean of North Craven. The clergy of the deanery,
with other friends and neighbours, showed their appre-
ciation of his long and valued services by presenting
him with a portrait in oils of himself, executed by
Lehmann, of London, at a cost of ^150. The picture
is considered by those who are capable of judging as
a faithful representation of Mr. Boyd as he appeared
at that period of his life. It was certainly a serious
undertaking for one of his age to enter upon the duties
of an Archdeacon, for we must bear in mind that the
Bishopric of Wakefield had not then been founded, so
that in addition to Leeds, Bradford, and Keighley, he
had the important towns of Halifax, Huddersfield, and
Wakefield within his jurisdiction. Living as he did in
a corner of the diocese, it was not possible for him to
see much of the clergy in the south-east portion of the
18
274 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
West Riding, although his health was usually vigorous
and he was full of energy. But counsel and help were
constantly being sent to the various parishes of the
archdeaconry. The clergy felt that they had in him
a friend and an adviser to whom they could apply in
all difficulties, and whose long experience, practical turn
of mind, genial disposition, sympathy and kindness,
endeared him to them. When great efforts were made
to raise the necessary amount for the endowment of the
Bishopric of Wakefield, he contributed liberally to the
fund, and threw himself heartily into the work by
attending public meetings, and bringing the matter
before the more wealthy laity.
His charges were always carefully prepared and
very practical in tone. As a specimen of his style
I give his remarks on the ' reading of the clergy ' :
' I ask your attention while I dwell on a point of
much importance to the members of our congregations
even on the simple subject of Church history. With-
out a tolerable knowledge and acquaintance with that
in its many branches, he can hardly grasp the true
claims and foundations of the Church in England.
Such history is our strongest line of defence. If we
cannot prove that a branch of the Church Catholic and
Apostolic was planted in the land in the earliest ages ;
that it existed long as an independent branch, flourish-
ing by the side of other such churches in Europe,
taking her part in early councils with them ; and
that although brought under the bondage and usurpa-
tion of the Roman See she has happily freed her-
self from that yoke, and preserved unbroken the con-
tinuity of her existence as much as the Churches of
WILLIAM BOYD 275
France, Spain, or even Rome herself if the clergy are
not familiar with such history, I see not how on these
points they can withstand the objections of the aggressor,
whether from the side of Rome or Geneva. Of course,
it is not given to all to be learned theologians or even
students of divinity. Nay, rather, it is a subject of
the gravest moment, and it is too notorious that in
the ranks of the priesthood the number of those
who devote some portion of each day to theological
reading, even to reading a few verses of the Holy
Word in the original tongue, is sadly decreasing. In
the busy, restless work of our large towns it cannot be
denied that it is most difficult to find the needful brief
time, perhaps impossible. And yet I cannot but think
(tho 1 perad venture I may be mistaken) that the necessity
for such study might take precedence over some other
duties which now are allowed a prior claim. 1 On daily
prayer in church he remarks : ' I cannot but think that
more men have been turned to pray for themselves by
seeing their pastor and example daily repair to his
parish church for that purpose than by many an earnest
and energetic sermon. We can all recall the trite but
touching story of the devoted missionary who said his
daily office of prayer in his temporary dwelling, but for
a whole twelvemonth had not a single convert. But
after a while many flocked to hear, many learnt to
believe, and they said they had been primarily touched
by his daily going to prayer alone. The effect of such
an effort, though palpable on others, is not without its
special blessing on the parish priest. The very fact of
realizing and feeling conscious of the Divine abiding
presence of Christ in his house must, cannot fail to,
182
276 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
refresh that inner divine life which alone is our strength.
The first token of the change in the manner of life in
the great Apostle was, "Behold, he prayeth"' (from
< Charge ' in 1883).
When Dr. Boyd Carpenter became Bishop of Ripon
he quickly recognised the worth of his Archdeacon,
and on several occasions he gracefully alluded to his
work at Arncliffe and in the diocese (cf. article on ' The
Church in the West Riding 1 in the Quiver, vol. xxii.,
p. 338; and the Bishop's address at the Diocesan
Conference in 1893 ; and cf. p. 285 of this memoir).
One of the most interesting gatherings ever seen at
Arncliffe during Mr. Boyd's life was that which took
place in July, 1885, when he kept his 'jubilee.' The
occasion was celebrated in the village with much demon-
stration of affection and regard, and testimony was
evident on all sides of the esteem with which the
inhabitants, not only of Arncliffe itself, but of the
neighbouring villages, regarded one who had spent a
long life among them.
On Sunday, June 28, the Vicar preached at the
morning service, repeating the sermon that he had
addressed to his parishioners on the occasion of his first
coming to reside fifty years before. The interesting
event was, moreover, made the subject of special
rejoicings on the following Wednesday. There was an
early celebration of the Holy Communion, followed by
Matins, at which the sermon was preached by the
Rev. Canon Sharp, Vicar of Horbury (who had him-
self recently attained the fiftieth year of residence in
his own parish), in which he alluded to the labours
of his friend in that remote place for the long period
WILLIAM BOYD 277
of fifty years, and to the feelings of thankfulness that
should animate the Vicar and his parishioners for the
work which God in His providence had allowed him to
carry on there. 'It was a sight which rejoiced the
heart,' says one who was there, ' to see these two Nestors
of the Church supporting each other in the celebration
of the jubilee.'
