Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo02page_0 DP-2 HERTZBERG — NEW METHOD, INC. EAST VANDALIA ROAD, JACKSONVILLE, ILL. 62650 I7CSM v; - 01^8 ♦ 06 Jo ACCOUNT NO 07200 -Z21 LOT AND TICKET NO, JC 00 1. S:l. /'/ ??-?7;^VTCrORj;A ^<- HJ:STQRY x- of the x county X OF n URHAK < 7200 ) »•••••• 388 The Raby, Mr. Cradock’sand Lord Zetland’s Foxhounds 388 The Lambton, the Durham County, and the South Durham Foxhounds 99 »•••••• 393 The Durham County Hounds The North Durham Fox- 99 395 hounds 99 397 The Hurworth Hunt . 99 >>•••••* 398 The Braes of Derwent 99 »•••••• 399 The Grove 99 »•••••• 400 Hare-Hunting .... 99 401 Otter-Hunting .... 99 • • 403 Coursing ..... By J. B. Radcliffe ...... 404 Shooting ..... By Percy S. T. Stephens ..... 409 Angling 99 • • • • • • 414 Horse-Racing .... 99 >^ * • • • * * 4*7 Rowing ..... By R. H. J. Poole ...... 420 Golf By the Rev. E. E. Dorling, M.A. .... 426 Football ..... By C. J. Bruce Marriott, M.A. .... 427 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS Durham Cathedral . By G. E. Nathan Durham Episcopal Seals : — Plate I . Plate II Plate III Ecclesiastical Map of Durham Durham Monastic Seals . . . , Details of Shotley Bridge Sword (Plate I) Plan of Mill Dam Salt Works Sunderland Pottery (Plate II) . Swalwell Time-Gun t 1 (Plate III) Coatham Mundeville Mill j PAGE full-page plate, facing I 2 99 i8 99 99 99 22 76 full-page plate, facing 102 99 99 99 290 299 full-page plate, facing 312 99 99 99 316 X! A HISTORY OF DURHAM ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY There is no proof of the existence of Christianity during the Romano-British period within the district now called the county of Durham. When in later days the first English historian came to tell the story of the beginnings of the Church in these islands, he found himself without any definite information concerning the origin of the faith in a district which was to him more interesting than any other region of the English settlement. The Venerable Bede, in his slight sketch of the earliest Christian centuries, was chiefly dependent on Orosius, who completed the Historia in 417, writing it in Africa, where he was far removed from Britain, and possessed no special knowledge of British affairs.^ We cannot extort from Orosius, or from Bede, one single historical fact connected with Roman Durham. Nor have any Christian relics of the Roman period descended to us. Coins have been dug up at various times in Jarrow, Hartle- pool, Chester-le-Street, and other places, and inscriptions have come to light at Lanchester, but nothing that can be interpreted as Christian has hithertq made its appearance.® All we can say is that a Roman road passed directly through the region, and that at Lanchester and Binchester there were military stations. It is as difficult to suppose that Christianity was entirely absent as it is to prove its actual presence. Bede is the first of a series of church historians connected with Durham.® He wrote his Church History of the English People in 731, when exact details of the planting of Christianity in Northumbria were accessible to him through the tradition of those who had witnessed the events in their boy- hood, or had received their record from the previous generation. The first definite contact of Christianity with English Durham must have taken place when the Kentish Princess Ethelburga, otherwise Tata, came to the north as bride of Edwin, who had lately drawn within his influence the various English principalities. Bede tells in full the story of Edwin’s wide swav ; of the arrival of his bride ; of the king’s acceptance of the faith ; of the subsequent wide mission of Paulinus, the queen’s chaplain. Paulinus must have traversed * For the authorities used by Bede, see C. Plummer’s edition of the Works of Bede, (i) pp. xxiv and xliv. * An important resume of what can be recovered concerning Durham in the pagan period will be found in Arch. Ael. vii, 89. Nothing is there traced of early Christianity. Raine’s note on Haddan and Stubbs’s Appendix Monumental Remains of the British Church during the Roman Period sums up the admitted absence of all information so far as Durham is concerned; Hist, of the Church of York, i, p. xx. ’ The other Durham chroniclers are Simeon of Durham, Geoffrey of Coldingham, Robert of Graystanes, and William de Chambre. See Surtees Society edition of Tres Scriptores, p. vii. A HISTORY OF DURHAM the present county of Durham from end to end in the tour which he made through Northumbria to Edwin’s northern capital at Yeavering.^ The nobles of that kingdom had embraced Christianity in the early stages of the mission of Paulinus/ and in the thirty-six days of constant baptizing in Glendale the rest of the people presented themselves in vast numbers. This successful evangelization was much helped by the proverbial peace of the reign of Edwin.® But no church or baptistery was built as yet, Bede tells us ; and he is careful to hint that no permanent organization of the Church was made in the northern parts of Northumbria during the mission of Paulinus.'^ The results of that mission were soon severely shaken by the death of Edwin and the pagan excesses of Penda, yet it was not overthrown.® After a stormy interval of tyranny and disorder Oswald restored peace and unity to the distracted kingdom of Northumbria, following on his victory near the Roman wall. It is with Oswald that we get the historical beginning of the Church in Durham, as Simeon points out.® The sympathies of Oswald were more particularly with the Bernicians, and Bamburgh became his capital rather than York. He placed Aidan at Lindisfarne, and from this island a wide mission was directed. Fresh missionaries from Scottish regions joined him in his work, and churches were built and lands given, the whole life and disci- pline being constructed on the basis of Celtic monasticism.“ One of the monasteries so built we are able to identify by name at Hartlepool, and its erection is the first really definite event of Durham history to which we can point. Here Aidan placed Heiu, the first Northumbrian nun to take the veil.*® The establishment of this convent is assigned to about the year 640. About that time Aidan summoned Hild, a great-niece of Edwin, to a similar but unnamed institution, which has been identified with St. Hilda’s, South Shields.** In 649 Hild was transferred to Hartlepool, where she succeeded H eiu.*® Under her gentle rule of eight years the house at Hartlepool now became a centre of great fame and activity, to which Aidan and the other Celtic religious constantly resorted. This peaceful beginning of the church in Durham was disturbed in 651 by the death of its apostle St. Aidan, and also by the defeat and death of Oswin, the successor of Oswald. The new king Oswy, after the final over- throw of the Mercian Penda at Wingfield in 655, proved a good patron of the Church, and placed his baby daughter Aelflede under Hild’s care at Hartlepool. This action was taken in devout recognition of his success. Various members of his family were eventually buried at Hartlepool. So far, the missionary influence throughout Northumbria since the departure of Paulinus was entirely Celtic. Wilfrid is usually credited with being the first to introduce the Roman type into Northumbria. So far as * Bede, Hist. Eccl. ii, 14. ® Ibid. ® Ibid. ’’ Ibid. ; cf. iii, 2, nec immerlto — statueret. ® Ibid. ; cf. ii, 20, Turbatis itaque rebus Nordanhymbrorum. ® Sim. Dur. Opera (Rolls Ser.), ad init. The family connexion of the two Northumbrian royal lines is explained, Arch. Ael. xix, 50. " This important passage runs as follows : — ‘ Construebantur ergo ecclesiae per loca, confluebant ad audi- cndum populi gaudentes, donabantur munere regio possessiones et territoria ad instituenda monasteria ’ ; Bede, Hist. Eccl. iii, 3. Ibid, iv, 23 ; Ebchester is, on insufficient authority, said to have been another; cf Hodgson Hinde, Hist. ofHorthumbria, 130. “ Bede, loc. cit. See an instructive paper in Arch. Ael. xix, 47, by Canon Savage. A further transference of Hild to Whitby in 657 was probably due to the emergence of the paschal controversy, afterwards decided at Whitby in 664. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY Durham is concerned he was actually anticipated by Benedict Biscop, otherwise Biscop Baducingd® Biscop was a thegn of Oswy. He is the first Durham personage after Hild and Heiu to emerge partially from the obscurity of the time. His is a truly great name, but our knowledge of the details of his life is disappointingly meagre. Passing to the Continent with Wilfrid in 653 he pushed on to Rome, and returned to Northumbria before his companion came back. No doubt he spread those ritual scruples which Wilfrid imbibed at Rome, and disseminated after his return, scruples which were only set at rest, if they were set at rest, in the synod of Whitby, 664. The Whitby decision marked the triumph of the Roman as against the Celtic model, and is a matter of considerable importance. After a second journey to Rome in 665, and a residence of some years abroad. Biscop came back, in company with Theodore, in 669. From a thirdjourney he returned to Northumbria about 672 to find Oswy dead and his son Egfrid occupying the throne. A friendship now sprang up with Egfrid which had great effects on religion and learning. The king bestowed on Biscop a large gift of land, probably in the actual neighbourhood of Heiu’s first convent, but certainly on the northern bank of the Wear. Here he founded in 674 a monastery which was signifi- cantly dedicated to St. Peter.^® Of this famous house Stubbs says : ‘ The learning and civilization of the eighth century rested on the monastery which he founded, which produced Bede, and through him the school of York, Alcuin, and the Carolingian school on which the culture of the Middle Ages was based.’ Commencing his foundation at Wearmouth in 674, Biscop journeyed next year to Gaul, and brought back masons who built the house in the Roman fashion dear to him, as Bede tells us ; and then he sent for glaziers, who not only did their own work, but taught their craft to the Northumbrians. The church, at all events, was ready for use within a year, and part of the ancient porch, it is probable, survives as an evidence of the builder’s skill. In this counterpart to the work of Wilfrid recently erected in York, Hexham, and Ripon, we see the amazing progress of architecture and civilization which the span of a very few years witnessed. It is probable that the father of Bede was born and brought up as a heathen. His son, who was born on Wear- mouth land, perhaps a year before the monastery was founded, lived to see an enormous advance of civilization and religion, and to prove the depositary of all known learning. But Bede, to whom we are thus introduced, was still more closely con- nected with a second great Durham monastery which was erected by the same Biscop at Jarrow.^® A fourth visit of Biscop to Rome was concluded in Bede has worked the facts of Biscop’s life into Hist. Eccl. v, 1 9, so far as they are connected with Wilfrid, and has left a memoir of Biscop. See Bishop Stubbs’s article, ‘ Benedictus Biscop ’ in Diet. Christ. Biog. i, 308. For the Whitby decision the original authority is Bede, Hist. Eccl. iii, 25 ; cf. Early Engl. Ch. Hist. 223—31 ; Diet. Christ. Biog. i, 309. The early history of the Wearmouth Monastery, until its devastation by the Danes, is given in Surtees’ Hist, of Dur. ii, 2. ’’ Bede is again our original authority. Hist. Eccl. v, 21, 24, with Hist. Abbat. passim. W. Bright, Early Engl. Ch. Hist. 365, sqq. gives a full summary and appreciation of all known facts about Jarrow. See, too, Surtees, Dur. ii, 67. For Bede’s literary influence, J. R. Green, Making of England, 399-404 ; Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, vi, 422. The important paper of J. R. Boyle in Arch. Ael. x, 195, on the ‘Monas- tery and Church of St. Paul, Jarrow,’ gives a full rlsume of the foundation of the house, with a discussion of its archaeological remains. These are particularly a series of inscribed stones, the most important of which records the dedication of the church. 3 A HISTORY OF DURHAM 680. He brought back a still greater quantity of church furniture, and his former patron Egfrid gave him another but rather smaller grant of land in the neighbourhood of what is now Jarrow Slake, then termed ‘ gyrwy ’ or ‘marsh.’ Th is little bay formed a safe harbour for ships, and its being known as Egfrid’s Harbour suggests that the king had some family or personal connexion with the spot, as he had perhaps with Wearmouth. However this may be, the site was given in recognition of the success at Wearmouth, and building was pushed on with the same dispatch as before. The new monastery, dedicated to St. Paul, though seven miles distant from Wearmouth, was regarded as part and parcel of the same institution. The chief glory of Jarrow lies in the fact that it was for nearly fifty years the home, the school, the library, and the oratory of Bede. Here English learning, born at Wearmouth, was cradled and nursed, and here a generation of scholars was brought up under the fostering care of the first English teacher. Both Jarrow and Wearmouth were richly endowed with books by Benedict, and also by Ceolfrid, who in 690 became the single ruler of the double monastery. We thus get the beginning of monastic libraries in the North of England.*^® The two houses were severely treated by the famous plague, which had first made its appearance in 664, and ravaged Northum- bria with frightful desolation in and about 685.^^ But apart from the havoc caused by this early ‘ Black Death,’ Northumbria began to decline from that same fatal year, 685, when Egfrid, under the temptation of securing external conquest, was lured into a Pictish ambuscade and perished.^^ Thus the last legitimate descendant of the old Northumbrian royal house passed away. His successor, Aldfrid, reigned for 20 years more over an attenuated kingdom. After him a period of usurpation, conspiracy, and murder set in, which only partially gave way to greater stability in the reign of Eadbert, 737-58-^* Bede wrote on quietly at Jarrow during this troublous period, beginning with his grammatical works between 691 and 703, proceeding to his Com- mentaries in or about 709, and taking up history, in addition, with the Lives of the Abbots in 716. No historian came after him, and a considerable gap follows his death in 735, during which interval we have merely a very general knowledge of Northumbrian history. In 788 there occurs an obscure reference to a synod held in Pincanheal, which place has been identified with Finchale, near Durham, but the fancied likeness of the word is the only ground of such identification, and is altogether too precarious. But be that as it may, an event took place in the preceding year which is a considerable landmark. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle places the first coming of the Danes in 787. Soon after this a piratical foray devastated the Lindisfarne monastery in 793, and next year a descent was made upon Jarrow, but it was repelled with some success, the defeated Danes suffering shipwreck in their flight. Apparently the Northumbrian churches were now left without molestation for seventy years. One event of considerable magnitude took place during this long respite, when Ecgred, bishop of Lindisfarne, increased the possessions For what is known of these early libraries see Plummer’s Bede, i, p. xviii. See Dr. Charles Creighton, Hist, of Epidemics in Britain, i, 7. Further evidence of the general desolation occurs in Arch. Ael.x\x, 152. ” J. Hodgson Hinde, Hist, of Horthumberland, i, 93. ” Particulars in Plummer’s edition of Bede, i, p. xxxiii. 4 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY of the see by large grants of land. The nucleus of the patrimony of St. Cuthbert had been formed in 685, when Egfrid of Northumbria bestowed on St. Cuthbert, then living, territories in those parts of the kingdom which were to become in later days Northumberland and Yorkshire.^* Ecgred about 830 gave, in addition to certain places outside, a large slice of the modern county of Durham. The centre of this new donation was the royal vill of Gainford, and with its appendages included some of the district between Wear and Tees to a spot some three miles south of the latter river.*^ Billingham was also added at the same time. Meanwhile, more formidable incursions of the Danes had been taking place in other parts of England. A period of regular settlement began about 853. In 866 a large body of the invaders remained for the winter in East Anglia, and came to terms there with the East Anglians. What followed is obscure, but it would seem that in revenge for some treacherous act committed by the Northumbrian king these Danes came north.*® With horse and foot to the number of 20,000, they laid Northumbria waste, destroyed Lindisfarne, and finally burnt the two houses of Jarrow and Wearmouth. After this the pro- vinces of Bernicia and Deira were placed under Danish governors.*^ A coin discovered and described some years ago makes it probable that Beorn was appointed ruler over that part of Northumbria which lay to the south of the Tyne.*® This disastrous occupation seems to have practically annihilated the Church of Northumbria. So far the Church had been planted in monasteries, and with the exception of Gainford there is no proof of the existence of church buildings in other specific centres before 867. The destruction of Jarrow and Wearmouth meant, therefore, the practical extinction of the Church.** This brings us to the great name of St. Cuthbert, whose dead body was destined to be the means of reviving Christianity in Durham. With this district he had no connexion in life, save nominally as bishop of Lindisfarne during the last two years of his episcopate (685—7). ^75 famous wanderings of his body began. It was borne from Lindisfarne through Northumbria and Galloway for seven years. Then came a respite in the ferocity of the Danes. Their leader was dead, and an opportune dream to Eadred, the abbot in charge of the wandering community, suggested the name of Guthred as the next king.®* There was sufficient romance and awe connected with St. Cuthbert to induce the Danes to regard the vision as a divine admonition, and Guthred, evidently predisposed to favour the monks, was elected. He forthwith established them at an ancient ** Lapsley, County Palatine of Durham, 157. ” Simeon does not say that the whole country from Wear to Tees was given, but ‘ quicquid ad earn [villam] pertinet a flumine Teisa usque Wer sancto confessori Cuthbert contulit.’ Simeon of Dur. Opera (Rolls Ser.), i, 53. Billingham also lies between Wear and Tees, and would not have needed separate specification if the entire district had been intended. The sources of our knowledge of the events, so far as Northumbria is concerned, are examined by Mr. D. H. Haigh, Arch. Ael. vii, 23. ” To speak of the provinces of Bernicia and Deira is to use language loosely. Mr. Bates has a paper on this in Arch. Ael. xix, 147-54, in which he shows that we must think rather of peoples than of provinces. The limits of the Bernicii and the Deiri fluctuated constantly. See Mr. Haigh’s paper. Arch. Ael. vii, 24. ” South Shields and Hartlepool (above, p. 2), founded as religious settlements about 640, may have lingered on. Bede has no further mention of them after their foundation, or of the churches indicated above, p. 2, note 1 1. For the motives of Eadred and his relation to the bishop, see J. Raine, S/. Cuthbert, 47-9. The chronology is examined in Arch. Ael. vii, 29. 5 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Roman station, now known as Chester-le-Street.®^ Here we get the restoration of the Church in Durham and the commencement of its bishopric. We have traced above the donation of Durham land to the original see of Lindisfarne. All that had gone ; but Guthred began at once the series of gifts which was to form the mediaeval patrimony of St. Cuthbert. Another vision of Eadred directed the king to bestow all the land between Tyne and Wear and to the east of the Roman road. A glance at the map shows that this is a large square district from Gateshead to Chester-le-Street on the west, and from South Shields to Sunderland on the east. The new church was to have right of sanctuary.®* The donation was approved by the army and by the people. Guthred again confirmed it at his death, and Alfred, who now exercised a sovereignty over Northumbria, was eager to ensure all these privileges to St. Cuthbert, who had appeared to him on the eve of Ethandun in 878. Alfred also commended the patrimony of Cuthbert to the protection of Edward. In the reign of Edward, the bishop at Chester-le-Street, Cutheard, added to the endowment certain lands which have not been specified. Under Bishop Cutheard, Sedgefield was purchased and added to the possessions of the see. But these recent gains were soon lost in the confusion that followed Guthred’s death. According to Simeon, a Danish leader called Reginald appeared in the Humber about the beginning of the tenth century and took York. He then made a foray into the land of St. Cuthbert, and divided it between two of his followers, Scula and Onalafbald, but the latter, seized by sudden illness, confessed the sanctity of the saint in the agony of his last moments. This circumstance added greatly to the awe which already surrounded the remains of St. Cuthbert and prepares us for the next step. The reign of Athelstan constitutes a landmark in the history of the Northumbrian church, as well as in English history generally. Three churches at least, Ripon, Beverley, and Chester-le-Street, looked back to it as an era of stability.®® Athelstan deposed Reginald and other petty sub-kings, and annexed Northumbria to his own overlordship. This tightening of his control led to a coalition of various chieftains which he crushed, and made the rebels swear obedience. One of them was Constantine, king beyond the Tweed, who broke his pact in or about 934. On this the king gathered his forces and marched to avenge himself. It was apparently on this occasion that he visited the three places just mentioned, and confirmed all existing privileges. At Chester-le-Street he not only established anew all the rights of St. Cuthbert, but bestowed various gifts, which were all duly entered upon the hiber Vitae and survived in Simeon’s time two centuries later. Most important of these gifts were certain villages which constitute a strip of land on the coast from Sunderland to Hesleden inclusive. The compactness of this grant may suggest that the land comprised an estate of one of the sub-kings, which was now forfeited to the conqueror.®* Guthred’s new kingdom was entirely south of the Tyne ; Raine, loc. cit. ; Simeon, op. cit. ii, 13-16. Sanctuary was recognized in England first by Ini of Wessex in 693 ; by Guthred here in 883 ; and by Alfred in 887. See introduction to Sanctuarium Dunelmense,^-p.'x\,xn, below p. 26. ” For Ripon see Memorials of Ripon (Surtees Soc.), i, 5 1 ; Beverley, Beverley Chapter Act Book (Surtees Soc. xx). Athelstan was duly honoured in the daily chapter mass at Beverley. Simeon of Dur. Opera, i, 74-5 ; cf. Raine, S/. Cuthbert, 50-2 ; Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, 224. The groundless theory that old Durham, close to Durham, is the scene of Athelstan’s great battle of Brunanburh is not worthy of examination. 6 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY The devotion of Athelstan, imbibed from his predecessors, was transmitted to his brother, who followed him on the throne of Wessex. In the ebb and flow of Danish power in Northumbria after Athelstan the presence of Edmund became necessary in 944, and of Edred in 954. Both kings therefore visited Chester-le-Street and endorsed the privileges of the Church. iEthel- wold, bishop of Winchester, formerly a protege of Athelstan, made pilgrimage somewhat later to the same spot. These visits, duly recorded, afford evidence of the enormous prestige of St. Cuthbert’s shrine through these turbulent days, and help to account for the magic power of his name in time to come.*® With the closing years of the loth century we reach the foundation of the city of Durham. There is no mention of its unique site before the familiar events of 995, though its nearness to a Roman road*® must have given frequent opportunity to the wayfarer to inspect its wonderful natural position. About 980 the ferocity of the Danes was renewed in constant raids upon the south coast of England.*^ In 991 the attack passed northward, and Danegeld was first paid. Aldhun had been consecrated bishop of Chester-le-Street in the previous year, so succeeding to the now ample estates of St. Cuthbert. The undiminished fury of the Danes broke upon his see in 993. Aware that he was powerless to protect the possessions of the Church, the bishop had entrusted some of the manors to Uchtred, earl of Northumberland, and to two other nobles, intending to resume them when happier days came.*® Other manors, either before or after this, he bestowed as a marriage portion upon his daughter, Egfrida, who was married to this same Uchtred.*® Having thus provided for the temporalities of the Church, Aldhun formed in 995 the famous resolution of taking the body of St. Cuthbert to Ripon, whither the whole congregation of St. Cuthbert betook itself. In the summer of the very same year peace was restored, if indeed the menace of the Danes had been made effective, of which there is no real proof. The congregation set out on the return journey to Chester-le-Street.*® The bier became immovable. It was considered to be a sign that the saint refused to be borne back to the old spot. They were then close to the place where in after days Simeon recorded the account which he had received from the descendants of the original porters. From his pen the phrase prope Dun- helmum is not likely to have meant anything more distant than the immediate “ Rainc, Sa Cuthbert^ 53, with authorities there quoted. The existence of this road was discovered by Mr. Cade, of Gainford, in the eighteenth century. See Archaeolo^a, vii, and Surtees’ note on Mr. Cade in his account of Gainford. Anglo-Sax. Chron. sub ann. ” Simeon of Dur. Opera, i, 83 and 213. For the existence and history ot the official earldom see Hodgson YVmAt, History of Northumbria, 158, a book strangely overlooked by Dr. Lapsley in his County Palatine of Durham. ” The date is uncertain. It may have been after the return from Ripon. Simeon the monk perhaps naturally omits the fact of Aldhun’s daughter and her dowry. It is vouched for by the interesting tract printed with his works in the Rolls Series,!, 215. For the general existence of clerical marriage in this period see Hunt, Hist. Engl. Ch. 269, 321. As regards the congregation of St. Cuthbert in particular, the practice was probably curtailed when Edmund became bishop in 1021. It seems to me likely that the circumstances of this bishop’s election (Simeon of Dur. i, 85-6) point to the introduction of monastic influence. When Simeon calls Aldhun (i, 78) probabilis monachus, he is looking at him through twelfth-century spectacles. It would appear (see note 36, above) that a Roman road led from Sockburn to Mainsforth, Old Durham, and Chester-le-Street. It traversed the very lands that had been given to the congregation of St. Cuthbert, and it would be natural, not to say much safer, to bring the body over territory associated with the saint, and probably at this time specially under the protection of Uchtred. Simeon of Dur. op. cit. i, 83 and 213. 7 A HISTORY OF DURHAM neighbourhood of the city of Durham. There is no reason to disown the local tradition which makes the hill Mountjoy the scene of this incident. At all events Durham was considered to be indicated as the spot where the saint desired to rest, and thither the bier was borne. It lay for some time in a hastily improvised wattled shrine on the hill-top, whilst the site was prepared for habitation. Uchtred the earl and son-in-law of Aldhun lent his aid, and prevailed on all the people, from the Coquet to the Tees, to join in the work of clearing the place and building the necessary buildings. A more seemly church known as the White Church received the body of St. Cuthbert, and the first cathedral of Durham was at once commenced. It was ready for use within three years, and to it the remains of the saint were carried, and the dedication took place on 4 September, 999.^' So the long history of the city of Durham opens. The earls of North- umberland were its first patrons and benefactors. In 1006 the new city was able to withstand a severe assault directed by Malcolm of Scotland, and the heads of many of the defeated host were fastened upon the fortifications. This decisive victory, which kept the Scots at bay for some years, was reversed in 1018 at the disastrous battle of Carham-on-Tweed,^^ when a levy of the people between Tees and Tyne was routed with terrible slaughter. But in 1013 Northumbria had acknowledged the power of Sweyn. Appar- ently his son Canute marched north after the battle of Carham, and by his armed display kept the Scots in check. At all events Canute came through Northumbria, and at Trimdon, so tradition says, made fresh gifts to St. Cuthbert,^® whence he walked with bare feet to Durham. Thanks, then, to the patronage of Uchtred, Durham was now a fortified city, and gifts abounded. Stories of miraculous cure turned the attention of distant churchmen towards it. Relics began to be stored in the church of St. Cuthbert. A sacrist named Elfred brought to it the remains of various north-country saints, and rifled the ruins of Jarrow for the bones of Bede — at least so he gave out. In 1040 the second siege of Durham took place, when Shakespeare’s Duncan brought a vast host together to reduce it. A sally on the part of the defenders routed the cavalry of the Scots, whilst the foot were annihilated. The heads of the killed were stuck on poles in the market-place, which is presumably the present Palace Green. The size of the Scottish army and the fact that the beleaguered forces were able to follow it up and disperse it goes to prove that the entire space within the peninsula was by this date fortified. Tthelric, a Peterborough monk, who became bishop in 1042, received from the new Earl Siward the same protec- tion which Uchtred had given to Aldhun. The earl confirmed the bishop in his see against a clerical revolt. iEthelric desired to replace the old church at Chester by a more dignified stone building, and proceeded to carry out his wish. His pillage of the ornaments and treasure at Durham is proof of the Simeon is our authority for all these facts, which he claims to have received by tradition from those present. Op. cit. i, 78-84. See his remarks on the closeness of the tradition, ibid. 80. “ For its importance cf. Freeman, Norman Conquest, i, 444, and Pertz, Mon. Hist. Germ. Hodgson Hinde, Hist. Nor thumb. 162. For the tradition cf. Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, 2, 104. The lands now bestowed were chiefly in the neighbourhood of Staindrop, and were part and parcel of that manor, viz. Staindrop, Shotton, Raby, Wacker- field, and Ingleton, all close to one another, and Auckland, Eldon, Thickley, Middleton, Lutterington, and Evenwood, rather farther off. Simeon of Dur. Opera, i, 90 and 213. Auckland and Thickley were restitu- tions. Simeon of Dur. Opera, i, 213. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY wealth of the Church in these things over and above its considerable landed estates. ^Ethelric’s brother succeeded him and robbed the Church in the same way. Tosti, the next earl, carried on the now traditional patronage of the earls of Northumberland to the Church and see of St. Cuthbert.^* Copsi, the lieutenant of Tosti in Northumberland (for Tosti was the earl of York), was an even more liberal benefactor, and increased the Church estates by the addition of various manors in the North Riding of Yorkshire.^^ It is probable that during the troubles of Tosti, who was driven from his earldom in 1065, the congregation of St. Cuthbert were perplexed as to their allegiance. Next year, after the battle of Hastings, they openly sided with Edgar Atheling, and doubtless helped to inspire general Northumbrian resistance to the Conqueror. William appointed the Englishman Gospatric to be earl of Northumbria in hope of reducing the widespread opposition of the north. Then followed the northern rebellion of 1068, which was stimulated by Gospatric himself, who found it politic to join the insurgents. Accordingly William made a reconnaissance in force as far as Warwick, whereon the northern army dispersed.^® A detachment, however, fled to Durham determined to make a stand on this impregnable spot. What follows is intricate, but a probable order of events is as follows: — According to a Norman authority Durham was now still further fortified.'*^ William, determined to crush Northumbria, appointed Robert Cumin to be earl, and dispatched him to his work. Now the bishop had, some little time before, made his submission to William at York, and when the earl arrived before the gates of Durham he and his troops were admitted. But so imperious was their conduct that the Northumbrians rose next day and massacred the Normans.^® News of this event encouraged the Northumbrians without. Gospatric and Edgar, who had fled on the approach of William the year before, returned to rally the rebels. The Conqueror now seized York, and pushed on an army to seize Durham, but it got no farther than Northallerton.®” A little later in the same year a Danish invasion took place in Northumbria, and completed the downfall of William’s cause by taking York. The disaster was only for a moment. William retook York and wreaked a terrible vengeance by depopulating the whole country round the city. Whilst these miseries were being enacted, the bishop of Durham, uncertain of his own fortune, was persuaded by Gospatric to flee with the body of St. Cuthbert to Lindisfarne. Accordingly the whole congregation left Durham. The motives of Gospatric are not clear. Perhaps he intended to seize the property of the see. At all events he with Waltheof, earl of Northampton and son of Siward, made submission to William in January, 1070. But this did not save the bishopric, for William at once carried burning and slaughter north of the Tees. For the facts of this paragraph Simeon is our chief authority, op. cit. i, 87—98. That Durham was becoming a place of pilgrimage is seen from the story of Bishop Alfwold of Sher- borne in William of Malmesbury, De Gestis Pontif (Rolls Ser. 52), 180 ; and of Gospatric in Hoveden, Chron. (Rolls Ser. 51), i, 59. Freeman, Norman Conquest, iv, 188. William of Jumi^ges, quoted by Freeman, op. cit. iv, 194, but it may be doubted whether this author is correctly informed as to the fortification. Presumably that existed already. It would be interesting if the work referred to is the erection of the mound of the existing keep at Durham. For this submission, of which the exact date is doubtful, see Freeman, op. cit. iv, 205. “ The story is told most fully by Simeon, op. cit. i, 98. A legendary story is given in Simeon, ibid. Simeon, op. cit. 102-41, speaks of the efforts of Gospatric. 2 9 2 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Jarrow was at all events partially destroyed. The cathedral church at Durham became a hospital for the sick and dying. About March the deadly work was over, and once more the congregation of St. Cuthbert came to Durham, and set in order their ravaged church. The bishop was not allowed to rest. As in the case of his brother and predecessor ^Tthelric, there were suspicions of peculation. These, joined to the doubtful character of his loyalty, marked him out as an object of punishment. William was a son of the Church, and desired to make proof of his intention to be no plunderer or destroyer, and the bishop was made his scapegoat, being outlawed and deprived.^* In 1071 William placed a foreigner, as elsewhere, over the see of Durham in the person of Walcher, who until now was a secular priest in Lower Lorraine.^* Next year, after some delay, the king set out for Scotland, where he received the submission of Malcolm at Abernethy. His return left its mark on Northumbria. At Monk Chester he ordered the erection of the castle which gave its name to Newcastle.^ At Durham, which he now entered for the first time, he confirmed, as Athelstan and Canute had done, all existing privileges.^® A strange tradition was handed down as to his scepticism concerning the presence of St. Cuthbert’s body. His unbelief was dispelled, and the benefactions alluded to were bestowed as evidence of his veneration for the saint. Before the year 1072 closed, William appointed Waltheof, of the old Northumbrian house, to be earl in place of Gospatric. Between the earl and the bishop a strong friendship sprang up, of which one visible result is Durham Castle, which Waltheof built for the protection of his friend.®^ There was as yet, apparently, no thought of palatinate power in connexion with this ecclesiastical fortress. The history of the last year had shown how necessary some stable residence would be for the bishop and the desirability of adequate protection for the congregation of St. Cuthbert. Walcher contemplated a great change at Durham. Hitherto the bishop had been, as it were, the dean of a body of canons whose prebendal estates were numerous and widely spread.®® Walcher introduced into Northumbria the revived Benedictine monasticism of the eleventh century. He began this course at dismantled Jarrow, and endowed the restored monastery with the lands adjacent, to which the bishop’s title is not clear. From this house the majority of the monks were transferred to Wearmouth, where similar endow- ment was made, and the buildings were renewed which had lain waste since the Danish inroads. The design of transplanting this restored monasticism “ For the facts with reference to original authorities cf. Freeman, iv, 304. That Durham offered no resistance at this time is due either to the fact that it was denuded of the bishopric men, who presumably did some kind of military service, or else to the submission of Gospatric. “ The fate of the bishop is told confusedly by Simeon. William could not depend on any one of the northern magnates. He, doubtless, designed to extrude the Englishman and adopted the means described in the text. Simeon, op. cit. i, 9-10 ; Freeman, op. cit. iv, 513 and passim, has worked all the authorities. “ Some authorities put this later in the reign ; Freeman, op. cit. iv, 5 1 8. The order of events in the Durham visit is confused. It is probable that the grants were made after leaving Durham, when he stopped at Darlington. For his scepticism cf. Freeman, op. cit. iv, 520. This is the true reading of Simeon, op. cit. ii, 199-200, where the subject of the sentence must be Waltheof, and not William, to whom the building of the castle has been wrongly ascribed. This seems clear from what is a priori likely in regard to men who were not monks, though Simeon threw over them the respectability conveyed by that word. See also note 39 above. Reginald of Durham certainly regarded them as secular canons. Libellus, 29. 10 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY to Durham was cut short by the bishop’s death, though some preparation for the monks was made/® Waltheof being implicated in rebellion is withdrawn fron Northumbrian history in 1075. Walcher succeeded to his position as earl of Northumbria. But Walcher was an old and mild ecclesiastic unable to curb his dependants, and met his death at what may have been a meeting of the palatine court held at Gateshead. This tumultuous episode had an interesting sequel in a four days’ siege of Durham Castle by the murderers of the bishop which was quite ineffectual. In revenge for the murder, Odo of Bayeux was dispatched to the north, and for the third time in fourteen years the district round Durham was deluged in blood and fire. Carileph the next Norman bishop completed the monastic plan of Walcher, and began the present cathedral at Durham.®^ It is possible that the complaisant Walcher shrank from extruding the Cuthbertine canons. Carileph had no such scruple. He was younger and more energetic, and having obtained from Hildebrand, who was absolutely like-minded on this point, the bulls thought necessary for the purpose, the bishop gave the congre- gation the choice of turning monk or of withdrawing. Monks from Jarrow and Wearmouth were drafted into Durham, and thus the great Benedictine Abbey began its history in 1083. The great church was commenced in 1093, after an interlude of exile on the bishop’s part which does not concern us here.®® Several charters purporting to be of the end of the eleventh century have been preserved, but they are now proved to be of later fabrication, though they seem to state facts. ®^ To Carileph, then, we may attribute the donation of Rainton, Pittington, Hesleden, Dalton-le-Dale, Merrington, Shincliffe, and Elvet, with the churches in Elvet, Aycliffe, Hesleden, and Dalton. On the same showing several manors outside the county were given about the same time to the prior and convent. Tynemouth Priory which had been a possession was transferred to the monks of St. Albans, about 1093. The character and eccentricities of Flambard, who became bishop in 1099, do not much concern us here. He came to a greatly wasted see after three years of vacancy. In the main Flambard, who had taught Rufus the profitable trick of keeping sees vacant, proved to be a restorer.®* The most interesting event of the early twelfth century was the trans- lation of the body of St. Cuthbert in 1104 from its temporary resting-place after the destruction of Aldhun’s church to the shrine now prepared for it behind the high altar. There can be no doubt on scientific grounds that the body of the saint, emaciated by fastings and rigour, had dried up, but ” Greenwell, Durham Cathedral, 20 n. “ For a discriminating summary of this affair see Arch. Ael. xx, 32. Simeon, op. cit. i, 125 sqq. is our main authority. No better summing up of what Carileph did is to be found than that of Dr. Greenwell in his Dur. Cath. (6th ed.), 21-9. “ The circumstances of Carileph’s exile are important in the larger political history of the time. See Bp. Creighton’s summary in Diet. Nat. Blog, who points out that Simeon of Durham takes his side, whilst the southern chroniclers condemned him. Durham Castle was seized by the king during the bishop’s exile. “ See Dr. Greenwell’s preface to the Feodarium. After his imprisonment and subsequent exile, during which for five years the see was deprived of its bishop save for a visit in 1104 and perhaps again. Diet. Nat. Blog. ‘ Flambard.’ A HISTORY OF DURHAM had never perished. This fact was abundantly proved at the opening of the coffin, which has been fully described for us.®^ Flambard did much for the city of Durham, completing the plans of Carileph at the cathedral, adding to the fortifications of the castle, and before his death giving a large sum of money to the citizens.®* One or two other points may also be noted, as, for instance, the foundation of Kepier Hospital in 1 1 12, and the grant of Finchale to the prior and convent in iii8. It was probably during his absence from England that the see of Carlisle became independent. A very®’' shadowy jurisdiction had been exercised over Cum- berland or part of it, from Lindisfarne, but the bishops of Durham do not seem to have succeeded to any authority over it. Hexhamshire, said to have been dependent on Durham until Flambard, can not be proved to have owned any real allegiance. Under Geoffrey Rufus ( i 1 3 3-40) , who had been chancellor in Henry’s reign, the see was brought into the turmoil of the two contending factions and suffered much in consequence. Geoffrey took the side of Stephen in 1135, and it was perhaps in token of gratitude that the new king permitted the bishop for the first time to erect a mint; which survived until the Refor- mation.®® The action of Geoffrey gave David of Scotland a pretext for trying to push the southward influence of Scotland, which Malcolm had been the last to attempt. David accordingly advanced into England and took up position at Newcastle. Stephen to oppose him flung himself into Durham. For the moment terms were made, but two years later, in 1 138, the invasion was resumed to vindicate the claims of David’s son Henry in right of his mother to the earldom of Northumberland. There is no trace of any bishopric force. The diocese was ravaged, Norham Castle (erected by Flambard) was taken, and after great accessions from Scotland and Ireland, the tide of invasion flowed on into Yorkshire, to be hurled back at the Battle of the Standard. In all this crisis the bishop plays no recorded part, and the semi-religious aspect of the campaign is due to the banners of St. Peter, St. Wilfrid, and St. John of Beverley. In May, 1139, at Durham, a conven- tion was signed which recognized the claim of David’s son to the earldom of Northumberland, and provided that the rights of the bishop of Durham within the lands of St. Cuthbert should be fully recognized.®® In Geoffrey’s time the chapter-house was completed.'’® An interesting if discreditable episode was enacted in the interregnum which followed Geoffrey’s death in 1141. Cumin, who had been David’s chancellor, was by his master’s direct help intruded into the see.’’ He obtained the goodwill of the great officers in the castle and of some members The best account is in Raine, S/. Cuthbert, 74. For the physical condition of the body, V.C.H. Dur. i, 124. The original authority is Simeon, op. cit. i, 247-61, ii, 236. Flambard’s work at Durham caught the imagination of William of Malm. De Gestis Pontif. (517)- For a contemporary account see Simeon, op. cit. i, 139, iii, 260. Summaries as to details in Hutchinson, Hist, and Antiq. of Dur. i, 183 ; Surtees, Dur. i, p. xix. For early position of Carlisle, see V. C. H. Cumb. ii, 7. Another shadowy jurisdiction was Teviotdale, henceforth annexed to Glasgow, as Hexhamshire, (until 1836) to York. For the latter see A Hist. ofNorthum- bertand, iii, i 1 7. For the mint see M. Noble’s Two Dissertations. Summary in Hodgson Hinde, Hist. Northumb. 207—15. Greenwell, Z)ar. Cath. 47. A convenient surpmary is in Hodgson Hinde, Hist. Horthumb, 216-17. chief original authority is Laurence, prior of Durham (i 149-53), who witnessed the occurrences so far as Durham was concerned, and described them in his poems (our chief authority for the Norman Castle), published by the Surtees Society, and also in prose if, as is likely, Laurence is the first continuator of Simeon of Durham ; Simeon, op. cit. i, 143-60. 12 William de St. Barbara, 1*43-52 Anthony Rek, 1284-1311 {Oh-vene) Anthony Bek, 1284 13 ii Anthony Bek, 1284-1311 [Re'vene) Richard Marsh, I 2 1 7-26 Durham Episcopal Seals : Plate I oiE OF fHE or £-f|!^ai3 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY of the cathedral. He managed to hold the place for two years altogether before making an ignominious submission to the new bishop (William de St. Barbara), whom some of the escaped monks elected. But the two years coming so soon after the devastation of David proved a time of terrible woe for the diocese. The borough of Elvet was destroyed, and so was Kepier Hospital, with other buildings in the suburbs of the city, whilst partisan zeal stirred the sympathies of the chief bishopric tenants for or against the usurper. William succeeded as an old man in 1143, and proved himself energetic in healing the wounds of his diocese. Two twelfth-century saints were famous at this time, Bartholomew of Durham,^* an anchorite on the Fame Islands, and St. Godric,’^* the hermit of Finchale, who became a great friend of the bishop. In his episcopate Middleham became the property of prior and convent. To the presumably well-defined see-lands Pudsey succeeded with all the prestige that relationship with Stephen gave him.'^^ He was well received in his diocese, and apparently spent the earlier years of his episcopate in healing the sores of the land. By degrees he was trusted by Henry II, and took some part in the politics of the day. A famous return of 1166 gives a side-light on the military service of the various territories in the see.^^ In 1170, after steering clear of the Becket dispute, Pudsey com- promised himself along with Roger of York over the coronation of Prince Henry, and this led to a brief papal suspension from his bishopric. Two years later he connived at the rebellion of the king’s sons, and made terms with Scotland, now active in the prince’s behalf. For such disloyalty Pudsey lost his castles, including Durham Castle, and did not regain them for some time. More peaceful days followed, and during the long vacancy of the see of York, from 1181, the spiritual sway of Pudsey in the north of England was much augmented. The crusading frenzy which seized the country after the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 now gave the opportunity for that advance of power which marks the episcopate of Pudsey. Richard I, desirous of preventing Pudsey from joining the crusade, readily bestowed upon him the earldom of Northumberland for a large money consideration. Some time in the same year the bishop obtained the earldom of Sadberge which, though it was situated between Tyne and Tees, had been no part of the episcopal lands. Installed in the increased power brought him by these transactions Pudsey was able to defy the king’s half-brother Geoffrey, recently appointed archbishop of York, a defiance which needed papal settlement in 1 191. For the rest Pudsey did well in his new position.^® For the city and county of Durham Pudsey’s reign was a prominent epoch in many ways, apart from the large secular sway that he exerted. To Durham he gave a charter in 1175, as he did to Gateshead and Sunderland. The castle, considerably damaged by fire about 1154, was improved, and at the cathedral the famous Galilee was added, whilst a new bridge led to the borough of Elvet. Here the rectory, with its dependent chapels at Croxdale and Witton, was given to the prior and convent.'^’’ He refounded Kepier, "* Life of Bartholomew in Simeon of Dur. op. cit. i, 295-325. For facts and authorities, see Surtees Soc. Publications, vol. xix. He is called in a charter of Stephen ‘ Nepoti meo.’ ” Given in Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 207. Facts and authorities in Diet. Nat. Biog. ‘ Hugh de Puiset.’ ” The fabric of St. Margaret’s, Durham, suggests that it was built now, but the chapelry (it was one of four dependent on St. Oswald’s, the others being Croxdale, Witton, and St. Leonard) cannot be yet traced. 13 A HISTORY OF DURHAM founded Sherburn Hospital, built tbe cburcb of St. Giles, and at Darlington built tbe collegiate cburcb of St. Cutbbert,and augmented its foundation.^® His grants to lay tenants were numerous. Tbe great importance of tbe famous Boldon Book is set out at large in another article.^® To tbe episcopate of Pudsey (1153-95) there succeeded a long interval before the next really great bishop. Yet those who followed, if men in- ferior to Flambard and Pudsey in strength of character, held firmly to the regality which was clearly recognized.®® Our authorities now begin to increase, and in the information supplied by patent and other rolls we obtain frequent mention of bishop, and the various bishopric officers.®' Incidentally during the vacancy of the see we are able to trace in the Pipe Rolls, &c., the accounts of the revenue, the names of the chief tenants, and the regular suc- cession to prebendal estates at Auckland, Norton, and elsewhere in the king’s gift during vacancy. The general history of the diocese during the greater part of the thirteenth century is not attractive, as it consists mainly of disputes between the bishop and the monastery, or the bishop and the archbishop of York, with more than enough of personal crime and violence on the part of the chief actors. Glancing briefly at the bishops in question we first notice Philip of Poitou (i 197—1208), a friend of King John, who gave him a new grant of a mint at Durham.®^ His appointment of a nephew, Aimeric, as archdeacon of Durham, led to a long feud with the monastery, in which the nephew urged his uncle to a series of attacks upon the independence of the monks, and scenes of disgraceful violence were enacted. It is to his episcopate that the well-known description of Geoffrey of Coldingham refers, in which he says that ‘J^^us was thought to be asleep whilst the little bark of the Church was tossing in the midst of the sea.’®* One of several prolonged vacancies followed the death of Bishop Philip, during which regular returns of the episcopal revenue in the king’s hands were made by the royal officers. At last, in 1217, Richard Marsh was elected, a man of more than doubtful past history,®* who carried on the dispute with the monastery. The feud was so bitter that Bishop Richard appealed to Rome, and perhaps by his influence the suit was protracted without definite sentence. He died leaving the appeal unfinished and the diocese in debt. After another interval of three years. Bishop le Poor follow'ed, and by his excellence atoned for the personal demerit of his immediate predecessors. His fame rests not only on the fact that he added the eastern transept of the nine altars to the cathedral, but on his termination of the embittered strife between bishop and monastery. The convenit^ as it is usually called, was drawn up in 1229 as a solution of all the outstanding disputes, and though it was criticized by the monastic element as scarcely fair to prior and convent, it formed a good modus vivendi between ” LongstafFe, Hist, of Darlington, 213. Pudsey’s inventory (^IVills and Inventories, Surtees Soc. ii, 3), gives an interesting list of books, some still preserved at Durham. ““The claim as to the southern end of the bridge over Tweed in 1199 is an instance in point. Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 229, from Hoveden, Chron. (Rolls Ser.). At least as early as 1255 there is mention in so many words of ‘ the bishop’s regality between Tyne and Tees’ ; Close R. 39 Hen. Ill, m. 7 d. The Attestationes testium in Feodarium (Surtees Soc.), 220-300, give incidentally the names of a large number of officers in the first half of the thirteenth century. Noble’s Two Dissertations is the chief authority on the mint. Tres Scriptores (Surtees Soc.), 21. Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 531. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY the two parties, as the long continued pause in disputing now made evident.®* Poor was no doubt anxious to effect a working settlement, since at Salisbury he had been on particularly friendly relations with the secular canons of the new church. The friars, who were beginning to get a foothold in England at this time, found no welcome or encouragement in the bishopric, and the dominating influence of the great Benedictine order succeeded in keeping them out of the city at all events. After four years’ interval, during which the crozier was for a short time forced into the hand of Prior Melsamby, Nicolas Farnham (1241— 9) became bishop. His oath of obedience to the archbishop of York survives to show that the direction of 1191 was now observed.®® In his time the Scots began after long quiet to disturb the peace of the borders, and Nicolas was directed by the king to see to the protection of the Marches. Thirty years later the same danger and the same duty became more frequent, and these directions to the bishop mark that idea of the defensive aspect of the bishopric which in the fourteenth century was regarded as the raison d'etre of the Palatinate. Nicolas resigned the bishopric in 1249, (notwithstanding efforts to oust him) the manors of Howden, Stockton, and Easington. One or two echoes of the great ecclesiastical and political questions which agitated the Church of England in the thirteenth century come from Durham in the next quarter of a century. Thus in 1257 the prior and convent made a determined stand against the papal exactions in common with the canons of Gisburn, for which bold action they were put under a temporary interdict.®^ Apparently they were ready to contribute a few years later to the tenth granted to the king by the pope in 1 274.®® There is no special evidence to show the attitude of the bishop or monastery to the barons in the Barons’ War, but a document survives which gives the names of the bishopric knights at Lewes in 1264.