Subsequently the Vicar entertained his friends and
neighbours at dinner in a tent erected on the village
green, when he was the recipient of a very valuable gift
of plate, consisting of a silver-gilt claret-jug with cups,
and silver salver, from the parishioners of Arncliffe,
Litton, Hawkswick, and Halton Gill (cf. 'Littondale,
Past and Present, 1 pp. 47, 48).
It was at this time that he employed men in taking
off three or four feet from the top of a rather steep rise
in the road about half a mile from the village, which
has since been called the ' Vicar's Hill.' His object in
doing this was a merciful one. He always regarded
this steep portion of the road as a sore trial to his tired
horses returning, as they often did, after a journey of
thirty-two miles to Skipton and back. And he gave
two handsome oak doors, which stand at the entrance
into the nave of the church, as a memorial of the
jubilee.
This is, perhaps, the place to say something about
his theological views and personal characteristics. He
left Oxford too early to be influenced by the leaders of
the Oxford Movement, but yet he retained to the last
a grateful recollection of their work in reviving Church
life and in directing attention to some forgotten truths.
He could in no sense be called a party man, and was
278 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
without a tinge of bitterness towards those who differed
from him. His theological standpoint was that of
the best English divines of the seventeenth century.
Hooker, Jeremy Taylor, Andrewes, and Cosin were his
chief authorities. He valued very highly the parochial
system of the Church of England, and he believed our
shortcomings to be owing chiefly to the fact that this
system, as recognised in the formularies of the Church,
has never been universally carried out. So he dis-
trusted new methods and deviations from old-estab-
lished usages. But from his long residence in a small
country parish, he sometimes failed to realize how much
the nation by the vast increase of population had out-
grown the Church's methods in many places, and that
it was impossible to carry out in every detail the
rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer under such
altered conditions. For instance, the baptism of infants
without sponsors, or with only the father and mother
as sponsors, which now so often takes place in large
parishes, would have been a great shock to him. In
his own parish, he not only insisted on sureties, as the
rubric requires, but also kept for many years a book in
which the names of all god-parents were entered when
the register of the baptism was made.
He held very strongly to the via media position, and
may be said to have been more * advanced, 1 if we may
use a modern phrase, in his theological views and in his
mental attitude than he was in his practice. For nearly
forty years he never had more than one celebration
of the Holy Communion monthly in the parish, and
that was after Matins. In his latter years the Holy
Communion was celebrated twice in the month, and
WILLIAM BOYD 279
early Communions only four or five times in the year
on the fifth Sunday in the month. There was no daily
service until about the year 1879 or 1880.
Mr. Boyd was diligent in visiting the sick and the
whole, and when visiting the former usually said on
entering the house the opening words of the Office for
the Visitation of the Sick, ' Peace be to this house.'
He took great interest in the religious education of the
children of the valley, and it was well worth a visit to
the parish at Whitsuntide to hear him catechize the
children as they stood after the second lesson at Even-
song in the aisle of the church and answered the
questions put to them by their venerable Vicar. He
was of middle height, and stood very erect even in
old age, with keen, intelligent eyes, and broad forehead.
The freshness of his complexion gave him a youthful
appearance long after he had reached middle age, and
in his latter years his snow-white hair added a charm to
his venerable appearance. His manners were distin-
guished by the greatest courtesy. He was not without
a keen sense of humour, but it was not every kind of
humour which appealed to him. He was never able to
read or appreciate the works of Dickens and Thackeray,
and for this reason, they were almost unknown to him.
He inherited from his father a full appreciation and
acquaintance with the plays of Shakespeare. Sir Walter
Scott was his favourite novelist, and he read in his
latter years the works of many recent writers of fiction,
but generally with scant approval.
His conversation was always instructive and interest-
ing; not that he was what would be called a great
talker on the contrary, at times he was very reticent
280 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
but when surrounded by genial friends his conversation
was flavoured by many ' wise saws and modern instances.'
The versatility of his mind, and the breadth of interests,
made him a most charming companion, for here the
adage of the Roman writer could appropriately be
applied Homo sum, nihil humani a me alienum puto.
He had a strong constitution, and was very active even
to the last. When he had reached the age of seventy,
at the annual village festival, he challenged the men of
the same age in his parish to a race, but no one ven-
tured to contest the matter with the Vicar. He was
very fond of skating, a form of recreation in which he
seldom had an opportunity of indulging, as the river
at Arncliffe is so rapid that it is rarely frozen over ;
but at a little tarn on the hilltops and on the mill-
pond, he sometimes engaged in his favourite pastime.
At the age of seventy, he did the outside edge back-
wards, and then laid aside his skates for ever.
He helped his parishioners in secular as well as in
spiritual matters. The village pump owes its origin
to his liberality, and he set on foot a flower and poultry
show, which did good work for some years until the
population of the Dale dwindled so much that it
became very difficult to get sufficient entries to make
the event attractive. It was at last discontinued and
a village festival substituted, which is still carried on,
and affords an opportunity for the inhabitants and
friends of the valley to meet annually under the shadow
of their parish church as a united community. To
encourage the better production of butter, in which
it is said that the Dane and Breton surpass us, he
instituted a butter show, at which prizes were given for
WILLIAM BOYD 281
the best specimens. In these and other ways he
showed that he had the interests of the Dale at heart.
His last work in the parish was the enlargement of
the churchyard, which was sadly needed. The under-
taking was accomplished in a very simple manner and
with little expense. There was a suitable piece of
waste ground lying on the south-west side of the church-
yard containing some trees, which had been planted by
himself, and many loose stones. Some of the trees were
cut down, the surface was covered with soil gathered from
the roadside and elsewhere by the Vicar's cart and those
of some of the farmers, who voluntarily gave this help.
A wall was built enclosing and joining the waste land
to the old churchyard, and as there was no lord of the
manor in the township of Arncliffe, the ground was
conveyed to the Vicar and churchwardens by the prin-
cipal inhabitants and landowners, and thus, at the cost
of only a few pounds, the burial-ground of the Dale
was enlarged and the new portion made suitable for
interments, and in 1890 it was consecrated by the
Bishop of Ripon at the time of a Confirmation visit.
To commemorate the event the Vicar caused a large
stone cross to be erected in the new ground, and
it forms a pleasing and conspicuous object in the
churchyard.
The Archdeacon, who had now exceeded the age
of eighty years, in consequence of increasing infirmities
and long distance from a railway, was desirous of relin-
quishing his office. He sent in his resignation, but the
Bishop of Ripon, who knew his worth, was loath to
part with so distinguished a veteran, and the deed of
resignation remained unsigned. Accordingly, at the
282 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
time of his decease, in 1893, he was still Archdeacon of
Craven. The end came rather suddenly. He had been
able in his latter years to escape the cold climate of
Upper Wharfedale by a sojourn in the South during the
early spring months, but an attack of peritonitis in
May, followed by another in July, proved too much for
his senile frame, and he succumbed to the disease on
July 18, 1893.
During his last illness he was much comforted by the
presence and ministrations of his old friend, the late
Canon Bittleston. His eldest son, Mr. W. Boyd, in
whose presence he passed away, frequently came over
from Newcastle to see him, and, as long as he was able
to see them, he was cheered by the visits of many
devoted friends and neighbours.
On receiving the news of his death, the Bishop wrote
as follows, to Mr. W. Boyd : ' I am grieved for you and
the very heavy loss which has befallen you. May God,
your father's God, be near to you and be your stay.
You have a rare, a unique treasure, in the memory of
your father's life and character a life singularly pure
and devoted, a character bright, single-minded, and full
of love. I cannot speak of what his loss is to us in the
diocese ; no Bishop ever had a truer, wiser, or kinder
right hand than he. I shall hope to be with you at
two o'clock. I shall be glad to be allowed to take part
in any way which can show my love for him, reverence
for his character, and my grateful sense of his true
service to the Church.''
The funeral took place on July 21, when a large con-
course of people from far and near assembled around
the grave as the body of the ' Patriarch of the Dales '
WILLIAM BOYD 283
was lowered to its rest. Few who were present will ever
forget the address which the Bishop of Ripon gave in
the church, as in simple and yet eloquent words, found-
ing his remarks upon Ps. xvi. 11, he dwelt upon the
lessons of his long and useful life. The Archdeacon
was buried in a coffin made from the wood of an elm-
tree which he had planted when he first came to
Arncliffe. He had the tree cut down a few years before
he died, and placed in the hands of the village carpenter
for this purpose.
Soon after Mr. Boyd's decease the present Vicar
made an effort to erect a suitable memorial of his
predecessor's life and work. This proposal was heartily
supported by the parishioners and friends of the Arch-
deacon. At a meeting held in the schoolroom at
Arncliffe, a resolution was passed that an oak screen
should be placed in the church. The sum of ^00 was
soon collected for this purpose, and the handsome
screen which now stands at the entrance to the chancel
was designed by Mr. Tute of London. As it was the
Archdeacon's wish to have such an ornament in the
church, and he had even gone so far towards carrying
out his intentions as to procure some designs for the
work, it was thought by all that this was a most
appropriate memorial.
His two surviving sons, Mr. W. Boyd and the Ven.
C. T. Boyd, also placed a stained-glass window in the
south wall of the chancel to the memory of their
father. The window was the work of Messrs. Heaton,
Butler and Baynes, who had already designed a window
to the memory of their mother ; the design represented the
rebuilding of the Temple by Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.