®® In 1268 Cardinal Ottobon, who was active in promoting peace between the king and his subjects, urged the bishop of Durham and others of the northern province to restore the lands of the nobles recently dispossessed, despite the pressure of burdens already existing.®® Greatham Hospital is connected with the troubles of this crisis. Its land endowments formed part of the confiscated estates of Peter de Montfort, and were devoted by Bishop Stichill to their new purpose in the exercise of his Palatinate powers in regard to forfeits.®^ Apart from these few matters, the episcopates of Kirkham (1249-60), Stichill (1261-74), and Robert of Holy Island (1274—83) left little record, and in general (with small exception) “ The chief points in dispute were certain advowsons of churches, estates, and the delimitation of the bishop’s and the prior’s courts, ‘de curia, Tol, Them, et Infangethef et de placitis latrocinii,’ &c. Lapsley, County Pal. Dur. 169. Melsamby was prior, and reluctantly submitted to his election, but being an ex-prior of Coldingham was regarded by the king as more than half a vassal of Scotland (Graystanes in Tres Scriptores, 38), and eventu- ally he resigned. For the oath of Nicolas Farnham, see Raine’s Historians Ch. of York, iii, 122 ; cf. Hoveden, Chron. iii, 74. The origin of this theory is discussed by Lapsley, op. cit. 303. Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. v, 634—5 (Rolls Ser.), in recording this says: ‘ O si habuissent in tribulatione sua consortes et in eorum constantia coadjutores ! Quam feliciter ecclesia Anglicana de tortoribus suis et oppressoribus triumphasset ! ’ Cal. Close, 1272-9, p. 128. The original is in Add. MSS. 27423, fol. 66, 71. It is printed by Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 267. northern Reg. (Rolls Ser.), 15, 18. ^ Hutchinson, Hist, and Antiq. of Dur. i, 263—5, gives the particulars of this important constitutional matter. The bishop successfully asserted his right over that of the king ; cf. Lapsley, op. cit. 42. 15 A HISTORY OF DURHAM their relation to the monastery was friendly, partly because the two latter bishops were local Benedictines. Various churches and chapels can first be traced in that part of the thirteenth century which has now been reviewed. We hear of chapels at Streatlam and Stainton in 1210,®^ at Satley in 1221 of licences to oratories at Stanley in 1 241 and Old Durham, i 268 ; of chantries at Easington (a rec- tory before 1222; Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, 2, 12), about 1249, and at St. Nicholas, Durham, in 1250.®® These are, perhaps, the first known instances of chantries in the bishopric. Heighington was made a vicarage in 1239.®^ The century which lies between the death of Robert of Holy Island in 1283 and that of Hatfield in 1381 comprises what is outwardly the most mag- nificent period in Durham church history. The palatinate power was now at its height, and to a great extent proved itself unassailable in the internal con- troversies with convent and commonalty and the external attempts of king and archbishop. Yet there were contrasts to the success and opulence of the prince-bishops in various episodes which darkened the general splendour. Few years were without prospect or realization of Scotch invasion ; the clergy were still pillaged by direct taxation or by the iniquitous practice of papal provisions ; the Black Death, if less awful than in some parts, left its terrible trace upon the land ; robbery and violence abounded. The epoch was intro- duced by Bishop Anthony Bek (1284—1311),®® first friend and comrade in arms of Edward I, then churchman, diplomat, and statesman. Shortly after his elevation Bek was opposed by Archbishop Romanus of York, who stimu- lated by the old jealousy sought from Bek an acknowledgement of his position as suffragan. In the issue certain messengers were imprisoned at Durham, and Bek cleverly urged his palatine jurisdiction as justification of what he had done, and obtained a decision in his favour. The bishop was employed by the king in the marriage negotiations on behalf of the first prince of Wales and the Scottish child-Queen Margaret. Her death prevented the union of the two kingdoms, and led to the dynastic feuds which followed. Bek made use of his crusading experience in the series of wars between England and Scotland. He was appointed custodian of the lands north of Trent, and found himself at the head of a large force of men gathered not only from the bishopric and the northern counties, but from Ireland and Wales. It was, perhaps, in the newly-built hall of Durham Castle that Bek lavishly enter- tained the king in 1296 after a successful campaign. In 1300, and partly as an outcome of this warfare, there took place a recrudescence of the weary controversy between bishop and convent. On this occasion the matter in dispute was not only the bishop’s visitatorial powers (in executing which he deposed the prior), but a broadening out of the whole quarrel, so that the tenants of the bishop were involved. These last had complained bitterly of being drawn outside the bishopric in the late war, and pleaded their privilege of being ‘ Haliwerk folk,’ and so exempt from external service.®® The struggle at last bereft Bek of his palatinate for a time, and brought a summons to ” Surtees, Hist. Dur. iv, i, lOO. “ Ibid. 344. Wolley Chart, v, 3. Surtees op. cit. iv, 91. Ibid, iv, 2, 48. Ibid, iii, 306. For his character and history see Arch. Ael. xx, 1 1 5. Cal. Pat. 1301—7, p. 71. Various matters were introduced into the dispute, e.g. the question of coal rights, perhaps the earliest reference to Durham coals ; cf. Arch. Ael. viii, 175. The king compelled the dis- putants to come to terms; Cal. Pat. 1 301-7, p. 106. Articles of agreement in Stowe MS. 930, fol. 152. 16 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY Rome which ended in his suspension. Bek saw fit to humble himself to the king and received back his possessions. A new pope gave opportunity for a re-trial of the case, but this pontiff was Clement V, wTo was a warm friend of Bek, and made him Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1306.^®° That was the last year of Edward I, who now seized certain lands forfeited by Balliol and Bruce, but the young King Edward II, coming to the throne in 1 307, restored to the bishop the rights of his Palatinate almost intact, and made him king of the Isle of Man.'°* Two or three untroubled years followed before Bek’s death in 13 1 1. He was the first bishop buried in the cathedral. Bek left behind him traces of his magnificence and generosity in his buildings at Auckland and Durham, his foundation of the prebendal churches at Chester- le-Street and Lanchester,'®*^ and in gifts to the cathedral. At Bek’s death another stage of the convent dispute was reached, when the prior seized the jurisdiction and started a controversy which it took some years to settle.^®* The next bishop was Kellaw (1311—16), whose magnificent register,^”® with its curious history, swells out the steadily- growing stream of information. It is possible for some years to chronicle the history of the Palatinate with much exactitude. As Kellaw was a Durham monk the bishop and convent disputes ceased for the time. He was a man of quiet character and encouraged learned men. His times were not quiet. His episcopate contains the record of Scottish troubles which led up to the English defeat at Bannockburn. The trace of hurrying troops is on every page of the records. Time and again the bishop is commanded to stay in his diocese and guard the borders.^”® All sorts of men were requisitioned either for service or to contribute money. The clergy granted a rate for the protection of the cathedral ; prior and convent contributed 800 marks;'®® prayers were ordered in all the churches. Meanwhile marauders ran riot over the bishopric, which was in a deplorable state through pillage and fear, whilst famine was rife amongst the poor. All this is the darker side. The register exhibits many proofs of episcopal vigilance and activity. Large ordinations were regularly held in the cathedral or at Stockton, Egglescliffe, or elsewhere, by the bishop or by some other bishop acting for him.'®® Some of these helpers were foreigners. The whole process from getting a title and testimonials until licence was given is fully referred to. Sir Thomas Hardy points out among other notabilia in the register the equal discipline to high and low which is characteristic of Kellaw."® Eleemosynary indulgences multiplied through the century for purely religious purposes, or for charitable uses, such as the building and repair of churches, monasteries, or bridges for public utility. Ever since the Bek was allowed to wear the pallium of the office, titular as the appointment really was ; Cal. Papal Let. ii, 10. The chief dates are ; first seizure of the Palatinate, July, 1302; summons of king to peace. Mar. 1303; restoration of the Palatinate, July, 1303 ; second seizure of Palatinate, Dec. 1305 ; Bek made Patriarch, Dec. 1306 ; restoration of the Palatinate, Sep. 1307 ; and fuller grant. May, 1308. The date is about 1297, the year in which the pope confirmed the two foundations ; Cal. Papal Let. i, 570-1. Surtees Soc. Publ. ii, 12. The prior’s action led to a protest by Archbishop Greenfield; Reg. Paiat. Dun. Kellaw, i, 39. The matter was settled in 1316 on the death of Kellaw. In Rolls Series, Reg. Paiat. Dun. See introduction of Sir T. D. Hardy, i, pp. i and xciii. Cal. Close R. 1307-13, p. 568. Reg. Paiat. Dun. i, 469. Northern Registers (Rolls Ser.), 232. Reg. Paiat. Dun. iii, p. Ixxiii. Introduction to Reg. Paiat. Dun. iii, p. cxviii. 17 2 3 A HISTORY OF DURHAM building of the nine altars in the cathedral church, a century before, the granting of indulgences was constant at Durhamd“ The appointment of a diocesan penitentiary in 1312 marks the organization of the penitential system on mediaeval linesd'*^ Kellaw died at Middleham. The bishops evidently made much use now of their country houses. In Kellaw’s time we get the first mention of an episcopal residence in London.”® Two years’ interval of disgraceful competition for the Palatinate followed the death of Kellaw in 1316. The one good feature of that time was the final adjustment of the question of sede vacante jurisdiction. This was now left in the hands of the pope,”^ who formulated his decision. Beaumont (1318—33) was at last appointed bishop through the queen’s influence. Of this prelate strange stories are still told to visitors over the empty matrix of his magnificent brass. His lack of education, his boundless vanity, the huge fees paid to Rome for his election, the story of his being kidnapped and held to ransom, were matters which tinged the mention of his name with interest.”® Fresh outbreaks of Scottish turbulence filled much of his episcopate with the same orders and measures as in the previous episcopate ; directions to garrison and provision the castles are the staple of the years.”® Invasion actual or menacing is mentioned in 1322, 1323, and 1325, rising in violence to Darlington fight, when Douglas fell, in 1327, and finally culminating in the decisive English victory of Halidon Hill in 1333, which retrieved the defeat of Bannockburn. Yet a somewhat famous letter of Edward II to Beaumont still exists in which the king upbraids him for even greater negligence against the Scots than Kellaw had shown. This was in 1322, and five years later Beaumont certainly stirred himself to prosecute before the king in Parliament the recognition of his jura regalia^ and the restoration of forfeitures, almost at the same time as the Darlington victory alluded to above. The ample acknowledgement of the bishop’s liberties is the most constitutionally important event ”® of his episcopate, and the Halidon Hill victory two months before his death was a complete justification of Edward’s action, though Beaumont did not in person lead the forces. Beaumont was succeeded for the moment by Graystanes, the Durham chronicler, one of our chief authorities from the early thirteenth century to his time. He was duly elected, confirmed, and consecrated by the arch- bishop of York, but Edward, whose acquaintance with Durham was con- siderable, had from the pope obtained the position for his tutor Bury. This eminent prelate,”® who now came in as a direct papal nominee, is chiefly interesting as the first literary bishop of Durham. Edward had probably learned that the duties of Count Palatine might be discharged by efficient officers. It is certain that Bury was more at home in his study than in camp. Yet he stuck to the rights of the Palatinate when need arose, and Introduction to Reg. Palat. Dun. iii, p. cxxxvi. Reg. Palat. Dun. i, 135. Ibid, i, 645. Raine, Hist. Ch. of York, iii, 237 and 265. For all these stories Graystanes {f'res Scriptores, Surtees Soc.), is the original authority. The Patent and Close Rolls contain many relative entries. See Ctf/. Pat. 132 1-4, p. 92 ; Cal. Close, 1318-23, pp. 562, 663, 679. Translated in Reg. Palat. Dun. i, p. Ixxlx. Ibid. p. Ixxx. Cf. Hardy, Reg. Palat. Dun. iii, p. cxli. 18 CUTHEERT TuNSTALL, I53O-59 Durham Episcopal Seals : Plate II ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY was ready to treat with the Scots when directed to do so by the kingd^® The whole bishopric was still smarting under the wounds of the late incur- sions. Raids and robbery prevented the sores from healing.^^^ Society generally was in deep distress, and the king in 1334 remitted the debts of the men of the bishopric in consequence.'^^ So great was the poverty of the clergy that the new taxation of 1330 was enforced in place of the older assessment preserved for us in Kellaw’s register. Particulars of the new scheme do not appear to have survived, but as the older taxatio itself had been drawn up only in 1318 to meet the poverty of the period, we have here an indication of the miserable impoverishment produced by the Scottish wars.'^* Many of the clergy in the diocese at this time were aliens, and in 1343 the king demanded a return and specified his reasons for desir- ing the practice of promoting foreigners to cease. Bury’s episcopate is otherwise noteworthy as being the high-water mark of our manuscript authorities for the history of Durham.'*'^ Bishop Hatfield (1345—81) now follows. Personally he is not so im- pressive as Bek, for instance, though the motto of the hall in the University of Durham named after him describes this prelate as endeavouring to be ‘ vel primus vel cum primis.’ His military experience gained in the French wars stood him in little stead, and he figures rather as a political bishop much trusted in matters of state than as a warrior. Within the Palatinate his magnificence catches and retains the eye, but there is a very different aspect of his episcopate due to the circumstances of the time. Its early months were full of rumours of war, and in 1346 the Scotch crossed the border in greater numbers than in any previous invasion, and at a moment when the country was engaged in war with France.'^’’ Once more St. Cuth- bert’s sacred banner was borne at the head of the bishopric troops, which formed an important element in the forces hastily gathered to repel the invader.'^® Probably Durham men had more to do in the winning of this battle than in any other border victory. Yet it was hardly purchased, for loss and poverty crippled the district owfing to the recent invasion.'^® The most gloomy period in the history of the diocese now began, when the Black Death apparently for the first time was desolating England, and Durham was not spared.'®® One little incidental sentence in a roll of Bishop Hatfield indicates the fearful ravages of the plague, and between the lines of various documents we obtain proof that the death-roll was heavy.'®' The He even purchased an armistice with the Scots ; cf. Lapsley, op. cit. 39. In 1333 the king offered the bishopric men shelter for themselves and their cattle in the southern forests. Cal. Close, 1333-7, p. 101. Cal. Pat. 1330-4, p. 528. Taxation of 1318 ; cf. Pat. Rolls ii Edw. II, pt. ii, m. 6 of 1330 ; Cal. Close 1330-3, pp. 65, 67. See Hardy’s remarks, Introd. Reg. Palat. Dun. iii, p. Ixi, and text of valuation, ibid. 88. For order of 1336 Cal. Close, 1333-7, p. 720. Cal. Close, 1343-6, pp. 215, 224. Cf. Lapsley, op. cit. 329-330. '•® The words come from Chambre’s description of Hatfield in Tres Scriptores, p. 137. The account in Surtees’ History, i, p. xlix, is clear and not too long. An elaborate examination of the battle is given in Arch. A el. i, 271. For the history of the banner, see Arch. A el. ii, 57. Letters from ’Northern Registers (Rolls Ser.). Ibid. 399, 401, important evidence for Durham and the northern province. The papal registers for the next forty years give in their concessions to monastic houses conclusive proof of the virulence of the outbreak in the north. Cursitor Roll, Hatfield, where special provision for a land title is made in the event of the death of the assigns during the pestilence then raging. 19 A HISTORY OF DURHAM years that followed 1349 were in the Durham diocese given to repair and restoration. Hatfield seems to have been solicitous for the spiritual welfare of his flock. In 1353 he issued licence to Carmelite Friars, somewhat against the custom of the diocese, to preach, and gave as his reason the wish ‘ that there should be more preaching that the souls of the people might be fed.’ Frequent licences were given to friars and others to hear confessions.^*® In 1353 he served the rectors and vicars of churches with a monition respecting the observance of festivals.^** Six years later the condition of the cathedral fabric engaged his attention, and in consequence of its dilapidated state representatives were sent round to places more or less distant in order to solicit contributions towards restoration.^** Soon after this the Neville ornaments were added to the cathedral. But despite the general impoverish- ment bishop and pope taxed the Palatinate unmercifully, until in 1378 the king wrote to Hatfield forbidding him to extort further sums on behalf of the pope.^*® Plague and defeat did not stop the Scottish incursions. They recur in 1377 and in 1380.^*^ In the former year the bishop was ordered to live near the Scottish marches, and in the latter laymen were bidden to remain on their lands where these were worth 100 marks. Traces of money-raising on these occasions survive in the registers.^*® Yet Hatfield and his officials found time in these troublous years to foster the growth of Durham College, which in one shape or other had existed in the University of Oxford since 1290, and under Hatfield received a more stable foundation.^*® The comparatively peaceful years that fell between the battle of Neville’s Cross and the Scottish incursion just alluded to, were troubled by a fresh outburst of the slumbering feud between York and Durham. In 1349 two of Hatfield’s chaplains went to York Minster and made a dis- graceful exhibition of themselves with some suspicion of ;Hatfield’s conni- vance.^^® There was further cause of affront in an attack upon the bishop of Chrysopolis, suffragan to the archbishop, which was thought to have been suggested by Hatfield. In neither case was Hatfield’s personal guilt estab- lished, but the tales serve to show the jealousy that was never far off in the relations of the archbishop of York and the bishop of Durham in the palmy days of the Palatinate. Archbishop Neville who had family reasons for desiring to depress the bishop asserted his right to visit, and this reappearance of the old claim already described was only dissipated by a repeated pro- hibition from the king in 1376 and 1377. The prior and convent seem to have gained much in general prestige and influence by the middle of the fourteenth century. Perhaps in part from a dislike of too close proximity to the monks, the bishop, when in the diocese, resided less and less in Durham. Auckland, Stockton, Middleham Dur. Epis. Register, Hatfield. Ibid. Ibid. Mention is made of application to Carlisle in Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. Ix, App. i, 191. Lapslcy, op. cit. 298; cf. 274. The action of the bishop is all the more capricious in view of a com- mission issued by him in 1358 to inquire concerning all oppressions, extortions, etc., committed by his own officers. cf. Cal. Pat. 1377-81, pp. 308, 606. Dur. Epis. Reg. Hatfield. An excellent sketch in Dean Kitchin’s Ruskin at Oxford, and other Studies. The story is told in Northern Registers, 397-9. Can this outburst of blasphemy be due to the general depression succeeding the plague ? Rymer, Foedera, iii (i), 389. Diet. Hat. Biog. ‘Hatfield,’ 156^7. 20 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY were favourite places of abode.^^* Durham indeed was, with its multiple jurisdictions, increasingly the city of prior and convent, so that now the Old Borough and Framwellgate were the sum total of the bishop’s pos- sessions in the immediate neighbourhood of the castle and precincts. A papal ’document of 1372 proves the growing magnificence attained by the monastery under this little-checked expansion, and it indicates incidentally how severely other northern houses of less enviable character and attraction had suffered from the Black Death, or from the decay of monasticism. The pope in declining to facilitate a new appropriation by the king to the prior and convent says : As there had been appropriated to the said prior and chapter four abbeys of religious in which only priors are now instituted, in each of which were twenty-four monks and now no more than fifteen in all four ; as likewise two other monasteries in each of which fifteen persons dwelt, in both of which there are now ten ; as moreover thirteen parish churches were appropriated and many other things conferred on them, it is probable that if the king were sufficiently informed of this, he would not petition for the said appropriation seeing further that in Durham there are now only fifty-six resident monks who when they go out travel with three or four horses and spend more on food and clothing than befits the modesty of their religion.^^^ A few years later under Bishop Fordham the prior and convent made petition to Urban VI for the coveted distinction of wearing the full pontifical insignia of mitre, staff, &c. The monastery pleaded in justification of the concession that their annual income exceeded 5,000 marks, and that less important houses possessed the desired privilege.^^® If, as the registers show, Hatfield was rarely at Durham and often out of the diocese altogether, he was certainly not neglectful of that part of the city which was peculiarly the bishop’s. It is probable that in his absence the castle became more and more a garrison of soldiers. It was doubtless in connexion with this use of the buildings that Hatfield lengthened the hall, made alterations in the Constable’s Hall, and built the lofty mediaeval keep, which was in constant use for the next 100 years.^^® The bishop’s throne in the cathedral is an apt symbol of the magnificence of Hatfield’s episcopate. He also built Durham House in the Strand for his residence when attending at Parliament, and arranged a sumptuous appointment of chaplains in it.^^^ The register and rolls connected with Hatfield bear witness to the enormous amount of business with which he and his officials had to deal.^^® The number of the latter and the variety of their offices, however, suggest that the work was distributed. Moreover, suffragan bishops were commissioned for intervals longer or shorter.^*® There is little evidence by which to test the condition of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment, but we must bear in mind the negative evidence of Hatfield’s ordinances of 1353 alluded to above, A brief renewal of the dispute with the bishop is alluded to in 1353 when a deed was enrolled (cf. Cursitor Rolls, Half, i, D. m. 9) concerning criminal matters and the right to various dues. Cal. Papal Let. iv, 1 1.7. Low, Dioc. Hist. Dur. 196. The original authority is Chambre’s Tres Scrlptores, 138. See the forthcoming monograph of C. C. Hodges on Durham Castle. Tres Scriptores, loc. cit. See, too, Surtees Soc. vol. 52, xi ; Cal. Pat. 1377-81, p. 61 1. Later entries, 1387, Stowe MS. 1055 and 1475, Cursitor Roll 2, Booth, H. m. 6. Described in Lapsley, op. cit. 99—103. In Hatfield’s Register the bishops ofBesan9on (also under de Bury), Langonen (Lango in the Cyclades) [Eubel, Hterarchia Cathol. i, 304], Dimi(ta)cen (Domokos in Greece) [Ibid, i, 233], Le(i)ghli(n)en (Leighlin in Ireland) [Ibid, i, 312—13] are mentioned as holding longer or shorter commissions. A HISTORY OF DURHAM and such considerations as the unrest and turbulence occasioned by the Scottish invasions, whilst on the other hand the clergy at all events frequently received a licentia studendi at the university.*^® Instances of murder or riot or wreckage, which appear from time to time on the rolls, do not prove much as to general tendencies. Of the two bishops who fill the interval between the episcopates of Hatfield and Cardinal Langley, Fordham (1382—8), is of little importance. His was a political appointment,*^* and as he was deeply involved in the troubles of Richard II he shared the king’s unpopularity, being forced to resign his see and retire to Ely. He cannot be proved to have left any permanent stamp on the church in his diocese,*^^ and his reputed opposition to Wycliffism was probably exercised in London rather than in the north.*^® There is certainly no evidence of Wycliffism in Durham during the fourteenth century. As a political force Fordham was more noteworthy, and gained from the king an important confirmation of palatine jurisdiction as the result of a commission issued for the purpose. In 1386 a commission of array was issued in the bishopric to resist the French invasion that was feared, and in 1388 there was another Scottish invasion. Skirlaw (1388—1405) was a great builder. He began the cloisters at Durham, and erected bridges at Yarm and Shincliffe. Personally he was one of the most attractive of the mediaeval prelates of Durham. His election at the very height of the Wycliffe controversy goes to show that he was of proved orthodoxy. He had been employed in various foreign missions, and once at Rome. As bishop he was used in the Scottish marriage negotiations of 1394. He was steadfast to the new dynasty in 1399. The absence of his register, and the meagreness of other records which have rapidly lessened since the days of Hatfield, leave us in complete ignorance of his personal influence in the diocese. His rolls are all occupied with ordinary business matters, and give no insight into the condition of the church. Political considerations had some weight in the choice of the next bishop, Thomas Langley (1406-37). His previous connexion with the Lancastrian family was expected to ensure his steadfast allegiance to that house, a matter of no small importance considering the recent Scottish wars, and the probable contingency of some alliance between France and Scotland. Soon after his election he resigned his chancellorship,*^* and apparently began to devote himself to his diocese, from which he was summoned in 1409 to be present at the Council of Pisa. From the close of that year he was active, as his register shows, until called away on an embassy to Paris in 1414. His reappointment as chancellor in 1417 drew him into the stream of politics again, and for some years he was rarely in the diocese. The bishop of Elphin was appointed to act as his suffragan in 1420. Langley had a large part in drawing up the Treaty of Durham in 1424, and entertained the Scottish James I at Durham. The remainder of his episcopate was, so far as we can The custom was derived from a mandate of Boniface VIII, and is illustrated in episcopal registers of the time. Cf. Bishop Hobhouse’s note in Drokensford’s Reg. (Somers. Rec. Soc.), p. 304. He was Lord Treasurer until 1386 ; Chron. Mon. St. Alb. (Rolls Ser.), 374. Is there indeed proof that he was much in the diocese ? Careful provision was made for his lodging in London ; Cal. Pat. 1381—5, p. 122. For his gifts see Surtees Soc. Publ. ii, 43. Collier is cited as the authority for this opposition, Eccl. Hist, i, 574. For dates see article in Diet. Nat. Biog. ‘Langley,’ with references cited. 22 Thomas Hatfield, 1345-81 i^Oh^erse) Thomas Hatfield, 1345-81 (^Re^erse) John Fordham, i38z-88 {Obverse) John Fordham, 1382-88 {^Renjerse) Durham Episcopal Seals : Plate III % m iiEE&ET OF THE U!ilYERSlIY OF n LIKCSS ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY trace, largely spent in the work of his diocese, and its record is somewhat full. He exercised the office of the Palatinate with the completeness which the Lancastrians were likely to allow. In his diocese some of the most important of his acts are perhaps those concerned with heresy. The bishop’s intimate acquaintance with the religious movements of the day naturally led him to be eager in repressing any erroneous tendency. It has, perhaps, been gene- rally thought that the north of England was quite untouched by Lollardy. This is certainly not strictly the case, though we must be careful not to interpret monitions and mandates beyond their proper value. One of the Nevilles of Raby, who died in 1389, had been a Lollard leader.*^ As early as 1414, and expressly on account of the spread of heresy throughout the kingdom, the bishop orders the prior and the priors of cells to hold solemn processions during Lent, in which the citizens are to join, praying God to protect His Spouse the Church from the insults of the heretics, to confirm the people’s faith, to confound the heretics. The letter is to be read every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, either during mass or in sermone}^^ It was perhaps his solicitude for the welfare of his flock which led Langley to seek a proctor for his appearance at the great Continental Councils of 1414 and 1416.^^^ An entry of 1418 speaks of prospective danger to the realm and Church. Our next evidence is about 1422, when a Carmelite prior named Boston has to revoke some error which he maintained as to offering candles at Candlemas. Other articles were exhibited against him which have not survived. The case was not decided at once.^^® In the winter of 1428—9 letters were written round to the prior of Durham and to others warning them against the errors of Wycliffe and of Huss.'®° It must, however, be admitted that these documents fail to prove the presence of aggressive Lollardy in the bishopric in Langley’s time. Later traces will occur further on. Cardinal Langley issued a variety of enactments which, as they multiply in the register, strike the reader’s attention. It is probably not fancy to regard as more than formal the repeated injunctions and provisions to promote education, reverence towards things sacred, kindliness to the poor and afflicted. His will proves his zeal for education ; the repeated help extended to the injured shows his kind disposition ; the erection of the font in the Durham Galilee for the children of excommunicated persons does the same. But Langley’s name has been handed down in the bishopric rather as a builder.^®^ He restored the Galilee of the cathedral, and completed the cloisters. He also rebuilt the great north gate of the castle, which had perished since Norman days, and this new work lasted until 1818, when it Sir William de Neville, son of Ralph, fourth Baron Neville of Raby, and victor at Neville’s Cross ; cf. Diet. Net. Biog. sub voce. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 66. On fol. 67 d. a form of abjuration of heresy is provided. Ibid, sub annis. Ibid. fol. 100. Ibid. fol. 52, 55. The abjuration took place in 1426, when Boston had become prior of the Carmelite house at Newcastle. Ibid. fol. 153-8. Indulgences abound for help to debtors, to those who have received injury from fire or flood, to the blind, to widows. There are monitions for theft, cruelty to animals, cutting down trees, &c One will of 1427 (Reg. Langley, fol. 137) is liturgically important. John Newton, late rector of Houghton, leaves to his church a whole legend of the Sarum Use and three processionals of Sarum Use. On fol. 220 is the will of a dean of Auckland, who leaves a Missal Usus Ebor. in bequest. Chambre, in Tres Scriptores (Surtees Soc.), is our original authority for Langley’s buildings. 23 A HISTORY OF DURHAM was ruthlessly demolished. He erected two schools on the Palace Green, one for plain song and the other for grammar. Four episcopates now succeed which must be rapidly dismissed. We still have the bishops’ Cursitor Rolls for them, but their ecclesiastical informa- tion is meagre, and there is no episcopal register proper between Langley and Fox. Bishop Neville (1438-57), uncle of Edward IV and Richard III, was a scion of the local house, and son of Ralph the first earl of Westmore- land. His episcopate, which began with a fresh outbreak of the plague, was signalized by a cessation of border warfare. He took part in various truces, which were the means of producing this pause in the international hostility, the chief occasion being in the cathedral in 1449. In 1448 Henry VI paid a visit to the castle and to the bishopric, and has left a bombastic and amusing letter giving a high appreciation of north country character. If the royal visit was the most picturesque incident under Neville, his erection of the still standing exchequer at Durham is the most important event. During part of his time he had the bishop of Dromore as suffragan. Little else is recorded of the bishop. For the second time a queen of England now succeeded in getting her nominee appointed bishop. Laurence Booth (1458-76) was appointed in the early years of the Wars of the Roses, and was placed in a position of great difficulty in consequence. Durham had so far been Lancastrian, and Booth presumably belonged to this party. For the most part the tide of war flowed north and south of the bishopric. After Towton, in 1461, the Lancastrian partisans fled to Scotland. Henry made an abortive expedition thence through the bishopric in that year, and is heard of at Brancepeth.^®* A year’s pause followed before Queen Margaret came with French help and captured certain Northumbrian castles. Edward came north in December, 1462, with Warwick, and seized these strongholds. The issue appears to show that in this brief Lancastrian revival of 1461 Booth had in some way manifested his sympathy with Henry and Margaret, for when Edward signalized his triumph by spending Christmas at Durham,^®® the bishop was deprived of his temporalities.^®® It seems equally clear that on the eve of the decisive battles of Hedgeley Moor and Hexham in April and May, 1464, when Edward again led an army into Northumberland, Booth was forgiven and the temporalities restored. ^®^ He was also permitted to reside where he pleased in the realm for the next three years, and to absent himself from attendance at the Parliament and council.^®® The permission seems to hint at some restriction of residence during his disgrace which we are not able to trace. A month or two after this concession the king at York reviewed the chief charters of privileges from the forged charters of William the Conqueror down to tlie fourteenth century, documents on which the prior and convent relied as the basis of their position, and granted them a full confirmation of alU®® I'he peace of the bishopric was again endangered in 1468 during the brief rising of Sir Humphry Neville, when he caused considerable trouble Surtees (op. cit. i, Ivi) gives a summary of his chief acts in the Palatinate, as does Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 407-8- Pari. R. V, 478. Perhaps the best reconstruction of an obscure period is in Archaeolo^a, xlvii, 266. Ibid. 271. Cal. Pat. 1461-7, p. 215. Ibid. 347, 375. Ibid. 325. 24 Ibid. 392-3. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY in Durham, and gave occasion to a proclamation by the king ‘ against breaking St. Cuthbert’s franchise, or taking any man or goods within the bishopric of Durham otherwise than according to law.’ How completely the bishop had regained the king’s confidence is proved by the confirmation of Barnard Castle to Booth after its forfeiture by John Balliol in 1470.^^^ There are just one or two of the scanty entries of Booth’s time which throw some falling ray of light on the moral and religious condition of the Palatinate. In 1460 a special commission of important personages was issued ‘ to inquire concerning insurrections, felonies, Lollardies, conspiracies, and other offences.’ The special inclusion of ‘ Lollardies,’ although pos- sibly only the common form of the commissions of that date, should perhaps be noticed. An undated letter under the privy seal to the bishop of Durham calls attention to the ‘ grete extorcions, roberes, murders, and other great exorbytances and myschieves ’ which had ensued from the late troubled state of the realm. The bishop was directed to proclaim the king’s will and commandment herein. We pass over the episcopates of Dudley (1476—83) and of Sherwood (1484—94) with very brief mention, as they are almost entirely devoid of ecclesiastical record and reference. A survey of castles and manors in Dudley’s first year,^’^° taken in connexion with a rather later letter of Richard III in Sherwood’s time, describing the ruinous condition of castles and towns belonging to the Church of Durham,^^® seems to be indication of evil days, and to prepare us for the restoring work carried out by Fox and Tunstall. The Scottish restlessness in Dudley’s pontificate did not affect the Palatinate save in so far as bishopric men were arrayed to join the duke of Gloucester in his Scottish wars.^^^ The duke was popular in the north, and had a considerable connexion with the bishopric.^^® It is not surprising, therefore, that Bishop Sherwood was ready to attach himself to the duke when he became king. Richard showed his appreciation by asking the pope for a cardinal’s hat for the bishop, but this was never given. Sherwood was certainly the most learned bishop since de Bury, and in his love of books illustrates the rising influence of the Renaissance in England. Whatever may have been his personal dealings with Henry VII at the beginning of his reign,^®® events go to prove that Sherwood had some sympathy with Simnel in the rising of 1487, for the bishop was significantly omitted from a commission issued by the king to inquire into insurrections within the bishopric. ^®^ Sherwood died in Rome,^®'“ whither he went as a special envoy to the pope from Henry VII. It has been assumed that he had retired to Rome in consequence of disgrace, Cursitor R. Booth, 2 P. m. ; Dep. Keeper's Rep. 102. Ibid. 2 D. m. 4. ; Report, 07. Ibid. I D. m. 8 ; Report, 80. Ibid. 3 K. m. 15 ; Report, 120. A slight side-light on ways and means in clerical life belongs to this period. The bees at Dinsdale rectory form a source of revenue ; Surtees, Hist. 239 and note. Cursitor Roll Dudley, i K. m. i. Report, i.po. Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 450, with references. Ibid. 451. Surtees, Hist. Publ. ii, lx, Ixi, and notes. Ibid, lx, note. In i486 he was sufficiently trusted to receive appointment as a king’s proctor at Rome on the matter of cathedral preferments ; Materials Illustrative of the Reign of Henry VII (Rolls Ser.), i, 323. In the text above the view of Hutchinson concerning Sherwood is given, but it is quite possible (so scanty are our records) that Sherwood, who on his tomb at Rome is called the king’s Orator, lived there in the English College without returning. Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 451. Cal. Venetian S.P. 21 May, 1492, 12 Jan. 1494. 25 4 2 A HISTORY OF DURHAM because his name had been wanting in various commissions connected with Scottish affairs/*^ About this time an interesting if fitful light is thrown upon the otherwise obscure history of the sanctuary at Durham. In the cathedral registers now preserved in the treasury of the church there occur between the years 1477 and 1524'®^ some 247 entries relating to the taking of sanctuary. It is curious that so particular a record should be left of these while the earlier centuries of the history of the sanctuary arc practically unillumined by the slightest reference, save a mere mention now and again in other documents. It is also remarkable that the entries should be set in the cathedral register for those years, and those only, instead of in a sanctuary book, as at Beverley. Analysis of the instances named discloses certain facts worth noting. The crimes alleged are murder and homicide, debt, horse-stealing, cattle-stealing, escape from prison, house-breaking, theft, and one or two technical offences, such as harbouring a thief. Of the 247 cases, 195 are connected with murder and homicide. As to the locality of the fugitive, Yorkshire gives 120 instances, Northumberland 58, Westmorland 20, Cumberland 13, Lancashire 9, Middlesex 4, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire 3, Nottingham- shire and Cheshire 2, with single entries from Surrey, Suffolk, Somerset, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, and Gloucestershire. Durham county, of course, does not supply instances (save two by an apparent mistake), since a crime in the county broke the peace of St. Cuthbert, and obliged the accused to seek sanctuary at some other place, say Beverley, or more probably Ripon, though there were others not far off. Thus it appears that guilty persons from all parts might take refuge at Durham, where, in accordance with well- known practice and the evidence of the entries in the register, they were examined and, if approved, were suffered to remain. It has always been the custom at Durham, in showing the sanctuary knocker,^®* which still exists, to draw largely for description of the sanctuary customs upon the Rites of Durhafn. The somewhat garrulous reminiscences of the compiler have been cited even by good antiquaries as evidence for pre-Reformation usages. The value of the information supplied by this book has been recently examined, together with the larger question of the nature and extent of the Durham sanctuary privileges.^®® Mr. Forster has reached the conclusion, upon evidence not wholly indisputable, that the rights of the ‘ grithman ’ were far more extensive than a mere temporary sojourn of thirty-seven days at Durham,^®® ‘ and that the liberty of St. Cuthbert protected him and his property within the boundaries of the county palatine of Durham. ... At any rate such a conclusion accords better than any other with the mediaeval reputation of St. Cuthbert, and the princely position of the old-time bishops of Durham ; The same probabilities have been thought to attach to the bishop’s attitude in 1492 in Warbeck’s insur- rection ; Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 452. Printed with an introduction by Rev. Canon Chevallier in Sanctuarium Dunclmense et Beverlacense, (Surtees Soc.). The whole subject needs fresh examination in the light of wider knowledge. See a recent paper on the ‘ Knocker ’ ; Brit. Arch. Assoc. Journ. (New Ser.), ix, 1 17-32. Notes on Durham and other North Country Sanctuaries, by R. H. Forster, esq., hon. treasurer of the British Archaeological Association, reprinted from its Journal, Aug. 1905. Mr. Forster’s conclusion is attractive, and, with such positive evidence as he has collected, it is probable. Two things are necessary to prove it, (1) a larger number of particular instances than those he cites in support of his contention that the fugitives sought the liberty of St. Cuthbert injra Tynam et Tysam ; (2) a collection of definite mediaeval allusions to prove that the extensive character of the sanctuary rights at Durham was generally acknowledged. 26 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY as well as with the view that while sanctuary rights had a religious origin, they were in their later phases based upon temporal jurisdiction.’ Henry VII owed much to the statesmanship of Richard Fox, whom he translated from Bath and Wells to Durham in 1494. Fox was bishop of Durham for seven years (1494— 1501), having first made acquaintance with the district when he passed to^and fro on the king’s business in 1487,^*® In the first year of his episcopate a new Scottish invasion was feared, and the bishop was directed to array the forces of the bishopric. It was perhaps at this moment the bishop took the precaution to fortify Norham with all possible care. During part of 1496 Fox was absent from England negotiating the Magnus Intercursus^ and returned to find Warbeck’s second attempt just about to take place. In the assault of Norham which followed, the Scots were unable to take the fortress. The bishopric men had all been called out in August, 1497, but a truce was concluded by Fox in December. Next year his skilful mediation prevented the outbreak of war between England and Scotland.^®” How little the bishop trusted the continuance of peaceful rela- tions with the Scots seems to be indicated by his work at Durham Castle. At all events it is tempting to connect the building, which was in progress there about 1498, with the need of the increased accommodation for a garri- son. His intention to rebuild the keep may point to the same conclusion. The bishop’s greatest diplomatic triumph signalizes the year 1499, when he was successful in arranging the marriage alliance between King James and the Princess Margaret. He was, however, translated to Winchester before the wedding took place. Short as the episcopate of Bishop Fox was, it left more than a material mark on the north of England. Notwithstanding his diplomatic work he was more in evidence in the diocese than his immediate predecessors. He strove to curb the wild and unruly borderers of Tynedale and Redesdale by spiritual process. They constantly made inroads into the bishopric for the sake of plunder, and among them were certain hedge-priests as lawless as any. The presence of these men is a curious side-light on the character of some of the Northumberland clergy at the time, and it is probable that the bishopric clergy proper were of a higher type than their rougher brethren farther north. The register of Fox is brief and uninteresting, with the exception of two or three documents. One of these is a long monition to the raiders just mentioned. Elsewhere there is an interesting list of books given by Fox in 1499 for the use of the library in the collegiate church at Bishop Auckland.^®® The volumes are biblical commentaries, works of the schoolmen, provincial constitutions, classical writers, books of ecclesiastical law, &c. It is preceded by a list of implements given to the dean of Auckland at the same From Mr. Forster’s paper, 134, 139. The reader will still refer to RiUs of Durham (Surtees Soc. ed. Canon Fowler), 41, 42, 226. For this cf. Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 451. Cal. Doc. Scotland, iv, 1608. Cf. Diet. Nat. Biog. ‘ Richard Foxe.’ Chambre, however, speaks of arrangements in the hall which suggest festival rather than barrack use. Tres Scriptores, 50. The date existing on the buttery hatch is 1499, and it is possible that the changes con- template the marriage of Margaret, which was arranged in that year, though it did not take place until 1503. The process is printed in Surtees Soc. Publ. xxi, 37-42. The reference to the register is fol. 19 and 10 d. On fol. 35 ooo.®®^ Nor was it the furniture and ornaments alone which gave offence to the party of Smart. A variety of ceremonies had been introduced, standing at the Nicene®®® Creed, bowing (or as the Durham people called it), ‘ making legs to Lonsdale MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii), App. vi, 64. ®®’ Surtees Soc. Puhl. lii, 164. Cal. S.P. Dorn. 1634-5, P- See above note, and C. Hunter, Illustration oj NeaPs Puritans, p. 64. This is evident from other authorities : ‘A great part, if not the most of the evil of our church, at this present, is supposed to proceed from him, and those he wholly ruleth, as My Lord of Durham whom he wholly ruleth.’ In strictness of date, since the paper is dated 29 March, 1628, the bishop to whom reference is made is Bishop Monteigne, who was only bishop from 3 March to 16 June, 1628. If this is correct it shows that Monteigne was under the direction of Cosin even before he entered upon the see. The passage is given in Surtees Soc. Publ. xxxiv, 198, from the Baker MSS. Surtees Soc. Publ. lii, 1 74. Ibid. 1 79. Ibid. This was a source of considerable contention, and led to a successful defence on the part of Cosin, which is given in his correspondence, ibid. 200. 45 A HISTORY OF DURHAM the altar,’*®® the singing of anthems instead of psalms, the wearing of ‘ Baby- lonish robes called copes . . . embroidered with images’ instead of ‘decent copes,’ and so forth ; whilst it was averred that strange and novel doctrines had been imported in sermons by the reforming prebendaries.®^^ It was for these reasons, probably, that Archbishop Harsnett, of York, took the extreme step of proposing to visit the diocese of Durham.®^® Bishop Howson at once wrote off to Laud, then bishop of London, and quoted precedents to show that the idea, if not unheard of, was unconstitutional. ‘ The people,’ he says, ‘ now on the first motion proclaim that they know none but God, the king, and Saint Cuthbert, which is their bishop, to whose government they submit.’ The protest was successful, and the visitation abandoned. Later in the year (1630) Howson undertook his primary visitation and gave certain ordinances to the dean and chapter, in which it was directed that ‘ to prevent scandal of innovation the uniformity of Common Prayer used before the alteration in the time of the late bishop be observed.’ ®^® The State Paper containing these injunctions is indorsed hinc illae lacrymae^ which may lead us to suppose that the precept was not palatable. The bishop’s own position was difficult. He did not fully sympathize with Smart, but owing to the excited state of feeling in England he found it best to temporize, and in the end ®^® rather took his side. It would seem that despite a partial incrimination of Cosin for the offences alleged in introducing changes without due authority,®^® the ultimate issue was to justify his party, so that the triumph lay almost wholly on the side of the reformers and innovators. Some evidence of this is given in the acts of the High Commission, which show renewed activity after the final sentence given at York in 1630. A comparison of their acts from this time with what was done in 1627 shows far greater vigilance, and a very much widened range or inquisition. Moral offences, irreverence, profanation of the sacraments, hindering divine service, assaults on the clergy, defamation, fortune-telling, are some of the various cases from all parts of the diocese which multiply in and about 1630.®’'® Bishop Howson was promoted to the see of Durham when he was seventy-three, and was succeeded by a prelate of much the same advanced age. No post-Reformation bishop had found the see of Durham a bed of roses, but no one had so uneasy a tenure as Bishop Morton (1632—47), the pathos of the situation being intensified by his distinguished merits and his great age.®^^ The new bishop was of a somewhat different school from his. immediate predecessors. The friend of Casaubon and of many well-known scholars, Morton represented rather the school of Hooker than of Laud. He was an ardent apologist of the Church of England, but in a day when strong language was used and vehement action taken, Morton was as conciliatory as. Surtees Soc. Publ. lii, 179. Ibid. 184. Ibid. 186. S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 162, No. 32. Ibid. vol. 186, Nos. 97, 107 ; cf. Surtees Soc. Publ. lii, No. 202. This is not quite the view of the editor of the Surtees Soc. volume, ibid. 204, foot-note, but is. justified by the bishop’s own correspondence ; cf. S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 154, No. 95. Complacent reference to Cosin’s fine and temporary suspension is given in the articles previously cited, Surtees Soc. Publ. lii, 191—2. For the Acts of 1629 onwards, see Surtees Soc. Publ. xxxw, passim. A summary (if it maybe trusted) of 1627 is given by Dr. Carter in his previously cited reply to Neal, p. 44. A very eulogistic and almost contemporary account of Morton was written by his chaplain,^ Dr. Barwick. For his ‘ Catholic Apology ’ and other important works see Diet. Nat. Biog. 46 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY he was strong in his own convictions. It is possible that this disposition recommended him for promotion to Durham at a moment when recent events must have left behind them a strong sense of irritation. He took pains to try to bring into the diocese men in whom he felt confidence.*^® In this way Dr. Naylor was promoted to the rectory of Sedgefield, with a prebend in the cathedral ; Johnson, an excellent preacher, to Bishopwear- mouth ; Dr. Feme, later master of Trinity, Cambridge, and dean of Ely, to the rectory of Stanhope and archdeaconry of Northumberland ; and last, but not least. Dr. Isaac Basire to the same two preferments as Dr. Feme held before him. Morton scattered over the diocese copies of the church catechism, and insisted strongly on the duty of catechising.®’’® His extreme liberality, his care in ordinations, his promotion of real learning, his per- suasive influence with recusants (amongst others he brought back one of the Swinburnes to the Church of England), are points over and above his own steadfast character to which his biographer draws special attention.®®® He was, however, firm as well as amiable, and made a stand for Palatinate rights stronger than any predecessor had made since the spoliation of the episcopal prerogative under Henry VIII.®®^ He displayed greater activity than his immediate predecessors in regard to the train-bands. A writer of a strange little tract which belongs to 1629 had stated that the train-bands were very rarely called together even for the sake of practice; but in 1635, owing to the threatening aspect of Scottish affairs, Morton summoned the train-bands to appear before him at Durham, both horse and foot completely furnished and exercised. The various gentlemen of the county were bidden to provide themselves with fit arms, and the clergy in like manner to be answerable to their abilities.®®® But before this gloomy cloud presaged the storm that was soon to fall upon the north, one of his most pleasant, if most exhausting, experiences came to the bishop. In 1633 Charles announced his intention of making a progress into Scotland. Great preparations were made in the bishopric, the various parishes contributing to the mending of roads and repairing of bridges, and other expenses of the journey, as different parish books attest.®®® An extremely interesting account of the event written in Latin by Cosin still survives, from which it is easy to picture the manner of the king’s reception at the cathedral and the castle.®®^ It is a tradition that his entertainer, the bishop, was impoverished by the great expense of the function, which cost him ^1,500 a day. Charles, who was destined to return to Durham under very different circumstances, seems to have shown much interest in the cathedral. At the instigation of Laud, probably, he gave directions for the removal of some unsightly buildings annexed to the church,®®® and by his presence virtually endorsed the changes that had been wrought in services and furniture. A letter from Arundel to Windebank written at Durham ®®* testifies to the king’s satisfaction with the cathedral. A Barwick, Life, 83. Ibid. 89. Ibid. 93, 95, 97, &c. S. P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 302, No. 6. Ibid. vol. 296, No. 20 ; vol. 398, No. 46. Ibid. vol. 134, No. 16. Entries in Gateshead parish books. See also Surtees Soc. Publ. Ixntiv, 95 ». Surtees Soc. Publ. Hi, 212. For the expense, Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 618. S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 240, No. 10. This must be remembered as explaining the flight of the prebendaries in 1640 on the approach of the Scots. 47 A HISTORY OF DURHAM quaint and interesting view of an ordinary service and a residence dinner is given in 1634 by three Norwich soldiers who came to church and were entertained by Dean Hunt/®^ As for the king’s visit, church discipline seems to have been tightened by the countenance it gave to the party now in the ascendant, and evidence survives of much activity in the next two or three years. Shadows, however, soon fell. The year 1636 saw a severe visitation of the plague.