284 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
A brass plate under the window bears this inscrip-
tion :
* Ad majorem Dei gloriam. Gulielmus Boyd,
Archidiac, Craven et hujus Parochiae fidelis sacerdos
per quinquaginta et octo annos, hanc sacrosanctam
ecclesiam instauravit et ornavit ob. Julii xviii., A.D. 1893,
aetatis suae, 84. In piam memoriam delecti patris hanc
fenestram filii Gulielmus et Carolus poni curaverunt." 1
It was no light task which the present Vicar entered
upon when he resolved to take up the work of such a
pastor, for University College had determined, for
reasons which it is not necessary to give here, to with-
draw the liberal allowance of 4t%0 per annum (in
addition to the glebe) which they made to Mr. Boyd,
leaving only a pension of =20 per annum and glebe
land worth 60, as the stipend of the future Vicar. The
Archdeacon, who was aware of the resolution of the
College, refused one or two offers of more valuable
livings, and in his lifetime made the munificent gift
of d?l,000 to increase the endowment, and he induced
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to give the same
amount. But on account of the large size of the
Vicarage and grounds, and the diminishing population
of the Dale, it was decided that the perpetual curacy of
Halton Gill should be united to the mother church of
Arncliffe, which was effected by an 4 Order in Council '
dated January 29, 1894.
This memoir may be appropriately brought to a con-
clusion by calling the reader's attention to these
eloquent words, which were addressed to the Ripon
Diocesan Conference by Dr. Boyd Carpenter in 1893:
WILLIAM BOYD 285
'When on that bright July afternoon we gathered
round the open grave at Arncliffe, and laid him by the
side of his wife under the shadow of the church he
had loved so well, we felt that we had lost one who, as
a parish priest, was an example to all, as a large-
hearted man had been the supporter of many, and as
a kind, a warm-hearted, and steadfast friend, had left
the memory of his constancy and his love to add lustre
to the brightness of a life which, if lived in remoteness,
had never grown stale, and which, though passed in
comparative obscurity, had shed an undying brightness
through the whole diocese. When 200 years ago the
Irish laid Bishop Bedell to his rest, the united
utterance of friend and foe was this : ' Sit anima mea
cum Bedello."* And there are very few of us who
would not (changing the name of Bedell to Boyd)
utter that prayer as we think of the saintly, sweet-
tempered, and sagacious servant of God who lies under
the shelter of the hills at ArnclinV
INDEX
ADAM, Mr., 181
Addingham, 137
Airton, 57
All Saints, living of, 74
American War, 187
Amherst, Lord, 189
Appleby, 17, 19, 31, 69
Castle, 8, 31
Church, 9-11, 132
Armitstead, Mr., 74, 79, 80
Arncliffe, 130, 158, 161, 216, 250,
252
Church, 16, 169, 257, 268
Vicarage, 156, 254
Assheton family, 29
Assheton, Sir J., 32, 60, 182
R., 185
Ballard, F., 136, 149
Bampton Lectures, 172
Barbadoes, 85
Barden Tower, 8, 9, 11, 15
Barrymore, Lord, 76
Baynard Castle, 7
Beamsley, 19, 21, 154
Benson, Dr., 232
Beverley School, 156
Bickersteth, Bishop, 263, 273
Binfield, 71-73, 75-77, 83, 86, 90,
108
Birmingham, St. Martin's, 157,
179
Birtwhistle, W., 203
Bittleston, Canon, 282
Boconnoc, 28
Bolton Abbey, 155, 226
Book of Common Prayer, 167
Booth, Sir G., 44, 54
Boscobel, 13
Bounty, Queen Anne's, 147, 161
Boyd, Archdeacon, 130, 216,
247-285
his charge, 274, 275
his jubilee, 276
Boyd, Rev. C., 256, 283
R., 250
W., 256, 282, 283
Bracken, Mr., 126
Bracknell, 75
Brasenose College, 182
Brewood, 157, 171, 179
Briefs, 167
Brough Castle, 8, 15
Brougham, 8, 12, 17, 18
Buckden, 15, 16
Burgon, Dean, 184
Burke, E., 176
Burnet, Bishop, 53
Burton Pynsent, 77, 83, 84
Buxton, 148
Calton, 58
Cambridge, 69, 114, 237
Carlisle, Bishop of, 74, 78, 79
130, 138
Carpenter, Dr. Boyd, 276, 282,
284
Carr, James, 220
John, 219
Thomas, 154, 220
William, 218-233
Cawsand Bay, 187
Chalmers, Dr., 139
Chapman, Mr., 161
286
INDEX
287
Charles I., 7, 8
Chatham correspondence, 70
Chatham, Earl of, 71, 88, 92
Lady, 70, 77, 83, 86, 102
Chester, 243
Chesterfield, Lord, 88
Clapham, C., 195
Elizabeth, 119
Clarendon, Lord, 47, 48
Clark, Professor Le Gros, 149
G., 249
Clifford Barony, 5
Clifford, George, 1
Lady Anne, 1-24
Clitheroe, 184, 185
Coleridge, Hartley, 6
Collinson, 69
Commons, House of, 36
Convocation, 178
Corlass, T., 168
Craven dialect, 229
heifer, 225
Creed, Major, 49
Croft, Dr., 154-179
Cromwell, Oliver, 25, 36, 38, 40,
42, 43, 181
Richard, 43, 44
Cropper, Miss, 241
Cumberland, Margaret, Countess
of, 2, 19
Curzon family, 185
Cypripedium calceolus, 265
Dales, the, 252
Dalston, 131
Daniel, Mr. S., 3
Davies, J. H., 107
Dawson, Mr., 162, 213, 219, 259
Dawson, Rev. J., 196, 202, 204
Denham, Mr. J., 2
Devonshire, sixth Duke of, 220,
233
Dipper, the, 272
Dobinson, Miss, 144
Donne, Dr., 23
Douglas, Bishop, 78, 82
Dugdale's ' Monasticon,' 181
Dunbar, 34
Dyneley, Rev. R., 202, 205
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 284
Edgehill, 53
Eldon, Lord, 156, 178
Elgin, Lord, 156, 175
Eliot, Miss, 83
Enchantress, the, 187
Fairfax, General, 29, 30, 62
Farnley Hall, 59
Faulder, Mr., 132
Fleetwood, Colonel, 37
Fosters of Nether Hesleden, 213
Fox, Sir W., 249
Freeman, Professor, 100
Gardiner, S. R., 41, 61
Garforth, Thomas, 203
George III., 87, 93, 102, 141, 191
Gerrard, ' History of Plants,' 101
Giggleswick, 117, 120, 123, 148,
218, 234, 243, 262
Gisborne, Mr., 177
Gisburne, 181
Gloucester, 71, 77, 78
Gray, Bishop, 248, 263
Greenwich, 126
Grey, Major- General, 194
Grimston, W., 156
Gundrada, 27
Halhead, Miles, 56
Halton Gill, 66, 69, 75, 81, 284
Hammond, Mr. J., 259
Harcourt, Archbishop, 251
Hardy, Admiral, 188, 193
Hatton, Lord, 50, 55, 63
Heber, R., 203
Hewitt, Miss J., 130
Hill, Timothy, 75
Hobson, Rev. S., 175
Hodder Bridge, 32
Horse's Head, 212
Howes, Rev. A. P., 221, 226
Howson, J. S., 234-246
Mrs., 244
Hubberholme, 161, 164
Hulton Park, 182
Hurtley's 'Malharn,' 55, 200
Hutchinson, Memoirs of, 37
Ibbotson, Mr., 161
Ingleby, Charles, 203
288
SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Ingleby, John, 202
Ingoldsby, Colonel, 53
Inverkeithing, 34
Ireton, 37
James I., 5
Jenkinson, C., 190
Jenner, Dr., 98
Jones, W., 156
Kay, Mr., 161
Kendal, 32
Kennedy, Rev. Rann, 179
Kettlewell, 15, 16, 161
Kilnsey Crag, 250
Knowles, Mr., 72
Martin, 59, 89, 108
Mrs., 81
Lambert, General, 25-65, 182
Dorothy, 69
John, jun., 56
Mrs., 28, 58
Landseer, Sir E., 231
Langcliffe, 117
Langdale, 30, 31
Langhorne, 69
Lascelles, Mr., 211
Law, Mr., 128, 129, 132
Lawrence, Sir T., 200
Lehmann, 273
Lent, 164
Lincoln, 142, 147, 150
Lindley, Rev. T., 115, 208-217
Liverpool College, 239
Lister, M., 181
N., 184
SirT., 180
SirW., 28
Litton, 78, 260
Hall, 74
' Littondale, Past and Present,'
250, 271
London, Fire of, 16
Longley, Dr., 261
Lowe, Robert, 248
Ludlow, E. 38, 39, 49, 51
Macbeth, 230
Malham, Kirkby, 26, 57
Kirkby, Church, 26, 58, 59
Malham Tarn, 15, 198
Mallerstang, 13, 16
Marston Moor, 29
Matilda, Queen, 27
Meadley, Dr., 121, 132, 152
Metcalfe, R., 212
Meteorological Society, 272
Middleton, Sir A. E., 57
Middop, 186
Milton, Lord, 211
Monk, General, 50, 52
Musgrave, 130
Nappa, 15
Natal, Bishopric of, 263
National Gallery, 200
Society, 215, 224
Newby, Mr., 248
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 250, 256, 264,
282
Nicholas, St., Isle, 56
Nieuwentyt, 149
Normanby, Marquis of, 259
North, Lord, 189
Northallerton, 51
Northwich, 45
Ordericus Vitalis, 27
Oxenden, Bishop, 248
Oxford, 4, 74, 183, 219, 248
Paine, Tom, 137
Paley, William, 116-153
Parker, Mr. J., 185
T. L.,201
Glossary, 259
Parkinson, 208
Pembroke, Earl of, 6
Pendragon Castle, 8, 13, 15
Peterborough, 117
Pitt, W., 66, 70-72, 102, 112-114
Plague of London, 16
Plumptre, Rev. F., 248, 255
Pontefract, 33
Powell, Mr., 187
Preston, W., 78, 159