®®® Throughout the bishopric the royal exactions which were being forced upon the people were particularly galling, whilst throughout England popular resentment was rising rapidly.®®® The first note of the coming storm was sounded in Durham at the end of 1637, when the old bishop was directed by the Privy Council to look to his train-bands, for the Scots were signing the Covenant.®®® Then came a year of suspense, until the bishop at the close of 1638 was ordered to make special musters over and above the ordinary train-bands.®®' For the first time in its history it was owned that the city could no longer be held against Scottish artillery,®®® so that Newcastle was chosen for the military head quarters in the coming bishop’s war. Again Charles passed through Durham,®®® and Morton at the cathedral preached on the text, ‘ Let every soul be subject to the higher powers.’®®^ The first bishop’s war fizzled out in the summer of 1639 in the pacification of Berwick, but in the spring of 1640 the temporary peace was again disturbed. There was now widespread sympathy with the Scots,®®® but Morton rallied the bishopric forces on Elvet Moor, and consecrated the band on the eve of their march to Newcastle. The shock of battle with the crusading Scots took place in August, 1640, at Newburn-on-Tyne, and resulted in a Scottish victory followed by the occupation of Newcastle. Intense interest was taken at Durham in the course of events. One prebendary wrote to report the unwise speeches current in the town.®®® The fugitive English army rushed south through Durham. The flight of the army was followed by the general exodus of all the church party in Durham, who had little hope of good treatment from the covenanting Scots.®®k The bishop fled,®®® and the new Dean Balcanqual fled too, as did most, if not all, of the prebendaries. As for the city of Durham [says one who saw], it then became a most depopulated place, not one shop for four days after the fight open ; not one house in ten that had either man, woman, or child in it, not one bit of bread to be got for money, for the king’s army Quoted by Surtees, Hist. Dur. iv, i66, Addenda. The full narrative has been edited by L. G. Wickham Legg, ‘A relation of a short survey of 26 counties.’ Surtees Soc. Publ. ii, 122, 123 ; ibid, iv, 69, 142. Ship-money and carriage of timber were the chief complaints. S. P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 317, Nos. 37 and 96 ; ibid. vol. 369, No. 47 ; ibid. vol. 385, No. 22 ; vol. 387, No. 13 ; vol. 401, No. 60. S. P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 398, No. 46. Ibid. vol. 404, No. 61 ; cf. 99, which makes it clear that Durham was meant at first to be, at all events, head quarters for the bishopric. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1638-9, p. 325. For the various visits of Charles to Newcastle, and for an excellent resum'e of the history about this time, see Mr. Terry’s paper. Arch. Ael. xxi. The learned Royalist sermon was printed, A sermon preached before the kinfs majesty, 1639. This sympathy in the bishopric is frequently cause of complaint in the State Papers ; cf. vol. 420, No. 121 (drinking to the covenant in a Durham tavern), and passim. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1640, p. 347. Rushworth, Coll. 1239, cf. kP. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 466, No. 67. The bishop went to Stockton, thence to Helmsiey (Belvoir MSS. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xii, 523),, and later to London. For his fortunes see Diet. Nat. Biog. 48 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY had eat and drank all in their march into Yorkshire, the country people durst not come to market, which made that city in a sad condition for want of food. Most of the church- men having removed all that they had considerable, left their houses with some trash open, which their servants and neighbours spoiled, Durham became a military depot for the year that the Scottish army remained in the northern counties. The references to the misery of the occupation, and of the longer period that followed three years later, are numerous in documents of the time. As for the church the time of reprisal had come.^®* Cosin was attacked by the Long Parliament, and Smart was restored. A petition from the parishioners of Muggleswick about this time mentions the flight of the incumbent.*®” The Arminian prebendaries who held various livings had disappeared. No doubt they were joined by others of like views who feared the Scots. Those clergymen who remained at their posts were probably called on to support soldiers billeted upon them.*®^ Everywhere property was insecure and poverty intense.*®* At last the departure of the Scots in August, 1641, was hailed with relief, but the church soon felt the severity of the Long Parliament. Means were at once devised to protestantize the whole country, and early in 1642 the Protestation was very generally signed in every ward of the Palatinate. There is no evidence of resistance to the ‘ Shibboleth to discover a true Israelite,’ which men everywhere found it politic to accept.*®* Before the actual outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, the bishopric had very generally become strongly Royalist*®* owing to the universal disgust at the late Scottish exaction, so that recruiting went on apace during the summer, the old recusant families even supplying officers for the king’s troops.*®* Another flight began *°® whilst these forces were massing for the protection or Newcastle, but there was at present only one skirmish between the troops of Newcastle and those of Hotham at Piercebridge.*®^ The real danger came with the beginning of 1 644, when it seemed as if the bishopric would be crushed between the Scots coming south and Fairfax operating in Yorkshire.*®* A second Scottish invasion followed, avoiding the city of Newcastle and crossing the Tyne at and near Bywell.*®® Leven, their commander, seized Sunderland and other places, and marched in force to Durham, which was evacuated by the marquis of Newcastle, who fled on towards York, the Scots following in pursuit. During this renewal of troubles the Covenant was imposed upon the country,*^® and its taking can be traced in various places, Lds. Journ. iv, 249, 256 ; cf. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 63-66. Surtees, Hist. Dur. ii, 388. Instances Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 59 (Lilburne and Perrott). ‘ Not a man in the bishopric dare call anything his own,’ S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 467, No. 12. The dean and chapter lands were controlled by Leslie’s Commissioners, as were also those of the bishop, but at present there was no eviction of tenants; cf. Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 621 ; S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 467, No. 60. Rents from the prebendal and other estates went to maintenance of the army. Ordered 30 July, 1641, but returned in February or March of 1642. For a summary of the Durham returns see those of Lords^ MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. v), 125. <04 people of this country,’ says a dispatch to Denbigh, 4 Feb. 1644, ‘are unwilling to give intelli- gence or supplies, and all either of their own accord or by force are in array, so great power hath the cathedral here.’ Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 264. At Whorl ton the parish register shows that the beacons were lighted to warn against the Scots. Portland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii), App. i, 68. Ibid. 75. Surtees, Hist. Dur. iv, 32. Gardiner, Hist. Engl, i, 315. Mr. Terry’s excJlent paper in Arch. Ael. xxi, 146, gives full details. Add to his authorities Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 264, 269 ; viii, App. ii, 60 ; x, App. i, 53. For Easington cf. Airi. Ael. xvii, 300. 2 49 7 A HISTORY OF DURHAM as for instance at Easington, where the Scots were quartered in April. Other details of the connected circumstances were collected by one of the Durham minor canons.'*” With the return of a Scottish army after Marston Moor the bishopric was again in trouble. Garrisons were placed at Hartlepool and Stockton ; Gateshead was seized and the siege of Newcastle began.'*^^ The Scottish grip of the county was complete, and was not relaxed until 1 647. During these years the bishopric was subject, not only to the Long Parliament, but to the Scottish Commissioners who were on the spot.'*^^ Exaction and poverty were again the fortune of the miserable inhabitants.'*” For the direction of secular affairs a standing committee was appointed, by whose negotiation with Parliament the whole personnel of the county was altered.*” As for church affairs a meeting of the parliamentary party was summoned in Durham and itinerating preachers were sent down at their solicitation.*” Parliament appointed to livings in some cases at all events, but these were probably benefices in the gift of the bishop or dean and chapter.*” The Committee for Plundered Ministers in London appointed sequestrators to deal with the church property of ‘ delinquents.’ *” They have left a record of their doings for the diocese of Durham from which we can watch their operations.*” They made inventories of recusants’ lands and issued warrants to seize them, to demise, let, collect, and gather the glebe, tithes, rents, and averages ‘ for the use of the commonwealth.’ The churches were no doubt purged from all ‘ monuments of idolatry ’ in accordance with the contemporary order sent round in that behalf in 1644.*^° In their previous occupation of the county the Presbyterian Scots had no doubt anticipated that ordinance so far as Durham was concerned.*^^ In 1645 Presbyterianism was completely victorious when the Prayer Book was abolished, the Directory substituted, and the Presbyterian Classes carried out for the whole county.*^* These arrangements survive.*^® Sir H. Vane certifies the division of county Durham into six different classical Presbyteries, with a list of the persons nominated for each ; he further certifies that of the many other churches in the county divers are destitute of any ministers, while the ministers in others are some so weak and others so D. and C. of Dur., Hunter MSS. *'* Mr. Terry’s paper in Arch. Ael. 21 is again a careful reconstruction of dates and movements. For the revival of royalist sympathy between the departure of the Scottish army to York in April, 1644, and its return in July, see S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 502, No. 20 ; ‘ Northumberland, Westmorland, and Durham lie under the present pressure of the enemy ’ (Royalists). Some friction apparently existed between the two authorities. S.P. Dom. Chas. I, vol. 506, No. 15. ‘Almost ruined,’ ibid. vol. 503, No. 60 ; ‘oppressed by insupportable burdens,’ vol. 503, No. 65. Ibid. vol. 506, No. 38 ; vol. 507, No. 57 ; vol. 510, No. 40. ““ Portland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii), App. i, 181 ; cf. Com. Journ. iii, 593. Parliament appointed to Bishopwearmouth, Stanhope, Gateshead, Hough ton-le-Spring, and eight other benefices in Durham between 1643 and 1648. For this committee see W. A. Shaw, Hist. Ch. of Engl. 1640-1660, ii, 178 and 185. D. and C. of Dur. Hunter MSS. Surtees, Hist. Dur. has put in several references to this book, e.g. Dalton-le-Dale, i, 3 ; Kelloe, i, 69 ; Egglescliffe, iii, 201. A plague in this year (1644) accentuated the misery. It is mentioned in the registers of St. Oswald’s, Durham, Egglescliffe, Whorlton, &c. Transcribed in Houghton-le-Spring Vestry Book (Surtees Soc. Publ. Ixxxiv, 322). St. Oswald’s Vestry Book, ibid. 191, speaks of repairing ‘the fount stone broken by the Scots.’ ““ The Whitworth Parish Register notes that the use of the Prayer Book was suspended from 27 July, 1645, until 12 May, 1660. Portland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii), App. i, 325. The paper is fully described by W. A. Shaw, op. cit. ii, 367. 50 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY scandalous or malignant or both, that they cannot as yet recommend any more to be added to the several classes. With the evidence at present available it is not possible to watch the Presbyterian system in operation. Such parish documents as have been published seem to ignore it, and show variety in the working of the spiritual machinery. At Pittington, for instance, communions were still celebrated ; at St. Oswald’s and at Houghton-le-Spring they ceased during these years of Presbyterian supremacy ; nor were they resumed until the Restoration.^*^ The vestry uses of the parish went on. Churchwardens were elected, but were not sworn. Rates were levied. The church buildings did not always suffer either at this time or during the Protectorate. It may be questioned, for instance, whether at any period more care was bestowed upon the fabric of Houghton Church than in the years immediately preceding the Restora- tion.**^ A survey of the existing parish account goes to prove comparative neglect of the building during the Presbyterian period, followed by increasing care from about 1653. After the abolition of bishops in 1646, an Act was passed for the sale of their lands, and a survey was made.**® They were not handed over to charitable uses, but were bought up by laymen. A list of those sold in Durham survives.**^ The Scottish army left in 1647, and a cry of joy again went up from an impoverished county.**® More than one Royalist outbreak in the following years proves that the king’s cause was still dear to many in the north.**® The year 1649 was an important epoch in the vicissitudes of church property. In it an Act was passed for the sale of the dean and chapter lands which had been held in trust since the abolition of chapters in 1648.*®° A detailed survey was made and trustees were appointed to sell the lands for the main- tenance of ministers.*®^ All this work was carried out by an intricate series of parliamentary committees. The same year witnessed the inauguration of the famous but short-lived society for the propagation of the gospel in the northern counties.*®* Its chief work was to carry out the augmentation of the livings of ministers, and to appoint suitable schoolmasters. An account of some of its proceedings survives, more particularly of services held at New- castle in 1651—53, when ministers were settled and assessments made upon various parishes for their support.*®® Spasmodic help had been given before this committee came into being,*®* so that it marks the culmination of a series of attempts to organize the Presbyterian parish system more efficiently. Indeed, whatever the shortcomings of the Long Parliament, it strove valiantly Dur. Parish Bks. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxiv), 102, 192—3, 304. Ibid. 312-15. Compare the entries in the volume for the years 1644 to 1652 with those after 1653. Text of the Act in Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 632. For the history cf. W. A. Shaw, op. cit. ii, 210. The ordinance for the sale is dated 16 Nov. 1646. Shaw, op. cit. 213 ; cf. 242. For the survey, ibid. 603. Printed by Strype, Annals, ii (appendix), 65; also by Hutchinson. The first sale was on 18 Oct. 1647. The total amount realized was ^^68,121 15/. r)d. including parcels outside the bishopric. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, 160 ; S.P. Dom. Add. 1625-49, 5°9> 43^- July 1648, defeat of Royalists in Northumberland, where many of the chief gentry of Northumber- land and Durham were taken prisoners ; S.P. Dom. 516 ; cf. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. vi, App. : List of loyalist gentlemen in 1651-2 ; Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, App. i, cxxxix. The S.P. Dom. for 1655 indicate further risings. ““ W. A. Shaw, Hist. Ch. of Engl, ii, 213. For the survey, ibid. 603. The question of improving benefices was first stirred in 1646, ibid 214. Described by Shaw, op. cit. ii, 226. ‘’^Lambeth MS. 1006, fol. 426-30. ‘An abstract of the settlement of ministers in the counties of Durham and Newcastle.’ Shaw, op. cit. ii, 218. 51 A HISTORY OF DURHAM to improve the value of poor benefices. In connexion with this task a parochial survey was undertaken in 1650, and the presentments of jurors were returned into Chancery giving much detail as to the various parishes surveyed. All these Committees of Parliament were discharged by the dissolution of the Long Parliament in 1653. The instructions given to the commissioners will illustrate the business- like character of these parliamentary dealings with the church : To find out (i) What parsonages, vicarages, and other benefices, with or without cure of soul, there are in your division ; (2) The value of each per annum ; (3) The names of the present incumbents and proprietors ; (4) Who receives the profit ; (5) Who supplies the cure, and what is his salary ; (6) The number of chapels belonging to parish churches; (7) How the parish churches and chapels are situated, and how they might be united ; (8) How the churches and chapels are supplied with preaching ministers ; (9) What chapels might well be reassigned or made into parish churches ; (10) Where new churches should be built and parishes divided. So far as Durham is concerned, the remarks appended to the returns are very interesting, and the details given are a useful piece of parochial church history. About eighty parishes in the county of Durham appear to be described, exclusive of annexed chapelries. One or two returns may serve as specimens, e.g. ‘ Stockton a chapel value >^35 i minister Rowland Salkeld, salary It is desired by the inhabitants that ‘ being a corporation it may be made a parish church.’ Another scheme of these years was the foundation of the Durham College, which in its educational aspect has been more fully described in the previous volume.^^® Mooted first in 1650 the design took six years to come to maturity. From the very first the idea was to promote an institution which should be ‘ as well in reference to the promoting of the Gospel as the religious and prudent education of young men there.’ It is natural to suppose, though exact proof is wanting, that the idea of the college owed something to the splendid Ripon College scheme which had been projected seventy years before.^®® After various propositions as to using fines from delinquents for carrying out the Durham plan, subscriptions were invited,^®® and the college began work in the late summer or autumn of 1656. The tradition is that it prospered well during the short period of its existence. Coincidently with its inception in 1650 a disgraceful episode took place when Cromwell filled cathedral and castle with what remained of the rabble of prisoners taken at Dunbar.^^^ Tradition ascribes much defacement of the Shaw, op. cit. ii, 603. The Durham return is among the Hunter MSS. in the Dean and Chapter Library. 435.1 'pjjg volume is the fourth of the Lambeth MSS. described by W. A. Shaw, Hisi. ofCh. of Engl, ii, 467. V.C.H. Dur. i, 380. See, too, J. T. Fowler, Hut. of Univ. of Dur. The dates are : 7 May, 1650, original petition for erection of a college, Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 636 ; August, petition for fines to go to its support; 11 Mar. 1651, Cromwell’s approbation secured, Hutchinson, ibid. ; 14 Jan. 1652, further petition, ibid. 638 ; 28 Apr. 1653, further petition from the county, ibid. 639 ; 29 Jan. 1656, citizens’ petition, S.P. Dom. 12480 (17) ; i Feb., 6, 10 Mar., 3, 10, 22, 25 Apr., 16 May, i, 7 Aug., 5 Sept., 1 1 Dec. are days for which there is some report in S.P. Dom. An article in the Gent. Mag. (Ser. i), ix, 606, purports to describe the final steps, but perhaps it betrays some imagination. From Cromwell’s approbation, Hutchinson, op. cit. 641. One of the provisional drafts has been printed in Peck’s Desiderata Curiosa. S.P. Dom . Interregnum, vol. 126, No. 28. Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 655. Mercurius Politicus, 8 Nov. 1650 ; cf. also Several Proc. 8 May — Burney newspapers in B.M. 34 and 36. 52 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY cathedral to the prisoners. They were not discharged until the middle of 1652.*^^ Next year, which saw the discredit of Presbyterianism in England, marked the earliest known traces of Quakerism in the county, when some trouble was taken at Gateshead to put a stop to the increase of Quakers in Durham. It is possible that they had been more stringently treated under the Presbyterian regime. Increasing severity, however, was shown by the Independents in other directions. In 1654 a proclamation was enjoined by the Council to forbid horse-racing and other meetings in the north, since these gatherings were made the occasion of spreading Royalist sympathy.^^^ Under the Protectorate proper, trustees were reappointed to take the place of the now discharged committees of the Long Parliament which had dealt with church lands until 1653. They carried on the work of their predecessors and directed another survey of parishes to be carried out.^“ It is not quite clear how far this dealt with the same places as were returned in 1650. Some of its returns for the county survive at Lambeth and correspond exactly in character with the earlier work of the Committee for Propagating the Gospel, which they confirmed and carried on.^*® A printed protest of October, 1654, against the confirmation of the sale of the bishops’ lands seems to indicate that the new owners were turning the old tenants out of doors, their wives and children going a-begging. The old Committee for Scandalous Ministers was revived as a ‘ commission for ejecting scandalous ministers.’ The same principle of organizing the administration was carried out in other directions. Assizes were restored and took the place of martial law.^^® The county and the chief boroughs were at last represented in Parliament. Itinerating preachers were appointed,^^® yet there was a restless undercurrent. Royalist feeling reasserted itself, and a considerable rebellion broke out in 1655.^®° Lambert was appointed major-general of the district, and Robert Lilburne his deputy for Durham. Next year Hyde sent to feel the pulse of the Royalists and to ascertain their names.*®^ After the death of Oliver Cromwell Royalist sympathy was further stirred, and when, in January, 1660, Monk began his march, active measures were taken by men of influence.*®^ In February a riot took place in Durham and the people called for king and a free parliament.^®® It would be difficult to disprove the assertion that the citizens of Durham were only voicing the desires of the bishopric at large. Order for release given i Mar. S.P. Dom. Interregnum, vol. 23, No. 105 ; countermanded 17 Mar. ibid. No. no ; finally given i July, ibid. vol. 24, No. 60. Arch. Ael. vi, 229 ; viii, 222. Council to Capt. Howard, Cal. S.P. Dom. 1654, p. 245. Hist, in W. A. Shaw, Hist. Ch. Engl, ii, 221, 230. Lambeth MSS. 1000, fol. 8, &c. Ibid, passim, where directions are given by the trustees to these commissioners. Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 629, for the years 1651 and 1652. In the former year all cases were to be heard depending in the Dur. Ct. of Pleas in 1642 or instituted since. In 1654, 31 Mar. and 9 June, petitions were made to the Protector to hold assizes, S.P. Dom. Interregnum, vol. 68, No. 81, and vol. 72, No. 14. Durham College was to maintain two of these preachers by a grant from Sedgefield Rectory. Instruction of Protector to suppress the present rebellion, conspiracies, &c. 14 Mar. 1655. S.P. Dom. Interregnum, vol. 95, No. 28 ; 5 Apr. commissions for trial, ibid. vol. 96, No. 10. Sir E. Hyde to Sir M. Langdale, i Sept. 1656, from Antwerp, ‘ Please send me the names of five or six persons of the Bishopric ... on whose interest and discretion we may depend.’ Horf. House MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. for 1903), 353. Thos. Lilburne was specially prominent, as he reports to Haselrig, Cal. S.P. Dom. 1659-60, p. 294. Described in Littlecote MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. 1899), 159. 53 A HISTORY OF DURHAM With the Restoration the old conditions were brought back. Those who had been extruded from any benefice unjustly during the troubles at once began to sue for restitution/^* a proceeding which a special Act of Parliament soon legalized, appointing the justices to act as commissioners for such suits.*^^ The Church services were resumed.*^® Multitudes of petitions from those who had suffered began to flow in.*®^ From the Act of Oblivion three or four names were specially excepted in the county of Durham.*®® At some early date the chief inhabitants of the district petitioned Parliament for the full restoration of the old form of government, and many were willing to sign this document whose names appear on the parliamentary side in previous years.*®® A flood of loyalty spread over the bishopric at first, nor is there any apparent sign of a discontented minority until two or three years had passed. During the vacancy of the see all benefices were in the king’s gift, and to these Charles at once began to prefer incumbents. He also placed new men in the chief vacant Palatinate offices.*®® At the end of the year Cosin was consecrated bishop of Durham, and next year began the course of renovation for which his precise knowledge of city and county so well fitted him. His entry into the bishopric was delayed until August, i66i, after the main part of his labours on the revised Prayer Book were completed. An active autumn followed, in which he confirmed, ordained, and preached widely.*®* Durham was a partly demolished city. Elsewhere the see houses were ruined. He did over again the work which Neile had done so bountifully forty years before. From London he kept up a vigorous correspondence with his agent, who was pressing on the building and decorating in the castles at Auckland and Durham.*®® In July, 1662, his primary visitation was undertaken and was carried out with a minuteness which recalls the exactitude of Barnes a century before. It was succeeded by a progress ‘ through the larger part of this county palatine, preaching on every Sunday in several churches, and being received with great joy and alacrity both of the gentry and all other people.’*®® The cathedral which was in course of restoration was also visited and articles of detailed inquiry administered. A precise return of all the money expended by the new Dean Barwick and his chapter shows as well the ruin caused by the Scottish prisoners, and the munificent scale of restora- tion now set on foot.*®* The Puritan hold of the county had been firm. Organization had been carried out more widely than in many parts. No voice of remonstrance has come down to us from the early days of the Restoration. The Puritan party no doubt sulked in silence. It seems quite impossible to estimate the propor- tion of their various constituents. Quakers were first heard of in the county See the action of Cosin’s friends on his behalf, Surtees Soc. Publ. Iv, 3-4. 12 Chas. II, cap. 17. Thus in the Whitworth Register it is noted that the Prayer Book was used again for the first time since July, 1645, on 12 May, 1660. “'The S.P. Dom. of 1660 give numbers of these. The document is given in the Lambeth MSS. Given in Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, p. cxxxix. S.P. Dom. Surtees Soc. Publ. Iv, 27. The correspondence is preserved in the Durham University Mickleton MSS. and has been printed in part, op. cit. Ibid, xvi, from Mercurius Politicus, xxxii, 531, and Kennett's Reg. 831. Printed Surtees Soc. Publ. xxxvii, 260, from Mickleton MSS. ■54 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY in 1653/*^ One or two mentions of Baptists survive from the Cromwellian period.*®* Independents are likely to have flourished in the Protectorate, but cannot be clearly traced yet. In the religious confusion of the period other sectaries may well have maintained themselves. At all events the first proof of religious dissidence after the Restoration that has yet come to hand is at the end of 1661, when we are told that ‘the Fifth Monarchy men are strongly at work in Yorkshire, Durham,’ and other places.*®^ The same informant represents them as going about from county to county and fanning the flames of rebellion. There does not seem to be evidence of secession when the Uniformity Act came into operation in 1662.*®® Doubtless, however, the Act stimulated latent sectarian irritation, for we find secret treasonable corre- spondence with foreign Baptists in active operation that same year, and the presence of Baptists in Durham is asserted.*®® All this agitation came to a head in 1663 in what has been called the Derwentdale Plot. It gets its name from the head quarters of the Durham confederates in the conspiracy. It has been the practice of writers to make little of this affair,*^® but if we may credit the mass of state papers connected with it and now accessible to the historian there was during the whole of 1663 and afterwards a widespread and determined effort to crush the religious settlement, and to overthrow the restored dynasty in reliance on the combination of the Dutch Protestants. Who the chief agitators were it is not possible to say, but the confessions of those ultimately apprehended indicated all manner of sectaries as involved in it, and sketched the proportions of a deeply-laid and dangerous stratagem. *^^ A fair summary of what is really a long story is contained in the following information of one of the leaders : The design was laid in the South. The chief designers in the North were Lieut. Col. Mason, Dr. Edw. Richardson, John Joplin once gaoler in Durham, and Paul Hobson. . . . They intended to force the king to perform his promises made at Breda, grant liberty of conscience to all but Romanists, take away excise, chimney money and all taxes whatever, and restore a gospel magistracy and ministry. They have sworn to be secret, and to destroy all who oppose them without mercy, especially the Dukes of Albemarle and Buckingham etc. 2,000 horse and dragoons were ready in Durham and Westmorland, and many of the train-bands all over. . . On October 12 the rising was to be in London, in two places near Blackwell Hall, to fall on the city in Sc. James’ Fields, and attempt Whitehall. . . . Many in the Life Guards and Duke of Albemarle’s regiment, in the Fleet, in Scotland, and beyond the seas, and divers of quality over England were consenting to it.'*^^ At all events it was estimated that ‘in Durham 700 or 800 men were ready.’ Ultimately the plot, which was known to the authorities from the first, fell to pieces when the leaders were taken and their close colleagues imprisoned. Above, p. 53, Mr. J. W. Steel has collected from documents surviving at Darlington and elsewhere an interesting account of the early days of the cause. Early Friends in the North, 1905. As early as 1630 or so the name occurs in the Acts of the High Commission Court, Surtees Soc. Publ. vol. xxxiv ; see further below. Cal. S.P. Dorn. 1661-2, p. 161. Mention is made in the State Papers of ministers who have been extruded and are fomenting rebellion in the county, but they may belong to other parts. Tradition does not seem to speak of any large deprivation in the diocese. Calamy gives the names of eighteen rejected ministers, amongst whom two were tutors in the college erected by Cromwell at Durham. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1662, p. 564 ; cf. 1664, p. 577. They never took root in Durham. In the accounts, for instance, by Surtees, Hist. Dur. ii. Addenda pp. 389-91, and Canon Ornsby, Surtees Soc. Publ. Iv, p. xx. The authorities are the S.P. Dom. for 1663 and 1664 passim. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1663, p. 540 ; see also p. 352. 55 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Even so, and when further danger was at an end, it was admitted that in the bishopric ‘ things are far out of order, and there is great alteration in the deportment of the people.’ So much was this the case that in the spring of 1664 a second attempt was feared, so that it was even desired to fortify Raby Castle as a stronghold against the rebels, and ‘ associations for peace ’ were formed in the county It is almost impossible to distribute the guilt, for party names are so loosely used that we cannot discern the actual delinquents. Anabaptists and Quakers are mentioned frequently in the con- temporary accounts, but it is probable that these appellations were given indiscriminately. Mutterings and discontent attributed to persons so called recur at intervals all through the post-Restoration period. The next episode is the working of the Conventicle Acts. The first Act was not so severely pressed as the second. It was passed just before the outbreak of the great plague, which took men’s minds off to other things, and prompted vigilance rather against the entrance of infection than against the gathering of Quakers or Baptists for worship. It called out a stream of charity such as had never yet flowed from the bishopric, every parish more or less sending contributions to the great subscription organized.^^^ Whatever proceedings may have been taken under the first Act there is abundant proof of the increase of meetings in the Palatinate. Persons of position were ready to foster them, as at Raby for instance, where Lady Vane aided the fanatical gatherings over which her steward presided.^^® Conventicles multiplied, and admired preachers, such as Blackett the Anabaptist, were eagerly sought.'*^’^ So out-of-hand had the Nonconformist cause grown by 1670 that the operation of the more stringent Act was carried out with difficulty. The sectaries were much discouraged by it, but maintained themselves notwith- standing. Indeed it was just at this time that the Durham Quakers were beginning to organize their quarterly meetings over the county.*^® Cosin was not at all inclined to be severe against the Conventiclers, and only pressed the matter at the royal bidding, sending orders through the archdeacons to report all guilty of taking part in conventicles.'*^* It can scarcely be supposed that Cosin was quite successful in the restoration of his diocese. His energy and strong personal influence, how- ever, must have improved the face of the Church very widely, as Archdeacon Basire with forty years’ knowledge of the diocese expressly stated in the funeral sermon.*®® His four periodic visitations of the cathedral and diocese Cal. S.P. Dorn. 1663, pp. 517, 552. Ibid. 646. The Durham regulations signed by Dean Sudbury and other justices of the peace are given in Arch, Ael. XV, 18. For the subscriptions see Surtees Soc. Publ. Iv, 322-32. His name was Cocks. Particulars in Cal. S.P. Dom. 1666-7, p. 428. Note the Congregation of Saints in Newcastle, ibid. 1668-9, p. 72. Letter of H. W. [Wm. Haggett], a spy in the northern counties. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1668—9, PP- 420. For Blackett, see also ibid. 1667-8, p. i 54. His name suggests a connexion with a considerable north- country family. Foxey and Pooley were two other preachers sent over at the time from Germany. J. W. Steel, Early Friends in the North, 12, gives 1671 as the date of the establishment of the Durham Quarterly Meeting at Lanchester. On the subject of Quakers in Durham see, too. Arch. Ael. xvi, 191. d'he bishop was informed in 1670 that the round number of women recusants in the city of Durham was 700. Surtees Soc. Publ. Iv, 237. He seems to suspect its accuracy, ibid, and 242. At Norton, he hears with regret, there are ‘ many obstinate men and women . . . that will not yet let down their conventicles,’ ibid. 243. The sermon was printed in 1673 under the title Phe Dead Man’s Real Speech. Text, Heb. xi, 4. Brereton’s account of the sumptuous and impressive funeral is worth reading. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1671-2, pp. 397-8. 56 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY show that the irregularities of the mother church of the diocese were hard to correct, and it is only reasonable to presume that the infection of Noncon- formist opinions, so widely spread in the diocese, tainted the loyalty and activity of not a few of the incumbents/®^ But the episcopate left a tradition of care and punctiliousness which those that followed Cosin willingly accepted. A glance at the work of the archdeacon of Durham from 1673 to 1677 proves how wholesome, in the main, and how varied was the discipline exercised by this official in his courts.*®* In the influence which it exerted the work of Cosin compares very favourably with that of Pilkington, who had a somewhat similar task of restoration before him. The view taken in the text is based upon a general survey of the various references to Nonconformity in the diocese that exist for the period. An incomplete return in the Treasury of Durham which survives for forty-six parishes in the archdeaconry of Durham gives, at first sight, a somewhat different impression. It is dated July, 1669, and is made in reply to interro- gatories furnished by the archdeacon. Few active conventicles are acknowledged, but mention is made of the incursion of strangers from outside the district who hold meetings in various places. These are chiefly Quakers, and Norton is their great rallying point. A conventicle raided at Darlington proved to contain about twenty-four persons. It is expressly stated more than once that few of the Nonconformists are of any special rank. The vicar at Washington returns : There is not one of the viperous brood sojourning among us, neither is there any person (save a few simple and ignorant people of the Romish persuasion) that are dissenters from the divine service of the Church, From my heart, worthy Sir, I wish that all parishes in this flourishing Kingdom was as free from such noisome contagious vermin as this, and then I’m sure both Church and State were happy. It is not possible to reconcile the Durham City (St. Nicholas) return with that given in Surtees Society Fubl. vol. Iv, p. 237, and one is inclined to suspect that the return is partial in more than one sense of the word. In the preceding paragraphs the view has been taken that it is almost impossible to discriminate between the various religious bodies of the time, since the references to them in contemporary documents are apt to confound the various sects. A few words, however, may be added as to the early days of the Baptist cause.*®® The Baptists never have been a strong body in the county of Durham, yet there are certain periods in which their history comes out into relief. The first local Baptist centre was at Muggleswick in or about the year 1653,*®* and, during the years that immediately followed, Major Lilburne of Sunderland, then in command of the troops in Scotland, himself a strong Baptist, may have encouraged the spread of the sect.*®® Lady Liddell, a daughter of the Lady Vane who was active at Raby, patronized the struggling church,*®® and aided Ward, who, as far as Durham is concerned, In 1674 Archdeacon Grenville said to the clergy: ‘I have looked on it as a very fateful presage since the restoration of our Church Service that the clergy have expressed no more affection to it, especially in this diocese, after so many admonitions and injunctions of their several ordinaries.’ Surtees Soc. Publ. xlvii, 15. Surtees Soc. Publ. xlvii, l ; Introd. pp. xix-xxi. An excellent summary of early Baptist history is given in History of the Northern Baptist Churches, 1648-1845, by David Douglas. This rare work was brought to the writer’s notice by Mr. H. A. Raine, of Durham. Ibid. 31. ‘“Ibid. 33. ‘®Mbid. 64. 2 Ibid. 33. 57 Ibid. 64. 8 A HISTORY OF DURHAM was the real apostle of the Baptists, and continued to lead them on Derwent- side until his death in 1717/®’' But Blackett, already mentioned, was a more important man, and being possessed of some means was able to consolidate the work at Beechburn, his residence near Bishop Auckland, which for some years became the Baptist head quarters in the northern counties, until Ham- sterley succeeded to a position which it maintained for at least a century/®® It is curious that the first toleration of Nonconformist congregations, though for a brief time, synchronized with the death of Cosin. For a year from the beginning of 1672, royal licences were granted in England to certain ministers.*®* The returns for these indulgences in county Durham show that seven Presbyterians and two Independents applied for licences. There were no Baptist applicants, nor were there any in Northumberland. Of all the counties in England, Westmorland alone supplied fewer instances. Even Rutland had more than Durham. The places in which the licensed ministers were to preach were : — Presbyterian : Bishop Auckland, Brancepeth, Darling- ton, Durham, Lamesley, Stanhope, Sunderland ; Independent : Stanhope, Stockton, West Pans near South Shields. After the frequent mention of Nonconformity in the previous years, this paucity of recognized congregations is at first sight remarkable. It is of a piece with what we find in the early eighteenth century,*** and is explained partly by the circumstances of the county which was so largely ‘ held under the church ’ as the people describe their tenure, and partly by the fact that the places represented are just those towns (with the exception of Gateshead) in which, generally speaking. Dis- senters would be likely to congregate. A long interval followed the death of Cosin. A contemporary paper gives the reason for this delay, ascribing it to the king’s wish to look into the revenues of the see, and to consider some change of government.**^ Discredit- able rumours gained currency as to the use made of the revenues,*** but nothing came of the proposed alterations save the long demanded concession of parlia- mentary representation which Cromwell had allowed during his supremacy. Of course all palatinate offices and prebends were filled sede vacante by the king. Some trouble arose between Charles and the chapter, who had ever since the Restoration lamented the king’s frequent demand to dispense with the residence of prebendaries who were royal chaplains.**® The vacancy of the see let down somewhat the rigid carefulness which Cosin had tried to effect.*** Grenville, the archdeacon of Durham, strove by numerous visitations to restore a better standard of clerical life and work. His charges and letters show that licentiousness and even atheism abounded in the county ; that small irregular conventicles did exist ; that the clergy were inclined, in many instances, to make themselves and their office too cheap and contemptible ; Douglas, Hist, of the Northern Baptist Churches (1648-1845), 127. See further, ibid. An account and summary are given in the Cal. S.P. Dorn, for 1673. A rough return for 1715 is given in Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 32057. ‘ A successor to Bishop Cosin will not be nominated until the King has issued his commission for governing that county Palatine and revising its revenues,’ Rydal Hall MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xii, App. yii), 87. Given in Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1673, pp. 377, 397-8, 472-3. Dispensations of residence are frequent during the reign, cf. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1673-5, p. 286. This was the lament of Archdeacon Grenville, Surtees Soc. Publ. xlvii, 15, 16 ; cf. ibid, xxxvii, 177. 58 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY that there was too widespread a neglect of canons and rubrics.**® Yet the archdeacon was always ready to boast that ‘ the bishopric of Durham is with- out dispute the most conformable part of England,’ and to compliment the clergy on its general condition.*** The new bishop was Nathaniel Crewe (1674—1722), whose episcopate was destined to be longer than that of any bishop of Durham, and less memor- able than most. In 1697 he succeeded to his father’s barony. All through his tenure of office he was more the rich man and the nobleman than the chief pastor of the diocese. He owed his advancement to the duke of York, and was not ashamed to aid the designs of the prince when he became king. He did not absolutely neglect his diocese,*®^ but his presence in it was chiefly for the purpose of entertaining lavishly at Durham and Auckland. The loss of his register prevents us from tracing his work in the county. In 1680 we get a passing mention of Romanists in the district in connexion with the extra- ordinary Act then proposed for transplanting the more notorious Romanists in different parts of the county. Eighty-one names are given in the county of Durham, a number which is below rather than above the average for other places. In Northumberland 106 were named, and in Newcastle itself eighty- two.**® In the city of Durham the Roman Catholic cause received considerable impetus in the work of the Jesuit Father Pearson who served a mission which had been established there since 1590. About 1685 Pearson erected a chapel and residence in Old Elvet, and opened a public school or college which drew together a large number of scholars at a time when it was thought that by the action of King James the whole of England would shortly embrace Romanism. So successful were the efforts of Pearson that in 1687, when Leyburn, the vicar-apostolic, visited Durham, 1,024 persons were presented to him for confirmation. Sixteen months later a paralysing blow fell upon the mission when William of Orange entered London. A large mob collected in Durham and made their way to the residence. In a few minutes the chapel was completely destroyed, and the cross was publicly burnt. The houses of the leading Roman Catholic residents were sought out by the excited rioters, who pillaged right and left with apparently very little check laid upon them by the inhabitants. The Jesuit priests had to flee for their lives and seek refuge where they might, as they wandered up and down the country. Pearson, the head of the mission, ventured back again somewhat later, but it is believed that no attempt was made to resusci- tate the pillaged mission in Durham until nearly the end of William’s reign. The residence, or missionary district, was served by thirteen Jesuits in Anne’s reign, when it comprised Cumberland as well as Durham and Northumberland.*** Surtees Soc. Pu6/. xlvii, 11—24. Grenville as prebendary was frivolous, as archdeacon scrupulous, as dean dignified. For his improvement, ibid, xxxvii, 150-1. His excellent ideals of parish work are contained in many letters and papers, cf. ibid. 42, 43. Ibid, xlvii, 23, cf. 15. The life written by one of his household credits him with frequent visits to the diocese : ‘ He was con- stantly in his diocese every year till his sickness in London in 1715-16. His visitations till that time were constantly triennial and his confirmations annual ’ {Camden Misc. ix, 33). Of his first visitation it is said : ‘ My lord made a pompous visitation over his whole diocese. He visited the Dean and Chapter ’ {Life, 1 790, P- 39)- The draft and particulars are given in Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xi, App. ii, 224-6. The facts as to the Durham mission have been put together by the Rev. Canon Brown of St. Cuth- bert’s, Durham, who is now in charge of the secular mission which took the place of the Jesuits in 1827. See the ‘ Story of an Old Mission ’ in the Ushatu Mag. for 1900. 59 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Grenville was the chief force in the diocese at this time, and when he became dean he was successful in bringing the cathedral services up to the standard which he had often desired/““ He proved an excellent preacher and took pains to attract young men of promise to the diocese, guiding them after ordination and promoting monthly meetings of the clergy. At the cathedral he revived the practice of Lenten sermons, and encouraged the mayor and corporation to attend. He drew tight the reins of discipline too, so far as the officers of the church were concerned, but his hospitality was bountiful and well ordered. It was in the midst of all this activity that the crisis of his life came. The events of the reign of James II were doubtless followed with keen attention in the north. In 1688 the bishop, who had abetted the king so far, came to the diocese to promote the policy of the indulgence. The dean was in sympathy with his attitude, but had the courage of his convictions, which the bishop ultimately had not. The declaration was read in the cathedral and in Little St. Mary’s in Durham, together with nineteen other churches in the county. The rest of the incumbents could not be moved by the solicitation of bishop or dean. The latter was the one conspicuous instance of refusal to take the oath among the clergy of the diocese. He w^as vigorous in his Jacobitism, raising a subscrip- tion of £joo in which some of the prebendaries joined. The dean fled from Durham when a troop of horse entered it to proclaim William, and refused consistently in his exile to take the oath which was often pressed upon him.^“* No successor was appointed until 1691. Durham was not a non-juring county.^®' Despite the earnest endeavours of the dean to persuade the clergy in his archdeaconry to refuse the oath they were steadfast almost to a man and resisted the pathetic appeal of written leaflets, of sermons in the cathedral, and of visitation charges.*®® Only eight clergymen in addition to the dean are known to have stood firm against the oath, and of these two saw fit to forgo their scruples.*®^ Some effort was used to propagate disaffection in the county, and papers of libels were sent up by the carriers into the district addressed to persons of position in the bishopric, endeavouring to seduce them from their allegiance.*®® It was even reported in Whitehall that near Sedgefield considerable sums of money were collected on behalf of King James, and there were dim hints that some design was intended.*®® No clerical complicity, however, is proved, and The authority for the statements about Grenville is the two volumes previously quoted, Surt. Soc. Publ. xxxvii and xlvii, with Canon Ornsby’s prefaces. Surtees Soc. Publ. vol. xxxvii. The directions, ibid. 161-3, cathedral throw much light on the conduct of its services. sua "p}ji5 been denied {Camden Misc. ix, 23), but contemporary evidence of the fact will be found in Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv), 189, and Leeds MSS. (ibid. Rep. xi, App. vii), 30. An explicit denial is given by the bishop of Carlisle in May, 1688, who says that the bishop is much annoyed by th'^ report. Surtees Soc. Publ. xlvii, 147. Pqj. qC ]|fg spent in exile see the Surtees Society volumes xxxvii and xlvii. ‘ The drum beat for ten days at Durham for volunteers, but got none,’ 12 Oct. 1688. Ry dal Hall MSS. (Hist.' JVISS. Com. Rep. xii, App. vii), 215. ‘The gentlemen of the bishopric of Durham have all signed a pet!\rion for a free Parliament,’ 13 Dec. 1688, ibid. 228. There is evidence that many Roman Catholics in thl^ district managed to evade the oath. Full par\iculars of these appeals will be found in Surtees Soc. Publ. xlvii, 124, 11—36, 43—59. The letter to his cur^tls is interesting, ibid. 1 19-27, written from Rouen in 1691. 'Fhey aye given, ibid. 127/7. from the appendix to the life of Kettlewell. Cal. S.P. Dim. 1689-90, p. 177. Ibid. 412. 60 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY almost the only non-juring episode that has come down to us is the action of a Mr. Grey who had been one of Bishop Crewe’s chaplains, and turned the coronation sermon into ‘ a virulent ballad.’ A few events of some local importance mark the episcopate of Bishop Crewe. Perhaps the most outstanding of these in the history of the county is the erection of Stockton and of Sunderland into distinct parishes, and the building of a new church in either place. At Stockton the borough and township had been situated within the ancient parish of Norton, but with some increase of trade and prestige in the early eighteenth century the inhabitants of the rapidly-growing town desired to separate it from the mother parish, and to erect in place of the old chapel-of-ease built by Bishop Poor in 1234 a new and suitable church. Two Acts of Parliament were accordingly passed, the one in 171 1 and the other in 1714, which made Stockton, with East Hartburn and Preston, a distinct and independent parish. The new church was con- secrated in 1712 by Bishop Crewe, and the sermon was preached by Dr. Smith, prebendary of Durham, the most learned Durham man of his generation probably, and long famous for his classic edition of Bede.“® The preacher took occasion to point out that Stockton was setting in the north the same example of church-building zeal which characterized the reign of Queen Anne elsewhere. At Sunderland the like proceedings took effect rather later, in 1719, when an Act of Parliament was obtained for constituting the ancient township a distinct parish from Bishopwearmouth, with a rectory church of its own, its population at the time being about 6,000. The new church was consecrated by Bishop Robinson of London, the bishop of Dur- ham being now too old and infirm to come frequently to his diocese. At Winlaton, on the Durham side of the Tyne, tradition pointed to the site of an ancient chapel destroyed in the rebellion of the earls in 1569. Sir Ambrose Crowley, who owned extensive lead mines in the neighbour- hood, set an example which has been followed by other employers of labour in the county since then by building on the spot a large chapel-of-ease to accommodate the workmen on the estate."® Elsewhere the excellent fashion Cal. S.P. Dom. 1689-90, p. 308. That some turbulent scenes were enacted would naturally be supposed, and the following extract from a news-letter preserved in the State Papers gives an example : ‘ Upon Sunday, 23 June 1689, in the parish church of Chcster-le-Strcet, immediately after the Nicene Creed, several persons, according to previous agreement, rushed out of their pews to hinder the minister from going into the pulpit ; and, instead of the psalm which should then have been sung, there was nothing but outcries, according to different affections, some roaring out : Hang him, we’ll hear none of him, we’ll be revenged ; others : God bless him ; etc. The minister, who was then in the vestry as usual, goes into the choir, where he put a stop to several as they were going out at that door, and called to them to return to their seats and duties. In endeavouring to gain the pulpit he found the whole body of the conspirators drawn up in very formidable order, not suffering him to pass, till they were satisfied why he did not pray. Being unable to gain the pulpit door, though he had made considerable advances, he at last told them that by the present authority none were to be prosecuted till the 1st of August next, which reason availed more than the others he had advanced, and the minister at length gained the pulpit. When he was seen there, shouts were raised of : Out ; turn out ; and the congregation rushed out of church, some threatening the minister with their sticks and fists. About three score of sober persons, mostly women, remained in their seats, and the minister proceeded, when about a score of persons returned with their hats on, and proceeded to ring the bells.’ [S.P. Dom. William and Mary, vol. 14, No. 2.] Interesting particulars are given in the gossiping Hist, of Sunderland, written by Brewster, a lecturer of Stockton Church, in 1776. See op. cit. pp. 119—126. John Smith, 1659— 171 5, was not the least in the long list of Durham antiquaries. He had been domestic chaplain to Crewe, and by him was appointed in succession rector of Gateshead, and then of Bishop- wearmouth. He supplied Dr. Gibson with the Additions relating to the bishopric of Durham, which were incorporated in the new edition of Camden’s Britannia. See Surtees, Hist. Dur. ii, 273, and Richardson’s Table Book, i, 337. A HISTORY OF DURHAM of erecting charity schools, which was so characteristic of the period in Lon- don, was copied with effect in the bishopric, in 1701 at Gateshead, in 17^5 at Darlington, in 1718 at Durham, and in 1721 at Stockton.”