Price, Dr., 174
Pugin, Mr., 170
Rainbow, Bishop, 1, 10, 17, 19, 24
Ramsden, Sir J., 192, 217
INDEX
289
Kibble, the, 130
Ribblesdale, Lord, 180-207
fourth Lord, 28, 199
Rogers, Poet, 14
Rooper, W. H., 248
Roumare, 181
Routh, Dr., 219
Rugge, 52
Russell, Lady Margaret, 2
Sackville, Richard, 4
Thomas, 4
Sacrament, 10
Salvin, Mr., 259, 260
Savoy House, 3
Scotsthrope, 57
Scott, Sir Gilbert, 242
Saul, Margaret, 234
Settle, 15, 32, 35, 59, 76, 81, 117,
235
Sharp, Canon, 276
Sheffield Church Congress, 269
Sidgwick, Mr. W.,232
Simeon, Rev. 0., 238
Skipton, 8, 9, 167
Castle, 8, 11, 12, 13
Skirfare, River, 250
Smith, 'Wealth of Nations,' 106
Stanwix, 138
Starbotton, 16
Storer, Rev. J., 205-207
Stowell, Baron, 156
Taylor, Mrs., 3
W., 108
Tennant, Miles, 159, 161
Terrick, Dr., 128
Test Act, 157
Thoresby, R., his diary, 58
Thurloe, Secretary, letter to, 65
Thwing, 178
Tomline, Bishop, 70, 140
Trinity College, Cambridge, 236
Tucker, 149
Tute, Mr., 283
Twining, G. B., 249
Miss Isabella, 256
University College, Oxford, 155,
219, 248, 259, 284
Vicar's Hill, 277
Wade, Cuthbert, 15, 16
Wainman, R., 202
Wakelield, Battle of, 1
bishopric, 274
Walker, R., 208, 215
Walpole anecdotes, ;60
Ward, James, 199
Wargrave, 76
Watkinson, John, 227
Watson, Bishop, 125
Wearmouth, Bishop, 141, 142,
144^
Whitaker, 'History of Craven,'
3, 5, 14, 23, 26, 29, 54, 67, 68,
170, 182, 198, 221, 228
White's ' Selborne,' 271
Whitehaven, 79
Whitelock's Memorials,' 28, 35
Wild cattle, 182, 205
Williamson, Sir J., 22, 24
Wilmot, Sir R., 75
Wilson, Edward, 66-113, 141
Gloucester, 76, 84, 87, 97
H. A., 219
Mathew, 168
Sir Giffin, 72, 83, 90, 95, 97,
111
Thomas, 73, 89, 90, 114
Windsor, 71, 72, 78, 80, 86, 95
Worcester, Battle of, 35
Wordsworth, W., 208, 216, 221
Wrightson, Captain, 192
Wyatt, James, 183
Wyvill, Rev. C., 175
Yanwath, 14
Yates, Mr., 69, 131
York, Archbishop of, 209, 251
Yorkshire Architectural Society,
269
19
A LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS WORK
His GRACE THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE, K.G., Bolton Abbey.
The Most Hon. the Marquess of Ripon, K.G., Studley
Royal, Ripon.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Haddington, K.T., Tyning-
ham, N.B.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Rosebery, K.G., K.T., Berke-
ley Square, W.
The Right Hon. Viscount Mountgarret, Nidd Hall, Ripley.
The Right Hon. Lord Ribblesdale, Gisburne Park,
Clitheroe (20).
The Right Hon. Lord Hawkesbury, Kirkham Abbey,
Yorkshire.
The Right Hon. Lord Masham, Swinton.
The Hon. Lord Henry Bentinck, M.R, Underley Hall.
The Hon. Lady Adela Larking, Layston Lodge, Bunting-
ford.
Ackerley, Rev. G. B., M.A., Mytton Vicarage, Whalley.
Alderson, Rev. W. H., M.A., St. Bees.
Alexander, W. L, J.P., Oak Hill, Lorton (2).
Anderton, Rev. R. F. R., B.A., Hubberholme Vicarage.
Armitage, Sir George, Bart., Kirklees Park, Brighouse.
Assheton, Ralph, J.P., Downham Hall, Clitheroe.
Atkinson, Rev. E., D.D., Clare College Lodge, Cambridge.
Atkinson, Miss, Hawkswick, Skipton.
290
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 291
Barker, Rev. T. C., M.A., Carleton Vicarage, Skipton.
Barns, Rev. T., M.A., Hilderstone Vicarage, Stone.
Batty, Thomas, Hawkswick, Skipton.
Bensley, Rev. W. J., M.A., Giggleswick School.
Benson, Mrs., Tremans, Horsted Keynes, Sussex.
Benson, A. C, M.A., Eton College, Windsor.
Bittleston, Mrs., The Crescent, Ripon.
Boraston, Mrs., Tranmere, Branksome Park, Bournemouth.
Boyd, W., North House, Longbenton (3).
Boyd, Rev. C. T., M.A., Red House, Guildford.
Boyd, Mrs. C. T., Red House, Guildford.
Boyd, Mrs. Hugh, Langhurst, Wormley Hill, Godalming.
Boyd, Mrs. G. F., Moorhouse, Leamside.
Bland, J. A., Burnsall, Skipton.
Brarnley, Mrs., Litton, Skipton.
Brayshaw, Thomas, Settle.
Brereton, Rev. E. W., M.A., Kildwick Vicarage, Keighley.
Brewin, Rev. C., M.A., 1, Peveril Drive, The Park, Notting-
ham.
Bridgeman, Rev. E. R. O., M.A., Blymhill Rectory,
Shifnal.