* The last three still exist, after various vicissitudes, and are doing good work. No record exists of the formation of religious societies in the county at this time, though Newcastle had its Society for the Reformation of Manners, founded in 1700 among the keelmen. An excellent charity, still known as the Cor- poration of the Sons of the Clergy, was first established in Newcastle in 1709,”^ and took in later the southern end of the diocese. The disciplinary traditions of Archdeacon Grenville, of which some mention has been made, were continued by his successors. In the registry of the archdeacon of Durham an imperfect series of presentments survives dealing chiefly with moral offences, and ranging over the latter part of Crewe’s episcopate. The returns give evidence of diligent inquiry at the visitations of the archdeacon with the sentences of penance which seem to have been carefully carried out.”® No doubt the registries of archdeacons in other dioceses would, if examined, yield similar results ; but, so far as is known, such an examination has never been systematically carried out. At all events, there is direct proof that during the first forty years of the eighteenth century a system of strict church discipline was in use in the diocese of Durham. With Bishop Talbot (1721-30) commences a series of prelates who were, with the one great exception of Butler, characteristic of the period, and generally merit the appellation of the courtier prelates of Durham. Talbot, in the words of Hutchinson, was magnificent in taste and temper, and, if a liberal patron, was on more than one occasion embarrassed by his generous, perhaps prodigal, inclination. His theology is said to have had something of the Arian tinge which affected the writings of Clarke and others at this time. His sermons, however, do not seem to bear out the assertion,”^ and The particulars are given in the Table Book under the years mentioned in the text. The society of the Sons of the Clergy was founded in 1 709 in order to help the widows and orphans of the clergy, and such clergymen as might be in need of monetary assistance. It was very scantily supported at first, but as its operations extended it met with some success, and at last, in 1773, took in the county of Durham as well as Northumberland. A large bundle of ‘ penances ’ survives, the form being common to such documents elsewhere, and running as follows : ‘ A declaration of Penance to be done and performed by is appointed to be present in the parish church of upon some Sunday before the where being in penitential habit, having a white sheet on and a rod in hand, and standing upon some form or other high place immediately after the Nicene Creed in the morning shall with a distinct and audible voice say after the Minister as followeth, to wit : Whereas I, good neighbours, forgetting and neglecting my duty towards Almighty God, and the care I ought to have had of my own soul, have committed the grievous and detestable sin of to the great danger of my own soul and the evil and per- nicious example of all sober Christians offended thereby, I do here in a most penitential and sorrowful man- ner acknowledge and confess my said sin, and am heartily sorry for the same, humbly desiring Almighty God to forgive me both this and all other mine offences, and so to assist me with the grace of His Holy Spirit that I may never commit the like hereafter, saying “ Our Father,” etc.’ A note is then added : ‘ is to certify the performance thereof under the hands of the minister and churchwardens.’ The particular document from which the above is copied is endorsed by the parish clergyman : ‘October 25, 1741. Jane Brown this day at the time and in the manner above described made the above declaration of penance.’ The same person appends a note : ‘ Sir, I have at length got one of our Excommunicated persons to perform her penance. If you will be so good as to send me an absolution for her I shall be much obliged, and if you would please also tO' send me a couple more of the forms of penance that if the others will submit I may have the declaration ready for them you will much oblige.’ This note shows that excommunication was sometimes neglected. As the returns, which are scattered over the years 1705—49, are only those of persons who submitted to the sentence, we are without accurate means of ascertaining the total number of those who came under the ban ecclesiastical. As bishop of Oxford and Salisbury, successively, Talbot had published various single and collected, sermons. After his translation to Durham he published nothing more. See his Twelve Sermons. 62 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY there is no trace of protest or dissatisfaction in the county at the time of his appointment. Friction there was, but it was due to reasons which touched the men of the bishopric in a more tender part. He got into great difficulty by an attempt to pass through Parliament a Bill ‘ to enable archbishops, bishops, colleges, deans and chapters, hospitals, parsons, vicars, and others having spiritual promotions, to make leases of their mines, which have not been accustomably letten, not exceeding the term of one-and-twenty years, without taking any fine upon the recovering or granting of the same.’ It was construed as an attempt on the bishop’s part to divert a great deal of money to the use of his own family, who would naturally prove the chief recipients of the benefit of such leases.^* An urgent petition was promoted against the bill, and proved successful. The stigma of the attempt, however, attached to the bishop, who entered the diocese for the first time after the humiliation of his failure. It has been represented that he now brought into the diocese several promising men, on whose friendship and loyalty he might rely in order to counteract his unpopularity. Be that as it may, so far as the motive is concerned, Joseph Butler, promoted to the rectory of Haughton-le- Skerne, was one of those ready to welcome him when he made an unusually impressive entry into the diocese in 1723, as also Thomas Rundle, his favourite chaplain, recently appointed to the rectory of Sedgefield, and to a prebend in the cathedral. In 1724 Seeker and Benson were both collated to prebends which were steps to subsequent bishoprics. During the nine years of his episcopate at Durham, Talbot made seven appointments to canonries, two to archdeaconries, and had to fill most of the important benefices in his gift. Of all his appointments none is more interesting than his introduction to the diocese of Butler, his son’s college friend, who was destined to do his most important work in a diocese to which he afterwards returned as bishop. Exchanging the rectory of Haughton-le-Skerne for Stanhope in Weardale in 1726, Butler now gave up his preachership at the Rolls Chapel, in London, and devoted himself to the composition of the Analogy which was published in 1736. The first edition of his Sermons appeared in the year that he first went to Stanhope. The bishop’s great friend, Rundle, seems to have lived much at Auckland with his patron, and as Stanhope was easily accessible from the Castle, it is probable that Butler was frequently there. Bishop Chandler (1730—50) came to Durham with a great reputation as a successful controversialist in the Deistic disputes which had been long engaging the attention of the more serious thinkers of the day. His chief work appeared in 1725 under the title of A defence of Christianity from the Prophecies of the Old Pestament^ and was intended as a reply to the famous treatise of Collins, Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion. No further work, however, came from his pen after his translation to the north,‘^° and no trace of contact with Butler survives, although the rector of Particulars are given in Hutchinson with the comments of Spearman. His appearance at a review was much commented on : ‘ I hope you have seen Thursday’s Flying Post, and read the martial equipage in which the Bp. of Durham appeared at the review : “ an haec est tunica filii tui ? ” But it may be proper for a Palatine or Lord Lieutenant. I think he should be made General of the Ecclesiastics as Peterboro’ [Kennett] is of the Marines.’ i6 June, 1722, Portland MSS. (Hist. MSS, Com. Rep. vii), 328. The brilliant band of clergymen introduced by Talbot were beginning to disappear. Seeker went in 1734, Rundle in 1735, Benson in 1735. 63 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Stanhope continued to reside in Weardale for nearly seven years whilst Chandler was bishop. The only personal touch connected with Chandler is a speech made by him at Quarter Sessions in 1740. A time of great scarcity had led certain traders to buy up all the corn upon which they could lay their hands in order to keep up prices for their own benefit. This drew down upon them a dignified rebuke from the bishop who presided and addressed those present upon the importance of enforcing an Act of Edward VI against those guilty of such action. Otherwise the episcopate of Chandler is marked by two matters of importance in which the bishop had no hand. The first is the deepening of that stream of educational and chari- table activity of which there had been some commencement under Crewe and Talbot. Schools were erected in Newcastle and at Easington, and alms- houses were built at Gateshead and elsewhere.^^* The other is the beginning of the Evangelical Revival which made its appearance fitfully before 1750, but matured after that year. Wesley first passed through the county in 1742 and 1743, on his way to and from Newcastle.*®* At this place he made a very considerable impression, and it is scarcely probable that the zeal which found expression in Newcastle during Chandler’s episcopate was confined to Northumberland. Constant communication with the northern city and its enthusiastic societies would inevitably draw into the bishopric itself some influence from a revival which was already stirring so large a part of England. The first recorded work of Wesley in the county of Durham was a sermon at Sunderland in 1743, when he preached in the High Street. ‘The tumult subsided in a short time so that I explained without any interruption the one true religion. Righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.’ Butler, who had been familiar with the diocese for sixteen years as vicar, returned to Durham as bishop in 1751. His tenure of the see was brief, and although appointed in 1750 on the death of Chandler, he did not enter the bishopric until nearly a year had passed. In July, 1751, he delivered his famous primary charge, and, it would seem, in Newcastle, not in Durham, as is generally supposed.*®^ This historic document, which is almost the only relic of his episcopate in the north, draws a very gloomy picture of the general condition of religion.*®* ‘ It is impossible for me, my brethren, upon our first meeting of this kind, to forbear lamenting with you the general decay of religion in this nation.’ So he begins, and after pointing out that this is admitted, he proceeds : ‘ Different ages have been distin- guished by different sorts of particular errors and vices, the deplorable distinction of ours is an avowed scorn of religion in some, and a growing dis- regard of it in the generality.’ The picture, of course, is perfectly general and is not intended to be a representation of the state of a diocese which he had left thirteen years before. Indeed, in view of the probably indifferent state of Butler’s health at the time, and the somewhat antiquated references The speech is preserved in B.M. Add. MSS. 6468, fol. 54, where there is also a contemporary print. The statute referred to is 5 and 6 Edw. VI, against Forestallers, Regrators, and Engrossers. Schools at Easington, Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, 39. Almshouse at Gateshead, Sykes, Local Records, 1738, a useful authority for many events and dates in the northern counties. An act of mob violence directed against a Romanist chapel in Sunderland in 1746 is described in the Gent. Mag. for that year, p. 42. For his early work at Newcastle, see Journ.of theRev.John Wesley (‘Everyman’s Library’),!, 373 ; ibid. i, 426. The dates are given in Sykes’s Local Rec. and Richardson’s Table Book. ““ Printed in Butler’s Works, first by Bp. Steere, and by later editors. 64 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY in the charge to other writers and authorities, it is tempting to believe that it was written by him at an earlier period and was adapted in the opening line to the present occasion/^® He ignores the work of the Wesleyan societies, which in England generally, and in the diocese of Durham in par- ticular, were now in vigorous activity. It is an interesting fact that from a month or so before Butler came to Durham as bishop, until the time of Wesley’s death, the great preacher made the county a constant scene of his mission work, and for many years strove to visit the district every other year.®*^ His first recorded visit to Durham itself was in May, 1751, when he met a few people on his way to Stockton. He came again in 1752 and addressed at Durham ‘a quiet stupid congregation,’ whereas at Sunderland he found ‘ one of the liveliest societies in the north of England.’®^® At Barnard Castle a jostling crowd gathered round him, and in rough horse-play some of the rabble pumped water on the listeners from a fire-engine which they brought up.®®® It was at this time that the important work of Wesley in Weardale ®®^ was begun, which matured rapidly and en- countered many vicissitudes in the years that followed. Bishop Trevor (1752-71) was one of the most amiable of the Durham bishops, and the remembrance of his character recorded at the time of his death by a Durham friend was long cherished in the diocese. Occupied much with improvements which Butler had only begun, he was not idle in the administration of his diocese, and some fragmentary notices and returns of some of his visitations survive.®®® More than one building, as at St.John’s, Sunderland, and at Esh, also Parkhurst’s Hospital, remains to attest, at all events, some activity at the time. There is, however, no proof of any active sympathy manifested by the bishop for the rapidly deepening volume of the Wesleyan revival in all the chief centres of the county, and also in parts more inaccessible.®®® At the beginning of Trevor’s episcopate Wesley made a tour of some duration in the county, and at Gateshead drew together on Whit Sunday ‘ a huge congregation,’ for he had already found in the pitmen listeners as sympathetic as those he had known at Kingswood.®®* He returned to the county in 1755, and again in 1757. On the latter occasion he preached in Durham ‘ in a pleasant meadow near the river side,’ identified not improbably with the Sands below the city.®®® The congregation was large, and many of them he noticed as wild in appearance. As he crossed the Tees and reached Yarm on his way south he summed up his impressions : ‘ I find in all these parts a solid serious people quite simple of heart, strangers to various opinions, and seeking only the faith that worketh by love.’®®® Two prebendaries of some importance were promoted by Bishop Trevor — Dr. William Warburton and Dr. Robert Lowth. The disuse of the He quoted three or four writers who had lived in the earlier years of the eighteenth century. Butler, in ill-health, left the diocese for Bath a few months after his charge was given. See the handy edition of Wesley’s Joum. in ‘ Everyman’s Library,’ 4 vols. Ibid, ii, 195. Ibid. 225. ““ Ibid. 228. Ibid. Visitation returns for Dur. City 1754; cf. Surtees, Hist. Dur. iv, 165. A visitation of 1770 is referred to in Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 726. For the chapel at Esh, Surtees op. cit. i, 337 ; Sunderland, ibid. 254 ; Parkhurst’s Hospital, ibid, iv, 391. Wesley’s Journ. He says, ‘ They shame the colliers of Kingswood, flocking from all parts on the week-days as well as the Sundays,’ ibid, iii, 21 1. Ibid, under 4 July, 1757 ; cf. ii, 461. Ibid, ii, 383. 65 Ibid, ii, 383. 9 A HISTORY OF DURHAM famous Durham copes which are said to have been worn in the cathedral according to the terms of the canons of 1604 is ascribed to Warburton.”^ His residence at Durham was the least productive period of his life, until his promotion to the see of Gloucester. Lowth appears to have written some of his later works either at Sedgefield, where he was rector, or at Durham. In these two eminent men the bishop carried on the tradition of promoting learned divines from without to Durham prebends, but generally speaking the dignified clergy were not at this time conspicuous for learning. There seems to be no means of estimating correctly the general standard of piety and efficiency reached by the contemporary local clergy. Wesley says of South Shields in 1761 : Why is there not here, as in every parish in England, a particular minister who takes care of all their souls ? There is one here who takes charge of all their souls ; what care of them he takes is another question.®^® It is said that some of them opposed his work, whilst others, as at Whick- ham, were glad for him to address their people.^®® One interesting con- temporary proof of a widening interest in clergy and people is the great success which attended a tour made by an ordained Indian to solicit help for work amongst the tribes of the north-west.®^® The societies founded by Wesley and his helpers in the county of Durham continued to flourish during the episcopate of Egerton (1771— 87) and of Thurlow (1787—91). Wesley’s own visits were perhaps less frequent, but he came to the north at intervals until 1790. He says of Darlington in 1777, ‘I have not lately found so lively a work in any part of England as here.’ But his labours were not confined to the towns ; in Weardale the efforts he had made in previous years were now producing a considerable result, and particularly among the children. A tour of 1772 is fully described by him, in which some account of the people of the district is given. He does not seem to have reached the upper parts of Teesdale, but the embrace of his journeyings through the county is prodigious. The last, or almost the last, notice of Wesley’s work in the county is as follows : I preached a charity sermon in Monk Wearmouth Church, for the Sunday School, which had already cleared the streets of all the children that used to play there on a Sunday from morning to evening.®^^ The abiding result of the influence of the societies upon the county must have been very considerable, and one proof of its permanence on the material side is to be found in the large number of trust deeds connected with the various Weslevan societies between 1736 and 1836.®^® In the return made from the Close Rolls 63 such deeds are credited to the Methodists, and 37 only to the Church of England.®** Other causes, so far as property goes, were not strongly represented during the period named, for the Independents claim 8, the Romanists i, Presbyterians i, the Baptists 5. There is at Auckland Castle a MS. account of the prebendaries of Durham in the time of Warburton. For the copes see Low, Diocesan Hist, of Dur. 314. Wesley’s Journ. iii, 60. See Low’s account (as above), 302. Sykes, Local Rec. i, 263. Wesley’s Journ. iii, 47 3> Ibid, iv, 504' The returns are given in the Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. ii. One deed may include various buildings and lands. For the further progress of Wesleyanism see below, p. 70. 66 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY It is curious how little can be recovered as to the period represented by the episcopates of Egerton and Thurlow. The former was one of the most popular of Durham bishops, and if his rule yields few traces of church extension or administrative energy, a picture of the courtly and amiable prelate was handed down, in which he appears as a peacemaker whose delight it was to reconcile contending parties and interests/^^ He made him- self popular in the county by his long summer residences and his bountiful hospitality at Auckland. At Durham he recovered something of the lost prestige of the bishops in the city by restoring the charter which had been suspended for some years. A stronger character or a more statesmanlike bishop would in all probability have done incalculable harm at a time when the long Whig ascendancy was breaking up and party politics were absorbing the attention of the gentlemen of the county. It seems to have been feared that the question of Roman Catholic relief and the Gordon riots in 1780 would find more than an echo in the north. Major Floyd was accordingly sent down in that year to test the state of feeling. His report gives an interesting view not only of the groundlessness of the fears referred to, but, so far as the city of Durham is concerned, of the general relations of religious parties. He says, writing from Durham : — All is quiet in the country. Newcastle is only thirteen miles off : a very large place and full of colliers, mightily disposed to be troublesome, but at present they are quiet. They have five companies of the lOth Foot among them. Sunderland is a very populous place, thirteen miles from here. A squadron of our regiment is there. All quiet. There are prodigious numbers of Catholics in and about this town [Durham]. The street I lodge in is almost all Catholic. The people of this house, too, are Catholics. This place is very large, but not populous, being prodigiously over-run with clergy, who in all countries take up a great deal more room than they ought, and eat out the industrious and useful. The chief good I know of the clergy here is that they are quiet, and the populace is too inconsiderable to be an object of terror to the Catholics.®^® The words harmonize with the general impression of respectable religious apathy and dulness which a survey of the bishopric at this time leaves on the mind so far as existing records survive.®*^ The really energetic religious force was the societies of John Wesley to which reference has been made. The Baptist churches, never considerable though often vigorous, had been passing through a period of stagnation and decay, and were just beginning to revive under the leadership of a minister called Whitfield, who rallied the cause at Hamsterley with much fervour.®*® The Calvinistic controversy which had elsewhere paralysed the progress of the evangelical revival greatly impeded the work of the Baptist community and divided their churches.®*® See the account given by Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. iii, p. xi. MSS. of the Earl of Pembroke (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. ix, App. ii), 383. It may be worth while to quote in illustration of the religious conventionalism of the time the follow- ing extract from a private letter dated Newcastle, Nov. 1760: ‘Mr. Montague is gone to-day to attend Mr. Bowes’ funeral, which according to the custom of this country is to be magnificent. There is more pomp at their funerals than weddings.’ Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiii, App. iii, 140. The account is given in Hist, of the Northern Baptist Churches. In 1 740 there was much complaint at the annual meeting of the decrease of piety and of members. Differences between the minister and the people prevailed (p. 154)- Whitfield, a Weardale man, had been a convert of Wesley, but turning Baptist became a real power in his native county and outside it in frequent journeys and conferences (pp. 201, 214). He had the reputation of considerable Hebrew learning (p. 264). He died in 1797. Ibid. 170. See too the estimate of the condition of religion in and out of the Church of England about 1770. Ibid. 200 : The writer is inclined to minimize the activity of all religious bodies at that time. The Presbyterians, thoroughly Scottish in their affinities, were a prey to the Moderatism which then characterized the Church in Scotland. The Independents were not numerous, and were not remarkable for piety or activity. 67 A HISTORY OF DURHAM It was in Bishop Egerton’s time that the dean and chapter of Durham Cathedral ordered a survey of the building. This revealed a condition of such insecurity and rapid decay that repairs were begun in 1776, which pro- ceeded with little intermission for many years to come at considerable annual expense. The period is otherwise remarkable as having witnessed the last instances of public penance which have been recorded by tradition. Bishop Thurlow presided over the see for only four years (1787—91), having won his way to Durham through the good offices of his brother, the Lord Chancellor. He seems to have carried on the easy-going and hospitable traditions of his two predecessors, but nothing that illustrates the church history of his episcopate has been preserved. The one fact that the centenary of the landing of William III was celebrated in all the large towns of the county without riot or disorder goes to prove that the violence of religious dissension had entirely died out at this time, and testifies to the truth of Major Floyd’s observations as quoted above. With Bishop Barrington (1791—1826) we reach a period which some of the oldest inhabitants of the county can just remember. It forms in several ways a connecting link with the still older generation that passed away with the eighteenth century, and a real point of transition from the old to the new. Bishop Barrington came to Durham in the critical days of the French Revolution. His charges reflect the excitement and unrest, both religious and political, which are characteristic of the years that followed. To meet what he considered to be the chief dangers which threatened England in consequence of the Revolution he addressed himself with great assiduity to a vigorous Protestant campaign and to the improvement of the clergy. Son of the first Viscount Barrington, he had inherited his father’s strong Protestant feeling. His view was that the doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome were among the chief causes of the Revolution. To this he gave expression in various charges and sermons. At the same time he professed himself willing to grant Romanists ‘ every degree of toleration short of political power and establishment.’ It was also characteristic of one of the most generous of men that he helped the emigrant bishops and clergy of France with money and hospitality. One or two of his tracts on the Roman question became standard treatises in the religious world, where they long maintained their popularity. As to his measures for the improvement of the clergy, he set himself to work to introduce into the diocese men of some prestige and position who might prove an elevating influence upon the rank and file of the clergy throughout the diocese. He brought Archdeacon Paley into the diocese in 1795, and made him rector of Bishopwearmouth, which was then worth at least ^ year. Paley’s Moral Philosophy^ published in 1790, was already a Cambridge text-book, and his Evidences of Christianity was, in all probability, the immediate cause of his preferment by the bishop. Despite ill health in his new home Paley was able to complete his Natural Pheology whilst rector of Bishopwearmouth. George Stanley Faber held more than one benefice by Barrington’s collation, and From Sykes’s Loc. Rec. sub anno. I'he tradition has been preserved in a footnote by Dr. Barmby, Surtees Soc. Publ. xcv, 160. Instances of penance in Durham in the reign of Queen Anne and long after are quoted above. A paper in Arch. Ael. ii, 59, refers incidentally to contemporary change in the cathedral ceremonies on 29 May. For the blowing in of the east window, ibid, vii, I 31. 68 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY began his literary career in the vicarage of Long Newton near Stockton, returning to the diocese under Bishop Van Mildert, who made him master of Sherburn Hospital. Barrington was a munificent patron of Benjamin Kennicott who, at Oxford, was beginning the search for Hebrew MSS. of the Old Testament.^®® The younger Kennicott was brought to Sunderland as rector by the bishop. Several prebends at Durham were given to men from other dioceses who afterwards became famous, as, for instance, Bathurst bishop of Norwich, Gray bishop of Bristol, Jenkinson bishop of St. Davids, Phillpotts bishop of Exeter, Sumner archbishop of Canterbury. Others promoted by him were Gaisford, afterwards dean of Christ Church, and, of those who remained long in the diocese to do excellent work in their different ways, Thorp first warden of the university, Gilly a canon and rector at Durham, and Townsend, still remembered for his edition of the Acts and Monuments of Foxe, and other works of a Protestant character. But a more direct influence on the younger clergy of the diocese was exercised by Barrington at the ordination seasons. It is often supposed that at the beginning of the nineteenth century examinations before ordination were a mere form, and that bishops accepted all candidates of competent learning. To Barrington, then, belongs the credit of having anticipated the stricter methods of later days. His charge of 1794 shows, in an appendix, the really well-chosen list of books which the newly-ordained were directed to read, and his exhortations in his various subsequent charges prove how high a standard of really useful theological learning they were expected to reach. He recurs to the subject in nearly every surviving charge. With the bishop’s influence upon agriculture we are not here concerned, but mention must be made of the generous liberality which promoted the cause of good learning in the diocese, and still promotes it. The Barrington fund for ‘promoting religious and Christian piety in the diocese of Durham’ was the outcome of a successful lawsuit which he won on the question of certain leases of lead-mines which had lapsed through neglect. It may have been through emulation of the bishop’s benefactions that the dean and chapter of his day set to work to bring the poorer livings in their gift up to a year, and this task they nearly accomplished before the formation of the Ecclesiastical Commission. A very different action on the part of the dean and chapter concerns the fabric of the cathedral.^®® External restoration had been in progress since 1776, as recorded above, and this consisted chiefly of a process of chipping and paring designed to obliterate the weathering of the stone. Wyatt, of notorious memory, was now called in, and not content with carrying on the same policy dictated still further destruction, which culminated in 1799 with the demolition of the chapter-house. About this time was founded the important Roman Catholic institution known as Ushaw College, the fuller name being St. Cuthbert’s College, Ushaw.^^® Reference has already been made to the permanence of Roman See, for instance, his letters in B.M. Add. MSS. 35129, No. 492. Such is the assertion of Van Mildert in his second charge, 1831, Sermons and Charges, 551. Canon Low in his Diocesan Hist. 316 says £300* See again below, p. 73. Carter’s letters written in 1795 on the state of the cathedral fabric will be found in the Gent. Mag. (ist Ser.), Ixxi, 1092 ; Ixxii, 30, 133, 228, 399, 494. For the history see Ushaw College — A Centenary Memorial, 1894. 69 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Catholicism in the county, and to its varying fortunes since the days of Elizabeth. The neighbourhood was a continuous stronghold of the cause, and several of the oldest families in the county are Romanist to this day. A Jesuit Mission had made the district a ‘residence’ since about 1590, with its head quarters in the city of Durham. The mission continued to work side by side with a secular mission until 1824. In its earliest days the mission had been reinforced from Douai and other seminaries. In 1793 the French Revolution drove away from Douai the English college founded there by Cardinal Allen in 1568. Despite an Act of 1791 which declared it illegal to found any Roman Catholic school or college, i’t was decided to found a new Douai in the north of England, not only as a nursery for the priesthood, but also as a public school for boys. Settled first for a brief interval at Tudhoe, under the Rev. John Lingard, after- wards famous as an historian and controversialist, and then in 1794 at Crook Hall, ten miles from Durham, the new institution was at length in 1808 transferred to the breezy heights of Ushaw, some four miles from Durham. Here the old Douai manner of life was followed, and is still followed after a century with great fidelity. Since the first establishment at Crook more than 900 priests have been trained in the college, and a large number of laymen, numbering in all over 3,000 who have shared the common life and work of the place have gone out into various walks of life.^^^ Towards the end of Barrington’s episcopate a popular religious move- ment of some importance made its appearance in the county of Durham in the shape of Primitive Methodism. Like the ordinary Wesleyan Method- ism in all essentials, this new kind of Methodism, which had commenced its career in 1807, differed from it in the great use made of the camp meeting and in the prominence of the lay element in church organization. There can be little doubt that the opportunity which it gave to its humbler members to exercise any gift of prayer or preaching rendered it attractive to the miners of Durham. Its first preachers, Clowes and Branfoot and Laister, entered the bishopric in 1820 and 1821.’^® Finding its converts at first amongst the older Wesleyans, the movement soon gathered out in every important town and in some country districts a rapidly-increasing band of adherents.®®® These, in no few instances, were men of the humblest classes, whom the characteristic organ- ization of the society taught not merely religious principles, but social and in- dustrial improvement, as they learnt in their meetings to express their views and to band together for protection.®®^ The miners of those days were sub- ject to many disadvantages, and by degrees the men themselves formed unions to gain some kind of amelioration of their condition. Certainly a large chapter in the local history of the labour movement is connected with the Primitive Nothing perhaps is more eloquent as to the changes that time brings than the fact that several Ushaw students are regularly matriculated undergraduates of the University of Durham, and come to and fro daily in term time to attend lectures under the shadow of the cathedral. The story is well told in the Hist, of the Prim. Meth. Church, written by Rev. H. B. Kendall, a Durham graduate. The exact dates are : Darlington, 1820 ; Sunderland, Wear(Jale, South Shields, 1821 ; and Gateshead rather later. ““ In 1823 a considerable religious revival occurred in Weardale, which had previously been the scene of Wesley’s efforts. See Kendall’s Hist, ut supra, ii, 186-188. 70 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY Methodists of Durham. It has been said by the historian of the Northum- berland and Durham miners that the earnest men who have been stigmatised ‘ Ranters ’ have been working out the social, intellectual, and moral improvement of the miners, and in this great reform they have been materially assisted by the temperance advocates who have from time to time laboured amongst the miners.®®^ On the death of Bishop Barrington the see was offered by Lord Liver- pool to Bishop Van Mildert, of Llandaff. The appointment was made at a moment when the dignified clergy, and indeed church institutions generally, were beginning to be the objects of a hostile criticism, which increased as the years went on.^®* The announcement was received with mingled feelings — of surprise that Llandaff should prove a stepping stone to Durham, and elsewhere of satisfaction that the new bishop was an exception to the long list of prelates of distinguished family, and that he had neither sons nor nephews to promote.®®^ Letters which survive sketch pretty vividly the early months of a bishop new to the county and engrossed by the multitude of engagements of all kinds which awaited him.®®® The description will stand mutatis mutandis for an account of the first entrance into the diocese of any bishop of the eighteenth or early nineteenth century. The bishop’s primary charge, delivered in 1827, gives expression to the anxiety which all churchmen then felt in regard to the growing disposition to ‘ wage war with established opinions, chiefly because they are established.’ ®®® He considered the diocese to be ‘ in general well conditioned, and its pastors well disposed.’ ®®^ This somewhat optimistic im- pression was rather modified in the next years, so far as the diocesan organiza- tion was concerned. Van Mildert opposed the bill for the Emancipation of Roman Catholics, and beheld its triumph with feelings of considerable misgiving, if not of alarm.®®® He did not, however, oppose the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, and in such an attitude to the two measures felt that he carried the diocese with him.®®® In 1831, despite ill-health, the bishop gave his second charge shortly after the rejection of the original Reform Bill. Such a time of political exasperation was not a good opportunity for pastoral work.®^® He complains of the preoccupation of men’s minds with the con- troversies of the day, and also he complains of the animosity and exaggeration which characterized the attack upon the Church. And yet substantial pro- gress had been made in the four years since the former charge : twenty-seven new schools had been added, and eighty-five united to the National Society. Various glebe-houses had been built, and fourteen churches or chapels had been erected, whilst eight others were proposed or in progress.®^^ Increasing acquaintance with the diocese had displayed a great and increasing want of Fynes, The Miners of Northumb. and Dur. 282-3 — quoted by Kendall, op. cit. 1 87-8. A summary sup- posed to have been written by Mr. W. T. Stead in 1875, says, speaking of the early days of the movement : ‘ The accounts published at the time concerning the results produced by their ministrations among the semi- savage colliers of the North remind us of the glowing narratives of the most successful missionaries.’ Ibid. 188. Sermons and Charges, 525. Dur. County Advertiser, Feb. 1826, quoting current London newspapers. ‘ Life ’ (by Ives) prefixed to Sermons and Charges, 74—7. Sermons and Charges, 523. Ibid. 81. Ibid. 94. Ibid. 91,541. Ibid. 533. See also a sermon, 279, ‘A sort of anti-pastoral spirit singularly characteristic of modern times continually undermines our best efforts.’ Ibid. 537. 71 A HISTORY OF DURHAM places of worship, which he proposed to remedy by erecting ‘ auxiliary chapels similar to those in ancient times called oratories.’ Van Mildert hailed with satisfaction Archbishop Howley’s bill to em- power deans and chapters, impropriators, and parochial incumbents to make voluntary acts of endowment, which eventually took shape in the Ecclesiastical Commission. Tradition ascribes to him the representations to the dean and chapter of Durham which induced them, after much deliberation, to con- template the founding of the university of Durham.”® Towards this scheme the bishop himself contributed first ^i,ooo and then £2,000 a year during his life, in addition to the annexation of prebends to certain professors, and the surrender of Durham Castle, which he had used with a hospitality more lavish than that of any prelate since Egerton.”^ The institution of the university opened a new chapter in the history of education in the north of England at a time when, as yet, there was no rail- way communication with the south. It had an immediate effect upon the clergy of the north in general, and of Durham in particular, which has not been properly appreciated. The long distance of Durham from the older universities, and perhaps the wilder, bleaker character of the county, had brought it to pass that even when Van Mildert became bishop, men from Oxford and Cambridge were few, so that the clergy were largely non- graduate, and not merely non-graduate, but ‘literate persons,’ and without very definite preparation. Ten years before he came to Durham the Theological College at St. Bees in Cumberland had been founded in order to train men for the ministry in the diocese of Carlisle and elsewhere. Van Mildert determined to ordain no more literate persons, but to demand some course of training at St. Bees.”® The early archives of that college are too imperfect to enable us to trace its influence upon the diocese of Durham, which was probably considerable. The new university, whose graduates largely sought ordination, though not necessarily in the diocese of Durham, must before long have contributed a regular supply of duly equipped men for the clerical office. The university from its connexion with bishop, dean, and chapter was largely clerical, and of the four bachelors in arts who graduated in 1839 three were at once ordained. In 1846, of 224 M.A.’s on the books, 165 were ordained. Of a staff of twenty-four, all but five were in orders.®^® The full course in arts and theology, which all were desired to take if possible, occupied five years. Provision was made by various scholarships for those who would probably become clergymen. Thus the Barrington trustees for some years gave scholarships to the sons of clergymen, and a theological scholarship was founded as a memorial to Van Mildert. The subjects of examination in arts comprised, as they always have at Durham, a large amount of theology. Sermons and Charges, 550. Mr. James Raine, the elder, who was brother-in-law to Dean Peacock of Ely, used to say that the dean took the dean and chapter of Durham to task for being unwilling to make a move, and warned them of the consequence that their recalcitrance would probably bring to all capitular bodies. Evidence of the bishop’s part in the matter will be found in the introduction to the early numbers of the Dur. Univ. Cal., also in the speech of the Warden at the first University Convocation in 1839 {Dur. Advertiser, June, 1839). The bishop, of course, made much of the generous action of the chapter, and scarcely mentioned his own part. Sermons and Charges, 77. The letters quoted are now in B.M. Add. MSS. 34589, fol. 248-51. See Van Mildert’s charge of 1827, Sermons and Charges, 520. m evidence for the figures given will be found in the Durham University Calendars for the years named. 72 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY There was, however, no test until the degree was reached, and the test was swept away in 1865. Bishop Van Mildert’s last year was troubled by ill-health, and the prospects of radical changes in the church at large, and in the diocese of Durham in particular, which were due to the first report of the Ecclesiastical Commission published in 1835. When the bishop died in February, 1836, the dignities of the see, in the attenuated form which a second report now proposed, were offered to the Whig Bishop Maltby of Chichester (1836—56). The main idea of the second report, so far as Durham was concerned, was to appropriate episcopal and capitular revenues estimated to be in excess of the needs of the diocese itself, and to hand over the ;/^4o,ooo so accruing to the work of the church in other dioceses. Seldom had the diocese been so much moved. Meetings were held, and petitions flowed in from every consider- able town and village in the old bishopric. A vigorous correspondence in the local journal pointed out that the proposal was radically unjust, since there were in the county of Durham at least eleven benefices below ;£']0 a year, twenty-eight under ^100^ sixty under ^200, and seventy-nine under /^300, and this notwithstanding the effort of bishop, dean, and chapter to improve the value of the poorer livings which had been in progress since the passing of the Augmentation Act of 1831.^^® Hard things were said in Parliament of the vast wealth of the diocese compared with the backwardness of the people in religion and in education. To such charges an effective reply was made by producing statistics of what had actually been achieved.®’'® It was pointed out that the Diocesan Society, instituted in 1812, maintained in a population of 250,000 some 309 schools with an aggregate of 23,428 scholars, and that of the total funds provided by the society nine-tenths were supplied by bishop, dean, and chapter, and the clergy generally. One writer asserted on the strength of such figures compared with government statistics that ‘ there are more children in proportion to the population under a course of instruction than in any other part of England save Westmorland and Rutland.’ Lord Londonderry was the chief champion of the diocese and its claims in the House of Lords, and strove hard to get a select committee to inquire further into local claims. Whilst this storm was in progress the bill to separate the palatine juris- diction from the bishopric was introduced into Parliament and was carried without special difficulty.®®^ The diocese was lukewarm to this proposal, and the flood of petitions do not seem to have had it in view. The palatinate power had long ceased to be really popular, and found few defenders. Nevertheless its transfer to the king marked the extinction of one of the most interesting anomalies in English history. Thanks to the petitions, the Act which was passed in August, 1836, to give effect to the reports of the commissioners recognized the intentions of Bishop Van Mildert, and provided for the augmentation of certain benefices Tke Dur. Advertiser of 25 March, 1836, contains the following extract quoted from the liberal Sunderland Herald. ‘ We have to call the attention of our readers to the intended appropriation of a considerable pro- portion of the revenues of the See of Durham for the benefit of the poor dioceses. We understand that Dr. Maltby, the new Bishop of Durham, is to have ^8,ooo per annum, and that the remainder of the large revenue is to be diverted into a channel altogether foreign.’ The reference is to the second report. See the Dur. Advertiser, i July, 1836. The Augmentation Act is i and 2 Will. IV, cap. 45. Ibid. 8 April. Ibid. 6 May. See Lapsley, Palatinate of Dur. 204. 73 2 10 A HISTORY OF DURHAM in the diocese/®^ The Act swept into the coffers of the permanent com- mission now erected by it all the episcopal revenues in excess of the ^8,000 assigned to the bishop, and further annexed under the powers given to it the episcopal estates/®* The lands and funds of the dean and chapter were untouched for some years to come, until the Act of 1840, which suspended six canonries/®* Bishop Maltby succeeded to the diminished external prestige of the see without real regret. ‘ I can no longer,’ he said, ‘ exercise the large hospitality, nor what is more important, the unbounded beneficence which marked the career of my predecessors. ... I relinquish secular power without any regret.’®®® His appointment was greatly due to the hopes entertained of the influence so eminent a scholar was likely to exert upon the nascent university, and there can be no doubt that at a time when great pressure was being brought to bear upon government to widen the whole scope of the university and to throw it open to Dissenters, Maltby was able to keep the control of dean and chapter upon it, and he certainly proved a considerable benefactor to it.®®® The more absorbing problem that faced the bishop was the enormous growth of population on the one hand, and on the other the diminished resources of the church. The population of the county proper was 239,256 in 1831, 307,963 in 1841, and the proportion of sittings was decreasing year by year. At the beginning of the century the church provided accommoda- tion for one person in 4*232, but in 1841 only one in 6*268. Church- building did not increase rapidly, though progress was made. It was a sore point with Durham people that the original understanding by which local claims were to receive some satisfaction was not fulfilled. As a result of this injustice church accommodation became more inadequate in the county of Durham and in Northumberland than in any other part of England. Eventually, but not until Bishop Maltby had resigned, a strong effort was made to compel the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to take a proper view of the claims of the diocese.®®^ This effort was too late to make up for arrears. The rapid multiplication of railways and collieries was filling the county with a huge rough population for whose social and spiritual welfare church machinery was imperative. The numbers had about doubled during the twenty years of Maltby’s episcopate. The translation of his successor. Bishop Longley, who had pressed forward the question, left its further solution to Bishop Baring. He inaugurated a new fund which gave an energetic im- pulse to church-building, so that between 1871 and 1881 fifty parishes were added, a record which no decade has exceeded. The mediaeval see of Durham had remained untouched during all the vicissitudes recounted in these pages. It contained, of course, not merely the 6 and 7 Will. IV, cap. 77, supplemented as regards this point by an Order in Council dated 21 June, 1837, and a second dated 30 July, 1838. Sect. I, 41, 42 and 54. The question was before Parliament for four years, and only received solution in the Act i and 2 Viet. cap. 30. The dean and chapter had already under the Act of 4 July, 1832 (2 and 3 Will. IV, cap. 19), conveyed to the university certain estates, and in 1841 canonries were assigned by an Order in Council to two professorships, the actual money and securities being handed over to the university in 1842. Reported in Dur. Advertiser, Sept. 1836. Account of Bishop Maltby, Gent. Mag. 1856 (2). The figures and facts as set forth in the text are given in a charge of the Ven. Archdeacon Watkins of Durham in the Diocesan Mag. for Oct. 1884. 74 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY county of Durham, but the whole of Northumberland, save Hexhamshire, subject to York, and one or two stray districts in Yorkshire and in Cumber- land. North Durham had been stripped from the bishopric, though not from the see, in 1844.®®® Hexhamshire was added to the see in 1836, on the recommendation of the second report of the commissioners, and a new archdeaconry of Lindisfarne was carved out of Northumberland in 1842. A change more momentous than anything that had taken place in the history of the diocese was carried through by Bishop Lightfoot when the division first suggested in the reign of Edward VI was effected.®®® This question had been constantly revived, and indeed was especially brought up by the Town Council of Newcastle in 1854, who desired to see it carried out, since ‘the effective administration of the diocese had become impossible.’®®® Dropped for the moment, however, it reappeared despite the objection constantly reiterated that the division would still further lower the prestige of the diocese. The nucleus of the endowment fund was given by Mr. T. Hedley in 1877, and the design was completed in 1881.®®^ Only second in impor- tance to this diminution of the see was the institution of a new archdeaconry of Auckland, preceded by a rearrangement of rural deaneries.®®® From time immemorial the archdeaconry of Durham had been co-extensive with the county.®®® Partly in it and partly in the rest of the old see was the old peculiar jurisdiction known as the Officialty of the Archdeaconry.®®^ It consisted of all those parishes which by ancient grant had been placed under the supervision of the prior and later of the dean. This curious exempt jurisdiction, consisting of thirty-nine parishes, was abolished in 1882. The ancient seven rural deaneries in the county were increased to eleven in 1880. Stat. 7 and 8 Vic. cap. 6i. The whole story is best told by Bishop Lightfoot in his Charge of 1882. ‘'»Ibid. 8. Ibid. 10. ‘'Mbid. 15. For its history cf. ibid. 16-19. See the Schedule, ibid. 103. 75 A HISTORY OF DURHAM APPENDIX ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTY As part of the province of Bernicia, the district which was later to become the county of Durham came under the influence of Celtic Christianity and was included in the see of Lindisfarne, which, co-extensive with the province, was established by Oswald under St. Aidan in 635.^ The work of Archbishop Theodore hardly affected the district,^ but after the Danish ravages of the latter part of the ninth century the seat of the great northern see was transferred from Lindisfarne to Chester le Street.® Again, in 995, according to Symeon of Durham,* in fear of a Danish raid the seat of the see was finally transferred to the newly-founded city of Durham, the self-chosen resting-place of St. Cuthbert’s body. From this date until the taxation of Pope Nicholas of 1291 there is nothing to mark the pro- gress of the ecclesiastical organization of the county. The names and limits of the deaneries were fixed by 1291, and although those of the diocese included in the county are not given under a heading as within the archdeaconry of Durham, a footnote to the effect that the church of Easington was appropriated to the archdeacon of Durham proves that the archdeaconry was then in existence.® There were five deaneries in the county, including altogether fifty-seven parishes, viz. : — The Deanery of Durham, including the thirty-five parishes of Billingham, Boldon, Brancepeth, Castle Eden, Dalton le Dale, Durham St. Oswald, Durham St. Nicholas, Easington, Ed- mondbyers, Elwick Hall, Gateshead, Greatham, Hart, Hartlepool (chapel of), Hesleden, Hilton, Houghton, Jarrow, Kelloe, Merrington, Bishop Middleham, Pittington, Ryton, Seaham, Sedgefield, Stanhope, Stranton, Trimdon, Monkwearmouth, Bishopwearmouth, Washington, Whickham, Whitburn, Whitworth, Wolsingham. The Deanery of Auckland,® including the parish of Auckland. The Deanery of Lanchester, including the parish of Lanchester. The Deanery of Chester le Street, including the parish of Chester le Street. The Deanery of Darlington, including the twenty parishes of Aycliffe, Cockfield, Coniscliffe, Darlington, Dinsdale, Egglescliffe, Elton, Gainford, Haughton, Heighington, Hurworth, Long Newton, Middleton in Teesdale, Middleton St. George, Norton, Redmarshall, Sockburn, Staindrop, Stainton le Street, Winston.^ On account of the system of arrangement of the Valor of 1535 as regards Durham, it is some- what difficult to gather clearly what the ecclesiastical divisions of the county were at that date. The parishes belonging in 1291 to the deanery of Durham are not grouped under the deanery, which is nowhere mentioned, while under the archdeaconry of Durham only the two churches Easington and Houghton, appropriated to the archdeacon, are given. The constitution of the three deaneries of Chester le Street, Auckland, and Darlington had considerably changed since 1291. Several parishes belonging to the deanery of Durham had been added to each, in several cases the rectory being attached to one deanery, the vicarage to another. * See an(e, p. 2. ^ Stubbs, Const. Hist, i, 246. ® See ante, pp. 5-6. * Symeon of Durham, Opera (Rolls Ser.), i, 78-83. ® The archdeaconry of Northumberland, including that part of the diocese without the county of Durham, is given {Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.) 316-17), and in all probability both archdeaconries date from the general foundation of territorial archdeaconries after the Conquest (See Stubbs, Const. Hist, i, 255, n). At any rate, the archdeaconry of Durham existed before 131 1 ; See Reg. Pa/at. Dunelm. (Rolls Ser.), i, 12. ® The heading under the taxation of 1291 is ‘ Porciones de Aukland,’ and the last entry in the group is ‘ Vicar Ecclesie de Aucland,’ to which a note is added, “ Q ’ dicitur Decanu’ Aukelan’ ’ ; Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 315. Again, in the ‘Nova Taxatio’ made in 1317-18, under a similar heading, ‘ Porciones de Aukland,’ comes ‘Decanatus de Aukland tax. etc.’ (ibid. p. 329-330), clearly proving the existence of the deanery. The same evidence applies to the existence of the deaneries of Lanchester and Chester le Street. The three deaneries were undoubtedly in existence before 131’, and are constantly referred to in Kellawe’s Register ; See Reg. Palat. Dunelm. (Rolls Ser.), i, 3, 21, 107, &c. ’’ Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 315. 