Brigg, William Anderton, M.A., LL.M., Kildwick Hall,
Keighley.
Brightman, Rev. F. E., M.A., Magdalen College, Oxford.
Brown, Mrs., Hyde Lodge, Duchy Road, Harrogate.
Clayton, G. E., Chapel House, Kilnsey (2).
Cockerill, Rev. J. W., Kettlewell Vicarage, Skipton.
Cooper, Rev. Canon J. H., M.A., Cuckfield Vicarage,
Sussex.
Cooper, Mrs., Water Street, Skipton.
Cragg, R. B., Holme House, Embsay.
Craven Herald Co., The, High Street, Skipton.
Crowther, Joseph, Colvend, Grassington.
Crowther, John, Ridley House, Grassington.
19-2
292 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Dale, Miss, Kettlewell, Skipton.
Dales, H. C., Post Office, Burnsall.
Darwin, Francis, J.P., Creskeld, Arthington.
Dawson, Lieutenant-Colonel, Hartlington, Skipton.
Dawson, Miss, Langclifte Hall, Settle.
Douthwaite, Thomas, Menstone.
Dowle, Rev. T., M.A., 2, Grosvenor Terrace, Ilkley.
Duncan, Rev. Canon, The Vicarage, Calne, Wilts.
Dunkerley, E., 8, Thursby Square, Burnley.
Eddy, J. Ray, The Grange, Carleton.
Edmondson and Co., High Street, Skipton (3).
Fagan, Rev. E. R., M.A., Wold Newton Rectory, North
Thoresby (2).
Farrah, John, Jefferies Coate, Harrogate.
Fawcett, Miss, B.Sc., 4, Hampstead Hill Gardens,
London, N.W.
Fennell, Mrs. C., West House, Agbrigg, Wakefield (2).
Ferguson, Dr., Colne Road, Burnley.
Ferrand, W., J.P., St. Ives, Bingley.
Foster, John, Douk Ghyll, Horton-in-Ribblesdale.
Fox, F. Douglas, 19, Kensington Square, W T .
Fremantle, the Hon. and Very Rev. W. H., D.D., the
Deanery, Ripon.
Garnett, Mrs., Litton, Skipton.
Gibson, Rev. E. C. S., D.D., the Vicarage, Leeds.
Hainsworth, L., Oakwell Cottage, Farsley, Leeds.
Hall, Rev. D. R., Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
Hammond, Miss, Bridge End, Arncliffe (3).
Handby, E., Settle.
Hobson, G. A., Coverdale Lodge, Richmond, Surrey.
Holberton, Miss, The Nook, Sevenoaks.
Howson, Rev. G., M.A., Christ Church Vicarage, Salford.
Hutchings, John, Race Field, Altrincham.
Illingworth, W., J.P., 3, Cornwall Mansions, Kensington
Court, W.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 293
Ingham, William, Langcliffe, Settle.
Johnstone, Miss, Bayard's Lodge, Knaresborough.
Kendall, Welbury, The Raikes, Skipton.
Knowles, Martin, Bend Yate, Long Preston (2).
Knowles, Miss, Halton Gill, Skipton.
Lambert, Colonel, F.S.A., Fairlawn House, near Epsom.
Lambert, Rev. C. E., M.A., Bishopthorpe, York.
Larking, Mrs., Brondesbury (6).
Leadman, Dr., F.S.A., Oak House, Pocklington.
Linney, Rev. W. E., B.A., The Vicarage, Settle.
Lister, Leonard, Malham, Bell Busk, Leeds.
Long, William, Thelwall Heys, Warrington.
Longbottom, David, 6, Bolton Road, Silsden.
Lowe, Rev. T. Hill, Cononley Vicarage, Keighley.
Magdalen College, Oxford, The Library.
Markendale, Richard, Apsley Crescent, Bradford (2).
Marsden, Miss, Inglewood, Torquay.
Marsham-Townshend, The Hon. R., 5, Chesterfield Street,
May fair, W.
Master, Miss, Ashcroft, Chatburn.
Metcalfe, James, Prospect House, Arncliffe.
Metcalfe, Miss Marg.a^t, ArnclifFe.
Middleton, Sir A. E., 3art., Belsay Castle, Newcastle-on-
Tyne (3).
Miller, Marmaduke, The Falcon, Arncliffe.
Moody, Charles E., Springfield, Breinton, Hereford.
Moody, Miss Mary, Horkesley, Monkland, Leominster.
Morgan, Mrs., 134, Holland Road, Kensington.
Morkill, J. W., J.P., Newfield Hall, Bell Busk, via Leeds.
Morrison, Walter, M.A., J.P., Malham Tarn, Settle (4).
Muff, Frederic B., Wallbeck, Ilkley.
Newall, Mrs. Arthur, Fisherton-de-la-Mere House, Wylye.
Nowell, Mrs., 25, Rivers Street, Bath.
Oliver, Rev. G., B.A., St. John's Rectory, Longton.
294 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Outhwaite, Miss, Burley-in-Wharfedale.
Paget, Miss, Springfield, Skipton.
Paine, Alfred, 21, Essex Street, Strand, London.
Paley, George, 103, Upper Richmond Road, Putney, S.W.
Paley, H. A., Escowbeck Cottage, Caton, Lanes (2).
Parker, Colonel, Browsholme Hall, Clitheroe (2).
Pearson, Professor Karl, University College, London.
Peate, J., Nunroyd House, Guiseley.
Peel, Mrs., Knowlmere Manor, Clitheroe.
Pembroke College, Cambridge, The Library.
Pierson, Rev. W. B., M.A., Roth well Vicarage.
Popplewell, John B., Beacon Hill, Ilkley.
Porter, Mrs., Claines Vicarage, Worcester.
Powell, Sir Francis S., Bart, M.P., Horton Old Hall,
Bradford.
Preston, Captain J. N., Flashby Hall, Gargrave.
Preston, Miss, The Cottage, Litton, Skipton.
Proctor, Richard, Oak Mount, Burnley.
Purey-Cust, The Very Rev. A. P., D.D., The Deanery,
York.
Rathmell, B., Bank Newton, Gargrave.
Robinson, A. J., Whaddon House, Kent Road, Harrogate.
Robinson, F. D., Clitheroe Castle.
Robinson, Colonel G., Overdale, Skipton.
Robinson, J., Stonelands, Litton, Skipton.
Robinson, Rowland, Park Gate, Gisburne.
Sandbury, Rev. W. B., M. A., Queen's Gate, Victoria Park, E.
Sanders, Rev. F., M.A., F.S.A., Hoylake Vicarage, Birken-
head.
Scott, John, junior, Croft House, Skipton.
Sergeantson, Mrs., Hanlith, Malham.
Shackleton, William, Pudsey.
Share, Rev. F. A. C., M.A., Linton Rectory, Skipton.
Shuffrey, H. J., 30, Walton Well Road, Oxford.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBE US 295
Shuffrey, L. A., Thorncote, Ealing, W.
Shuffrey, C. J., 3, King's Square, Bridgewater.
Sidgwick, Rev. J. Benson, M.A., Ashby Parva Rectory,
Lutterworth.
Sidgwick, Edward, 25, Collingham Road, London, S.W.
Slacke, R. B., The Rookery, Chatburn.
Slinger, R. M. J., Litton, Skipton.
Smith, Rev. Irton, M.A., St. Margaret's Vicarage, Ilkley.
Smith, Mrs., Fence End, Thornton-in-Craven.
Speight, Harry, Crow Nest, Bingley.
Stables, Mrs. H., 2, College Lawn, Cheltenham.
Stackhouse, Mrs., Taitlands, Stainforth.
Stansfeld, Miss, Belfield, Giggleswick.
Stansfield, Miss, Buckden Hall, Skipton (2).
Stavert, Rev. W. J., M.A., F.S.A., Burnsall Rectory,
Skipton.
Stubbs, Misses, St. Leonard's, Evesham Road, Cheltenham.
Summers, George, Arncliffe.
Sunderland, John, Aire View House, Skipton.
Sykes, Rev. J. P., Rathmell Vicarage, Settle.
Taylor, Rev. R. V., B.A., Melbecks Vicarage, Richmond.
Taylor, William, Halton Gill, Skipton.
Thompson, Mrs. C. Meysey, Hillthorpe House, Scar-
borough.
Thomson, F. Whitley, M.P., Savile Heath, Halifax.
Thoresby Society, The.
Turner, Rev. J., M.A., Ingleton Vicarage, Kirkby Lonsdale.
Twining, Miss, 68, Lansdowne Road, W.
Twining, Miss, The Lodge, Bitteswell, Lutterworth.
Walker, Henry, 37, Briggate, Leeds.
Ward, J. W., J.P., South Royde, Halifax.
Ward, George, Buckingham Terrace, Headingley.
Watson, Rev. J. C., M.A., Harden, Bingley.
Wette, Mrs. de, Hampton Court House, Hampton Court.
296 SOME CRAVEN WORTHIES
Whitaker, F., The Post Office, Bolton Abbey.
Wilkinson, Mrs., The Grange, Kirkcudbright, N.B.
Wilkinson, J. H., Villa Rosa, Horsforth, Leeds.
Wilks, S. L. Butterworth, M.D., Grassington.
Williamson, Miss, Glemham Hall, Wickham Market.
Willis, Mrs., C. W., 33, Gordon Square, London, W.C.
Wilson, Sir M. W., Bart, Eshton Hall, Gargrave.
Wilson, Rev. Canon, J. A., M.A, J.P., The Rectory,
Bolton-by-Bowland.
Wilson, Rev. H. R. A., M.A., Marton Rectory, Skipton.
Wilson, B., B.A., The School, Sedbergh.
Wilson, Miss, Seacroft Hall, Leeds.
Wood, Butler, The Free Library, Bradford.
Woodd, Rev. T. Basil, M.A., LL.B., Oughtershaw Hall,
Langstrothdale (2).
Wright, Professor J., D.C.L., Langdale House, Oxford.
Wright, James, The Whins, Keighley.
Yorkshire Archaeological Society.
BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GU1LDFORD
DA Shuffrey, William Arthur
670 Some Craven worthies
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