76 ■^1 m OF THE I5tl}'/F?,XSTV OE nnriCtS ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY Lanchester Deanery remained unchanged. The Deanery of Chester le Street now included the seventeen parishes of Boldon, Brancepeth, Chester le Street, Durham North Bailey, Durham South Bailey, Edmondbyers, Gateshead, Kimblesworth, Ryton, Stanhope, Washington, Bishopwearmouth, Whickham, Whitburn, Witton, Wolsingham. The Deanery of Auckland included the eleven parishes of Auckland, Aycliffe, Billingham (rectory), Gainford (rectory), Grindon, Hart and Hartlepool (rectory), Heighington (rectory), Merrington, Middleton in Teesdale, Seaham (rectory), Sedgefield. The Deanery of Darlington included the parishes of Bishopton, Cockfield, ConisclifFe, Darlington, Dinsdale, Egglescliffe, Elton, Elwick Hall, Gainford (vicarage), Houghton, Hur- worth. Bishop Middleham, Middleton St. George, Norton, Redmarshall, Sockburn, Staindrop, Stainton le Street, Stranton, Winston. In 1882 under the Act of 1878 the diocese of Durham was reconstituted, and being narrowed down to include only the county of Durham, with part of the parish of Sockburn (Yorkshire), was divided into the two archdeaconries of Durham and Auckland. The Archdeaconry of Durham consists of eight deaneries as follows : — Jarrow, containing 23 parishes; Chester le Street, containing 20 ; Gateshead, containing 15 ; Durham, containing 17 ; Houghton le Spring, containing 15 ; Wearmouth, containing 26 ; Easington, containing 20 ; Lanchester, containing 13. The Archdeaconry of Auckland consists of five deaneries, namely : — Auckland, containing 23 parishes ; Stanhope, containing 16 ; Darlington, containing 28 ; Stockton, containing 16 ; Hartlepool, containing 15. 77 THE RELIGIOUS HOUSES OF DURHAM INTRODUCTION The great religious work carried on in the district now known as the county of Durham during the seventh and eighth centuries under the guidance of St. Aidan and his followers centred itself in the Saxon monas- teries at Wearmouth and Jarrow, and in the smaller foundations of St. Hieu and St. Hilda. These were the homes, not only of religion, but also of culture and civilization, and their history so far as it is known is full of interest. They were, however, almost completely swept away by the Danes in their repeated invasions, and for some two hundred and fifty years the monastic life almost ceased to exist in co. Durham. It was revived in 1073 by Aldwin, the Benedictine prior of Winch- combe ; and ten years later the great Benedictine abbey of St. Cuthbert was founded at Durham. Thenceforward that house dominated the entire bishopric. As early as 1239 the Franciscans penetrated to Durham, but they never attained to any degree of power or importance either there or at Hartlepool. An attempt made at the end of the twelfth century to introduce the Austin Canons resulted merely in the endowment of a cell to Durham at Finchale ; and it is doubtful whether the Austin Friars ever obtained a footing in the bishopric at all. Traces of the Dominicans are few and uncertain. The only independent houses that really flourished were the small Benedictine nunnery at Neasham, and the great hospitals under the bishop’s immediate control. These latter were, considering the size of the county, very numerous, and some of them were wealthy. The enormous power and influence exercised by the monks of Durham were no doubt largely due, at all events in the first instance, to their possession of the remains of so eminent a saint as Cuthbert. As time went on this effect might very possibly have worn off, had it not been for the curious, or < as it was then thought miraculous, preservation of the revered relics. When after intervals of many years, sometimes even of centuries, the coffin was opened and the saint’s body discovered to be still intact, the impression of his unusual sanctity was naturally deepened ; and awe-struck worshippers hastened to pour their gifts at his shrine. So it came about that the temporal power of the monks increased until their possessions rivalled even those of the great prince-bishops themselves. It must, however, be said to their credit that they do not appear to have become nearly so worldly as the religious of some less famous houses ; and their worst enemies found very few charges to bring against them as to their life and character. 78 RELIGIOUS HOUSES The behaviour of the members of the collegiate churches was far less satisfactory. In spite of vigorous efforts at reformation on the part of Bishop Kellaw in the early fourteenth century, and of Bishop Langley a hundred years later, the canons neglected their duties, both spiritual and temporal, to a disgraceful extent. This was probably due to the fact that they were pluralists on a large scale, many of them holding five, six, or even ten ecclesiastical preferments in various parts of England. A striking feature of religious life in the county of Durham was the number of hermits, notably in the fourteenth century, who found a home there. At first, no doubt, their existence was wild and solitary enough ; but after a time it became a much more formal matter, and persons were admitted to the profession of an anchoret, and collated to their hermitages, just as in the case of any other order. In the time of Bishop Bek the Templars held lands, rents, &c., in Barnard Castle and Summerhouse, besides various places in the bishopric, but not in the county of Durham.^ In 1313 the pope directed an inquiry to be made as to what lands the Knights Hospitallers held in the Northern Pro- vince. The bishop of Durham replied that in his diocese they had nothing but the house of Chibburn in Northumberland.** The pope then commanded the bishop to hand over to the Hospitallers all possessions whatsoever lately belonging to the then dissolved order of the Templars in his diocese.® Durham was rich in historians ; Bede, Simeon, Reginald, Geoffrey of Coldingham, Robert of Graystanes, and William Chambre, were all inmates of one or other of her religious houses. SAXON MONASTERIES 1. THE MONASTERY OF HARTLEPOOL The ancient monastery at Hartlepool was founded about a.d. 640 by Hieu, a native of Ireland, under the auspices of St. Aidan. Hieu was the first of the saintly female recluses of Northumbria,^ and the first also of the specially gifted women whom St. Aidan placed in charge of double religious houses for men and women.^ Nothing is known of her parentage, but her ability as organizer and administrator is vouched for by St. Aidan’s selection.® After ruling the new monastery for a few years Hieu^ retired in 649 to Tadcaster, and was succeeded by Hilda,® who, under the direc- ' Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), il, 857-8. ’Ibid, i, 387, 389. ’ Close, 7 Edw. II, m. 16 Sched. This order was repeated in 1324 ; Close, 17 Edw. II, m. 7, 4. ' Bede, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv, c. 23. ^ Jrch. Aeliana, x\x, ’Ibid. * Hieu has frequently been confused, by Leland {Co//, iii, 39) and subsequent writers, with S. Bega or Begu ; but there are strong reasons for thinking that they were distinct persons ; see Arc/o. Ae/iana, xvii, 202, note. ’Bede, Hist. Ecc/es. lib. iv, c. 23. tion of Aidan and other learned men, established a regular and orderly monastic life at Hartlepool (Heorthu).® It seems probable that she had under her rule men as well as women ; Bede speaks of male students in the monasteries of the Abbess Hilda, ^ and on the tombstones in the little cemetery of Hartlepool Monastery, which were excavated early in the nineteenth century, some names of men were found.® In 655 King Oswi, in fulfilment of a vow made before the battle in which he defeated Penda, gave his daughter Elfleda, who had barely completed her first year,® to be conse- crated to God in perpetual virginity,^® and sent her to Hartlepool to the care of Hilda. Two years later (a.d. 657 or 658) Hilda, by Aidan’s desire,^^ went south to found the house afterwards so renowned as Whitby Abbey, and took Elfleda with her.^® ® Ibid. ’ Ibid. ^ Journ. of Brit. Arc/o. Assoc, i, 185 ; V.C.H. Dur. i, 212. ® In Vitae Sanctorum it is stated that Elfleda was born in 654 and died in 713. Bede, Hist. Ecc/es. lib. iii, c. 24. " Matt. Paris, C/iron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), i, 302. ** Bede, Hist. Ecc/es. lib. iii, c. 24. 79 A HISTORY OF DURHAM After her departure the monastery at Hartle- pool is heard of no more,^® but it is thought that it did not long survive. Such at least is the inference to be drawn from the discoveries made in the cemetery This was apparently only some 20 yards in length, and in it were two rows of interments, all, with two exceptions, those of females, and all lying, in pagan fashion, north and south. The heads rested on pillow- stones, and the appearance of the teeth shows that these Christians lived on the same kind of food as the pagans in Kent. Some bone pins, a bone needle, and a few pieces of coloured glass were found, and the tombstones were adorned with crosses.^® 2. ST. HILDA’S FIRST MONASTERY In the year 648 Hilda, being recalled from East Anglia to her own country by Bishop Aidan, received from him a hide of land ^ in the district north of the River Wear called Werhale or Wyrale, where for one year she led a monastic life with a very few companions ; ^ but Hieu relinquishing her charge® in 649, Hilda at once abandoned her small monastery, and repaired to Hartlepool, where she became abbess.^ The site of her first monastery is not known, but it is thought that it may have been at South Shields, where St. Hilda’s church now stands.® Churches in Northumbria were usually called after the saints who founded them, and certainly Hilda’s name has clung with great pertinacity to this particular locality. The chapel there has always been called ‘ St. Hild’s,’ often with no other indication of locality ; and the name clings to the spot in other ways, e.g. in the case of the ‘St. Hild’s fish,’ so-called from 1402 to 1734.® Moreover, Bede speaks definitely of a monastery on the south side of the Tyne, near the mouth of the river, as existing in 651^ (i.e. only two years after St. Hilda left her Arch. Aeliana, xvii, 205. In the ‘Legend of St. Cuthbert’ by R. Hegg (1626) the following passage occurs: ‘Then [i.e. in a.d. 800] perished that famous emporium of Hartlepool, where the religious Hieu built a nunnery . . . whose ruins show how great she was in her glory.’ “ Ibid. 206. Ibid. Journ. Brit. Arch. Assoc, i, 1 89. See fuller ac- count in V.C.H. Dur. i, ‘ Anglo-Saxon Remains.’ * Arch. Aeliana, xvii, 203-4. * Bede, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv, c. xxiii. ^ See above, under Hartlepool. ‘ Arch. Aeliana, xvii, 203-4. * ^^lid. xix, 47-75. •’ Ibid. The above statement is peculiarly true of St. Hilda. Short as was her sojourn in Hartness, she has ever since been taken as the patron saint of Hartlepool (Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 99, note C), and the same is equally the case at Whitby, with which she was connected for a longer period. ’ Bede, De Mirac. Sti. Cuthberti, i, 5 ; Vita Sti. Cuth- betti, iv, 214. establishment), and relates an anecdote of the brethren belonging to it. This same story occurs in a life of St. Cuthbert written about 1450,® where the site is thus described ; — ... We rede Be the telling of Saint Bede, How sometime was a monastery That eftir was a nonry [nunnery], Bot a litil fra Tynemouth. That mynster stode into the South, Whare Saint Hilde Chapel standes nowe, Thar it stode some tyme trewe. Bede says the house was founded for men, but was afterwards changed, and filled with virgins only.® By 686 this change had taken place, for in his final visitation of his diocese Bishop Cuthbert came to a monastery of virgins which, as has been shown above, was situated not far from the mouth of the River Tyne, where he was honourably welcomed by the religious, and, in a worldly sense, most noble handmaid of Christ, the Abbess Verca.” An additional reason for thinking that this might well have been the site of St. Hilda’s first house is afforded by the fact that it is thought to have been the birthplace of Oswin. Nothing is known of the ultimate fate of this monastery, and no trace of it has been found. It was probably wholly or partially destroyed by the Danes.^® 3. GATESHEAD HOUSE There appears to be no record of the founda- tion of this house, but it was in existence before A.D. 653.^ At that time Uttan the priest, the brother of Adda, was abbot.® He was an illus- trious presbyter, a man of great gravity and veracity, and on this account was honoured by all men, even by princes.® Bede tells how Uttan was sent^ to Kent to bring thence a wife for King Oswi ; how before starting he asked the prayers of Bishop Aidan for himself and his people on their long journey ; and how Aidan ^ Life of ^t. Cuthbert (Surt. Soc.), bk. ii, 11. 1 123—30. ® Bede, FitaSti. Cuthberti, iv, 214. St. Hilda was in other instances placed by St. Aidan in charge of mixed monasteries of men and women. ’“Ibid. 316. It was this same Verca who pre- sented him with the linen in which, at his own request, his body was wrapped after death ; ibid. 324, cf. Reginald of Durham, Libellus (Surt. Soc.), 86. Arch. Aeliana, xix, 47-75. ’“Ibid. ’Mr. Hodgson Hinde in the Gent. Mag. (1852 [2], p. 391) says: ‘It seems probable that the monastery was founded in the episcopate of either Aidan or Finan, and was abandoned when Colman and his followers left Northumberland. A chapel {ecclesiola) existed in Gateshead in 1080, and was the scene of Bishop Walcher’s murder ; this probably marked the site of the abandoned monastery.’ ® Bede, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii, c. 2 1 . ® Ibid. ‘ c. A.D. 651. 80 RELIGIOUS HOUSES foretold a great storm at sea, and gave him a flask of oil to pour on the waters, which when he had done the waves subsided. All which, says Bede, was told to a faithful priest of the church by Uttan himself.® This monastery, which had a chapel of its own, is said to have been a cell to St. Bartholomew’s, Newcastle,® and to have paid an annual rent to it of 2sJ Bourne says that Uttan’s monastery stood where the present Gateshead House stands ; ® but the tradition in Leland’s time placed it where afterwards was the site of St. Edmund’s Hospital.® 4. THE NUNNERY OF EBCHESTER The nunnery at Ebchester was founded in or before the year 660 by St. Ebba.^® She was the daughter of Ethelfrid, king of Northumbria, and was dedicated as a virgin by Finan, formerly bishop of Lindisfarne.^* With the help of her brother. King Oswi,^® she built a monastery on the banks of the River Derwent in the bishopric of Durham,^® at the spot where the little village of Ebchester now stands.^* Ebba did not remain long to preside over her nuns, but was called to be abbess of Colding- ham, where she died in 683.^® The monastery, however, continued to flourish until the time of the Danish invasion, when it is said to have been utterly destroyed.^® 5 AND 6. THE MONASTERIES OF WEARMOUTH AND JARROW The two foundations of Wearmouth and Jarrow were so closely connected in their early history that, to use the expression of Simeon of Durham, they seem to have been one monas- tery built upon two sites. They are several times mentioned in the singular number, as the monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul.^ To deal with them separately would involve so much repetition that it seems better to treat of the two under one heading. In the latter part of the seventh century Benedict Biscop, on arriving in England from ® Bede, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii, c. 21. ® Wallis, Northumb. ii, 207. ’’ Ibid, quoting a charter of temp. Hen. II, in which ‘ duos solidos de Gateshead ’ are mentioned as part of the dues of St. Bartholomew’s. ^ Hist. ofNezvcastle, 166. ^ 1 tin. (2nd ed.), vii, 61. Dugdale, Mon. Jngl. (ed. 1846), vi, 1618. Cressy, Ch. Hist. lib. xviii, c. 1 4. ” ‘ Vita S. Ebbe,’ MS. Cott. Jul. 2. Ibid. Cressy, ut supra. Surtees, however (Hist. Dur. 300), throws some doubt on the actual existence of the nunnery. '^Ibid. '® Tanner, Vu/tV. M(7«. * See Simeon of Durham, Decern Scriptores (Twysd. col.), 4, &c. his third journey to Rome, went to the court of Egfrid, king of Northumbria. He there ex- hibited the relics and literary treasures he had acquired abroad, and found such favour in the king’s eyes that Egfrid forthwith gave him 70 hides of land out of his own estates lying at the mouth of the River Wear. On this site Benedict, at the king’s desire, established a monastery in the year 674.® Desiring to have everything of the best, he engaged masons from France to build a stone church, which he dedicated to St. Peter, and glass- workers from the same country to glaze the windows of the church, cloisters, and refectory. Within a year matters had progressed so far that Benedict was able to celebrate mass in the new building ; and, having laid down rules for the government of the monastery, he started on his fourth journey to Rome. On his return he brought back, amongst other treasures, a number of sacred pictures which he hung in the church to teach the truths of the gospel story to those who could not read. With him came John, arch-chanter of St. Peter’s at Rome, to instruct the English monks in the Roman method of chanting, singing, and ministering in the church.® At the request of King Egfrid Pope Agatho granted to Benedict a letter of privilege by which his monastery was for ever secured from all manner of foreign invasion.'* Delighted at the abbot’s religious zeal, the king now gave him forty hides of land on the south side of the River Tyne. Here in 681 he began to build a monastery of St. Paul at Jarrow.® While retaining the headship of both his monas- teries, which, in fact, formed but one institution,® Benedict made Ceolfrid abbot of Jarrow under himself, and when he left England on his fifth journey to Rome he placed Easterwin in charge of the house at Wearmouth.^ Ceolfrid arrived at Jarrow in the autumn of 681, with a band of twenty-two® brethren (ten priests and twelve laymen) ; hastily put up the necessary buildings for their shelter, and began to train them in monastic discipline. Three years later he commenced the building of the church, the king himself marking out the site for the altar.® The monks of Wearmouth and Jarrow took little or no part in political matters ; their histoj y is marked by no very striking incidents ; and at first sight their twin monasteries may appear somewhat insignificant. They formed, never- theless, a very important factor in the history of the time ; and it would probably be difficult to * Bede, Fit. Abbatum (ed. Stevenson), § 4. ’Ibid. §§5-7. Mbid. §6. ® Ibid. § 7. ® Arch. A e liana (New Ser.) x, 34. ' Bede, ut supra. ® Bede says ‘about eighteen.’ ® Canon Savage, in Arch. Aeliana, xxii, 33-4. Z 81 II A HISTORY OF DURHAM over-estimate their influence. They, with one or two kindred institutions, were the chief homes not only of religion but also of civilization in the country. Benedict Biscop in effect set the standard of a new type of religious house. The chief monasteries tended now to become more and more self-centred. The pursuit of literature became an end in itself ; ** art and personal culture were developed. This could hardly have been the case had Benedict been unaided ; but he was singularly fortunate in his assistants. Easterwin, abbot of Wearmouth, was of noble birth. Although Benedict was his cousin, he neither expected nor received any distinction in the regimen of the monastic life, but underwent with pleasure the usual course of discipline. In '673, when only twenty-four years of age, he had passed from the king’s court to the solitude of the recluse’s cell. He was an inmate of Wear- mouth monastery almost if not quite from its foundation, taking his share in all domestic work. He was a young man of great strength, pleasant voice, handsome appearance, and kindly disposi- tion. After his promotion to the abbacy he still took his part in the indoor and outdoor labours of his brethren, eating and sleeping with them.^® In Ceolfrid, abbot of Jarrow, Benedict also found a sympathetic and efficient coadjutor. ‘ He was,’ says Bede, ‘ a man of great perseverance and acute intellect, bold in action, experienced in judgement, and zealous in religion.’ When Benedict returned from Rome in 685 he found that a terrible blow had fallen upon the twin monasteries. A pestilence had carried off many of the monks of Wearmouth, and with them their beloved abbot. The last five days before his death Easterwin had spent in a private chamber, from which on the last day of his life he came out and sat in the open air. He sent for all the monks and took tender leave of them, giving to each weeping brother the kiss of peace. He died on 7 March, 685.^® Jarrow had suffered even more severely. All who could read or preach or say the antiphons and responses had been swept away by the pesti- lence, except Ceolfrid himself and one little boy whom the abbot brought up and educated, and who afterwards became a priest in the monastery.^® Raine, Hist. Ch. of York (Rolls Ser.), i, p. xxix. '* Arch. Aeliana, xxi, 264. Ibid. To York and Jarrow alone of English monasteries were addressed requests from abroad for books. Bede, Vit. Abbatum (ed. Stevenson), § 8. “Ibid. §15. “ Ibid. §§ 9, 10. Ibid. pref. pp. xii, xiii. As Bede entered the monastery at the age of seven in or about 681, and was brought up there [Sim. Dun. Hist. Reg. (Rolls Ser.), 29] he may very probably have been the boy who with Ceolfrid survived this visitation ; Arch. Aeliana xxii, 45. In addition to these disasters King Egfrid, the monks’ generous patron and benefactor, was killed in battle. May, 685.^^ After Easterwin’s death the brethren at Wear- mouth consulted with Ceolfrid as to the choice of a successor, and finally elected the deacon Sigfrid, a man skilled in theology, of courteous manners and temperate life ; he had an incurable disease of the lungs, and his disposition was chastened and sweetened by suffering. When Benedict returned he found Sigfrid duly installed. Benedict brought with him books and pictures ; and also two palls of silk of incomparable work, with which he purchased from King Aldfrid three hides of land on the south bank of the River Wear near its mouth. Soon after this Benedict was seized with paralysis of the lower limbs. In the three years during which he lingered in partial helplessness he gave many directions as to the conduct of his monasteries after his death, taking counsel with Abbot Sigfrid, whose end was also approaching, as to their government. He urged the brethren frequently and earnestly in making choice of an abbot to seek rather after probity of life and doctrine than after exalted birth, and desired that their selection should fall upon one of their own number. His wishes were obeyed ; when Sigfrid passed away, 22 August, 688, Ceolfrid was made abbot of both monasteries. Benedict died in the following January, and was buried in St. Peter’s, Wearmouth.^® Eor nearly twenty-seven years Ceolfrid ruled over Wearmouth and Jarrow. During that time he built several oratories, increased the number of the vessels and ornaments of the church, and doubled the number of books in the monastic library. He received from King Aldfrid eight hides of land near the River Fresca, in exchange for a beautiful codex work on cosmo- graphy. Afterwards he paid more and received, instead, twenty hides of land in a village called Sambuce, nearer the monastery.^® He obtained from Pope Sergius a bull of protection for Jarrow.^^ His work must have been arduous, for at the time of his resignation there were nearly six hundred brethren in the two monasteries,^^ each of which seems to have had two churches.^® In June, 715, finding age and infirmity creep- ing upon him, Ceolfrid announced his intention of going to Rome to die there. The brethren begged him on their knees not to forsake them. Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xi, 35. Bede, Vit. Abbatum (ed. Stevenson), § 9. Ibid. § 14. Ibid. §15; both sites are now unknown. Printed in Wilkins’ Concil. i, 63. Bede, ut supra, § 1 8. Arch. Aeliana, xxii, 43. While Ceolfrid was abbot Witmer gave to Wearmouth monastery ten hides of land in the vill of Daldon. [See Feod. Prior. Dunelm. 121.] 82 RELIGIOUS HOUSES but he remained firm in his determination. Early in the morning of Thursday, 4 June, all received the Holy Eucharist in the churches of St. Mary and St. Peter at Wearmouth, and the Abbot prepared for his journey. Having prayed before the altar in St. Peter’s, he blessed and censed the assembled brethren. Singing the Litany, their voices choked with tears, they went into the oratory of St. Lawrence, and there Ceolfrid bade them farewell, giving them his pardon for all transgressions, and asking their forgiveness and prayers for himself. Then they all went down to the shore, and the brethren knelt round him weeping, while he prayed and gave them the kiss of peace. The deacons of the church, carrying lighted tapers and a golden cross, entered the vessel with him. He passed over the stream, knelt in adoration before the cross, mounted his horse and rode away.^^ Huetbert was chosen abbot in his place. With some of the brethren he went at once to Ceolfrid, who had not yet embarked, and on Whitsunday, 7 June, received his approval and blessing. Ceol- frid never reached Rome, but died at Langres, 25 September, 715, aged seventy-four.^® Huetbert had been trained in the monastery from boyhood, and had been to Rome, where he had learned and copied everything which he thought useful or worthy to be brought away.^® He is said to have gained many privileges for the monastery. He took up the bones of Easterwin and Sigfrid and buried them in one coffin, divided by a partition, inside St. Peter’s Church, near the grave of Biscop.^^ During his abbacy the arts of writing and illuminating were pursued by the monks,' and they began to be noted also for bell-founding and metal-work.^® In 735 Bede died at Jarrow in his sixty-third year, and was buried there.^® His life from early childhood had been passed in the monastery, and the monks were constantly employed in making copies of his writings to be sent to distant lands. In a letter written in 764 to Lul, bishop of Maintz, Cuthbert, then abbot of Wearmouth and Jarrow, acknowledged the receipt of a request from the bishop for copies of Bede’s works. He said he was sending the ‘ Life of St. Cuthbert ’ in prose and verse ; he and his boys had done their best, but the bitter cold of the winter had so benumbed their hands that they had no more to send at present. He thanked the bishop for the gift of an embroidered rug ; it had been intended for his own use in the cold weather, but he had with great joy devoted it for a covering for the altar in St. Paul’s Church, as a thankoffering for his forty-six years in the monastery. Bede, Vit.Abbatum (ed. Stevenson), §§ 17-18. Ibid. §§ 18, 21-3 ; Raine, Hist. Ch. of York (Rolls Ser.), i, 387. Bede, ut supra, § 18. Ibid. § 20. Monumenta Moguntina, Epp. 61-2, 100. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 41-2. Abbot Cuthbert mentioned twenty knives, a bell, and some books which had been previously sent from Jarrow to the bishop, and asked him to send over a glass-worker, as the monks had forgotten the art taught by Benedict’s foreign workmen.®® Amongst the letters of Alcuin are two congratulating Ethelbald and Fridwin respec- tively on their several elections to the abbacy of the twin monasteries, but there is nothing to indicate the order or exact dates of their succes- sion.®® In another letter Alcuin told the monks of Wearmouth that all he saw whilst with them ®® of their domestic arrangements and manner of life pleased him exceedingly ; ®* but on yet another occasion he urged them to pay closer attention to the training of the boys in their charge, to educate them for teachers, and not to let them waste their time in hunting hares and foxes.®® In 794 the house at Jarrow was attacked and pillaged by the Danes, who, however, lost their leader and were defeated.®® Nearly a hundred years later both monasteries were devastated by the same savage foes,®^ and from that time until the Norman Conquest they were represented by churches, grievously despoiled indeed, but not wholly ruinous nor deserted. The priest Alfred of Westoe had attended the commemoration of Bede’s festival at Jarrow regularly for some years before, in 1022, he succeeded in carrying off the saint’s bones by stealth to Durham,®® and it is thought that though no restoration of the monas- tery buildings had taken place since the Danish invasion, some part of St. Peter’s Church had been so far repaired as to be usable by the inhabitants of the country round.®® This theory is borne out by the fact that in 1069, when Bishop Ethelwin and his companions fled from Durham to Lindisfarne with the body of St. Cuthbert, they found shelter on the first night of their journey in St. Paul’s Church,^® and in 1070 English fugitives took refuge at Wearmouth. In the former of these years King William attacked and fired the church at Jarrow;^® and in the latter year Malcolm, king of Scotland, in a raid, burnt down St. Peter’s, ‘himself looking on.’^® Monumenta Moguntina, (ed. Jaffe), Ep. 1 34. Lived 735-804. ” Monumenta Alcuiniana, Epp. 272-3. Probably before 780 ; see Diet. Nat. Biog. i, 239. Monumenta A Icuiniana, Ep. 274. “ Ibid. Ep. 27. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 56; Angl.- Sax. Chron. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 49 ; see Arch. Aeliana, (New Ser.), x, 203-4. Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), i, 393. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. c. xlii. Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xi, 43—4. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 100. Hoveden, Chronica (Rolls Ser.), i, i 2 1 . Sim. Dun. Hist. Cont. (Surt. Soc.), 85. Script. Tres. App. ccccxxiv. 83 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Some three or four years later a priest named Aldwin, prior of Winchcombe, conceived a desire to visit the northern monasteries. Coming to the abbey at Evesham he was joined by two companions, Elfwin and Reinfrid. They travelled forward on foot, taking only an ass to carry the books and vestments they needed for the cele- bration of divine service. They settled at New- castle [Monkchester], within the bishopric of Durham, but under the jurisdiction of the earl of Northumberland. Before long Walcher, bishop of Durham, sent to them, asking them to come and live where they would be under the immediate control of holy church. They acceded to his request, and he received them with great joy, giving them as a place of residence the monastery at Jarrow, of which only the roofless walls were then standing. Roofing it with un- trimmed beams and thatch, the monks began to celebrate divine service there, and built for themselves a little hut. The fame of their as- cetic life soon spread, and many abandoned the world and joined them. Bishop Walcher rejoiced greatly at the revival of monasticism, and to help the monks in the work of restoration and rebuilding gave them the vill of Jarrow with its dependencies, viz. Preston, Monkton, Hedworth, Hebburn, Westoe, and Harton.^ Waltheof, earl of Northumberland, bestowed on them the church of St. Mary at Tynemouth, with the body of St. Oswald which rested therein, and all lands, &c., belonging thereto.^® After a time Aldwin, desiring to revive other monasteries, left Elfwin in charge at Jarrow, went north accompanied by Turgot, and settled at Melrose. The bishop entreated them to return, and finally threatened them with excom- munication if they refused. In the end they obeyed, and Walcher gave them St. Peter’s monastery at Wearmouth, which was then totally ruined. Here they erected huts of boughs and taught the people, and here Turgot received the habit. They cleared away the trees and undergrowth from the ruins and rebuilt the church. Others soon joined them, and, inspired by their example, embraced the monastic life with fervour. Bishop Walcher frequently visited them, in- vited them to his councils, and generously assisted them. He intended to have joined their order, and to have established them in a permanent home near St. Cuthbert’s tomb. With this object in view he laid the foundations of the monastic buildings at Durham.^® But in May, 1080, he was murdered at Gateshead. The monks of Jarrow sailed up the Tyne and received into their little vessel the mutilated body of their friend and patron. They conveyed his remains Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 108—10. Script. Tres. App. xviii. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 1 12-13. to their monastery, whence they were afterwards removed to Durham.^^ Three years later Bishop William, anxious to find suitable inmates for the house at Durham, selected the brethren of Wearmouth and Jarrow, then twenty-three in number, as being the only regular monks in the diocese,^® and removed them to Durham, where Aldwin became the first prior.^® With them came Simeon the his- torian, who had been for some time at Jarrow,*® but was probably not yet a professed monk.*^ In explanation of this transference Bishop William represented to the pope that the size of his diocese did not admit of the existence of three monasteries,** but this does not seem a very adequate reason. From this time until the dissolution Wear- mouth and Jarrow remained cells under Durham, inhabited only by a few monks, and occasionally used as a retreat by the priors of St. Cuthbert after their resignation.*® The history of Wear- mouth consists chiefly of disputes and litigation with the powerful barons of Hilton, relative to burial rights and to contested claims to tithes and offerings.*^ In 1144 William Cumin the younger attacked the bishop of Durham at Jarrow, but Aldwin’s walls proved strong enough to resist his on- slaught.** A contest took place early in the fourteenth century between the prior of Durham and the archdeacons of Durham and Northumberland, about the jurisdiction of dependent churches belonging to the abbey. Wearmouth and Jarrow were reserved to the prior, who had always exercised archidiaconal control over them.*® In 1394 Jarrow was granted to ex-Prior Robert of Walworth in lieu of Finchale. If he were disturbed by a Scottish invasion he was to have Coldingham instead.*^ Both cells were dissolved amongst the smaller monasteries in 1536.*® The annual value of Jarrow is given by Dugdale as ;^38 141. t^d.., and by Speed as "]$. Zd. ; and that of Wear- mouth by Dugdale as ^25 8s. 4^., and by Speed as ^^26 gs. gd. Wearmouth was granted to Thomas Whitehead,*® and Jarrow to William Lord Eure.®® Ibid. 1 16-17. Arch. Aeliana, xxii, 51. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 122—3. *“ See Sim. Hist. Reg. (Rolls Ser.), 260. ** See Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), Introd. xii. *^ Arch. Aeliana, xx, 53. Ibid, x, 208-9. ^ Surt. Hist. Dur. ii, 7, 38. Full details of these quarrels are given in Inventories and Account Rolls oj Wearmouth and J arrow (Surt. Soc.), App. 240-7. ** Sim. Dun. Hist. Cont. § 6. Graystanes, Historia (Surt. Soc.), 103-10. Script. Tres. (Surt. Soc.), App. clxxiv-v. *® Invent, and Acct. Rolls (Surt. Soc.), xxv. Pat. 18 June, 37 Hen. VIII. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), i, 503. 84 RELIGIOUS HOUSES Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow Benedict Biscop, 674 ; d. January, 689-90 Easterwin (Wearmouth), app. 681, d. 685 Ceolfrid (Jarrow), app. 681 ; (from 689, both houses) ; res. 715 Sigfrid (Wearmouth), app. 685 ; d. 689 Huetbert (both houses), elected 715 Cuthbert (both houses), occ. 764 Ethelbald, between 764 and 804 Fridwin, between 764 and 804 Aldwin (Jarrow), 1074 ; (Wearmouth), 1075; removed to Durham, 1083 Elfwin, app. c. 1075 ; removed to Durham, 1083 Masters of Jarrow Ralph of Midelham, occ. before 1303 Thomas de Castro, procurator, 1313 William of Harton, 1313 William of Thirsk (Treks), 1313 Geoffrey of Haxeby, 1313 William of Harton, 1314 Robert of Durham, 1321 Emeric de Lumley, 1326 Alexander of Lamesley, 1333 Emeric de Lumley, 1338 John of Beverley, 1340 Thomas de Graystanes, 1344 John of Goldisburgh, 1350 John of Norton, 135 — Richard of Bikerton, 1355 John of Goldisburgh, 1357 John Abell, 1358 John of Elwick, 1363 Richard of Segbroke, John ofTikhill, 1367 John of Bolton, 1369 John de Lumley, 1370 William Vavasour, 1373 John de Lumley, 1376 Thomas Legat, 1381 Walter of Teesdale, 1402 Thomas of Lyth, app. 3 October, 1408 Walter of Teesdale, app. 1410 Robert of Masham, 1411 John Moreby, 1415 Robert Masham, 1417 William Graystanes, 1419 John Moreby, 1422 Thomas Moreby, 1424 John Durham the younger, 1431 John Barlay, app. 15 April, 1443 For references, see above. Invent, and Acct. Rolls (Surt. Soc.), xiv-xvi. The names are taken in almost every case from the yearly account rolls. John Mody, sacr. pag. prof., app. i Septem- ber, 1446 John Bradebery, app. 2 April, 1452 Thomas Warde, app; 1457 Thomas Hexham, app. 23 July, 1467 Richard Wrake, app. 28 May, 1476 Robert Werdale, app. 10 November, 1477 Robert Knowt, 1479 Robert Billingham, 1480 John Swan, 1489 Robert Billingham, 1493 John Hamsterley, app. 31 May, 1495 Henry Dalton, 1500 John Danby, 1503 William Hawkwell, 1517 John Swalwell, 1531 Masters of Wearmouth®^ Robert of Durham, 1321 Alan of Marton, 1337 Hugh of Wodeburn, 1343 John of Neuton, 1349 John of Shafto, 1360 Richard of Bekyngham, 1360 John of Neuton, 1367 John of Bishopton, 1369 JohnAklyfF, 1387 Thomas Launcells, 1388 Thomas Legat, 1395 William of Cawood, 1399 John of Hutton, 1400 John Repon, app. 14 June, 1409 Thomas of Witton, app. 17 June, 1413 Thomas Moreby, 1425 Robert Moreby, 1430 William Lyham, app. 14 June, 1435 Thomas Bradebery, 1446 John Midelham, 1452 Richard Blakburn, 1456 John Bradbery, app. 1458 John Auckland, 1466 Richard Wrake, app. 5 May, 1470 ; recalled, 29 May, 1471 Robert West, app. 29 May, 1471 William Cuthbert, 1482 William Chambre,®^ i486 William Cauthorne, 1490 William Cuthbert, app. 1491 Richard Evenwood, app. 1497 Henry Dalton, app. 24 May, 1501 Robert Stroder, app. 1506 Richard Evenwood, app. 31 May, 1513 John Swalwell, 1526 Richard Heryngton, 1533 Invent, and Acct. Rolls (Surt. Soc.), xviii-xix. Names taken from the account rolls. The historian. 85 A HISTORY OF DURHAM HOUSES OF BENEDICTINE MONKS 7. THE PRIORY OF ST. CUTHBERT, DURHAM The Benedictine Priory of St. Cuthbert at Durham was founded by Bishop William of St. Carileph in 1083.^ From the time when Bishop Aldwin in 995 brought the body of St. Cuthbert from Chester-le-Street and built ‘ the White Church on Dunholme ’ for its re- ception,^ divine worship had been maintained there, and the church served by a body of secular clergy to whom generous gifts of lands, &c., had been made by Cnut and other benefactors.^ These secular canons, with their wives and children,^ were driven out by Bishop William, and replaced by the monks of the newly restored monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow.® To this course, in which he was supported by both papal and royal authority, the bishop was moved by the appalling state of desolation to which his diocese had been reduced. Three times during the previous fourteen years it had been deluged with blood and fire. The few inhabitants who survived were in a state of penury ; the country lay wild and waste ; and even the church itself was plundered and neglected. The bishop, anxious for the restoration alike of religion and of civilization in his diocese, and finding on inquiry that St. Cuthbert, whether living or dead, had ever been served by monks, determined to found a monastery in the place where the saint’s body lay ; and in the end carried out his design, though not without some remonstrance from the ejected canons, only one of whom could be induced to take the monastic vows and remain in his former home. The lands of the church were divided between the bishopric and the monastery. Aldwin, prior of Wearmouth, the restorer of monasticism in northern England, became the first prior of Durham, and on his death in 1087 ceeded by Turgot.® In the following year Bishop William was banished by the king, and dwelt for three years in Normandy. During this period the monks lived under the king’s protection and went on with the building of their house, completing the refectory. At length the bishop returned, bringing with him numerous gold and silver vessels, and a store of books for the church. Not long afterwards he pulled down the old Saxon church, and on ii August, 1093, he and Prior Turgot, in the presence of all the brethren, ' Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 122. ’ Ibid. 78—82. ^ See ante ‘ Eccles. Hist.’ * Arch. Land, xlv, 394—5. ‘ See above, Wearmouth and Jarrow. ® Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 1 18-22. laid the foundation stone of the great cathedral.^ The monks then continued the erection of the monastic buildings at their own expense, the bishop taking that of the church entirely upon himself. The work was carried on with great vigour, and when Bishop William died in January, 1096-7, the chapter-house was so far advanced towards completion as to be considered a fitting burial-place for him.® In 1104 the remains of St. Cuthbert were translated with great state to the shrine prepared for them in the new church.® Bishop William’s successor, Ralph Flambard, though he considered that Prior Turgot usurped too much authority in the diocese,^® proceeded with the building of the church, completed the nave, gave a great number of vestments, and enlarged and improved the monastery.^^ The death in 1 1 15 of Turgot,^® who had been promoted to the bishopric of St. Andrews, brought to a close the initial period of the history of the priory. At the risk of anticipating in various details, it is thought that a short account of the way in which the interior life of the convent was carried on from day to day, and the services of the church were conducted, may throw some light upon the events of later years.^® The day’s work apparently began at six a.m., when the servant (or scholar) of the sacristan took his post beside the awmry in the Nine Altars, where he remained until the end of high mass to give out the singing-bread and wine to those who assisted the monks to celebrate the divine office. The sacristan himself, part of whose duty it was to lock up every night the awmries belonging to the various altars,®^ came into the church at seven o’clock, and proceeded to lay out the keys on the top of the key-cupboard, whence the monks fetched them as they were required. At eight he retired into the chapter- house to pray for the founders and benefactors of the house ; and at nine a bell rang out, sum- moning the brethren to the chapter mass. ' Ibid. 127—9. Hoveden says. Chronica (Rolls Ser.), i, 145, that Malcolm, king of Scots, was also present, and took part in the ceremony. ® Ibid. 129-34. ® Reginald Dun. Libellus (Surt. Soc.), cap. xl-xliii. Will, of Malmesb. Gest.Pont. (Rolls Ser.), 273. " Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), 140. Hoveden, Chron. (Rolls Ser.), i, 170. The following account is taken almost entirely from the Rites of Dur. (Surt. Soc.), to which there- fore only this general reference will be made. Many of the details, of course, belong to a period consider- ably later than 1 1 1 5, but they are placed here for the sake of coherence. Every altar had two chalices, two cruets, and a double set of vestments and ornaments. 86 RELIGIOUS HOUSES During the morning everyone was fully occu- pied. The masters of the novices, of the song- school, and of the farmery school, were busy with their respective scholars. The bursar was engaged in receiving rents, paying wages, and generally superintending the financial affairs of the house, in his little stone office near the kitchen. All the officers of the house had to account to him for the money entrusted to them for special purposes. The cellarer overlooked the food supplies, regulated the expenses of the kitchen, and arranged for the proper serving of meals. The terrer, whose office, or ‘checker,’ was near the guest-hall, was responsible for the comfort of all guests. He saw to the ordering of their chamber, the supply of bed and table- linen for their use, and of provender for their horses ; provided wine for strangers, and super- intended the four yeomen told off to attend on them. The keeper of the garners supplied the household with corn. The chamberlain, with the assistance of a tailor who worked in the ‘ sartry,’ or tailor’s shop, near the chamberlain’s checker, provided clothing for the brethren, i.e. frocks, girdles, and boots, with underclothing, sheets, socks, &c., of linsey-woolsey, no linen being allowed to the monks. The sacristan, whose office was no sinecure, provided bread, wine, wax, and lights for the services ; arranged for necessary repairs to the windows, bells, &c., of the church ; saw to the cleaning of it ; and was also responsible for the convent’s lands of Sacristanhaugh and St. Margaret’s Wood. His checker, where he carried on business and took his meals, was within the church in the north aisle. The labours of the prior’s chaplain were almost entirely confined to the household of the lord prior himself. He controlled the servants, paid them their wages, provided all that was wanted for the table, and purchased the prior’s apparel. His office was over the stairs of the hall, and he slept in a room next the prior him- self. The deputy-prior kept the keys of the shrines of SS. Cuthbert and Bede, and superin- tended the opening of the former when visitors brought offerings, and also during the Te Deum at mattins and the Magnificat at evensong, and of the latter when St. Bede’s bones were to be carried in procession. He was sometimes called the master of the feretory. Perhaps the most congenial employment was that of the master of the common-house. It was his duty to keep a hogshead of wine and a good fire in the common-house for the monks. This was the only fire to which they had access, the officers of the house excepted, and in the bitter northern winters it must have been much appreciated. To the common-house belonged also a garden and a bowling-alley, where the “ i.e. infirmary. master stood by during games to see good order kept. When Lent drew near he provided figs, walnuts, and ‘such spices as should be comfort- able for the monks for their great austerity of prayer and fasting ’ ; and on ‘ the day called O Sapientia, between Martinmas and Christmas,’ he kept a feast — ‘a solemn banquet of figs, raisins, ale, and cakes,’ in which the prior and convent shared ; ‘ and thereof was no superfluity or excess, but a scholastical and moderate con- gratulation amongst themselves.’ With these and the like occupations for the officers of the house, and other work for the humbler brethren, the time must have passed quickly till eleven o’clock, when the bell at the conduit-door rang, summoning all to wash and dine. Having washed their hands at the marble laver in the cloister,^® and dried them on clean towels from the awmry by the frater-house door, of which every monk had a key, the brethren filed in to dinner. This meal was an affair of some ceremony. The monks dined in what was called ‘ the loft,’ up some stairs at the wes*- end of the frater-house ; they, as also the prior, were served from the great kitchen. The tables were furnished with table-cloths, salt-cellars, and mazers or drinking-bowls. Every monk had his own mazer, edged with silver double-gilt. There were also at the high table a basin and ewer of latten, the ewer shaped like a huntsman on horseback, used by the sub-prior to wash his hands at table. He always dined and supped with the convent, said grace for them, and was responsible for their good behaviour during meals. The novices and their master dined at ‘a fair table set up at the east end of the frater-house, with a decent screen of wainscot over it.’ One of their number, standing in a window-recess fitted with a desk, read during the meal a chapter of the Bible in Latin, which being ended, the master tolled a gilt bell hanging above his head, on which another novice came to the high table and said grace, and they departed to their books. The ‘children of the almonry had their meals in a loft on the north side of the abbey gates, and were supplied with food from the novices’ table. The prior who, except on rare occasions, dined in his own house, sent portions from his table to four old women who lived in the farmery outside the south gate of the abbey, each having a separate chamber. The daily allowance of food for a monk of Durham seems to have consisted of a loaf of bread, two justicias of ale, two portions of pulse See Arch. Lend. Ivili, 437. Poor children supported by the benevolence of the house. They were taught in the ‘ farmery- school ’ outside the abbey gates, which was founded and maintained by the priors at their own cost. Known as the ‘monks’ justice.’ 87 A HISTORY OF DURHAM or beans, and two commons of flesh or fish.*® In the early fifteenth century 666 red herrings were purchased every week for the convent, besides white herrings, salmon, ‘ dog-draves,’ eels, turbot, and many other kinds of fish, some from Iceland, then the great emporium of stock- fish.®* The prior and the more distinguished guests of the house drank wine of various kinds, while a liquor called ‘ ptisan,’ probably equiva- lent to single ale, was brewed in great quanti- ties at festivals for the use of the tenants and populace.®® Dinner over, the monks went out to the cemetery and stood bareheaded amongst the graves of their brethren for a long time, praying for the departed ; they then adjourned to the cloister for study. The windows of the north cloister were glazed, and in each window were three narrow pews or carrells. These carrells, each of which only extended from one stanchion to another, were separated by woodwork screens, and each con- tained a desk. Opposite, against the church wall, were cupboards full of books.®® Each of the elder monks had a carrell to himself, and the library also was used for purposes of study. A porter kept the door of the cloister that none might enter to disturb the workers, who were occupied chiefly in writing or copying the Holy Scriptures, lives of the saints, classical works, the acts of the bishops and priors of Durham, and more general histories. Meanwhile in the west cloister the master of the novices, one of the oldest of the monks, taught his scholars. There were six of them, and they sat in ‘a fair stall of wainscot,’ while he had ‘a pretty seat of wainscot’ opposite. Besides teaching them, it was the master’s duty to see that they had a sufficient supply of cowls, frocks, linsey-woolsey [%tammyne) for under- clothing, and socks, boots, and bedding. Specially clever and promising pupils he reported to the prior, who sent them to Oxford to study divinity. At the end of their seven years of training the novices were expected ‘ to understand their Service and the Scriptures.’ Then they sang Surt. Hist. Dur. i (2), 211 «. Probably large salted codfish from the Dogger Bank. The word is peculiar to Durham monastic accounts, where it occurs with great frequency. Gent. Mag. 1857 (2), p. 77 ; Dur. Household Bk. (Surt. Soc.), passim. ” Ibid. Some of the books belonging to the convent were kept in the spendiment or chancery, and some in the refectory ; Cat. Libror. Eccles. Gath. Dun. (Surt. Soc.), v. At the beginning of some of these volumes may still be seen some such inscription as the follow- ing : — ‘ This book belongs to the ninth armariolo in the cloister or, ‘ From the common library of the IDurham monks (MSS. Eccles. Dun. B. i, 7, 24, &c.), followed by anathemas on any who should steal the books. their first mass, receiving on the occasion a small sum of money — perhaps to enable them to feast their brethren ; ®^ and thenceforward they were paid ‘ wages ’ of 20J. per annum in lieu of cloth- ing. No monk received more than this unless he held some office in the house. At three o’clock came evensong, followed by supper, which ended at five, when a bell rang to give warning for grace. Then all departed to the chapter-house, where the prior met them, and they remained in prayer and devotion till six. At that hour all the doors were locked and the sub-prior took charge of the keys till seven o’clock on the following morning. A bell now summoned all to the Salve. Every night as darkness fell one of the twelve cressets near the choir-door of the lantern was lighted in preparation for the midnight service. The long dormitory was divided by wooden partitions into a double row of narrow cubicles, each lighted by a separate window. Every monk had a cubicle to himself, containing a bed and a desk for books. The novices slept in a row of cubicles at the south end of the dormitory ; these were not so warm as the other chambers, and were boarded in on either side and above, having no light but what came in at the doorway. At each end of the dormitory was a square stone with twelve cressets which served to give light. The sub-prior, whose chamber was close to the entrance, was responsible for the behaviour of the brethren at night. Twice during the night he called to the sleepers, going to every cubicle to make sure that no one was missing ; ®® and when the three bells chimed out from the lantern-tower at midnight he roused them to go down to the church for mattins. The discipline of the monastery does not seem to have been unusually severe, though good order was maintained, and complaints of evil conduct on the part of the Durham monks are few and far between. Offenders, however, there were no doubt from time to time ; and for those who needed more severe punishment than that imposed on Robert Stichill ®® there were two prisons in the convent — one a cell above ground for less guilty persons near the chapter-house, and the other a strong dungeon called the lying-house, beneath the room of the master of the farmery. Monks convicted of felony, immorality, &c., were impri- soned there for a year, in chains, alone except Dur. Household Bk. (Surt. Soc.), 340. “ This precaution was not unnecessary. Robert Stichill (afterwards bishop of Durham), when a young monk, tried to escape from the church in the night, and was only stopped by a heavenly voice which he heard as he passed the cross on the north side of the choir ; Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xx, 73. For some minor offence he was sentenced to sit on a stool by himself in the middle of the choir during service ; but losing his temper he seized the stool and flung it full at the startled congregation. 88 RELIGIOUS HOUSES for the few moments each day when the trap- door above was opened and the master let down their food by a cord. ‘Temporal men’ belong- ing to the house when guilty of serious offences were punished by the secular power. The monks were not seldom called upon to afford sanctuary to criminals and suspects fleeing from the rough-and-ready justice of mediaeval days. At Durham the privilege of sanctuary extended to the church and churchyard. Persons taking refuge fled to the north door of the cathe- dral and knocked for admittance, using probably the large knocker that is still upon the door. Over this door there were two chambers in which men were lodged at night for the purpose of admitting such fugitives at any hour. When any person was so admitted the Galilee bell was immediately tolled to give notice that some one had taken sanctuary. The offender was required to declare in the presence of witnesses the nature of his offence, and to toll a bell in token of his demanding the privilege. He was then provided with a gown of black cloth, having St. Cuthbert’s cross in yellow on the left shoulder. Near the south door of the Galilee was a grate on which these fugitives slept, and they were supplied with provision and bedding at the expense of the house for thirty-seven days.^^ Four bell-ringers were kept in the church ; two belonged to the vestry, had charge of the copes and ornaments, and slept in a room above the vestry ; the other two slept in a room over the north aisle, kept the church clean, and locked the doors at night. Very early on Sunday morning they filled the holy-water stoups with clear water, and one of the monks came in and hallowed it. Every Sunday afternoon one of the brethren preached in the Galilee from one o’clock till three. On Fridays the ‘Jesus mass’ was sung at the Jesus altar in the body of the church, and after evensong in the choir the ‘Jesus anthem’ was sung by the choristers on their knees while one of the Galilee bells tolled. There appear to have been no less than five organs in the church. Three belonged to the choir, of which one was used only on high festivals, one when the four doctors of the church were read, and the third at the usual daily services. The fourth organ was in the Galilee, and was used daily at Our Lady’s mass by the master of the song-school ; while the fifth stood in a loft by the Jesus altar, and was used at the Jesus mass on Fridays.*® During Lent the children of the almonry came daily to the north aisle of the choir where, beneath a staircase, was kept the great ornament known as ‘ the Paschal,’ which it was their duty to ‘dress, trim, and make bright for Easter.’ Sanctuarium Dunelm. (Surt. Soc.), xlv-xvi. viz. St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, and St. Jerome. Arch. Journ. xlv, 430, 431. This Paschal was, in tact, an enormous seven- branched candlestick, much enriched with carving and gilding, and in size, when set up, nearly as wide as the choir, and so high that the topmost candle — the Paschal candle par excellence — could only be lighted by means of ‘ a fine conveyance through the roof of the Church.’ It was set up on Maundy Thursday against the first step of the choir, behind the three silver basins that hung before the high altar, and remained there till the octave of Ascension Day. It was considered to be ‘ one of the rarest monuments in England.’ On the Monday in Holy Week the brethren went in procession to St. Oswald’s church ; on Tuesday to St. Margaret’s, and on Wednesday to St. Nicholas’. Maundy Thursday was a busy day in the convent. Early in the morning thir- teen poor old men, ‘ having their feet clean washed,’ came to the cloister and seated them- selves on a long carved bench brought out of the church for the purpose. To them at nine o’clock came the prior, attended by all his monks. Certain prayers were said, and then the prior washed and kissed their feet ; after which he gave them each thirty pence in money and seven red-herrings, serving them himself with drink, three loaves apiece, and certain wafer- cakes. Meanwhile the monks did the same to a row of children sitting on a stone bench in the south cloister. More prayers followed, and then ‘they did all depart in great holiness.’ After this there was a great procession round the church, the prior wearing his cope and mitre, and the monks carrying St. Cuthbert’s banner and all the relics. At night the prior and con- vent met again, this time in the frater-house, using on this occasion only the large silver-gilt mazer called the Judas cup. On the altar of Our Lady of Bolton stood a hollow image of the Blessed Virgin with double doors which, when opened, revealed the figure of the Saviour, holding in His upraised hands a large crucifix of solid gold. On Good Friday two of the monks removed this crucifix and brought it down to the lowest step of the choir, where they held it while all the brethren, from the prior downwards, barefooted, crept up to it on their knees and kissed it. It was then reverently placed in the sepulchre on the north side of the choir, together with another image of Christ, in the breast of which was inclosed the holy Sacrament of the altar. Long prayers followed, and finally two tapers were lighted and set to burn before the sepulchre till Easter Day. Between three and four o’clock on Easter morning two of the oldest monks, each bearing a silver censer, came to the sepulchre, knelt down Eighteen in some MSS. of the Rites. By which the feelings of the prior were saved, and much of the significance and beauty of the ceremony lost. 2 89 12 A HISTORY OF DURHAM and censed it ; then, rising, took out of it an image of the risen Lord, with the holy Sacra- ment inclosed in crystal in its breast. This they brought and set on the high altar, all the monks singing the anthem of Christus resurgens. Then the image was carried in procession round the church under a canopy of rich purple velvet borne by four ancient gentlemen, and was finally replaced on the altar, to remain there until Ascension Day. Processions were held on most of the principal holy-days ; on Whit Sunday and Trinity Sunday round the church, bearing the banner and relics ; on Corpus Christi round Palace Green with the Corpus Christi shrine ; on St. Mark’s Day to Bow Church, where a service was held. In every procession the shrine containing St. Bede’s bones was carried by four monks, and afterwards replaced in his tomb. St. Cuthbert’s Day was of course a great festival. The cover of his shrine was raised, as on certain other days, that the faithful might behold the jewels and other relics in the feretory ; and the whole convent kept open house in the frater, dining all together on that day alone of all days in the year. Across the church from north to south ran a line of blue marble in the pavement with a cross in it. Beyond this no woman might pass ; and any woman transgressing this rule, or enter- ing the precincts of the abbey, was liable to severe punishment. Early in the twelfth cen- tury Helisend, the queen of Scotland’s chamber- maid, disguised herself in a black cope and hood and secretly entered the church ; but she was discovered and forcibly ejected by Bernard the sacristan, whose language on the occasion does him little credit either as a man or a monk.^® Again in 1417 two maidservants from New- castle tried to penetrate to St. Cuthbert’s fere- tory, clad in masculine attire. They also were detected, and sentenced to walk in the same dress in procession on various festival days round the churches of St. Nicholas and All Saints, Newcastle. There was also a strict rule that all riders approaching the church should dismount at the gate of the churchyard. A certain knight in the time of Henry II essayed to ride up to the door, but judgement descended on him, his horse falling and rolling him in the mud.^® A curious dispute arose in the fourteenth cen- tury between a certain rector of St. Mary’s in the South Bailey, and the prior of Durham. The rector asserted that he had a right to enter the prior’s hall on festival days, quasi ” St. Cuthbert, having been in his youth betrayed by a woman, would never willingly allow any female to approach him ; and the monks thought it right to observe the same rule with regard to his remains. Reginald Dun. Libellus (Surt. Soc.), c, Ixxiv. Bourne, Hist. Newcastle, 208. “ Reginald Dun. Libellus (Surt. Soc.), c, cxxvii. propositus., and to celebrate prayers ; and on lesser days to read the Gospel, to sprinkle holy water in the brewhouse, bakehouse, and kitchen ; and there to receive a commons of bread, beer, and flesh or fish. He also said that the tithes of the monastery gardens were his by right. All these claims, which he grounded on the fact that a great portion of his parish lay within the walls of the monastery, the prior utterly denied. The case was submitted to arbitration, and was finally given against the rector ; but the prior of good will granted him parochial dues from the servants of the priory living within his parish, and tithes of the prior’s garden after his own table was supplied. In 1388 the then rector urged his right ex officio to eat three days a week at the prior’s table; and in 1434 the prior granted to John Burgham, rector of St. Mary’s, an annual pension of 131. t^d. during his incumbency in recompense of the tithes of the gardens ‘for- merly within the limits of the said parish, but now within the septa of the monastery,’ in lieu of which tithes the rector used on certain days to eat within the abbey. He also granted to the rector a garment de secta clericorum every year for his good service ; and thus for a mark and a customary sable suit at Christmas the rector became a retainer of the house of Durham.®® In early days the church, made doubly safe by its great strength and high degree of sanctity, was sometimes used as a temporary place of deposit for gold or treasure. In 1255 Henry III excited the wrath of the monks by seizing some gold which had been left for safe-keeping at St. Cuthbert’s shrine ; and a century and a half later Henry V wrote to a priest of Durham to inquire about some treasure which he had placed in charge of the late prior (John of Heming- brough), two of his monks, and a man called Middleton. The priest at once wrote to the new prior (John Wessington), and told him to allow no chest or other ‘ instrument ’ that might contain gold or gems to be removed from the priory or church without the king’s knowledge. Four times a year, at the festivals of the Purification, Easter, the nativity of St. John the Baptist, and All Saints, the prior withdrew from Durham to one of his manor houses, usually to Bearpark [Beaurepaire], Bewley, Pittington, or Wardley, attended by his officers and a con- siderable number of the monks, for the purposes of feasting and relaxation. These periods of recreation were known as the ‘ Ludi Prioris ’ ; and, if we may judge by the provision made for Surt. Hist. Dur. iv ; Addend. 162. Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), v, 507-8. Cotton MS. Vesp. F. xiii, fol. 30. In 1323 a chest containing some important accounts was deposited by the king’s order in the treasury of Durham Cathe- dral, and the monks were made responsible for it ; Close, jy Edw. II, m. 42. 90 RELIGIOUS HOUSES them, were largely attended by the people of the neighbourhood in which they were held, who in all probability were permitted to witness an exhibition of miracle-plays or mysteries.^® When a prior of Durham resigned his office on account of age or infirmity, provision was usually made for his support in one of the cells of the monastery. Thus on the resignation of Prior William of Tanfield in 1313, the cell of Jarrow and manor of Wardley were assigned to him for his maintenance.^® He lived for nearly thirty years after his retirement, and meanwhile his successor. Prior Geoffrey of Burdon, also resigned (1322). To him was assigned for his support the cell of Wearmouth,^^ with the tithes of Wearmouth and Fulwell.'*® When a Durham monk fell sick he was carried, with all his belongings, from the dormi- tory to the infirmary, where be could have a fire and other comforts. If he seemed unlikely to recover the prior’s chaplain was sent for, and remained with him to the end. After death the convent barber came, and, removing the garments from the corpse, wrapped it in cowl and habit, putting on also the socks and boots. It was then taken to the ‘ dead man’s chamber ’ (below the library of later times) and left there till nightfall, when it was removed to St. Andrew’s chapel adjoining (which was only used for purposes of solemn devotion), where it lay till eight o’clock on the following morning. Two monks, nearest in kindred or kindness to the dead man, knelt all night at the feet of the corpse, and the children of the almonry knelt on either side, reading over the psalter. In the morning the body was taken to the chapter- house, where it was received by the prior and the whole convent, who said dirges and devo- tions ; after which it was carried through the ‘ parler ’ into the centry-garth, where it was buried, a chalice of wax being laid on the breast. During the funeral four monks held the blue bed of the dead man over the grave, and one peal was rung. In the case of a prior a fair marble stone was placed on the grave, and the little chalice was sometimes of silver or some other metal. The body of Prior Fossour, who died in 1374, was wrapped in an oxhide.^ When a bishop was to be buried at Durham the prior and monks met the body at the ‘ Church-garth gate at the Palace Green,’ and brought it either into the church, or through Dur. Household Bk. (Surt. Soc.), 339. Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Scr.), i, 362. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), i, 230. ** Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. ii, 88. “ This bed afterwards became the property of the barber. Surt. Soc. Publ. vol. ii, 91 ; there is a record of a similar burial at a later date in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn. the church to the chapter-house, as the case might be, for burial. The body was dressed in the mass vestments with mitre and crozier. On the breast lay a little chalice of silver, metal, or wax gilt at the edges. By an ancient custom the horses, the ‘ charette ’ or car, and all other things that came with the bishop’s body became the property of the prior and convent.'*^ There does not appear to have been much communication between Durham Priory and religious houses in other parts of the kingdom. This may have been due partly to its rather isolated position in the wild northern country, and partly to the consistently independent charac- ter of the bishopric as a whole, which could not but affect every institution within its limits. At an early date, probably in the thirteenth century, the convent entered into agreements with various other religious houses to mutually recite prayers for departed brethren;^® and in 1464, on the death of Prior Burnby, his successor and the convent entrusted a letter, commemorative of the virtues of Priors Burnby and William Ebchester, to one or more monks, and sent them to ask the prayers of other monasteries throughout the king- dom for the souls of those priors. The roll proves that they visited at least 623 houses, each of which promised to pray for the deceased priors, receiving in return an interest in the prayers of the Durham monks.^^ Space does not admit of a separate mention of every grant of land made to the monastery ; but King John in February, 1203—4, confirmed to the prior and convent all their privileges and possessions, and his charter states that they then owned the following lands, &c., viz. lands in Durham city and across the bridge with a gar- den ; Elvet with its church ; Shincliffe [Sine- cliue] ; Staindrop and Staindropshire with the church ; Burdon ; Blakiston [Blecheston] ; Bil- lingham with its church ; Coupon (?) [Cupum] with all its land of Wolviston, Barmston, Skirningham, Ketton, and Aycliffe [Acle] with its church ; Woodham [Wudum] ; Ferryhill [Ferie] ; the church of St. John with its vill ; Merrington ; Middleham Church with the chapel and adjoining lands; Trellesden ; the two Pittingtons with the church ; Moorsley ; Hurdwick ; the two Raintons with the vill of Cocken ; the two Hesledens with the church ; Dalton with its church ; Heldun ; Wearmouth with its church ; South wick ; Fulwell ; Westoe [Wiuestou] ; Harton [Hertedon] ; Preston ; Hurworth [Hethewrth] ; Jarrow [Girwuum] with its church and fisheries in the Tyne ; St. Hilda’s church ; Hebburn [Heb’me] ; At the time of Bishop Hatfield’s death a dispute on this point occurred between his executors and Prior Walworth, of which an interesting account is given by Chambre ; Angl. Sacr. 771. MSS. Eccles. Dun. B. iv, 24, 4. Ibid. B. iv, 48. 91 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Monkton ; the two Haworths ; Foletby ; with all other churches, lands, meadows, mills, rents, &c., held by them between Tyne and Tees. In Northumbria (sic) they held Wallsend with its chapel ; Willington [Wivelington] ; and land in Cramlington. In the Tyne, a fishery which Nicholas Grenville gave to St. Cuthbert. Across the Tees the churches of Northallerton [Alver- ton] and ‘Materebrunton the chapel of Dicton and other chapels ; and the churches of ‘ Werke- shale’ and ‘Siggeston.’ In York City, the churches of All Saints, St. Peter, and Holy Trinity, with all their lands and possessions in that city. In Yorkshire, Holtby church with three carucates of land ; Skipwith (?) [Scipwiz] church with two bovates of land ; four carucates of land in Everthorpe (?) [Evcrtorp] ; six carucates in Cave (?) [Caue] ; fourteen and a half bovates of land in Grentingham ; a carucate and a half in ‘Luchefeld’; two carucates in Cleve (?)'[Clif] ; a mill in Appleton ; the vill of Hemingbrough, with its church, mill, waters, meadows, and woods ; two carucates with woods and waters in Brackenholme ; one carucate with a v/ood and waters in Grimsthorpe ; the church of Howden with a carucate of land and the chapel of Eastrington with its appurtenances ; the churches of Welton, Walkington, and Brantingham with the chapel of ‘ Alrecher ’ ; Hundesley ; Middle- hill ; and two carucates of land and a mill in Droeton. In Lincoln city, the land which belonged to Wulget, and the land given by Hunfr’ and his nephew. In Lincolnshire, six bovates of land at Cleatham ; the church of Blyborough with ten bovates of land ; three bovates with a mill and sixteen acres of land and meadow in Stainton ; the church of Kirkby with nine bovates of land of lay fee with wood and meadow, with the chapel of Birchwood ; the church of Biscathorpe with a mill in that vill and the tithes of Wispington ; a manse in Torkesey ; at Stamford, St. Mary’s Church near the bridge, with eight manses and half a carucate of land and meadow belonging to them ; and outside the borough St. Leonard’s monastery^® with its appurtenances ; half a bovate of land in Rippingale ; and the lesser church of St. Mary. In Nottinghamshire, two carucates of land with an adjoining meadow at Gotham ; six bovates with a meadow at ‘ Chirlingegastoca ’ ; at Nor- manton, the church with its appurtenances, five carucates of land, two mills and a meadow ; ten bovates with a meadow in Bunny Gay ton ; five and a half carucates of land in Kingston ; a carucate of land with a meadow in Barton. In Notting- This was one of the cells of Durham Priory ; the others were Coldingham, Holy Island, Fame Island, Wearmouth, Jarrow, Finchale, and Lytham in the north ; and Durham College, Oxford, in the south. There was also at one time a cell at Warkworth for two Durham monks, endowed by Bishop Farnham. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 651. ham itself, the land of Onicar son of Alnot monetarii ; two manses, the gift of Azur son of Ulsag; and a carucate of land called Nunewica- thornes. In Northumberland, Bedlington church with the chapel of Cambois and all its appendages ; Fame Island and the adjacent islands ; the church of Holy Island with all its chapels, and the lands and wastes adjacent ; Fennum (5/V), and what they have in Elwick ; the church of Norham with its chapels, lands, waters, and appurten- ances ; and the vill of ‘Sorwurth.’ Across the Tweed, Coldingham with the church of the same vill and all things thereto belonging, viz. Aldecambus with its church, Lumsden, Rainton, and Greenwood, and the two Ristons, Aldgrave, Swinewood, and the two Eytons with mills, and Prendelgest with a mill ; Ederham, and the church of that vill with all its chapels ; the two Swintons with a church ; the two Lambertons with a church ; Berwick Church ; Eishwick with a church ; Paxton ; Nesbit, with a mill ; the church of Edenham with the chapel of Stichill ; and all besides which they have in Loudoun (?) [Lodoneio].^® Further details respecting the interior life of the convent will appear in the course of its history. Enough has been said to show that the picture presented to us, even in very early days, is that of a well-organized, richly endowed, powerful, and independent body, quite capable of conduct- ing its own affairs, and not likely to be tolerant of any attempt at oppression or interference. Not only did the monks gradually become possessors of a great part of the landed property in the county ; but they were also the keepers and guardians of the sacred body of St. Cuthbert, and as such wielded a power difficult to realize in modern days. Even the worldly, avaricious and remorseless Bishop Flambard felt and ac- knowledged this spiritual force. During his later years he had carried up the walls of the church as far as the roof, enlarged the common hall of the monastery, and given rich vestments for the holy offices ; but he had previously annexed certain of the convent lands and dues, and he dared not die until restitution was made. Struck by mortal illness, he caused himself to be carried into the church, and, resting on the altar, lamented the injuries he had done to the con- vent. The prior and monks, standing round, received public restitution of their property by the ceremony of offering a ring at the high altar.®® As early as 1153 the monks came into collision with the archbishop of York about the election of Hugh Pudsey as bishop of Durham ; and though the archbishop excommunicated them, and even the papal legate, while absolving MS. Treas. Dur. 3"^ Regalium 16. Printed, Food. Prior. Dunelm. (Surt. Soc.), 94. A.D. 1129. Sim. Hist. Eccles. Dun. Cont. (Rolls Ser.), 1 40- 1. 92 RELIGIOUS HOUSES them, obliged them to undergo a severe penance, they carried their point in the end. Prior Laurence accompanied the bishop-elect to Rome, and induced the pope to consecrate him there.^^ Soon after the consecration of Philip of Poitou as bishop of Durham in 1197, quarrels arose and long continued between that prelate and the convent, fomented by Archdeacon Aimeric, nephew to the bishop, who insinuated that the monks were usurping an authority to which they had no right, and were daily in- fringing upon the episcopal prerogative. The question arose, whose was the right of presen- tation to Coldingham ? The bishop claimed it for himself as abbot of the monastery ; the prior declared that it belonged by royal grant to the convent. The bishop, enraged by contradic- tion, proceeded to acts of great violence. By his orders Aimeric besieged the monks in St. Os- wald’s church, and when in spite of hunger and thirst they remained obdurate, he set fire to the church doors and smoked them out. But in the end the bishop was obliged to yield, and the monks gained their point.®^ Again, when the bishop claimed to be admitted to the chapter-house at the time of the monks’ convention, he was met by a decided refusal. In his rage he excommunicated the prior and the entire chapter, and sent emissaries who broke into the church on St. Cuthbert’s Day, inter- rupted the holy offices, and with impious hands dragged the prior and his assistants from the very altar itself.®^ But he did not thereby obtain admission to their councils. Possibly there was some ground for his com- plaints. The property of the house was rapidly increasing, and the monks may have been trying to extend their authority to an unwarrantable degree. In any case they had their revenge. Not only did they hand down the bishop’s name to posterity loaded with obloquy, but when in 1208 he died excommunicate they refused his body Christian burial, and it was interred by laymen in an obscure grave with no religious rite ■of any kind.®^ Encouraged no doubt by their victories over Bishop Philip, the monks took a very high hand with his successor, Richard Marsh.®® When he nought to encroach on their privileges they went to law with him, and at last, in wrath at his exactions, they accused him to the pope of blood- shed, simony, sacrilege, gross immorality, perjury, and other crimes. The pope appointed the bishops of Ely and Salisbury his delegates to hear ®^ Raine, His/. Ch. of York (Rolls Series), ii, 395 ; Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 165—7. The prior himself ■died on the return journey. Walter of Coventry, Memoriale (Rolls Sen), ii, 135 ; Hoveden, Ckron. (Rolls Ser.), iv, 69, 70. Geoff, of Coldingham ; see Angl. Sacr. 728. ®^ Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 189. “ Consecrated in 12 15. and inquire into the truth of these charges. Bishop Marsh, however, appealed direct to the pope : and at Rome his money prevailed to soften the pontiff’s anger and to protract the suit. How it would have been decided is diffi- cult to guess ; but when in 1226 it was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the sudden death of the bishop, the monks, regarding the occurrence as a notable example of the Divine judgement, considered that they had again been victorious.®® With regard to the election of Bishop Marsh’s successor, Richard le Poor, the monks were opposed alike by the king and the pope ; but, though at first defeated in the struggle, and threatened with the loss of the freedom of election which they had hitherto enjoyed, in the end they over- came all opposition.®^ The event proved their choice a wise one. In Bishop le Poor they found a patron at once just and liberal, learned and devout. In order to secure them in quiet and undisturbed possession of their property, and to prevent any future disputes between them and their bishops, he entered into an agreement with them in 1231 usually known as Me convenit.’ The articles of this agreement dealt with the action of the courts, bailiffs, officers, &c. of the bishop and prior respectively ; with the questions of wreckage, customs, tolls, weights and measures, and the like ; and with the punishment of various classes of offenders. It was conceived in a spirit of strict justice and moderation, and was certainly calculated to prevent either party from encroach- ing on the rights and privileges of the other, or from acquiring an undue degree of predominance in the diocese.®® On the death of Bishop le Poor in 1237 diffi- culties at once arose as to the choice of his successor. The monks rejected the king’s can- didate, probably not more because of his unsuit- ability than because they were determined to retain their privileges unbroken, and proceeded to elect their own prior, Thomas of Melsanby. The king objected, on the rather absurd ground that Thomas, when prior of Coldingham, had sworn allegiance to the king of Scotland. He also accused him of simony and other crimes, and of lack of learning.®® The archbishop of ®® Roger of Wendover, Flor. Hist. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 256-9 ; Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 61-4; Hist. Angl. ii, 245. Roger of Wendover, F/or. Hn/. (Rolls Ser.),ii, 309; Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 1 1 3 ; Hist. Angl. ii, 286 ; Pat. 10 Hen. Ill, mm. 5, 3, i, z d. •, 1 1 Hen. Ill, m. 1 2, &c. Harl. MS. No. 1393. Printed in Ties. Script. (Surt. Soc.), App. Ixx, ex orig. A. i, 2, Pontif. Another unreasonable charge was that of homi- cide, based on the fact that a certain acrobat had fastened a rope between the two western towers ot the church, and while performing on it had fallen and been killed. The king said that the prior ought to have prevented the man’s sacrilege, and was there- fore responsible for his death. 93 A HISTORY OF DURHAM York, to whom the question was submitted, could find no just grounds for these accusations, but postponed his decision from fear of the king. Four monks were therefore sent from Durham to appeal to the pope ; but, whether by foul play or not, they all died before reaching Rome. Melsanby himself then started for Rome, but was stopped at Dover, and, despairing of any peaceful solution of the matter, returned to Durham and resigned his election. The king at once nominated a kinsman of his own, but the monks rejected his proposal, and at length, after a struggle lasting three years and a half, elected a nominee of their own, Nicholas Farnham,®® thereby maintaining their right in the letter, though hardly in the spirit, as Nicholas was a court favourite, and possibly had all along been the king’s choice.®^ However, a period of , peace ensued, during which Prior Bartram (1244-58) founded the house and chapel of Bearpark [Beaurepaire], which ultimately became the chief country seat of the priors of Durham.®^ In 1255 fresh trouble arose. The pope hav- ing demanded an enormous sum of money from the English ecclesiastics on a most shallow and ridiculous pretext, the prior and monks of Dur- ham, alone save for the canons of Gisburn, stood out against his exactions, though threatened with an interdict.®® Had the other clergy and religious bodies in the country joined with them, no doubt a stand might have been made which would have altered the whole subsequent history of the English church ; but more cowardly counsels prevailed. The monks submitted, and in 1257 received the papal absolution.®^ Their conduct, however, bears witness to their independent spirit, which was forcibly illustrated in 1283 when, the see of Durham being vacant. Wick- wane, archbishop of York, insisted on visiting the convent. The monks, who had never admitted his right to do so, shut the church doors in his face. The archbishop, furious at this rebuflf, retreated to St. Nicholas’ church, and was in the act of publicly excommunicating the prior and convent when a body of young men from the borough rushed into the church and chased him from the pulpit, out of the building, down the stairs to the school, and so to the waterside. The descent was steep and perilous, and so closely was the prelate followed that one of his palfrey’s ears was cut off by his pursuers. He finally escaped across the water, vowing vengeance on the monks. Much litigation en- sued, but the archbishop’s death put an end to it before any decision had been arrived at.®® His successor, John Romanus, however, made an Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Sen), iii, 391-2; iv, 6 1, 86. ®‘ Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xx, 68-70. ®’See Wharton, Angl. Sacr. ii, 739, 749. Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. (Rolls Ser.), v, 581-5. Ibid. 634-5. ®® Cott. MS. Jul. D. iv, 125 ; Reg. Eph. Peckham (Rolls Ser.), ii, 645 ; Hutchinson, Hist. Dtir. i, 228. agreement with the convent, dated 2 November, 1286, by which the right of York to the juris- diction of the see of Durham when vacant was recognized, the archbishop on his part agreeing to let bygones be bygones.®® Anthony Bek, now bishop of Durham, acted as mediator in this transaction, but his own con- duct towards the monks was far from conciliatory, and during the latter part of his pontificate he and they were involved in almost ceaseless strife. Imperious and overbearing, he thought he could rule the monks as he liked ; and he did not hesitate to infringe their liberties. By rather underhand dealing he procured the resignation in December, 1285, of Prior Richard of Claxton, and appointed Henry of Horncastre guardian of the convent during the vacancy. This was entirely contrary to use, the guardianship belong- ing of right to the sub-prior. Hugh of Dar- lington, a former prior, was elected, but shortly afterwards he resigned, and in 1299 was succeeded by Richard of Hoton. In 1300 dissensions began. The prior was accused of irregularities respecting the lands of Coldinghamshire, and the bishop was urged to visit the convent and reform abuses. The prior insisted that if the bishop came he should come alone and unattended ; moreover, he failed to submit the necessary formalities for his approval. The bishop was furious at what he considered open disrespect. He excommunicated, suspended, and pronounced an interdict against Prior Richard, and finally deprived him. The convent was divided on the matter, many of the monks siding with the prior, while others, led by the priors of Finchale and Holy Island, took part with the bishop. The latter, unable for once to get his own way, had recourse to violence. He broke into the prior’s park at Bearpark and destroyed the game. By his orders, or at least with his consent, his servants committed outrages against the prior, imprisoned his people, and isolated the convent. At last the king himself came to Durham to restore peace. After hearing both sides of the dispute he decided that Prior Richard was to remain in office, and on the other hand the bishop was to be allowed to bring three or four clergy to attend on him at the visitation. He also announced that whichever party first broke the peace would incur his severe displeasure. In spite of this warning the bishop soon re- newed his acts of violence, and the king kept his word, and from thenceforth took the convent’s part. Three months after he had suspended Prior Richard the bishop summoned those of the monks who were on his side, and ordered them to choose a prior for themselves, unless they wished him to do so. They utterly refused ; whereupon he nominated his chief supporter, Henry de Luceby, prior of Holy Island, and in York Archiepiscopal Reg. Romanus, fol. 69^7. 94 RELIGIOUS HOUSES order to eject Richard of Hoton he sent for his foresters of Weardale and men of Tynedale, who besieged the convent. They cut off the supplies of food and water, forced the gates of the priory and cloister, and drove the monks into the church, where they kept them for three days, reducing them to the verge of starvation. At length, on St. Bartholomew’s Day, the bishop’s party amongst the brethren, driven to desperation, admitted one of the Tynedale men into the church, and com- manded him to remove the prior by force. He con- sented, but when he caught sight of the reverend father he drew back, awestruck, and declared that for no amount of gold would he do this thing. Whereupon one of the monks, an adherent of the bishop, pulled the prior from his seat, and Luceby was installed in his place. Then the whole body of monks, coerced, starved, and terrified, submitted and professed obedience to the bishop.®'' Prior Richard and his two principal supporters were imprisoned in the abbey, and the bishop rejoiced over their defeat. But his triumph was of short duration. The prior complained that his health was suffering from the closeness of his confinement, and asked leave to take the air. Permission having been granted, he left the city, and, attended by a small body-guard, walked down the hill towards Shincliffe. Suddenly, as the party reached the bridge, eight men made their appearance, leading a horse ready saddled and bridled. Five minutes later the guards were in full flight towards Durham, while the daunt- less prior, accompanied by William de Conton, his chaplain,®® for whom a second horse had been quickly found, was riding for his life in the opposite direction. He escaped into Cleveland, and there remained until Parliament met in the following February at Lincoln, where he attended in person, stated his grievances, and obtained the king’s permission to go to Rome. The pope summoned Bishop Bek to answer personally at Rome the charges brought against him ; instead of which he merely sent proctors. This angered the pope, who received the prior’s appeal very graciously, and decreed on 29 No- vember, 1301, that he should be restored to his place, pronouncing Luceby’s election ‘ irregular.’ He also suspended the bishop, and again com- manded him to come to Rome in person on pain of deprivation. This time the bishop thought good to obey, but he came in the utmost pomp and state. The pope, impressed by his magni- ficence and lavish expenditure, received him favourably, and gave him leave to visit the convent, attended by two clerks, one notary, and ■one religious of the same order.®® It is said that Luceby only consented to be in- stalled because in the event of his refusal the bishop had threatened to appoint a foreigner. Afterwards prior of Durham. i.e. ‘ in accordance with the Bonifacian Consti- tution.’ This, however, did not satisfy the bishop. After the death of Pope Boniface, he obtained from his successor a bull ordering the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishops of Lincoln and Worcester to visit the convent. To them he accused the prior of dilapidations and various offences, but before any inquiry could be made the pope died. The charges were repeated to Clement, the new pope, as soon as might be, and he very rashly acted upon them, suspending the prior in spiritualities and also in temporalities. The prior once more started for Rome to appeal against this sentence, but was delayed by the advance of winter, and remained near Canterbury. The bishop put Luceby in charge of the convent, and the pope ordered the abbot of Lazenby to give him possession ; but the exasperated monks refused to admit the abbot, thereby bringing down a sentence of excommunication on them- selves and their prior. The pope, however, had made a mistake. His interference with the temporalities was an in- vasion of the rights of the crown, which brought on a judicial examination of the whole matter, and both parties found themselves loaded with a heavy fine. Prior Richard now returned from Canterbury, met the king at Durham, celebrated mass in his presence at St. Oswald’s altar on St. Oswald’s Day, and received from him a letter of recommendation to the pope. Armed with this, he again went to Rome and obtained a sentence of restitution, for which the convent was to pay 1,000 marks. But, unfortunately, he died while still in Rome, and all his goods, horses, books, plate, and jewels were confiscated to the pope’s use. ‘ The prior being thus dead and buried,’ says Graystanes, choice was given to the three monks who accompanied him to the curia to nominate a prior whom the pope would prefer to the office. When one of them had been pitched upon, however, so provoked was he that he shed bloody tears from both eyes and nostrils, saying, ‘ Would you bring such a scandal upon me that it should be said I had poisoned my prior in order that I might rule in his stead ? ’ an exclamation which throws a somewhat lurid light upon an age when such an accusation should be regarded as not only possible, but the most likely thing to be said.™ The pope him- self then proposed William of Tanfield, and he was duly elected. It is said that for this pro- motion William paid a bribe of 3,000 marks to the pope and 1,000 to the cardinals.^^ ''® Arch, Aeliana (New Ser.), xx, 123. For further particulars of the quarrel between Bishop Bek and the convent, of which the above is a mere outline, see Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 244-9 5 As'ch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xx, 1 1 7 ; Raine, Northern Registers (Rolls Sen), 144; Pat. 29, 31, 32 Edw. I and 33 Edw. I, pts. i, 2 ; Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Sen), iv, Addit. 3-9, 15-77 5 -^ngl. Sacr. 747-53. 95 A HISTORY OF DURHAM All these infamous transactions fell heavily on the church of Durham. Only one pleasing if pathetic incident is to be found in connexion with them. On the morrow of the Purification, 1308, Bishop Bek visited the chapter after the form of the Bonifacian Constitution. Many severe sentences did he pass upon the heads of the house, which, after his death, were annulled by Archbishop Greenfield. But these, in Gray- stanes’ belief, were brought about through the influence of others, not by the bishop’s own wish ; for in the beginning of the visitation, he says, the laymen and seculars having retired, immediately the whole convent prostrated themselves on bent knees to the earth before the bishop, and desired that if any of them in the late strife had transgressed against him in any way he would mercifully forgive them ; upon which, bursting into tears, he promised them solemnly that he would do so.^^ This was the last time the convent came into collision to any serious extent with the episcopal power in Durham ; but their difficulties with their metropolitan were not yet over. Bishop Bek died 3 March, 1310-11, and was buried in the east transept of the church, near St. Cuth- bert’s feretory.^® Immediately after his death the prior and chapter appointed officers to act during the vacancy. The archbishop promptly excom- municated all parties concerned in the matter. The monks obtained from the king a licence to elect, but before the day of election the king sent the earl of Gloucester to Durham, entreating them to nominate his kinsman, Antholin of Pisana, a foreigner, a stranger, and said to be under the canonical age. Bribes were offered to the monks in rich profusion, but they totally refused to do as the king wished. They were, nevertheless, in great perplexity as to how the election should take place. They knew the archbishop would not confirm any act done by persons under his sentence of excommunication ; but to withdraw themselves would be to submit to what they considered his usurped jurisdiction. Finally it was decided that anything was better than prolonging the vacancy of the see, so they absented, leaving the business to those of their brethren who were not under censure, and Richard Kellaw, himself a Durham monk, was elected 31 March, 1311.’'^ Between him and the convent the greatest ” See Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xx, i 24. This was a breach of custom, as it had hitherto been thought dishonourable to the saint to allow a corpse to enter the building ; and it is said that the monks dared not bring the coffin in through the door, but made a hole in the wall for it near the place of interment ; Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 256. Gray- stanes, however, does not mention this story, and doubt has been thrown upon it by later writers ; Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.), xx, 125, note. Angl. Sacr. 755 ; Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 258. cordiality subsisted. He took much pleasure in the society of the monks, and was almost in- variably accompanied by one or more of them ; his chancellor, seneschal, and confessor were chosen from amongst their number.^® Within a few months of his consecration he bestowed upon them his waste in the vill of Wolsingham with the wood of Wastrophead,^® extended their park at Bearpark,^^ augmented the office of sacristan by the gift of certain waste land in Middlewood, near Sacristanhaugh,^® insisted on the payment of debts due to the house, and smoothed their path in many smaller particulars. In November, 1312, he granted an indulgence of forty days to all who went to hear the monks preach the Gospel in the church.®^ During the first half of the fourteenth century both bishop and monks were called upon to defend themselves from a common foe — a cir- cumstance which probably contributed largely to the preservation of peace amongst themselves. The warlike and half-savage Scots of the borders by a series of forays and inroads laid waste the marches, and reduced the inhabitants, both religious and secular, to great straits. In August, 1313, the king demanded a loan of 300 marks from the prior and convent towards the expenses of his army in the war with Scotland,®^ and a year later the monks agreed to pay 800 marks to Thomas, earl of Moray, to ensure the bishopric against attack from the Thursday before St. Edward’s Day, 1314, to the octave of St. Hilary next following.®^ The pay- ment of tenths also pressed heavily upon all in the general distress, and the prior of Durham, to whom it fell to collect both papal and royal tenths, fifteenths, &c., in the county of Durham, seems to have found it difficult to get the money together.®® The corn and other crops on the convent lands were so frequently destroyed by the invaders, that in February, 1315-16, the prior was obliged to send messengers to other parts of the country to buy food.®^ During the spring of that year the Scots entered the bishopric and ravaged the monks’ park at Bear- park ; then marched northward, leaving ruin and desolation behind them.®® In the midst of all this trouble the house sus- tained a severe blow in the death of its friend and patron. Bishop Kellaw, 9 October, 1316. During the vacancy of the see difficulties oc- curred with the chapter of York on the question Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 258. Reg. Paiat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 1 139. 'Mbid. 1141. Ibid. 1148. ” Ibid, i, 97. Ibid. 250. Close, 7 Edw. II, m. d. Raine, Horthern Registers (Rolls Ser.), 232-3. See Close, 8 Edw. II, m. 32 ; 10 Edw. II, mm. 14, 4 <7. &c. ; Pat. 9 Edw. II, pt. i, m. 8. Pat. 9 Edw. II, pt. I, m. 8. Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 262. RELIGIOUS HOUSES of the custody of the spiritualities of the bishop- ric, the metropolitan see being also void.®* The two chapters finally agreed to refer the whole matter to the pope, and abide by his decision.®’' A fresh struggle now arose as to the election of a bishop. The monks received letters from the king and queen, earnestly begging them to choose Lewis de Beaumont, the queen’s cousin ; but having obtained licence they proceeded to elect Henry of Stamford, prior of Finchale, thus asserting their independence, and at the same time doing their best to secure a worthy successor to Bishop Kellaw, for Henry was in every respect a suitable person for the post. But while the election was going forward in the chapter-house, the church was filled with excited courtiers eagerly awaiting the issue. Lewis de Beaumont himself was there, with his brother Henry, and his friends the earls of Lancaster, Hereford, and Pembroke, besides many persons bitterly opposed to his cause ; and threats of violence were heard on all sides. News of the election of Henry of Stamford was at once taken to the king at York, and he was personally wil- ling to confirm the monks’ choice ; but the queen, on her knees, entreated him to appoint her cousin. The king accordingly refused his assent, and sent letters to the pope recommending Lewis on the ground that it was eminently desirable for the moment to have as bishop of Durham a man who was first and foremost a good soldier, on account of the condition of the Marches.®® The chapter of York dared not run counter to the king, so the bishop-elect, after con- sulting the convent, decided to go to Rome ; but before his arrival the pope, by an act of appalling injustice, had given the bishopric to Lewis, salv- ing his conscience by imposing upon him at the same time an enormously heavy fine. As nothing whatever could be objected against Henry, the pope endeavoured to console him with a grant of the priory of Durham, when it should next fall vacant ; but Henry did not live to reap any benefit from this generous offer. Worn out by all he had gone through he travelled back as far as the cell at Stamford, where he fell ill of a gradual decline and died in 1320.®® Meanwhile the war with Scotland continued. The monks were ordered to hold processions and to pray for the success of the English troops and one of their number was sent to join the army with the banner of St. Cuthbert,®^ which was said to bring victory in its train. The Close, 10 Edw. II, m. 2 d. ” Kaine, Hist. Ch. of York (Rolls Ser.), iii, 237. MS. of J. Ormsby-Gore, esq., M.P. No. ']%b\ Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 385. Angl. Sacr. 757-8. Raine, Northern Registers (Rolls Ser.), 264. He was accompanied by his grooms and three horses, and received 1 zd. a day for his expenses ; Exch. K.R. Misc. (Wardrobe), No. |f. enemy, however, continued to infest the border counties, and in October, 1322, were present in Yorkshire in such force that the prior of Durham was unable to travel south to present his accounts at the Exchequer.®® In consequence of this state of things, during the next twenty years the successive priors were much occupied in secular and military matters. Prior William of Conton acted as one of the king’s justiciars for enforcing in Northumberland the observance of the treaty with Scotland in 1331,®® and as ‘ collector of the money due for victuals of the late king at Newcastle.’ ®^ It appears that such scandalous reports were circulated with regard to him that the king thought fit ‘ for the protection of the innocent from the slanders of the wicked ’ to publish a statement to the effect that the prior was ‘ a man of approved devotion and of wise and laudable conduct in the adminis- tration of the temporalities and spiritualities of the priory.’ ®® In the spring of 1333 the prior was ordered to prepare a wagon and ten oxen to carry tents for the troops ; a similar order ®® was issued to several other religious houses, and all were to be at Durham by Easter week.®^ These and other expenses fell so heavily on the impoverished monks that in October, 1333, the king forgave them a debt of j^ioo due to him, ‘ in consideration of their losses by the frequent forays of the Scots.’ ®® About this time Bishop Beaumont died ; and the king, while granting the monks leave to elect a successor, wrote privately to the pope, asking him to appoint Richard Aungerville of Bury, his own domestic chaplain, which the pope was quite ready to do. Meanwhile the unconscious monks duly elected Robert of Gray- stanes, sub-prior of Durham,®® and applied to the king to confirm their choice. He answered that he much regretted his inability to do so, as the pope had unfortunately already appointed Bury. Graystanes went to York, and after consulting with the canons there he was, with the consent of the prior and convent of Durham, confirmed, consecrated by the archbishop, and enthroned, notwithstanding the refusal of the royal assent. Having professed obedience, he applied for the restitution of the temporalities ; but this was refused, the king saying that he should lay the whole matter before Parliament. Soon after- wards Richard of Bury came to Durham, armed with papal and royal authority, and was imme- diately received.™ The archbishop, afraid of Close, 16 Edw. II, m. z^d. Pat. 5 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. zS, d. Close, 5 Edw. Ill, pt. 2, mm. 9, 7. Pat. 6 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 9. i.e. for ‘ a cart and five horses.’ Pat. 7 Edw. Ill, pt. i,m. 13. Ibid. pt. 2, m. 25. The well-known historian. Angl. Sacr. 762. 2 97 13 A HISTORY OF DURHAM offending the pope, revoked all that he had done ; apologized, explaining that he had acted in ignorance of the pope’s selection ; and sent Graystanes to seek the favour of Bury.^°^ The proceedings were so serious an infringement of the rights of the convent that the monks would have resorted to litigation, but their resources were so drained by the war that this was impos- sible, and they had no choice but to submit.^®^ Graystanes did not long survive this mortifica- tion ; anxiety and disappointment brought on an illness which ended in hisdeath.^®^ His case and that of Henry of Stamford serve to illustrate the power which worldly ambition was beginning to exercise in the cloister. Both these men were learned, upright, and devout ; yet they allowed the disappointment of their hopes of promotion so to prey upon their minds as to produce fatal results. In 1338 the battle of Halydon took place, with important results to the convent. The king had vowed that if God gave him the vic- tory he would build a house for thirteen Bene- dictines. Accordingly, the Scots being signally defeated, he granted to the bishop of Durham the advowson of Simonburn church, to endow a house for a prior and twelve monks of the chapter of Durham, to be founded by the bishop in the suburbs of Oxford, with a church and suitable dwellings, at the king’s expense, in honour of God and of St. Margaret, on whose eve he gained the victory.^®^ The house, known as Durham College, was refounded by Bishop Hatfield, who, in 1381, granted a licence to the prior and convent to acquire lands, &c., to the annual value of 200 marks for the support therein of eight monks as chaplains and of eight poor scholars.^®® The struggle with Scotland continued with unabated fierceness. In August, 1343, the prior was ordered to collect men-at-arms and to proceed to the March to repel an expected in- vasion.^®® Two years later the learned Bishop Bury died, and the pope, at the king’s request, at once (May, 1345) appointed Thomas Hat- field to succeed him.^®^ This proceeding, utterly unjust and unconstitutional though it was, appears to have been accepted without remonstrance by Raine, Northern Registers (Rolls Ser.), 368, 371. j4ngl. Sacr. 763. Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. i, 285. Privy Seals (Tower), 12 Edw. Ill, file 10. The convent already held ten and a half acres and seven tofts in the suburbs of Oxford, granted Jan. 1 290-1 ; Pat. 19 Edw. I. Hutchinson says (i, 305), that the house was instituted in 1290 by Prior Hoton ; so also Surt. Soc. Puh/. vol. vii, pref. p. x, note. Anthony Wood says (vol. ii, 48) that Bishop Bury finished this college, and Bishop Hatfield enlarged the endow- ment. Dur. Curs. Rolls, Rot. Hatfield, ii, m. 1 3 Speed gives the value as 1,6 15 14;. lo^^. Out of this property Henry VIII established the present endowment,^®^ restoring to the new cathe- dral nearly the whole of the ancient possessions of the convent, except those attached to the cells at Finchale, Wearmouth, Jarrow, Stamford, and Lytham.^®^ After the dissolution some of the monks, following the example of their prior, remained to form part of the staff of the new cathedral, and afterwards accepted benefices under Queen Elizabeth. One of these was William Bennett, the last prior of Finchale. When that house was dissolved in 1536 he went back to the con- vent at Durham, and on its dissolution in 1540 Rev. Henry Gee, D.D. Surt. Soc. Publ, vol. 5, pp. 1-90. Dur. Household Bk. (Surt. Soc.), 337. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), i, 231. Surt. Hist. Dur. i, Ixix, note. An inven- tory of the plate and ornaments in the vestry of the cathedral, taken apparently at, or soon after, the time of the dissolution, is printed in Arch. Bond. xliii, 247. he became prebendary of the fourth stall. In 1571 he was vicar of Kelloe.^®® He had a brother, Robert Bennett, who was also in his younger days a Durham monk.’*^ He became the first prebendary of the eleventh stall, and afterwards vicar of Gainford.^®® Another monk of Durham was George Cliffe, who in 1562 was rector of Elswick, and in 1571 became rector also of Brancepeth.^®® Priors of Durham Aldwin, app. 1083, d. 1087^®^ Turgot, app. 1087, res. 1109^®® Algar, app. 1 109, d. 1137 ^®® Roger, app. 1137, d. 1149^™ Laurence, app. 1149, d. 1154^^^ Absolon, app. 1154, d. 1156^^^ Thomas, app. 1156, res. 1162, d.^^® 1163®^* German, app. 1162, d. 1186*^® Bertram, app. 1188, d. 1212^^® William de Durham, app. 1212, d. 1214^^^ Ralph Kernech, app. 1214, d. 1233*^® Thomas Melsanby alias Welscome, elected 1233, res. 1 244 Bertram de Middleton, app. 1244, res. 1258^®* Hugh de Darlington, app. 16 August, 1258, res. 8 January, 1272-3 ^®^ Richard de Claxton, app. 26 January, 1272-3,^®® res. 27 December, 1285 ®®® In his will, dated 1583, he calls his wife, who was still living, ‘ Ann Bennett alias Thomsoun.’ Other instances have occurred of persons, who before the dissolution were vowed to celibacy, speaking in this way of the wives they had subsequently married. (See below, Finchale Priory.) Robert was bursar of Durham at the time of the dissolution. See his accounts [Dur. Household Bk., Surt. Soc.), 1530—5. Injunctions of Bp. Barnes (Surt. Soc.), 48. Ibid. 54. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), i, 229. In the following list where other authorities differ from Dugdale a note has been made. Ibid. 230. Ibid. Sim. says, ‘ d. 1127’ [Hist. Eccles. Dun. [Rolls Ser.], i, xlviii). Dugdale, ut supra. (Sim. ‘ d. 1 1 46.’) Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. ii, 69. (Dugdale, ‘d. 1157.’) Dugdale, «/ (Sim. ‘d. 1158’; Hutchin- son, ‘ d. 1 162.’) Ibid. (Hutchinson, ‘app. 1162, d. 1163.’) Sim., ut supra. Dugdale, ut supra. (Sim. ‘ d. 1188.’) Ibid. (Sim. ‘ d. 1 7 July, 1 199’ ; Hutchinson, ‘d. 1209.’) Ibid. (Hutchinson, ‘app. 1209.’) Ibid. Ibid. 230. Ibid. '®‘ Ibid. Sim., Hist. Eccles Dun. (Rolls Ser.), I, xlix. (Dugdale and Hutchinson, ‘ 1273—4.’) Dugdale, ut supra. 102 Durham Cathedral ( Obucrsej Durham Cathedral {Rcuerse) Richard de Claxton, Prior of Durham, 1272-85 Hospital of Kepier Durham Monastic Seals RELIGIOUS HOUSES Hugh de Darlington, app. ii January, 1285-6, res. II March, 1289-90 Richard de Hoton, elected 24 March, 1 289-9O; ejected by Bishop Bek, and replaced by Henry de Luceby ; but re-instated 29 No- vember, 130D®®; d. January, 1307-8^®® William de Tanfield, app. 24 February, 1308-9,^®^ res. 1313^®® Geoffrey de Burdon, app. June, 1313, res. January, 1322-3^®® William de Conton, or Couton, app. 1323, d. February, 1342-3^®® John Fossour, or Forcer, app. March, 1342-3, d. November, 1374^®^ Robert Benington, alias Walworth, app. December, 1374, d. 1391 ^®® John de Hemingbrough, app. 1 391, d. 1416^®® John de Washington (Wessington), app. 1416, d. 1446 ®®^ William Ebchester, app. June, 1446, res. 1456^®® John Burnby, alias Burnley, app. 1456, d. 1464®®® Richard Bell, app. 1464, res. March, 1478-9’®^ Robert Ebchester, app. November, 1479, d. 1484 ®®® John Auckland, app. July, 1484, d. 1494®®® Thomas Castell, app. May, 1494, d. 1519®®® Hugh Whitehead, app. 3 January, 1 5 1 9-20 ; ®®® first dean of Durham, 1540 ; d. 1548®®® The seal used by the convent from its founda- tion to its dissolution was one of the greatest simplicity ; a circle containing a cross surrounded by a legend in letters almost Saxon, and evidently not later than the foundation. Legend — + SIGILLVM . CVDBERHTI . PR^SVLIS . SCTI. The cross is closely similar in form to that found on the body of the saint.®®® The arms of the monastery, as given in the Heralds’ Visitation of 1530, were, ‘Azure, a cross flory Or between four lions rampant Argent.’ The lions have in modern times been altered from silver to gold.®®^ Dugdale, ut supra. Ibid. Sim. ut supra. (Dugdale, incorrectly, ‘ 1 309—10.’) Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. ii, 86. (Dugdale, ‘ 1309-10.’) Dugdale, ut supra. Ibid. Ibid. (Sim. ‘d. 26 Feb. 1 340-1.’) Dugdale, a/ ra/>r<7. (Sim. ‘app. Mar. 1 340-1.’) Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. ”” Ibid. (Hutchinson, ‘app. 1524.’) Ibid. Arch. Aeliana (New Ser.j, ii, 5 5-6 ; engraving to face p. 56. Ibid. S3. 8. THE PRIORY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST AND ST. GODRIC, FINCHALE Early in the twelfth century the hermit Godric settled at Finchale under the auspices of Bishop Flambard. The place was then exceed- ingly wild, overrun with snakes, and used by the bishop merely as a hunting-ground.® Here St. Godric lived for half a century, accompanied at first by a poor sister, but after her death en- tirely alone ; and here he cultivated the ground and erected a chapel which he dedicated to St. John the Baptist, an oratory of St. Mary, and other buildings,® and when this had been done Bishop Flambard granted the reversion of the hermitage, its fishery, and its possessions to the prior and convent of Durham.® Godric died in 1 1 70,^ and soon afterwards Bishop Pudsey con- firmed to the monks the gift of his predecessor,® and conferred upon Reginald ® and Henry, the two Durham monks in possession, and their successors, the tract of land near the hermit- age which now chiefly constitutes the Finchale farm.®^ Such was the state of Finchale when in 1196 Henry Pudsey, son of the bishop, was compelled by the jealous monks to transfer to it the posses- sions of the New Place at Baxterwood.® There was a small church, a salmon fishery in the Wear, dwelling-rooms for two monks and their atten- dants, and nearly the whole of the present Finchale farm, 3 acres of land at Bradley,® and 2 bovates at Sadberge,®® for their maintenance.®^ Henry Pudsey reserved to himself and his heirs the privilege of appointing the prior, and chose Thomas, sacrist of Durham, to be the first to hold that office ; ®® but he afterwards con- ceded the right to the prior and convent of Durham.®® Bishop Kellaw conferred upon the house land on Finchale Moor.^^ Other donations included the advowson and impropriation of the churches ofWicton [? Wigton] andGiggleswick,^® and land at Yokefleet®® and Hetton^^ (Heppedun), * Vita Sti. Godrici (Surt. Soc.), 62-7. ’ Ibid. 126, 152. * MS. Treas. Dur. Cart, iii, 274 ; Orig. 2, i ; Pont, i, I. * Vita Sti. Godrici (Surt. Soc.), 326, 330. ® Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 2 1 . ® Probably Reginald the historian. ' MS. Treas. Dur. Cart. 3, 7“, H. i. ® Wharton, Angl. Sacr. i, 727. See below. Baxter- wood. ® MS. Treas. Dur. i% T. Collect. Topograph, pp. xiii, 79. ” Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), pref. p. xiv. Angl. Sacr. i, 727. MS. Treas. Dur. 3®, 6“, Spec. M.I. “ Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 1 1 44. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 61. MS. Treas. Dur. 2% 2“, 16. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 54. 103 A HISTORY OF DURHAM all given by Henry Pudsey ; land at Bradley,^® VVoodsend/® Brandon,^® Hutton,®^ Softley,^^Spirls- wood,^® Lumley,®^ Ferimanside/® Newton,®® Amerston,®^ Castle Eden,®® Thorpe Thewles,®® Hollinside,®® Iveston,®^ Y upeton,®® Smallees,®® and Little Stainton; ®^ a fishery in the Tyne at Crook ;®® land and a fishery at Cocken ; ®® land and a mill at Coxhoe ; ®^ common of pasture at Baxter- wood;®® a house in the North Bailey at Durham; ®® rents in Sunderland, Hartlepool, and other places,^® and the church of Bishop Middleham granted by Bishop Robert Stichill in 1268.^^ Most of these endowments were conferred within the first fifty years after Henry Pudsey established the monks at Finchale. As the revenues of the house increased, the monks, no longer content with St. Godric’s chapel, resolved in 1241 to build a new church, and the arch- bishop of York granted an indulgence of thirty days to all who should contribute to this work.^® In the following year the church was begun,^® and it appears to have been completed in or about 1264.^^ In 1266 the monks added a chapel dedicated to the honour of St. Godric, in the south transept.'*® About the year 1350 the prior of Durham severely reproved the Finchale monks for keeping a pack of hounds,^® but they did not waste all their time in sport. In 1381, Uthred of Boldon, prior of Finchale, himself the most learned man of his day, brought to his church a foreigner, one William du Stiphel, of Brittany, and employed him in transcribing Jerome’s Eusebius and Bede’s Ecclesiastical History}^ There is also a record of MS. Treas. Dur. Cart. 1% i“, T. This gift appears to have been made to the monks at Finchale before Pudsey’s foundation, and to have been lost be- fore the dissolution ; Priory of Finchale, pref. p. xv. MS. Treas. Dur. 4"*, 3“% 4. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 79. Ibid. loi. Ibid. 107. MS. Treas. Dur. Cart, ii, 108. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 1 1 1-16. “ Ibid. 1 1 7. MS. Treas. Dur. 3% Spec. 3% i“, 28. Ibid. 3, 6, Spec. K. 1. Ibid. 3% i“, 2. See 3, 8, Spec. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 137-47. =0 Ibid. 151-2. Ibid. 154. ” Ibid. 155. Ibid. 157. ®‘ MS. Treas. Dur. 2% 3’'®, 4. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 82. See Raine, Eorth Durham, App. No. cx. Ibid. 86-96. MS. Treas. Dur. 3, 6, Spec. O. i, &c. Ibid. 3, 6, Spec. Ibid. 3% 2“®, 26. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 127-31, &c. Reg. i, fob 28^. MS. Treas. Dur. 3®, D®, 32. Ibid. 3®, C®, 38. *' Ibid. 3®, i"®, 47. Ibid. 3®, i®®, 46. B. M. Cbtt. MS. Faust. A. vi, fol. 8. B. M. Burney MS. 310, p. 178. at least one boy lodged, boarded, and clothed at Finchale, and sent to Durham Grammar School for six or ten years as his case might require.'*® Two aged bedesmen were also main- tained.*® There were usually eight monks at Finchale besides the prior, of whom (by an ordinance made by the prior of Durham in 1408) four were constant residents, and the other four visitors from the convent. The natural beauties of the place made it very suitable as a sort of holiday home for the Durham monks. Each set of four were allowed three weeks’ furlough, and their time was divided by the following rules ; — Two were every day to be present at mattins, mass, vespers, and the other services in the choir, while the other two had liberty to ramble in the fields ‘ religiously and honestly,’ provided that they were present at mass and vespers. All four visitors were to sleep in the dormitory with the four resident monks, but they were allowed a special chamber with a fire and other comforts, to which they might resort when they pleased, and the prior assigned a servant to wait on them. Each of the visitors was to celebrate high mass at least once a week, and on Sunday all were to be present in the chapter and at the Lady-mass.®® There was in the priory a room known as the ‘ player chamber,’ which is supposed to have been appropriated to dramatic representations, such as mysteries or miracle plays, and to such amuse- ments as listening to the minstrels and gleemen who visited the house.®* In 1453 the prior of Durham again found cause of complaint in the laxity of the brethren at Finchale. They had taken to wearing linen shirts, instead of the linsey-woolsey injoined by their rule. The prior sternly forbade the practice.®® Finchale Abbey was so completely under the control of the prior and convent of Dur- ham that it has practically no independent history. I** *535 revenues were valued at ^12215;. 3^5^.®® At its suppression, nearly all its lands, except the site of the priory and a por- tion reserved for the seventh stall in Durham Cathedral, reverted to lay hands. The site formed part of the endowment of the new cathedral.®* A.D. 1387, Reg. ii, fol. 272. ** Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), p. ccccxv. Reg. ii, parv. fol. "ib. ®’ Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), p. ccccxli. Reg. iii, parv. 60. V alor Eccl. Hen. VIII; Priory of Finchale (Surt, Soc.), p. ccccxvi. Speed says, ,^146 19/. zd., taking the gross sum. Stevens (vol. i, 26) gives the clear value at f\^o 15;. 3 1520 Richard Cayley, occ. 1525-7 John Haleywcll, occ. 1528 William Bennett, occ. I2 Sept. 1536®^ No perfect example has yet been found of the seal of Finchale Priory. In the time of Prior John, who was contemporary with Henry Pudsey, the prior’s seal was (apparently) oval in shape, and bore the three-quarter length figure of a man in a long robe, with a book in his hand.®^ The seal appended to a charter of Prior Ralph (c. 1242) bears the winged figure of an angel, presumably St. Michael, with a long spear, in the act of killing the dragon. Legend (defaced) — ANGELICO CARMINA . SIGNO.®* He was a native of Brancepeth parish, and when there was a charge against him that he was born in a servile condition, and therefore unable by law to hold office in the church, it was proved in his favour that his father was a freeman and had a silver knife ; see Raine, North Durham. In Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 331, Christopher Hapworth is mentioned as the last prior, but there was no Durham monk of that name at the period. Bennett was the last who held office, and he married as soon as he was discharged from his vow. ‘ In the time of James I and before that there was an old proverb or saying — The Prior of Finkela hath got a fair wife. And every monk will have one ’ ; Mickleton MS. i, 92 ; Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), pref. pp. xxxi, xxxii. Engraved, Priory ofF'tnchale (Surt. Soc.), 63. “ Ibid. 67. 2 105 14 A HISTORY OF DURHAM HOUSE OF BENEDICTINE NUNS 9. THE PRIORY 1 OF ST. MARY, NEASHAM The nunnery of Neasham was the only religious house within the limits of the county that stood independent of the powerful church of Durham.^ Situated on the River Tees, two miles from Sockburn, in the parish of Hurworth,^ it was founded for eight nuns^ of the Benedictine Order, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.® The founder’s name is unknown ; probably he was one of the early barons of Greystoke.® In February, 1156-7, Pope Adrian IV con- firmed the privileges of the monastery by a bull in which he spoke of it as already well estab- lished.^ Amongst its possessions he expressly mentioned the place in which the church is situated, called Mahaldecroft,® given by Emma, daughter of Waldef, and a carucate of land of the lordship of the same Emma in Neasham, together with common of pasture, the cultivated ground called Sadelflat, the mill upon the Kent, and the ground between the mill and the church ; one carucate of land in Hurworth given by Engelais, sister to Emma ; all the tithes of the convent’s lordship in Neasham; and a carucate of land in Thornton given by Alan son of Torphin. The pope exempted the nuns from payment of tithes, and granted them free right of sepulture.® This grant of Emma (then described as widow of Ralph de Teisa,) was confirmed by a charter of Henry II,^® and again by her son, Ralph Fitz-Ralph.^^ Bishop Hugh gave to the convent 2 acres of land at ‘ Wayngate-Letch,’ and during his pontificate Roger de Conyers gave 17 acres in Bishopton.®® ‘ The house at Neasham is occasionally spoken of as an abbey, as by Leland {floll. iv, 275), but there does not appear to be any warrant for this, though the modern house built on the site of the convent is called Neasham Abbey. (Boyle’s Guide to Co. Dur. 658.) In all formal ecclesiastical documents the house is spoken of as a priory. ’Surtees, Hist. Dur. iii, 258. ® Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 548-50. ‘Tanner, Notit. Monas. Northumb. xxii. ® Dugdale, ut supra. ®Surt. Hist. Dur. in, 258. So Dugdale. ’Dur. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 86. ® Possibly ‘ Madencroft,’ mentioned in Hen. VIII’s grant to Lawson. See below. ’Dur. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 86. [This bull is printed, with a translation, in Arch. Aeliana, xvi, 268-73.] ‘“Printed by Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 258. “ Ibid. Ibid. 259. ‘“Ibid. 258. William Fitz-Ralph granted the nuns per- mission to grind their corn at the manor mill without multure ; and Ralph Fitz-William, lord of Neasham, confirmed this grant, ordering the miller to grind the nuns’ corn well and take nothing, but providing that when they ground their hard corn they should pay the miller one such small white loaf as a nun hath for her daily allowance, and one small ‘ pain grossier ’ ; and when they ground their barley, two flagons of ale.®^ Before 1248 Nicholas, bishop of Durham, bestowed upon the nuns a portion in the church of Whitburn amounting to 20 marks per annum.®® Besides the above the convent acquired from time to time the tithes of Little Burdon ; ®® a pension of 10 marks out of Washington rectory,®’ with regard to the payment of which difficulties seem sometimes to have arisen ; ®® one acre of land at Lakelands;®® rents in Hartlepool, North Auckland, and Hurworth ; and small parcels of land in Little Burdon, Ellingstring, Nether ConisclifFe, and Hutton [Hoton].®® The latest gift, by which the house cannot have greatly bene- fited, was a tenement in Windlestone, granted in 1524 by R. Wensley, clerk, on condition that he received the rents thereof during his life.®® At no time does the convent appear to have been wealthy. In the Taxatio of Pope Nicholas IV (1292) the temporalities were rated at j^i9 ; ®® in the ‘ Nova Taxatio ’ (l i Edw. II) at 135. 4^. only;®® and at the dissolution the gross income is given 91. 9^/., and the clear value as £20 ijs. ']d?^ The nuns however seem sometimes to have had a little money to invest. In 1325 they bought an oxgang in Little Burdon from Amabill, daughter of William of Hartlepool ;®® and in 1451 or 1452 the prioress had licence to purchase houses in Darlington.®® The history of Neasham Priory appears to have been singularly uneventful. It was to the “ Ibid. Cart. Antiq. Aug. Off. D. 48. *® Confirmed, Orig. Bull, Gregory VIII d.-.t. apud Viterbo. Ratified, Cart. dat. apud Wodestock, 24 May, 1276. Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 336—7 ; Dur. Epis. Reg. Hatfield, fol. d. ‘“Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 259. Ibid. Ibid. ’’Printed by Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 318. ’Mbid. 330(5. ’‘Transcript of Return, 26 Hen. VIII, First Fruits Office. Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 259. 106 Rud’s MSS. RELIGIOUS HOUSES bishop of Durham that the prioress appealed in case of any difficulty, and two at least of the bishops were among the benefactors of the house.^^ In 1311 Agnes de Campioun, a nun of Neasham, was expelled from the convent, and refused re-admission, though promising all due obedience. Her offence is not stated, but the bishop on inquiry deemed it insufficient to justify such severity, and directed the dean of Darlington to re-instate her, unless the prioress and nuns could show good cause to the con- trary, in which case they were to appear before the bishop in the Galilee at Durham and tell their side of the story.^® In July, 1319, the king granted a protection for one year to the prioress of Neasham,^® presum- ably in order that she might travel. Here and there the episcopal registers of Durham contain brief references to the convent, but nothing of importance occurs till 29 Novem- ber, 1428, when the nuns, assembled in their chapter-house, wrote to the bishop,®® asking his consent to the election of Margaret of Danby, professed nun of the House of Nuns at New- castle, to succeed Jane Egleston, the late prioress, who had resigned. The names of the nuns are given ; — Jane Egleston, Jane Tympson, Alice Eewlof, Margaret Hawyk, Margaret of Witton, Agnes of Tudowe, Beatrix of Kyllom, and Jane of Blakiston. The bishop at once gave his consent, and wrote to Dionysia Aslakby, prioress of St. Bartho- lomew’s, Newcastle, asking her to send Margaret of Danby to Neasham.®^ Her reply is worth quoting, if only as a testimony to the character of the prioress-elect ; she acknowledges the receipt of the bishop’s letter about the postulation of our sister Dame Margaret Danby, whilk postulacion I graunte fully with assent of my chapiter atte Rev erence of God and in piesing of yor gracious lord- ship ; notwythstondyng yat she is ful necessarye and profitable to us both in spirituell governance and temporell.®^ On 15 December, the prioress of St. Bartho- lomew’s appeared before the bishop and con- firmed this assent;®® and five days later the bishop wrote to Dame Margaret appointing her prioress of Neasham, and at the same time sent letters to the convent to admit her, and to the archdeacon of Durham to induct her.®^ Her reign was a short one. On 26 January, 1429-30, the nuns®® wrote again to the bishop, telling him of her death.®® Two days later they See above. Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), i, 33. Pat. 13 Edw. II, m. 43. Dur. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 147. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. The list of names corresponds to the one given above, omitting Jane Egleston. Dur. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 164. elected Margaret Hawyk, who was duly installed. There is some reason to fear that during her rule the manners and morals of the house deteriorated. In June, 1436, the bishop commissioned the abbot of Bellalanda and the rector of Houghton to visit the convent, and to inquire into the rule, life, and conversation of its inmates, whether nuns, priests, or seculars.®^ The result of this investigation was not altogether satisfactory ; for the bishop cited the prioress and nuns to appear before him on 4 October, 1436,®® and gave them strict injunctions as to their behaviour. He laid special stress upon the observance of the canonical hours, the rule of silence, and the daily meeting of the sisters in the chapter-house. The nuns when not engaged in divine service, or at refection, were to be occupied in reading, prayer, or meditation. The defects in the conventual church, cloisters, and other buildings were to be made good before the following midsummer, and the chalices, jewels, and ornaments, then in the hands of sundry creditors, were to be redeemed. No secular person was to pass the night in the house, nor were the nuns, unless indisposed, to sleep elsewhere than in the dormitory ; doors were to be shut at a certain hour ; and the sisters were to hold no intercourse with secular persons, except for the service of the house and with the permission of the prioress.®® Notwithstanding the bishop’s orders, the nuns proved disobedient, and in July, 1437, their time of grace having expired, the bishop again sent commissioners; this time to inquire into defects and excesses committed contrary to his injunctions and to punish the offenders.^® This resulted in the resignation of Margaret Hawyk, on I o August, 1437,^^ and the nuns received licence to choose a new prioress.^® They elected Agnes Tudowe, one of their number,^® but the manner of their choice displeased the bishop, and they were obliged to renounce the postulation and humbly to submit to him in the matter before he would be appeased.^ This done, however, he appointed the said Agnes, ‘by his authority,’^® issuing a mandate for her installation and a dispensation for her ‘ super defectu natalium.’ ^® He then extended the time for the completion of the repairs, and recovery of the ornaments, and gave orders with regard to the ex-prioress. She was to have her keep and all necessaries from the goods of the house, and to have the use of her private room, so long as her conduct was satisfactory and her religious duties regularly performed.^^ Ibid. fol. 231. ®® Ibid. fol. 2331/. ®® Ibid. fol. 256. « Ibid. fol. 248 d. “ Ibid. Ibid. fol. 249. “ Ibid. fol. 252 <7. “ Ibid. fols. 254, 25412'. « Ibid. fol. 254,2'. Ibid. fol. 257. Ibid. fol. 255. A HISTORY OF DURHAM In 1437, Sir John Graystock, knight, died seised of the advowson and patronage of Neasham Priory.^® In July, 1504, the little village of Neasham was roused from its wonted quiet by a visit from Princess Margaret on her bridal journey to Scot- land. On the outskirts of the village she was met by Sir Robert Bowes and Sir William Hilton, with a fair company of horsemen, well appointed, and at the gate of the convent she was received by the prioress and her nuns, one of whom bore the Cross. We are not told that the princess entered the priory, but she drew rein, and the bishop gave her the Cross to kiss.^® At the time of the Valor Ecclesiasticus, the convent held lands, houses, or rents in Neasham, Hurworth, Little Burdon, Shildon,®® Washington, Hutton, Bishop Auckland, Bishopton, Long Newton, ConisclifFe, Darlington, Hyndale, Wind- lestone, Sadberge, and Gateshead,®^ in the county of Durham ; and in Yarm, Skelton, and Ellings- tring, in the county of York.®® By letters patent under the Great Seal, reciting the Act of 21 Henry VIII, the king in July, 1537, exempted the priory of Neasham from that Act, and provided for ‘Jane Lawson, prioress of the Order of St. Benet,’ to be prioress of the house.®® This lady, possibly foreseeing the coming storm,®^ at once granted a lease of the possessions of the priory in Neasham to her brother, James Lawson, a merchant of New- castle, under a rent of ;^2.®® On 29 December, 1540, she surrendered the priory into the king’s hands ; ®® and the house, site, church, bell-tower, and cemetery were granted to James Lawson for a consideration of ,^227 5r.®^ No imputation seems to have been thrown on the character of the inmates.®® The following pensions occur in the pension roll of 2 & 3 Philip and Mary : — Jane Law- son, £6 per annum ; Elizabeth Harper, Mar- ■‘® Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 548. ‘ The Fyancells of Margaret,’ &c., by John Yonge, Somerset, who attended her ; from a MS. of J. Anstis, esq. Garter. Lei. Coll, iv, 275. Robt. Bellasis died (1421— 2) seised of a messuage and I 5 acres of land in Shildon, held of the prioress ; Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 548. ” Wills and Invent. (Surt. Soc.). ii, 1 19, note. ®* Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 548. In MS. Harl. 606, Scotton is mentioned as part of the pos.sessions of the former priory of Neasham. MS. of Sir J. Lawson, Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iii, 256. Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 260, note C. ®® Ibid. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 548. MS. of Sir J. Lawson, Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iii, 256. “ Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 260. garet Trollope, Jane Lownke, Barbara Midleton, and Elizabeth Hugill, £ 1 6s. 8d. each ; and Margar.et Dawson, £ 1 .®® Jane Lawson survived the dissolution of her house some seventeen years. Her will is dated at Neasham,®® where it seems probable that she lived on in the old conventual buildings,®^ possibly as tenant to her brother. She was a practical and successful farmer, and her inventory includes land at Neasham and elsewhere, live-stock, and a quantity of corn, standing and in the barn. In June, 1557, four of her former nuns were still living ; to each of them she left 6s. 8d., and Ii. to each of her ‘god-bairns’ in Hurworth, besides other substantial legacies. She died before 16 July, 1557.®® Prioresses of Neasham Margaret, occurs 1350®® Jane de Coniscliff, order for installation, 3 August, 1366®^ Jane Egleston, resigned, 1428 ®® Margaret de Danby, appointed 20 December, 1428, died before 26 January, 1429-30®® Margaret Hawyk, elected 28 January, 1429- 30, resigned 10 August, 1437®^ Agnes Tudowe, appointed November, 1437 ®® Elizabeth Naunton, occurs 1488-99®® Jane Lawson, occurs 1537,™ resigned 29 De- cember, 1540^^ The seal of the house, which was appended to the above-mentioned lease in 1537, represented the Blessed Virgin seated in a chair of ancient form, crowned, having a sceptre in her hand, and the Infant Jesus in her lap. Legend : — SIGILLUM . SANCTE . MARIE . VIRGINIS . DE . NEASHAM ®® ®® Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), iv, 548, note N. ®® Wills and Invent. (Surt. Soc.), i, 156. Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 260. The inventory of her household furniture includes many ecclesiastical utensils, ornaments, &c., and ‘ the chapter ’ is men- tioned amongst the rooms. Wills and Invent, ut supra. Dur. Curs. Rolls, Rot. A. Hatfield. Dur. Epis. Reg. Hatfield, fol, 139. ®® Dur. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 147. ®® Ibid. fols. 147, 164. Ibid. fols. 164, 248 ®® Ibid. fol. 257. ®® Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 259. MS. of Sir J. Lawson, Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iii, 256. Cf. Rymer’s Feod. xiv, 659. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846,), iv, 548. 108 RELIGIOUS HOUSES HOUSE OF AUSTIN CANONS 10. THE PRIORY OF BAXTERWOOD Towards the end of the twelfth century, certainly after ii8o,^ Henry Pudsey, a son of Bishop Pudsey,^ having become possessed of the vills of Wingate ^ and Haswell ^ (Essewell), near Durham, founded a monastery at the latter place, and conferred both vills upon certain religious persons, probably canons of Gisburn,® for its maintenance. The newly founded monastery was called ‘ The Church of St. Mary of Haswell,’ ® but it is doubtful whether the building of any church or religious house was actually begun at Haswell,^ as almost immediately afterwards the same, to- gether with other and more extensive possessions,** were conferred by Pudsey and others upon a newly founded monastery situated at Baxterwood, on the River Browney, about a mile from Dur- ham.® This site was probably chosen in preference to Haswell on account of its greater natural beauty.^® This second establishment, which was called ‘ The New Place upon the Browney,’ was also dedicated to the honour of the Blessed Virgin. It was to be occupied by a body of canons of Gisburn,^® sent thither from the mother-church under the superintendence of Stephen, one of its dignitaries.^® The building of the New Place does not seem to have advanced far, as no trace can now be discovered of wall or foundation.®^ The exact site can however be ascertained by reference to Bishop Pudsey’s charter of confirmation.®® Baxterwood being so close to Durham, and the canons being of a different order from the monks of the priory, it was not to be expected that peace should long prevail. The Durham monks harassed the settlers in various ways,®® till at last, as Geoffrey of Coldingham tells us, they drove Henry Pudsey to apologize for his presump- tion, and to make an entirely fresh arrangement.®^ He agreed to abandon the canons, to endow the church of Finchale with the lands previously granted to the monastery at Baxterwood, and to place there a certain number of Durham monks, under the immediate authority and control of Durham priory. Lands in another part of the county were granted to the church of Gisburn,®® and at first Stephen, the superior of the New Place, seemed satisfied.®® Subsequently, however, he became restive ; the pope was appealed to, and measures were taken to force Stephen to keep his promise of resigning the foundation charters of Baxter- wood.®® His opposition was crushed, and the revenues of the New Place were transferred to Finchale.®® The canons had a common seal, of simple but beautiful design. The Blessed Virgin was repre- sented seated on a curious chair or settle of very light construction, holding on her left arm the Infant Saviour, whose form was partially covered by the folds of her robe. The seal was of the usual vesica shape, and the inscription ran — ^ SIGILL . ECCLIE . SCE . MARIE . DE . NOVO LOCO . SUPER . BRUN.®® FRIARIES II. THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF HARTLEPOOL In a letter written by Master Layton, one of the visitors of the northern abbeys before the dis- solution,® it is stated that the ‘ Friarage of Hartle- pool was founded by the same Robert de Brus ’ [sc. ® MS. Treas. Dur. 3, 6, Spec. G. 2. * Ibid. 2% 2“, 16. ® Ibid. Cart, ii, fol. \o']b. ® Ibid. 1% 2“, et 3, 6, Spec. ® Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), x. ® MS. Treas. Dur. i% 2"®. ® Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), x. ® Surt. Flist. Dur. iv, (2), 105. ® MSS. Treas. Dur. Orig. 3% i“; Pont, i, i ; 3, 6, Spec, x, 3 ; 4% 91 ; Cart, ii, fol. 109^. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), xi. ®' MS. Treas. Dur. 4% 91. Ibid. Orig. 3% Pont, i, i. See MS. Treas. Dur. Cart, iii, 88. founder of Gisburn]. ® This is manifestly im- possible, because the Brus who founded Gisburn died long before the birth of St. Francis ; but the house at Hartlepool may have owed its origin to another Brus, possibly to Robert, the sixth of that ®* So Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), xi, note ; and Boyle’s Guide to Co. Dur. (ed. 1892), 403. But Surtees says [Hist. Dur. iv (2), 105], ‘Half a mile down the stream [of the Browney, from Aldin Grange] are the evident vestiges of Henry Pudsey’s foundation at Bacstaneford.’ MS. Treas. Dur. Orig. 3% Pont, i, i. ®® Wharton, Hngl. Sacr. i, 726. Ibid. ®® MS. Treas. Dur. Cart, iii, 88, 88<5. *® Ibid. 2, 6, Spec. N. 3. Ibid. 3, Sextae Specialium, c. 2. ” Wharton, ut supra. Engraved, Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 15. ® Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 1 19. ’ Cott. MS. Jul. c. 2, 318. 109 A HISTORY OF DURHAM name.^ In an order of lO February, 1344-5, relating to a rent claimed by the friars, it is stated that they had the said rent ‘ of the grant of one Robert de Brus, of whom there is no memory,’ ^ and this may possibly be the founder. The first mention of the house occurs in 1240, when Henry III granted to each of the friars (out of the issues of the bishopric of Durham, then vacant) ‘ a tunic, namely, four ells to make a tunic, of the price of twelve pence, of our gift.’ ® In an Assize Roll of 1243 ^ robber fleeing for sanctuary to the church of the Friars Minor of Hartlepool, and there abjuring the kingdom.® At a general chapter of the order held at Narbonne in 1258, a list of the Franciscan establishments in England was drawn up. The country was divided into seven custodies : the custody of Newcastle contained nine friaries, and of these Hartlepool was one.^ A year later Martin of St. Cross, master of Sherburn, left half a mark to the Friars Minors at Hartlepool.® Very little is known about the establishment. At the dissolution it consisted of a warden and eighteen brothers, who appear to have been strict followers of St. Francis so far as poverty was concerned.® In 1335 they had a chapel with two bells,^® in which was held an ordination service (first tonsure only).^^ In 1358 the king granted a licence to John, son of Elias of Brance- peth, to bestow upon the warden and brethren three acres of land adjoining their house for the enlargement thereof ; and at the same time Roger de Clifford granted them an annual rent of 55. Sd. in Hartlepool.^® Besides these somewhat unusual grants — for Friars Minors were not supposed to hold lands or rents — we find occasional small bequests of money left to the brethren ; e.g. ten marks by Walter de Merton in 1275 ; a small legacy by William de Menneville in 1371-2^^ ; five marks by John Oggill in 1372.^® The last-mentioned benefactor desired to be buried in the friars’ cemetery, as did John Trollop of Thornley in 1476.^® In Trollop’s will the names of two of the friars occur : John Fery and William Durham. Amongst other small legacies of the fifteenth century are ‘ i quarterium frumenti,’ and ‘ one towel.’ ^ Sharpe, Hist. Hartlepool, 134—5. ^ Close, 19 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 24. ‘ Liberate Roll, 25 Hen. Ill, m. 23. ® P.R.O. Assize R. 223, m. 2. ’’ Bourne, Hist. Newcastle, 83. ® M^ills and Invent. (Surt. Soc.), i, 8. ° Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 1 1 9. '® Ibid. " Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 167. ” Pat. 30 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 9. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), vi, 151 !• Dur. Epis. Reg. Hatfield, fol. 115* Hunter’s MSS. ‘® Wills and Invent. (Surt. Soc.), i, 97-9. Ibid. 64. ’® Dur. Epis. Reg. Langley, fol. 238. 1 1 In February, 1344-5, the friars appealed to the king that they might be allowed to have yearly the sum of ^5 \s. of the issues of the town oven, granted to them by the forgotten Brus. This rent had been taken into the king’s hands with the other possessions of the late Robert de Clifford, during the minority of the heir ; but the friars’ claim was proved to be good, and their request granted.^® In 1479 William, warden of the house, granted a letter of spiritual confraternity to Sir Robert and Lady Anne Claxton ; on the back is the usual form of absolution.®® The friary was dissolved in 1547, when the clear value of its possessions, over and above annual reprises, was given as ^^4 5j. 8d. and the clear money remaining after paying the brothers’ pensions was 4^. 8d. The house was granted to John D’Oyley and John Scudamore.®^ Wardens of Hartlepool Friary William, occurs 5 July, 1479®® Thomas Trewhit, occurs 4 June, 1507 ®® Richard Threlkcld, last warden, occurs 1547 ®^ The seal of the house had for inscription ; S : GARDIANI . FRATRUM . MINORUM . DE , HERT ®® 12. THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF DURHAM In the thirteenth century there was for a short time a Franciscan Friary at Durham. In November, 1239, the king directed the custo- dian of the bishopric to make a grant to the friars of food and clothing.®® 13. THE FRIARS PREACHERS OF HARTLEPOOL In 1259 Martin of St. Cross, master of Sher- burn Hospital, in his will left half a mark to the Friars Preachers of Hartlepool.®^ 14. THE FRIARS PREACHERS OF JARROW Edward III, on 16 June, 1329, pardoned the Friars Preachers at Jarrow (sic) and at Newcastle- Close, 19 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 24. Surt. Hist. Dur. i (2), 27. Ibid, iii, 119. ” Ibid, i (2), 27. Arch. Aeliana. ** Harl. MS. Printed by Surt. Hist. Dur. iii, 1 19. Dugdale, Mon. Angl. (ed. 1846), vi, 15 1 1. Liberate Roll, 24 Hen. Ill, m. 25. Wills and Invent. (Surt. Soc.), i, 8. RELIGIOUS HOUSES on-Tyne the respective sums of I2 marks and ^6 due for certain victuals sold to them by the late king.^® 1 5. THE AUSTIN FRIARS OF BARNARD CASTLE It is thought that there was at one time a house of Friars Hermits of St. Austin at Barnard Castle. The provincial of that order obtained leave of Archbishop Neville in 1381, the see of Durham being vacant, to build a friary and chapel upon ground given by Thomas Beau- champ, earl of Warwick, in his lordship of Barnard Castle,^^ but it is not known whether this took efFect.®*^ There was, however, until lately an old building on the east side of Thorn- gate which had the appearance of a religious house, and which was not otherwise accounted for, and this may possibly have been the friary. Round a bow window was cut in the square character, ‘ Soli Deo honor et gloria,’ the letter- ing corresponding with the above date. The back part of the building formed a square.®^ HOSPITALS 16. THE HOSPITAL OF ST. GILES, KEPIER The hospital at Kepier, near Durham, was founded in 1 1 1 2 by Bishop Flambard, who dedicated it to God and St. Giles, and endowed it with his vill of Caldecotes^ with its appurten- ances ; the mill of Milneburn ; and two sheaves of corn from every carucate of his demesnes of Newbottle, Houghton, Wearmouth, Ryhope, Easington, Sedgefield, Sherburn, Quarrington, Newton, Chester, Washington, Boldon, Cleadon, Whickham, and Ryton.® When Cumin contended with Bishop William de St. Barbara for the possession of the bishopric of Durham, the bishop with Conyers and his men took refuge for a time in St. Giles’ Church, which they fortified. Failing to obtain an en- trance into Durham they retired (1144) to Bishopton, and Cumin ravaged the country and burnt down the church and hospital of St. Giles.® It is evident from Simeon’s account of these events that the hospital then stood on the hill, close to the church ; when Bishop Pudsey re- built it some years later,^ he chose a lower site on the right bank of the Wear at some distance from the church,® for the sake, probably, of shelter and a good water-supply. Bishop Pudsey ordained that the fraternity should consist of a master and thirteen brethren under the usual monastic vows. Six of them were to be chaplains, one acting as confessor, Pat. 3 Edw. Ill, pt. I, m. 14. This appears to be the only evidence of this house, unless the ‘ House of the Friars Preachers of Jarue,’ which is mentioned in a document dated c. 1283, be the same. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 444.) Mr. Riley in the report says that this is Jarrow ; but whenever occurs elsewhere it means Yarm in Yorkshire. In the will of William le Vavasour, amongst a number of bequests to religious houses in co. York, occurs one to the ‘ Friars Preachers of Jar’,’ presumably Yarm. See Hutton’s extracts from Neville’s Register. Tanner, Notit. Monas. Dur. iii. Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. iii, 250. * Feod. Prior. Dun. (Surt. Soc.), 77. while the remaining seven were to under- take the respective duties of steward, keeper of the tanyard, baker, miller, granger, keeper of the stock, and receiver or attorney-general of the house. Provision was made for an infirmary, a common dormitory, and a common hall ; also for an annual supply of decent clothing to all the brethren, with boots twice a year for the chaplains ; and for the others, who had more active employments, footgear of a more service- able kind (‘ socularibus cum coreis ligatis’) as often as might be required.® Bishop Pudsey confirmed Flambard’s founda- tion and endowment, and added the vill of Clifton. He exempted St. Giles’ Church, which had been originally built to serve as a chapel to the hospital, from archidiaconal control, and confirmed the possessions of the house in Weardale, viz. a lead mine, an iron mine, a toft, certain tithes, and pasture for all the cattle.^ During his episcopate Gilbert the chamberlain gave the brethren leave to make their mill-dam and mill-pool on his land near the new site ; ® Gilbert Hansard gave the vill of Amerston [Aymundeston] and 5 oxgangs in Hurworth for the support of a chaplain to pray for his soul and the souls of his kindred ; ® and Stephen the chaplain gave all his land at Southcroft in Giles- gate.^® By a charter, the date of which is not known, Guy of Hutton granted lands in Hutton to the hospital, but these were subsequently transferred to Finchale Priory.^^ By various * Found. Chart, printed, Mem. of St. Giles' (Surt. Soc.). ® Sim. Dun. Hist. Cont. (Rolls Sen), 151—9. ‘ After 1153. ® See chart, printed, Mem. of St. Giles' (Surt. Soc.), ^95- ® ‘ Ordinatio Hospitalis de Kepier,’ printed by Hutchinson, Hist. Dur. ii, 301. ^ Pudsey’s Charters II, iii, Mem. of St. Giles' (Surt. Soc.), 196, 199. ® Ibid. 202. ^ Ibid. 198. Ibid. 206. " Chart, printed. Priory of Finchale (Surt. Soc.), 100. 1 1 1 A HISTORY OF DURHAM later grants the hospital became possessed of small parcels of land, &c., in Medomsley,^^ Frosterley,^^ Claxton,^^ Amerston,'^ Eppleton [Epplingden], Barnes, Estwell, Crawcrook, Derncrook,^® and Holmersk,^^ and of the vills of Hunstan- worth and Iveston.^® In 1332 the master of Kepier was accused of having acquired, without licence, a plot of pasture called ‘ Le Tung’ and ‘ Enelishop ’ in Styford, co. Northumberland. The king took the land into his own hands, but on learning that Ralph, a former master,^® had acquired it long before the Statute of Mortmain from Hugh de Bolbek, then lord of the said pasture, he at once restored it.^^ This pasture was held of John of Lancaster in frankalmoign ; he remitted the rent of 5 marks, 4 July, 1315.^^ At some time during the fourteenth century the advowson of Hunstanworth was transferred from Durham priory to the hospital, and in 1445 Bishop Neville appropriated to it the rectory of St. Nicholas, Durham, with its glebe in Old Durham.^® In 1371 the master held a tene- ment in Newcastle. In 1306 the Scots, raiding under the com- mand of Brus, set fire to the hospital and amongst other damage burnt down the muni- ment-room, thereby destroying all the ancient charters and other records of the house.^® To remedy this disaster Bishop Kellaw issued a commission to inquire what lands the hospital held, and by what rents and services. Counter- parts of some of the charters were in existence, and others were verified on oath.^® Five years later Peter of Thoresby, master of Kepier, was summoned to appear before the bishop to answer a charge of misappropriating the goods of the house,^^ and in the autumn of the same year (1311) the bishop ordered a visi- tation of the hospital, with a view to the refor- mation of certain defects and excesses.^® In April, 1312, Queen Isabel, wife of Ed- ward II, lodged at Kepier, apparently for one night, and the sum of ^18 ijs. gd. was paid to the master, Hugh de Montalto, for her expenses.^® Probably the money was not unwelcome, for the house had been in a very depressed state Charter, Mem. of St. Giles' (Surt. Soc.), 203. Ibid. 198. Ibid. 200. Ibid. 125. '® Ibid. App. A. ” Reg. Palat. Dun. (Rolls Sen), ii, 1287. ’® To hold of the bishop, by the twelfth part of a knight’s fee ; see Half. Surv. (Surt. Soc.), 109. Mem. of St. Giles' (Surt. Soc.), App. A. Ralph was master temp. Bp. le Poor (1228-37). Close, 6 Edw. Ill, m. 23. Pat. 8 Edw. II, pt. 2, m. 3. Mem. of St. Giles' (Surt. Soc.), pp. xxvii, xxviii. Bourne, Hist. Newcastle, 202. Mickleton MSS. No. 32. Surt. Hist. Dur. iv (2), 63. Reg Palat. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), i, 34. Ibid. 92. , Script. Tres. (Surt. Soc.), App. Ixxxvii, pp. cv, cvi. since the Scottish invasion,®® on which account Bishop Kellaw, in July, 1312, granted to it the tithes of all the recently reclaimed wastes near Gateshead and at ‘Brounsyde’ in the parish of Auckland.®^ At the bishop’s request the brethren, possibly glad to gratify their patron, granted to William of Pencher for his good service a livery in their house, i.e. while in good health to serve in the hall and eat with the brethren at table ; when sick, to have a fit place in the house, and a sufficient supply of bread, ale, &c., and when disabled, to have a robe and 6i. a year.®® Three years later (1315) the bishop conferred a still more substantial benefit upon the hospital. He founded the prebend of Kepier in the colle- giate church of Auckland, endowing it with the tithes of certain lands newly brought into culti- vation, and appropriating it in perpetuity to the master of Kepier for the time being, who was to have a stall in the choir and all the rights of a prebendary. In return the master was to pro- vide a sub-deacon at a salary of lOr. per annum for Auckland church ; two additional chaplains (making eight in all) were to be main- tained in the hospital to celebrate mass for the souls of the bishops of Durham, past, present, and to come ; ten additional paupers were to be relieved at the hospital in the daily evening distribution ; and the bishop’s anniversary was to be kept, masses being said for him, and a special allowance of food given to thirteen poor persons. The master was exempted from attend- ance at synods,®® chapters, visitations, &c., and was to reside in the hospital unless in personal attendance on the bishop.®^ In October, 1316, the see of Durham being vacant, the king displaced Hugh de Montalto, and made Simon of Eycote master in his stead. The mandate on this appointment is directed to the ‘brethren and sisters' of the hospital;®® and the ‘ sisters ’ are again mentioned by Bishop Tunstall in 1532 ;®® but there is no account of any provision for women at Kepier. Possibly the words are merely formal. Simon of Eycote ruled over the house for four years, at the end of which time the king, for some reason which is not stated, withdrew the appointment and restored Hugh de Montalto to- his former dignity.®^ Hugh, perhaps by way of compensation, promised, so soon as he had full Reg. Palat. Dun. ii, 1 1 64. Ibid, i, 190 ; ii, I 164. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, 391 ; Reg. Palat. Dun^ iv, 41 1. The master, however, was summoned to attend a synod held in the Galilee of the cathedral, 4 Oct. 1507 ; Script. Tres. (Surt. Soc.), App. cccxvi. Reg. Palat. Dun. ii, 1272. Pat 10 Edw. II, pt. I, m. II ; see also Pat. 14 Edw. II, pt. I, m. 4. Dur. Epis. Reg. Tunstall, fob 5. Pat. 14 Edw. II, pt. I, m. 4. I I 2 RELIGIOUS HOUSES possession of the hospital, to enfeoff Simon of £io worth of land in Amerston, Hurworth, and elsewhere.^® The tenants ot the hospital suffered severely in the Black Death ; and as this scourge was accompanied by a failure in the crops and mur- rain amongst the cattle, the house was reduced to great poverty, and Bishop Hatfield in 1351 granted an indulgence of 300 days to all who contributed to its relief.®® The prior and convent of Durham granted to the hospital in the follow- ing year the advowson and glebe of Hunstan- worth church, in exchange for an annual out- rent of 1 35. This, however, can have been of little benefit to the hospital, for some time at least, as the necessary expenses in repairing the chancel and manse were so great as to render the pre- sentation of a rector impossible, so that a stipen- diary chaplain had to be appointed.^^ In 1378 the priors of Durham and Finchale were commissioned by the bishop to visit St. Giles’, but there is no record of their pro- ceedings.^® Some sixty years later (1437), under Bishop Langley, another visitation took place.'*® Richard Bukley, the master, had apparently been accused of maladministration of the goods of the house, and a searching inquiry took place, which resulted in his full acquittal.** When Bishop Neville succeeded Langley he granted Bukley (1439) a similar acquittance*®; and upon the master’s retiring on account of age he bestowed on him a pension of 40 marks per annum.*® Another charge of waste and misappropriation of funds was made in Bishop Tunstall’s time (1532), and he announced his intention of inquiring into the matter*^ ; but there are no returns of his visitation. In the returns of 1535-6 the clear value of Kepier Hospital is given as ^^167 2s. lid. per annum.*® The house was surrendered to the king 14 January, 1545-6, and was granted in the same year to Sir W. Paget, who afterwards reconveyed it to the king in exchange for the college and manor of Burton-on-Trent and other lands.*® Edward VI granted it to John Cockburn, lord of Ormiston,®® who, seventeen Close, 14 Edw. II, m. 14 Ibid. fol. ii4C88o.'®®=‘ The outbreak in 1569 was far more serious, and for a time the queen’s authority absolutely ceased to exist in the bishopric. In Durham the rebellion centred round the person of Charles, sixth and last earl of Westmor- land,^®®*’ who being only six and twenty years of age was influenced by the earl of Northumberland. During the month of September the rumours of the plotting of these two reached the ears of the earl of Sussex, the president of the North at York, through Sir George Bowes. At the beginning of October the outlook became more threatening, and Pilkington, the somewhat unpopular bishop, discreetly withdrew to London. Both earls were summoned to York, and the result of an interview with Sussex on 8 October seems to have somewhat quieted the latter’s suspicions,^®® whilst on 2 November Bowes forwarded a reassuring account of the state of the Palatinate to the Privy Councih^®” Meanwhile, however, the earls had been maturing their plans. On the night of 6 November the earl of Westmorland concentrated his armed retainers at the castle of Brancepeth some 4^ miles south-west of Durham.^®' Bowes immediately garrisoned and provisioned Barnard Castle, whilst Sussex, now thoroughly alarmed, summoned both the earls, who returned evasive answers, and on 10 November ‘ the earl of Northumberland, armed in a previe cote, under a Spanish jerkyn, being open, so that the cote might be Stat. I Mary, Sess. 3, cap. 3, printed in Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 530. The other Act of Edw. VI referred to as being repealed is 7 Edw. VI, cap. 10, ‘ For the uniting and annexing of the town of Gateside to the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.’ To conciliate the opposition of the Newcastle corporation to the Marian Act, Tunstall had to grant them a lease at a nominal rent of the salt meadows and borough tolls for 450 years. See Surtees, Hist. Dur. ii, iii, and Hutchinson, op. cit. ii, 579. For the proceedings against Tunstall see Dixon’s Hist. Church of Engl, iii, 321 ; Burnet, Hist, of Reformation (ed. Pocock), iii, 356 ; Diet. Nat. Biog. Tunstall. The annual value of the temporalities being taken as is. 5,01 i6s. '>,\d. ; total, £z,?>zi is. ^^d. Mickleton MSS. i, fol. 210. 188a Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 550, 561. What actually took place in 1566 seems to be somewhat doubtful. Mickleton MSS. i, fol. z66d. 276. See also Hutchinson, i, 569, for a list of leases to Queen Elizabeth by Bishop Barnes, whereby the see was impoverished. His wife was a sister of the duke of Norfolk who was so largely interested in the result of the rising. Letter, Sussex to Bowes, 9 October ; Sharpe, Memorials of the Rebellion of 1569, 5. Sharpe, op. cit. 7. Ibid. 10. 165 A HISTORY OF DURHAM seane, and a stele cappe covered with grene velvet,’ with many others joined the earl of Westmorland at Brancepethd®^ Thenceforward events moved rapidly. On 14 November the earls with their followers all armed marched into Durham, burnt the service-books in the cathedral, and issued a proclamation in the queen’s name, though whether the queen intended was Elizabeth or Mary Queen of Scots is uncertain — probably the latter. Tarrying but an hour in Durham the earls returned to Brancepeth and on 16 November started to march south, the force being rapidly aug- mented. The whole country-side was in favour of the movement, and Barnard Castle, held by Sir George Bowes with a garrison of more than doubtful loyalty, alone stood dht against the movement. For some days the rebels operated in Yorkshire, but at the end of November recrossed the Tees. While the earl of Northumberland marched towards Durham to watch the forces gathering across the Tyne,^®® the earl of Westmorland proceeded to the siege of Barnard Castle. The story of this siege is best given in Bowes’s own words I was in the mene tyme, beseged by the rebells, & contenewyng there in strayte seage, wythe very hard dyett and great want of bread, drynck, and water ; which was our onely drynck, save I myxed yt with some wyne. I fownde the people in the castle in continual! mutenyes, seakyng not only, by greatt nombers, to leape the walls and run to the rebells ; but also by all menes to betraye the pece (i.e. a fortified place) and with open force to delyver yt, and all in yt, to the rebells. So far as in one daye and nyght, two hundred and twenty six men leapyd over the walles, and opened the gaytes, and went to the enemy ; off which nomber, thirty fyve broke their necks, legges or arms in the leaping. Upon which especyall extremytyes, and that day our water that we had, by the intelligens off them that fled from us, being strayt, or taken away ; and by other great occasyons, I was forced, by composytyon offerd, to leave the pece takyng with me all the men, armor, weapons, and horses ; levyng my household stufFe, which I mayd no accompt oflf, in this tyme of servyce, tho the valewe wer greatt ; so as the enemyes receyed only the bare pece and stuff aforesaid which, by the causes aforesayd, I could hold no longer.^®^ Meanwhile the rebels were gradually being hemmed in by the Royal forces. Sussex was approaching from the south, while Sir John Forster and Sir Henry Percy, after receiving the submission of Alnwick and Warkworth Castles, were bearing down from the north. On 15 December, a few days after the surrender of Barnard Castle, the earls were worsted in a skirmish at Chester Dene, some six miles north of Durham ; the next day they fled to Hexham, and the revolt was ended. ^®® Though the earl of Westmorland was the nominal head of the rising of the Palatinate, his uncle, Christopher Neville, an ardent Roman Catholic, was the real leader.^®® Unfortunately for the rebels they were forced to show their hand prematurely. Both West- morland and Northumberland had been in correspondence with the Spanish ambassador, and immediately after the outbreak Hartlepool was seized, sev that they might have a port where foreign troops could be landed to assist them.^®^ The original idea was to march south and release Mary Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at Tutbury; but her removal to Coventry upset their plans, and a retreat to the bishopric was decided on. Sharpe, op. cit. 15. . Ibid. 92. Ibid. 100. Ibid. 103. Ibid. 34. Bowes writes to Sussex : ‘Mr. Christopher Nevill hath doyne more harm to that younge Erie, hys nephewe, than can be thoughte, and doeth yet remayen about hym. I wish he were further off.’ The earl was only 26 in 1569. Ibid. 79. Cecil was very anxious about the fate of Hartlepool. The Spanish ambassador desired the rebels to take Hartlepool so that they might have help from Flanders ; Cal. S.P. Foreign, 1569-71, p. 566. 166 POLITICAL HISTORY Though the rebellion had been stamped out the country was still in a state of subdued excitement, and the castles at Durham and Hartlepool were garrisoned, whilst preparations were made for a series of executions throughout the country that should strike terror into the hearts of the inhabitants. Over 300 people were distributed for execution throughout the county,^®® and well might the bishop write, ‘ the cuntre is in grete mysere. The number off offenders is so grete, that few innocent are left to trie the giltie.’ As a large number of the principal landowners had been involved, the question of forfeitures soon became a matter of interest to Queen Elizabeth. As early as 25 December Lord Sussex wrote to Cecil that the forfeitures belonged to the bishop, but were too great for a subject to receive, and suggested that before proceedings were taken against the offenders the queen should either compound with the bishop therefor, or translate him to another bishopric, ‘whereby, sede vacante, all might growe to her Majestie.’ The suggestion bore fruit. When Bishop Pilkington refused to resign his claims and brought an action which decided that ‘ he that hath jura regalia shall have forfeiture of high treason,’ the queen rushed an Act of Attainder through Parliament, whereby the queen should have for that time the lands and goods of the fifty-eight persons attainted as some compensation for the expense she had been put to in suppressing the rebellion.®®® It was many years ere Durham recovered from the effects of the re- bellion of 1569, and in 1571 Hunsdon writes to Burghley : — The Bishopric is very weak, as there is none to whom they may resort for succour, for the bishop they make small account of; and whereas Westmoreland, Swinburne, and others kept houses, which are now empty, that part of the country is clean waste.^°® Few places were more affected than Durham by the union of the English and Scotch crowns ; for, though the Palatinate had not suffered from invasion for many years, the harassing demands on the inhabitants to serve on the borders were not infrequent, and isolated raids by parties of freebooters, especially in the western districts, rendered an irksome system of watch and ward necessary.®®^ Warm was the welcome with which the citizens of Durham greeted James I in April, 1603, just 100 years after Fox had so sumptuously enter- tained Princess Margaret in the castle on her progress to Scotland to marry James IV. In this reign we first hear of a question which later was to cause much trouble in the Palatinate — the representation of the county in Parliament. Sharp, op. cit. 133. Ibid. 135. In dealing with this episode the writer has had the advantage of reading Dr. Gie’s unpublished paper on the subject. For bibliography see Trans, of Royal Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xx, 172. Ibid. 1 19. Coke, Inst, iv, 219. Stat. 13 Eliz. cap. 16 ; printed Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, cxxxv ; see Lapsley, op. cit. 48 ; Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 557. The value of the forfeited estates was very great ; see Humberstone’s Survey (P.R.O.). In order that the queen might obtain the value of the life-interest in entailed estates, the lives of most rebels who were tenants for life of such estates were spared ; Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, Ixxvi. Cal. S.P. Foreign, 1569-71, p. 2114. Allan MSS. vii. Dean and Chapter Library, Durham. By custom of Weardale there was night and day watching at the fords from Lammas to St. Andrew’s Day, and special watch on the fells as occasions required, but specially from Lammas to Michaelmas, and oft-times till St. Andrew’s Day. 167 A HISTORY OF DURHAM In the seventh year of his reign the king, disregarding their immuni- ties, charged the inhabitants with a subsidy. In 1623 a bill was brought into Parliament for the county to send knights to Parliament, but the king refused to ratify it.*^®^^ Again in 1627 the question was broached, when the people of Durham petitioned that they might either be called to Parliament or enjoy their former immunities in the matter of taxation.®®^' Nothing further seems to have been done, but in 1635 the sheriff of Durham was successful in his claim to account before the king’s auditor at Durham,, and not at the exchequer at Westminster.^”® In the great struggle between king and Parliament as a rule the upper classes in Durham were Royalists,^”^ and the lower Parliamentarians. Some difficulty was experienced in collecting the ship-money tax, especially in the case of assessments on coal mines, the coal-owners refusing to pay, and suits being instituted in the Court of Pleas at Durham to test its legality.^”® Except for the general disturbance the first bishops’ war (1639) did not affect Durham,^”® and the question of the obligation of border service was laid before the judges, who replied in the affirmative.*^^” There is in addition an interesting letter from Sir Thomas Morton on the subject of the local forces. I find that the train bands here will be in some disorder, chiefly in their arms, while the defective were excused for that they could get none for money, and those corselets also are wholly without tasses. ... As for the troops of horse I understand that the horses are so small (and better not to be gotten) that most of them are not fit for cuirass, and therefore the resolution being taken to convert them to carabines. . . . Concerning advancing the num- bers from 1,000 to 1,500 I doubt it will hardly be feasible, although the bishop and all the rest are very willing. . . . This place is of no strength nor any way tenable against great shot, the hills commanding it round about.^*^ No district suffered more severely than Durham during the second bishops’ war. The early months of 1640, whilst the tension between the king and the Scots was deepening, were spent in increasing and equipping the bishopric troops, who are described by Conway as being ‘ the men all hand- some and well clothed, and the horses very good,’ when he inspected them on the occasion of their being consecrated by their venerable bishop on Elvet Moor outside Durham.*^^*^ Of some other bishopric troops he met a few days later at Newcastle, Conway formed a very different opinion, writing in strong terms of their mutinous conduct.*^^® In August the Scotch invasion began, and by the end of that month they were approaching the Tyne, the fords of which were being contested by Durham troops. On 28 August the Scots concentrated at Newburn for the passage of the Tyne by the ford there. Meanwhile Conway had not been idle, and earthworks had been thrown up on the low ground near Stella, which commanded the ford. These trenches on 28 August he occupied with 2,500 foot and 1,000 horse. Cal. S.P. Dorn. 1619-23, p. 265. Ibid. 1627-8, p. 121. Allan MSS. xvii, 5 ; D. and C. Lib. Dur. Royalist Compositions in Dur. and Northumb. (Surtees Soc.). Cal. S.P. Dorn. 1638-9, p. 4 ; 1639-40, p. 592 ; 1640, pp. 133, 140. In June a regiment mutinied at Durham; Cal. S.P. Dom. 1639, pp. 353, 375. Ibid. 1639-40, pp. 47, 223. Ibid. 1638-9, p. 325. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1640, p. 64. Ibid. p. 73. 168 POLITICAL HISTORY On the afternoon of 28 August, 1640, the Scots, who lay on the high ground which is, on the north bank, close to the river and commands the low-lying flats on the southern bank, began the action by artillery fire, which soon rendered the English trenches untenable. A body of Scotch cavalry, the tide being low, then dashed across the river. Charged by the English cavalry the Scots were driven back, but being reinforced succeeded in forcing the English to retire. Though the Scots did not pursue, the retirement soon became a flight, and the panic-stricken troops fled, some to Newcastle and others to Durham. Conway immediately vacated Newcastle and retired on Durham, which was in turn abandoned. Meanwhile the advance of the Scots was unchecked. On I September they were at Chester le Street, and the next day Durham — almost a deserted city — was seized. Thenceforward for nearly a year part of the Scotch force was quartered on the county of Durham, which had to pay jCsS'^ ^ towards its subsistence.*^® Firmly held by the Royalists, Durham escaped scatheless during the first period of the Civil War, the only other fight being a skirmish at Piercebridge in December, 1642, when the earl of Newcastle forced the passage of the Tees on his march to York from Newcastle.*^® When, however. Lord Leven with a large Scotch force crossed the Tweed in January, 1644, the earl of Newcastle marched north to oppose him and Durham became the field of operations.*^^ Leven’s objective was Newcastle, the principal Royalist centre in the north. Failing in his first attempt on Newcastle the Scotch commander determined to march to Sunderland, which was a Parliamentarian borough.*^* On 22 February, breaking up his camp before Newcastle, Leven marched up the valley of the River Tyne past Newburn, where he found the ford so strongly fortified*^® that he made no attempt to force it. The next day he distributed his force along the north bank of the Tyne from Ovingham to Corbridge, a distance of some six miles. Heavy snowstorms had so swollen the river that any attempt to cross was impossible till 28 February, when the whole force crossed without opposition the still swollen river by fords at Ovingham, Bywell, and Eltringham. Resting that night near the river the force advanced to the River Derwent, which was in such high flood that the infantry had to pass in single file over a tree bridge at Ebchester. This tedious operation occupied two days, and the force camped a mile to the west of Chester le Street on i March. Crossing the Wear next day at Lumley they marched to Herrington, and after resting there on Sunday, 3 March, entered Sunderland on the next day. For the battle of Newburn see Conway’s account, printed in Burton, Hist, of Scotland, vi, 304. Conway was unaware that the Scotch had any artillery, and his dispositions were made accordingly. He refers to his men as ‘ being the most of them the meanest sort of men about London,’ and so but few of the bishopric troops can have been engaged. Cal. S.P. Dorn. 1640-1, p. 75. See also Hutchinson, op. cit. i, 622, where various petitions for relief are set out. Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, xcvli. Leven’s force consisted of 18,000 foot, 3,000 horse, and 500 or 600 dragoons; Professor Terry’s article in Arch. Aehana, xxi, 152. The possession of Sunderland was of great importance to Parliament, as it was the port whence London drew its supplies of coal, which could not be obtained from the Royalist town of Newcastle. It had received Parliamentarian garrisons in the first period of the Civil War ; Surtees, Hist. Dur. i, 257. Profiting by their previous experience the English had fortified the hill as well as the low-lying ground. Arch. Aeliana, xxi, 1 64. 2 169 22 A HISTORY OF DURHAM On 6 March the marquis of Newcastle, after being reinforced by some troops from Durham and cavalry from Yorkshire, started in pursuit. Crossing the Wear by the same bridge as his opponents, he soon after came in sight of the enemy on the high ground south-west of Sunderland. The following day was spent in manoeuvring, neither side caring to attack the other, and on 8 March the Royalists after a slight skirmish withdrew to Durham under cover of a heavy snowstorm. On the 12th Leven, who was in great difficulties in the matter of supplies,^^“ advanced to Durham, which Newcastle had evacuated, but finding difficulty in securing forage for their cavalry the Scots withdrew to Sunderland. On the i 5th they made an unsuccessful attempt to take the fort at South Shields, but on the 20th, under the eyes of their general, a storming party after the moat had been filled with bundles of sticks and straw carried the fort by escalade. The capture of this fort commanding the entrance to the Tyne enabled the Scots to cut off Newcastle from the sea and to replenish their meagre stock of supplies from the incoming ships which were captured. Meanwhile Newcastle, who had been joined by Montrose on the 15th, had again moved north. On the 20th some of his horse were surprised and captured at Chester le Street. Determining to attack Leven, who was contemplating moving south to join Fairfax and obtain supplies, Newcastle moved to Chester le Street on 23 March, and on the following day took up a position at Hylton on the north bank of the Wear, some two and a half miles from Sunderland. The Scots were drawn up on a ridge to the east between the English and the sea. The action which ensued did not begin until late in the afternoon, and continued most of the night, consisting of a hot engagement between the opposing infantry, the inclosed nature of the country preventing the cavalry from engaging. The action was a drawn one. On the morrow the Scots attempted a turning movement with their cavalry, which was checked by Sir Charles Lucas’s brigade of horse. The 26th saw the English retire to Durham, and on the 31st Leven marched to Easington Hill, where he remained till 8 April, on which day he moved to Quarrington Hill. This movement cut Newcastle’s communication with Hartlepool, and he on the night of 12 April retired to Bishop Auckland, leaving all his provisions behind. So quietly had this movement been carried out that it was not till the afternoon of the 13th that the Scots discovered their opponents had vanished. Leven immediately started in pursuit and reached Ferryhill that night. Starting early on the morning of the 14th, the Scotch cavalry reached Darlington before seven in the morning and captured some prisoners and supplies. They missed, however, the main body of Newcastle’s force, which marched south by Piercebridge and Barnard Castle. The departure of the Scotch force southward, leaving garrisons only at Sunderland and South Shields, was an opportunity of which the Royalists were not slow to avail themselves. In May Montrose, who had left the marquis of Newcastle on 26 March, to attempt to rally the Royalists in Scotland, returned to the bishopric. The fort at South Shields was re- captured, but an attempt on Sunderland was frustrated by the seamen of the ”°Of five ships carrying supplies for Leven, three were lost at sea and the other two driven into the Tyne by bad weather and captured by the Royalists. Ibid. 167. 170 POLITICAL HISTORY town, who under the command of Colonel Fairfax drove Montrose back to Newcastle. By the beginning of June the Royalists were masters of the county of Durham, and Leven and Fairfax arranged to send a thousand horse into the bishopric to oppose Montrose.^*® The arrival in July of Lord Callendar with a second Scotch army put an end to the Royalist dominion. Crossing the Tyne at Newburn the Scots marched first to Sunderland and then to Hartlepool. On 24 July Hartlepool and Stockton surrendered without fighting, and were garrisoned. Callendar now proceeded north to Newcastle, the last royal stronghold left in the north. On the 27th his advance guard was repulsed on the hill outside Gateshead, but the next day Callendar with the n\ain body ‘ fiercelie facing the enemy beat them from the hill, chased them downe the Gatesyde, and husling them along the bridge, closed them within the towne.’ With the capture of Gateshead the war was over as far as Durham was concerned.*^* Occasional Royalist risings occurred. In 1645 Raby Castle was captured, and held for a short time,*^® and in 1648 there were further outbreaks, but the bishopric was too strongly held to allow anything more than a temporary success.^^® Until February, 1647, the Scotch army was quartered on the county of Durham, and loud were the complaints at their exactions from ‘ this poor ruinated county,’ as Sir George Vane writes to his father in November, 1644. The Parliamentarians were much exasperated by Leven raising his contribu- tions on the basis of a valuation made by the marquis of Newcastle, under which, needless to say, the king’s opponents, and the owner of Raby in par- ticular, had to pay heavily Another matter which caused great inconvenience was dislocation of all judicial business owing to there being no chancellor of the Palatinate. In October, 1644, an application was made for redress, on which is endorsed ‘ whether not fit to dissolve County Palatine.’ The difficulty was overcome by ordering the judges of the northern circuit to sit at Durham, but in 1654 the high sheriff complained that there had been but one assize in the last four years. In 1653 the inhabitants of the county of Durham petitioned Cromwell that they might in future be represented in Parliament, which privilege they had not hitherto enjoyed, owing, they said, to their bishops,*®® and in June, 1654, writs were issued for Durham to return one member for the city and two for the county.*®^ Parliament voted the seamen £200 for their ‘ afFectlon and fidelity.’ Ibid. 177. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1644, p. 197. Ibid. p. 242. The account of the campaign of 1644 is based on Professor Terry’s articles in Arch. Aeliana, xxi, 146—80, where a series of letters from the Scotch head quarters are printed. Kingdom’s Weekly Intelligencer of i and 14 July, 1645 ; Burney Newspapers (Brit. Mus.), No. 21 ; also Weekly Account of 7 and 22 July, and True Informer of 28 July, 1645. Mercurius Pragmaticus of 16 May, 1648 ; Burney Newspapers (Brit. Mus.), No. 30 ; Cal. S.P. Dom. 1648-9, p. 168. Raby Castle, the property of the Vanes, after being three times seized by the Royalists, was occupied by the Scots ; Cal. S.P. Dom. 1644-5, ?• *^2. Ibid. p. 47. Ibid. 1654, pp. 63, 204. Several Proceedings, 4 May, 1653 ; Burney Newspapers (Brit. Mus.), No. 44. Ibid. 2 June, 1654 ; Burney Newspapers, No. 47. A single member for the county was returned in 1653 ; stQ A List of the Knights and Burgesses who have represented the County and City of Durham in Parlia- ment (pub. Sunderland, 1831), 13. Soon after Henry VIII had abridged the Palatinate privileges an attempt was made to obtain representation in the House of Commons. In 1563 a Bill was read in Parliament for the 171 A HISTORY OF DURHAM At the Restoration Bishop Cosin opposed the freeholders’ demand for representation, and a protracted struggle took place. In 1660 a bill enabling such representation received a first reading, but nothing further vv^as done till 1666, when the Grand Jury, on behalf of the freeholders, at Quarter Sessions presented a ‘ paper ’ to the magistrates to join them in their ‘ endeavours to right our hitherto injured county.’ Despite the opposition of the dean, the magistrates by a majority decided to send proper persons to solicit Parliament. Cosin protested, and was sufficiently powerful to prevent the bill, which was introduced on 26 March, 1668, being carried. Immediately after his death an Act was passed enabling the freeholders to elect two knights for the county, and the mayor, aldermen, and freemen of the city of Durham to elect two burgesses to represent them in Parliament.®^^ Owing to Cosin’s energy and ability the county rapidly recovered from the devastations caused by the Civil War, and, except for the Derwentdale Plot,*^^* the district enjoyed such a period of quiet as it had not known since the Reformation. The Revolution of 1688, despite the efforts of Dean Gren- ville, caused but little stir, and both the county and city members joined the association to stand by King William in 1696.*“®* In that year there had been some commotion at Durham, for a letter of 16 March states : — We have been mightely allarmed aboute ye late conspertsy and inteended invation. There came downe last weeke three messingers for taking sum persons into custody, amongst whome (for which I am very sorry) Captain Tempest is one : the messinger did seas him.^^® The eighteenth century was marked by great industrial progress, and for that reason probably but little is heard of either the 1715 or 1745 rebellions.^®® A few years later, in 1759, the Durham Regiment of Militia was raised under the Act of 1757. The earl of Darlington was colonel, and the battalion, 369 strong, was made up by the quota of the different wards, Chester supplying 105, Darlington 131, Easington 59, Stockton 45, Norhamshire ii, and Islandshire 18. The uniform consisted of a wide flapped red coat, breeches and leggings of woollen material, and buckled shoes. The hair was powdered, and a slouch hat looped up at the brim was worn.^®’’ This battalion became the South Durham Militia, and is now the 3rd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry. The 4th Battalion (formerly North Durham Militia) was raised in 1853.^®® 2nd battalion of the 23rd Foot was formed into a distinct corps as the 68th Regiment, and Johi> Lambton became their first colonel, and thus began the association of the regiment with the county. In 1881 the 68th Light Infantry became the ist Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry.^®* County Palatine of Durham ‘to have two knights from thence into the Parliament’ ; ibid. p. 7. In 1614, 1620 (when fourteen members were claimed), 1623, 1624, and 1640 further attempts were made, and on 7 April, 1642, a Bill passed the House of Commons. In 1645 the petition of the county passed both houses, and on 21 December, 1646, an ordinance that they have knights and burgesses was read a first and second time. No members were summoned to the 1659 Parliament ; on 31 March a Bill was brought in for restoring members for Durham ; ibid. p. viii. Ibid. 8. Owing to a technical defect in the Act, no members were elected for the city till 1678. See ‘ Eccl. Hist.’ p. 5f;. List of Knights and Burgesses, 18. blunter MS. (D. and C. Library, Dur.), viii. No. 31. The Quarter Session Records for these years indicate the passage of troops, whilst a letter printed in Surtees, Hist. Dur. ii, 18, shows that considerable alarm was felt on the former occasion. The Dur. Militia (pub. Barnard Castle, 1884), p. 5. Ibid. 42. Hist. Rec. of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 7 1 . 172 POLITICAL HISTORY The principal event of the nineteenth century in Durham was the virtual abolition of the Palatinate privileges after the death of Bishop van Mildert by an Act which separated the Palatinate jurisdiction from the see of Durham and vested it in the crown. The idea originated with Lord Melbourne, who rushed through the House of Commons a bill for the abolition of the Palatinate. In the Lords, however, the local opposition to the measure was conciliated by vesting the franchise in the crown, whereby the local courts were preserved, with the exception of the county court, which was specifically abolished. The Act was passed on 21 June, 1836.**“ Of the two courts which survived, the Court of Pleas was abolished in 1873, whilst the Court of Chancery of the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge still exists — the sole surviving symbol of the great powers formerly exercised by the prince-bishops of Durham. Lapsley, op. cit. 204 ; Stat. 6 & 7 Will. IV, cap. 19. 173 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY I — Durham before Boldon Book Few counties have more thoroughly disappointed the first promise of civilization than Durham. In the seventh century the banks of the Tyne and Wear were the home of literature and the arts, but before the eighth century had closed decay had set in and Durham remained a thinly-peopled land of heath and fell till the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century. And yet Durham, even in its decay, is a fascinating study to the economic historian, for the partial independence which it enjoyed under its Palatine Bishop, who was also landlord of a considerable portion of the county, has led to the preservation of records which, even in their present fragmentary condition, encourage investigation while they tantalize by their lacunae. The present sketch is founded largely upon personal examination of the splendid series of Halmote Rolls and similar documents in the Treasury at Durham^ and in the Public Record Office. Boldon Book in its earliest form was drawn up in 1183, and our informa- tion about the preceding centuries is scanty in the extreme. However, it is possible to glean a few facts about the social and economic condition of the county from local historians, from place-names and language, and from hints given in Boldon Book and other documents. The county seems to have been thinly peopled both in prehistoric and in Roman times. Celtic place-names, except for rivers, are few, and only one Chester (Binchester) is found far from the Roman Wall, although Roman settlements, camps, and other remains can be traced all over the county. The rivers of Durham generally flow eastwards, and in their valleys and at their mouths are the earliest settlements. Between the rivers were moors and fells far down into the eighteenth century, and in the west, sloping up to the Pennines, were moors and forests where wolves lurked down to the seventeenth century. Across the county, generally north and south, ran a number of Roman roads. One of these, in Saxon times Deor Street — the Forest-way, perhaps gave its name to the county. It ran from Ebchester to Lanchester, and thence, after a deflection to the east, to Binchester near Bishop Auckland, and reached Piercebridge, on the Tees, without further deflection. Deor Street was used as the Roman highway from York to the Great Wall, and was in later times known as the Northern Wading Street. In the eighteenth * The writer would like to acknowledge the great kindness of the Dean and Chapter of Durham in unreservedly placing their documents at his disposal ; and of the Rev. Canon Greenwell and Mr. K. Bailey, the late and present curators, for help rendered. 175 A HISTORY OF DURHAM century it was a ridge two yards in height and eight yards broad, all paved with stoned At Lanchester another road called the Wrekendike ran to Urfa,® the Roman station at South Shields. From Startforth, near Barnard Castle, the Roman Causey crossed Deor Street just south of Bishop Auckland and ran towards Garmondsway. At the south end of the Roman bridge across the Tyne, the modern Gateshead, a Roman road seems to have run through Chester le Street towards Middleton One Row, being joined near Chester, perhaps, by a road starting near Jarrow (.? Rycknild Street) and south of Durham city by another road from Urfa. Other Roman roads may be traced with a little less certainty, but it is probable that the site of one is now covered by the sea between Seaton Carew and Hartlepool. There were doubtless pre-Roman roads or tracks across the county, some of which may have been re-made by the Romans, and our modern highways are descendants in many cases of the old Salters’ Tracks and Coal Roads of Saxon and mediaeval times. The great Salters’ Track ran between Wearmouth and the salt-pans of Billinghamshire, with one branch towards Hartlepool and another to the once famous mediaeval port of Yarm- on-Tees, a few miles above Stockton. Closely allied to the roads as means of communication are bridges and ferries or fords. The swing-bridge between Gateshead and Newcastle occupies the site of the only known Roman bridge in the county. The history of the fords and ferries is less certain, and the former would be at the disposal of both Celt and Roman. Sunderland ford on the Wear perished in 1400® by one of those inundations of the sea which have not only destroyed the once fine harbour of Wearmouth, but have also affected so materially the contours of the Durham coast. The Tees was apparently never bridged by the Romans, but there were many fords over it, and in historic times there were or are ferries at Croft Spa, Stockton, and Middlesbrough. The history of the last of these is curious. In the neighbourhood of Middlesbrough a Roman trajectus helped men to pass between North Yorkshire and the salt-pans of South-east Durham. In Saxon times a ferry still existed and the tolls of ‘ Billingham Ferry ’ were farmed out by the prior of Durham generally at ^2 annually. However, the prior had the right to purchase at the rate of 4<^. a hundred all the fish called ‘ sparlings ’ which the ferryman or his servants might catch, and the prior and his chief officials together with their luggage had the right of free passage.* Besides the ferry there was a ford across the Tees at Newport, on the right bank of the river. Both, however, were practically superseded in 1862 by a steam ferry between Middlesbrough and Port Clarence, which in turn is shortly to give place to a transporter bridge. The oldest existing bridge over the Tees is the famous Yarm bridge built by the bishop in 1400 and strengthened in 1807. The original Croft bridge was probably built at an even earlier date, while Stock- ton bridge dates only from 1771 when it superseded the bishop’s ferry. The first bridge over the Wear was Ranulf Flambard’s bridge at Durham, built about 1 120. The Sunderland bridge was not opened till 1796. ' Hutchinson, Hist, of Durham, ii. 4.32 n. {sub Ebchester). * The Roman name is lost. ^ Wearmouth R. (Surtees Society, xxix), 248. * MS. Prior’s Halmote Book, i, fol. 136, and ii, fols. 122 and 195. Billingham ferry was the only ferry which did not belong to the bishop. Strictly speaking, the prior only farmed out half of the tolls, as. the other half belonged to the lord of the manor on the other side of the Tees. 176 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY Roman civilization in Durham was too superficial to affect the Angle settlers who swarmed into the country in the early sixth century. The modern county seems to have been the southern and unimportant portion of the kingdom of Bernicia. Such settlements as were made would be near the sea in the river valleys. We can recognize them in villages such as Billingham, Harton or Wyvestowe (Westoe), and their scattered nature at first can be inferred from the curious filial arrangements that existed in the Middle Ages between them and the vills which grew up on the surrounding waste and shared their pasture or helped to till their demesne lands. In Saxon times Durham possessed no great royal village or castle, but in 673 we find the noble Benedict Biscop laying the foundation of the first monastery at Monkwearmouth. It is true that, like St. Cuthbert’s dwelling and oratory on Holy Island, this monastery was at first of wood, but next year saw a stone church begun by continental masons, perhaps from the same France whence came the glaziers whom Benedict imported to glaze the windows of his new church and also teach the art to his people. Civilization was beginning in Durham, and the church was encouraged in its work by Ecgfrith, king of Northumbria, who, in 682, gave the site of the Jarrow monastery overlooking his port near the present Jarrow Slake. The name Jarrow (Gyruu) means a marsh, but the industry of the monks soon turned the neighbourhood into the glory of Northumbria, and in 685 Ecgfrith is said to have given to Cuthbert, then bishop of Lindisfarne, certain lands in North-east Durham. The life and writings of Bede prove that the Angles were fast losing their barbarism, but unfortunately their civilization made them unwarlike. In the middle of the ninth century the Norsemen fell upon Durham, and in 867 the monasteries were plundered and burnt. When we can get more definite information it is that the monks of Lindisfarne had found a refuge upon the hills of Durham in 995, and, protected by the surrounding forest and most of all by the holy body of St. Cuthbert, were beginning their mission once more of civilizing Durham. Between 883 and 995 the congregation of St. Cuthbert, after eight years’ wandering, had lived at Chester le Street and, thanks to Alfred’s victories over the Danes, had found favour in the eyes of Guthred, the local Danish king. Although in their first fury the Danes had made a special point of destroying churches and monasteries, Guthred, probably by Alfred’s mediation, restored or recognized St. Cuthbert’s right to all the land between Tyne and Wear. Such a franchise was not strange to the Danish invaders, who at a later date left Northern Bernicia to a Saxon ruler. Probably the church had little real hold upon the ceded lands till the time of the Christian Canute, but the congregation of St. Cuthbert, which would of course com- prise many who were not monks, would be a refuge for the oppressed natives and would be looked up to as their natural protectors. Durham was a safer home than Chester le Street, and in the chaos of Northumbrian history in the eleventh century the bishop and monks from their official position were able to extend their possessions by purchase, legacy, or less innocent means. However, it was not before Norman times that St. Cuthbert recovered all the lands which the savage local rulers had torn from the church, as when Ella, at the end of the ninth century, appropriated Billingham. 177 2 23 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Until recent years it was a commonplace to talk of the Danish character of the northern counties, but recent investigations have thrown considerable doubt upon the existence of any strongly Danish elements in the population except in Yorkshire, at least so far as the eastern districts are concerned.^ In county Durham much can be learned by an examination of the place-names and folk-speech.* From it we see that, roughly speaking, only the southern half of the county bears any trace of Danish place-names.® The suffix ‘by’ is only found three times* — Raby, Aislaby, and Killerby — all in the south, and ‘ beck ’ (Danish for a rivulet) has only superseded the Anglo-Saxon ‘ burn ’ in South Durham. Not one ‘beck’ flows into the Tyne, but twenty-four flow into the Wear and thirty into the Tees. On the other hand, no ‘burn’ flows direct into the Tees, and the village of Castle Eden furnishes us with a striking contrast ; the rivulet on the north of the village is called Castle Eden Burn, that on the south Coundon Beck. It would be tedious to elaborate the argument further to sustain the view that Danish influence, except in South Durham, the old wapentake of Sadberge, was only superficial, but it is interesting to notice that serfdom lasted longest in the south-east portion of the county, where the pressure of the Danes was greatest.® A line drawn westwards from Castle Eden would form the northern boundary of effective ^ Danish occupation, though even here they would be little more than a governing aristocracy. North of the Wear their influence was certainly infinitesimal except on the coast between Tyne and Wear, in which district a non-Angie dialect, even to-day, hints at alien blood.® It is safer on the whole to believe that the native population of the county looked to and found a protector in the bishop when once he had secured himself at Durham. Not till after the Norman Conquest did the bishop or monks regain all the villages they claimed in the south and begin to organize the bishopric south of the Tyne, after the sword of the Norman king had avenged the murder of Walcher in 1080. More than a hundred years elapsed after the Norman harrying before Boldon Book gives us a picture of the county in 1183, just before Bishop Hugh Pudsey acquired the wapen- take of Sadberge — Danish South Durham — from Richard I. During that time the bishop and monks had steadily gained in importance, and not only Angles but also the Danish ‘drengs’ or lesser nobles of the county were dependent on the bishop. Commendation and the other processes which, under the pressure of the Danish invasions, produced Anglo-Saxon feudalism were at work in Durham also. The bishop and his monks, at first joint landlords of St. Cuthbert’s patrimony, would possess sake and soke, the usual jurisdictions of landowners, but from the cases of Sedgefield^ and, at a later date, Wolviston® we see that St. Cuthbert’s rights were not the same over all the land. The early Norman bishops brought with them Norman lawyers who would not be able to understand the peculiar position of the Saxon * Arch. Ael. (New Ser,), ix, 59. * Ibid, x, 173. * Ibid. 93. * Follonsby, near the Tyne, is a doubtful case. It seems to have been a later vill founded after the time of Will, I. See Feodarium (Surtees Soc. Iviii), 1 12 «. ‘ See post p. 22 1. ® Arch. Ael. (New Ser.), x, 93. ' Simeon of Durham says {Opera, Rolls Ser, i, 208) that Bishop Cutheard bought with the money of St. Cuthbert the vill of Sedgefield and all belonging to it, except the holdings of three men, over whose lands, however, he had sake and soke. ® Feodarium (Surtees Soc, Iviii), 141 «. shows how the prior and convent gradually became owners of all rights in the vill. 178 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY bishop of Durham and his secular canons. In Durham, as elsewhere in England, we can assume that the new lords sharpened the traditional claims of their Saxon predecessors and imported a new spirit of order and regularity into the vague relations of former times. We know that Bishop William of St. Carileph reorganized the convent and introduced regular Benedictine monks in 1083, and in doing so suppressed the independence and annexed the possessions of the re-established monasteries of Jarrow and Wearmouth. William was succeeded by Ranulf Flambard, the minister of Rufus, and it is probably to his genius that the bishopric owed the economic and fiscal organization we find in Boldon Book. Certainly local tradition at Durham painted him as an able and kindly ruler,^ and the distance which separates Hugh Pudsey from the Norman Conquest makes it very probable that the arrangements described in Boldon Book date from an earlier pontificate. In Pudsey ’s time, despite the harrying of the north by the Scots under Stephen and the troubles caused by Cumin on the death of Bishop Geoffrey Rufus, the Palatinate appears as a land of scattered but well-organized agricultural vills ; and only by isolated survivals, such as the payment of cornage or castleman- money, do we get any hint of the Durham where the chief, if not the only, wealth of the people lay in their cattle, when the constant raids made it unprofitable to till the ground except in certain sheltered spots. Even when the Halmote Rolls at the very end of the thirteenth century begin to supple- ment the picture of Boldon Book we still get the impression of oases of agriculture in vast deserts of moor and forest, from which the inhabitants were just beginning to annex a few acres of ‘frussura’ or, less frequently, to wrest land for new vills. When in the fourteenth century the Palatinate had begun to develop in population and wealth the Black Death aided the Scottish raiders, and the second surviving Palatine Survey, that of Bishop Hatfield, gives a woful picture of ruin and decay which is borne out by the Court Rolls. II — From Boldon Book to the Black Death As Boldon Book and its contents are the subject of a special article, they will only be used here as one of the quarries for material out of which a picture of mediaeval Durham must be built up. Of course, Boldon Book only deals with the episcopal vills,* but a comparison of the earliest existing Halmote Rolls of the prior with those of the bishop justifies the natural expectation that, down to the fourteenth century at least, the two sets of vills did not materially differ in their general conditions of life and tenure, although in course of time the tenants of the prior had to pay at least in theory a rack- rent for their holdings, while the episcopal tenants pay the same dues in Hat- field’s Survey as they did according to Boldon Book. When Bishop Pudsey acquired the wapentake of Sadberge by purchase from Richard I, he and his successors became the owners of practically all the modern county * as well as of large tracts in Northumberland. Even the prior of Durham was only a tenant of the bishop, but he and a number of other ‘ barons of the bishop’ never exceeding ten in all, occupied a far different * Laurence of Durham, Dialog (Surtees Soc. Ixx), 22. ’ The survey of Prior Melsanby (1233-44) is now missing. See Feodarium (Surtees Soc. Iviii), Introd. * Raby and Barnard Castles did not belong to the bishopric. See Lapsley, County Palatine, 9 1 n. 179 A HISTORY OF DURHAM position from that of the holders of one or two manors who held their lands by knight service, often however coupled with a money payment. No one of his barons was a serious rival authority to the bishop, but the prior and convent held a number of vills, especially in the north-east and south-east of the county, and from the existing records of these vills it is perhaps permissible to assume that the conditions of the bishop’s vills were common to all in the bishopric. Boldon Book is by no means a satisfactory substitute for a Domes- day of Durham, and so it is impossible to mention the number of free and servile tenants in the county. All that can be said is that the wide pre- valence of copyhold and leasehold tenures in the modern county points to a scanty free population in early times. Such free tenants as we do meet with in Boldon Book may represent Saxon freemen who did not wholly lose their rights at the Norman Conquest, but they do certainly in some cases represent nothing more than favoured servants of former bishops. The Anglo-Saxon thegn ^ is mentioned so late as the Pipe Roll of 1130^ together with the dreng and the ‘smalman.’ He has disappeared by 1183 and the dreng and the smalman have become semi-servile. The servile tenures of Durham are most interesting, and the degrees of servitude range from the once free dreng, perhaps a royal or episcopal atten- dant in earlier times, to the selffode of Hatfield’s Survey. Roughly speaking, freemen held their lands by military service, while servile land was liable for personal service, actual or commuted, but we do hear of land held in socage® although that is not until later times. It is, however, difficult to insist upon the distinctions free and servile except as regards the land itself, for even Boldon Book deals rather with the condition of the land than with that of the inhabitants. The dreng was probably free in person from the beginning, but the tenure of drengage would be looked upon as an unfree one by the Norman lawyers, because the services were not in the feudal sense purely military. Probably Professor Maitland^ is right in tracing a connexion between the rod-knights or riding men of Domesday and the drengs of Durham, but the drengs as a distinct class died out soon after the Conquest or were merged into the ordinary bondmen. However, drengage as a tenure lasted in theory far into the sixteenth century.^ According to Boldon Book the dreng was bound to plough, sow, and harrow a certain portion of the demesne land of the bishop, to make precariae in the autumn, to keep a horse and a dog for the bishop’s use, to help in the great roe-hunt in Weardale with dogs and ropes, to cart wine and to go messages. Apparently his services were not so onerous as those of the ordinary villeins and they could be performed by deputy. In Ranulf Flambard’s time all the permanent landowners in Northamshire and Islandshire were drengs, for a thegn was only a dreng who held more than one estate.® They paid a money rent instead of service, but like the drengs of ' According to Canon Greenwell’s interpretation of the returns in the Testa de Nevill for Northumbria (Record Series, pp. 381-96), the thegn was only a dreng who held more than one manor ; see Boldon Book (Surtees Soc. xxv), App. Iviii. * In Boldon Book (Surtees Soc. xxv), 16, we are told that ‘Gilbert holds Heworth for three marks and is quit of the old works and service which thence as of theinage he was used to make for Ricknall which he quitclaimed.’ ’ e.g. Dur. Curs. No. i 5, fob 9. * In Engl. Hist. Rev. v, 625-32. “ Dur. Curs. No. 19, fob 322, mentions a case at Redworth. An instance is given by Canon Greenwell (Surtees Soc. xxv, App. 43) in which Bishop Philip of Poitou (1197-1208) changes a drengage holding at Whitworth into a holding by one quarter of a knight’s fee and probably similar cases are not rare. ® Boldon Book (Surtees Soc. xxv), App. Iviii. 180 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY South Durham they were liable to merchet, heriot, and tallage. In historic times drengs, or land in drengage, occur in connexion with Herrington, Red- worth, Middridge, West Auckland, Easington, Hulam, Norton, and Carlton. Probably the tenure was found in early times in the prior’s vills, but dis- appeared together with most extraordinary tenures before the existing Halmote Books begin. As the dreng had to pay a fee to the steward of the halmote court for licence to alienate or enter upon his lands, and was bound to ‘ do to the lord and neighbours the things incumbent,’ his lands probably lay in the town fields. They were certainly under the obligation of mill-suit, and in general possessed no special point of difference from the ordinary town lands, save that the dreng was not personally unfree.^ When we come to the wholly unfree tenants the question becomes very difficult. The mediaeval lawyers could talk of the ‘ villein en gros ’ and the ‘ villein regardant,’ for the former term described the fast diminishing race of personally unfree serfs and the latter the more numerous personally free cul- tivators of holdings for which they owed or had commuted personal services. Unfortunately, Boldon Book is by no means as explicit as Domesday upon the matter of serfdom, and the few references it does give to serfs are evidently from the context later interpolations. The original text of Boldon Book describes the holdings of a vill in such vague terms as ‘ In Boldon are 22 vil- leins each of whom holds 2 oxgangs of 30 acres etc.’ It does not give the names of the tenants as do Hatfield’s and Langley’s Surveys, except where the tenant is a freeman and holds upon special terms.* ** In Hatfield’s Survey some personally unfree tenants are distinctly styled nativus and the inference is that all not so designated are free. Such an interpretation at least is the only one consistent with the various transactions recorded in the Halmote Rolls. The probability is that the villeins and perhaps the cotters of Boldon Book represent the original personally unfree tenants of the bishop, whose status was for a time legally debased at the Norman Conquest, although the servile incidents may have become attached to the land. Exactly how far the pre-Conquest bishops had secured a control over the persons as opposed to the lands of the peasants cannot now be determined. They would cer- tainly succeed to the legal rights of the lords in the various lands they acquired by purchase or gift, but the county was too unsettled immediately before and after the Conquest to allow of the legal rights being pressed too hardly. All we can say, therefore, is that some of the villeins in Boldon Book probably were personally unfree, but that the class steadily grew smaller. However, with very few exceptions all the tenures in the vills, at least so far as the village community was concerned, were unfree, and the holders, so long as they remained on the land, were liable to the servile incidents and duties. It is significant that throughout the later Middle Ages the land in the town fields was called ‘ bond-land ’ and the personally unfree nativus was called a ‘ bondman.’ Upon the lands of the bishop we find a number of tenants whose holdings, though servile, differ from those of the ordinary villein. The * The entries in Boldon Book under Herrington and especially Sheraton leave a strong impression that the dreng was, before the Conquest, the lord of the village under the bishop. * e.g. under Boldon we find ‘ Robert holds two oxgangs of 37 acres and renders half a mark.’ 181 A HISTORY OF DURHAM malmanni or molmen appear in the Royal Pipe Rolls as ‘ small-men,’ and are classed with the drengs. They are found most numerously at Norton,^ Sedgefield, and Stockton, but they also occur at Bedburn and Blackwell, but in Boldon Book we find them only at Newton by Boldon. It has been suggested that the prefix ‘ mal ’ has nothing to do with ‘ small,’ but should rather be referred to the Anglo-Saxon ‘ mal ’=:tributed In this case it is possible that the preferential terms they received from the bishop may be the reward of efforts made to resist invaders who attacked the bishopric by way of the Tees or Tyne, and both they and the drengs may have originally been a kind of small episcopal standing army. The services paid by the molmen were not the same everywhere, but although their holdings were a little smaller than those of the ordinary villeins (24 acres as compared with 30 at Boldon) they paid more in money and less in personal service ; hence, perhaps, their name. It is curious that the tenants, e.g. at Norton, who are called malmanni sive Jirmarii in Hatfield’s Survey, appear as Jirmarii only in Boldon Book, and seem to have become blended into the more general heading Cer- tainly in the bailiff’s accounts^ the villein or bondus is distinguished from the molman as late as 1338, and after the Black Death the molmen cease to be a class. Then we begin to find in the Halmote Rolls ‘land of the malmanni,’ ‘maleland,’ or ‘ mailand,’ and finally we are told that in 14 ii a certain Robert Johnson paid a fine of 40J-. to hold ‘ by custom of the court ’ a tenure he had hitherto held as maleland,® and that all the tenants of maleland in Stockton and Norton commuted their special mowing works at the rate of %d. for every acre they held.* The evidence tends to show that the various tenures gradually became merged into the commonest — the holding by custom of court, although the meaningless names lingered on. The firmars or jirmarii form the remainder of the alien tenants of the village, if, indeed, they can be distinguished from the molmen. They are an alien element, because they seem to have formed no part of the original village community of Durham so far as we can judge from the rents and services they paid. If they were not always identical with the molmen, and perhaps it is unsafe to make the identification absolute, we must place the origin of those who were not molmen at some period between the Norman Conquest and Boldon Book, most probably when the great re- organization took place, whether under William of St. Carileph or Ranulf Flambard. Boldon Book shows us new vills, such as ‘Old Thickley, which was made out of the territory of Redworth,’ and we come across several vills such as Warden or Morton, where all the tenants are firmars with identical holdings and services. A comparison between the composite rents paid by the villeins of Boldon and the fairly simple dues of the firmars is a strong argument in favour of the later creation of the second tenure. In the Court Rolls we frequently find men taking so many acres of bondland and so many acres of land of the malmanni or land of the exchequer, but as in each case the tenure is ‘ by doing to the lord and neighbours the things incumbent ’ ' Cf. Dur. Curs. No. 29, m. 19 (S', where we read that three messuages in Durham city were burgages held by the service of ‘ land-male,’ viz. of paying \d. yearly at the Tolbooth of Durham. ’ e.g. Auckland Roll (in Surtees Soc. xxxii), 208. ^ Dur. Curs. No. 14, fol. 420. 182 * Ibid. fol. 422. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY we may assume that the land lies within the town fields, although probably in the exterior ‘ flatts ’ taken in from the wasted It is tempting to suggest that the firmars were the personally free and the villeins and cotters the personally unfree tenants in Pudsey’s time, but the evidence is too scanty to make this more than a possible solution. Certainly where we find firmars and villeins in the same vill the services and holdings differ rather in quantity than quality, except in so far as the villein services by their complexity point to an earlier form of tenure. If there seem to be a connexion between the molmen and the firmars there is probably a closer one between the tenentes scaccarii^ or chekermen, and the firmars. There is actually an entry® in the Halmote Books under Blackwell in 1468 referring to a lease of ‘two oxgangs of maland otherwise called Exchequer-land.’ Boldon Book tells us that there were five firmars at Blackwell holding four bovates, who rendered and did services as the firmars of Darlington. However, we are told that the latter did no works, but paid a firm ^s. for each bovate as the villeins did. Hatfield’s Survey, borne out by Langley’s Survey thirty years afterwards, tells us that the firmars or molmen of Darlington and Blackwell had become tenentes scaccarii hy 1380, i.e. tenants who paid a money rent only to the treasury.® What happened at Darlington or Blackwell is typical of the gradual commutation of tenures in the bishopric. As population increased fresh land was taken in from the waste. At first this land was given to freemen for life, partly for a money rent, partly for services. In some places, as at Blackwell and Darlington, these services were wholly commuted, and there would be a tendency on the part of both lord and tenant to prefer a money rent, especially as services were not needed by the lord and had become attached to the land rather than to the person of the tenant.* At other places, such as Norton and Stockton, we find in Bishop Hatfield’s Survey distinct classes of malmanni sive Jirmarii^ and terrae scaccarii^ but the latter are generally small and described in language which makes it clear that they are but recently won from the waste,® while in the case of the former we are distinctly told the prices at which the various services had been commuted. Perhaps at first, cheker- men had formed a distinct class from the firmars and molmen, but it is plain that by 1380, perhaps even before the Black Death, terra scaccarii ov cheker- land described the land for which money rather than services was rendered. That the chekermen were in a more favoured position than the ordinary villeins is clear from the fact that they only paid one measure in sixteen ® to the mill at which they ground their wheat compared with the one in thirteen paid by the villeins. Light as this was in comparison the chekermen * Cf. Bp. Hatfield’s Surv, (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 89. ‘The jurors say that the parson of Gateshead holds in different places of the field there, xiv acres of land, which they believe to be the land of the exchequer.’ ’ Dur. Curs. No. 16, fol. 178 d. * Hatfield’s Survey and Langley’s Survey each contains a clause stating that the tenentes scaccarii are jointly liable for the ‘ operationes ’ of the four original ‘ cottages ’ at Darlington, due to the mill and at harvest, until the ‘ operationes ’ could be attached to the proper cottages. The meaning of this is clear when we remember that the original ‘ firmar-holdings ’ had been swamped by the fresh land taken in from the waste ; Bp. Hatfields Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 5-6, enumerates about thirty tenentes scaccarii, some of whom have holdings described as ‘ captum de vasto Domini.’ * Ibid. ‘ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 7, says : ‘ And for the three acres and a half of new land he shall pay the firm to the Treasury.’ ® Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 129, but fol. 82 d. seems to make the rate one in twenty-four. 183 A HISTORY OF DURHAM of Hardwick persistently ground their corn at the mill of Blakiston and not at the nearest mill of the lord,^ and doubtless the favoured position of the chekermen was partly responsible for the general insubordination of the villeins proper after the Black Death. It should be added that chekerland was not unknown under the prior, but together with the other holdings it gave way before the system of renewable leases.® But these various tenures of the drengs, molmen, chekermen, &c. were later accretions to the villeins, who, as their name implies, formed the village community proper. It is impossible to find a more typical vill than Boldon to illustrate the payments and services due to the lord, although interesting variations of service occur, among other places, at Darlington, Heighington, North Auckland, and Lanchester. At the time of the first survey in 1183, there were twenty-two villeins at Boldon, who each held 2 oxgangs of land. At Boldon an oxgang was 1 5 acres, the average size, but we find oxgangs of 8 acres at Lanchester, of 12 at Newbottle, and 16 at Bedlington, so that the size of the oxgang probably did correspond, at least in theory, with the ease with which the soil could be tilled. For his 30 acres the Boldon peasant paid partly in money and partly in kind or by service. He rendered 2s. (id. as scat-pennys, i.e. an acknowledgement perhaps of \d. for every acre of land he held, and 16^. as averpennys,'^ i.e. instead of allowing the lord to use the oxen or horses of the tenant which legally were the lord’s property. He was bound to carry five loads of wood and to give two hens and ten eggs also, in addition to various labour services. These services due from the villeins to the lord were the most important feature of rural economy up to the thirteenth century at least. The three- field system seems to have prevailed throughout the bishopric, but need not here be described. Probably one-fourth of the arable land of the village was retained as the lord’s demesne® or home farm, and was cultivated through a bailiff with the help of the villeins’ services. In most cases the lord’s demesne lay scattered in strips among the tenants’ holdings, but it may have been wholly or partly inclosed in some cases. , The bishop and prior held many vills, and even before Boldon Book had leased or let at farm a large number of the demesnes. But the lessee had the same right to the villeins’ services as the bishop’s bailiff had, and these services are in consequence described in detail even when, as at Boldon, the demesne was at farm. The villein at Boldon worked for his lord three days in every week with the exception of Easter-week, Whit-week, and thirteen days at Christmas. Besides this the villein and his family, except the housewife, were bound to reap four days in autumn. This liability was termed precariae or ‘ boon-days,’ the theory being that the villein did them as extra service at the request of the lord. It is curious, however, to note that they had to be formally commuted at a later date and indeed survived longer than the rest as actual services rendered. To these day-works must be added certain task- works. We are told that he had to reap and plough 3 roods and each villein plough ploughed and harrowed 2 acres, in which week they were excused 1 Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 82 d. They should have used Norton Mill. ’ Dur. llalmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxli), 35. ’ Ibid. ^ If a new house had to be built by the villeins each was quit of \d. of averpennys. ° Bp. Hatfield'' s Surv. seerr.s to show that at Boldon this was the proportion. 184 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY other work. There were due also mowing at Houghton, works of carting and lodge building, perhaps as alternatives to week-work, and at these he received food. Perhaps the Durham peasant had not been so successful as those about Abingdon and Peterborough^ in commuting his services by 1183, but it is probable that the process had already begun and it was certainly helped by the growing disinclination of the lord to work his own demesne lands. There were already a few rent-paying peasants at Boldon besides the cotters who did works proportionate to their holdings. Halfway between came the molmen of Newton. Other dues from the peasants were cornage, milch cow, castleman,, yolwayting, and michelmet. Few paid all, and the last two were confined to a group of villages around the bishop’s hall at Heighington. Yolwayting may be some duty formerly exacted at Christmas, but afterwards commuted,, while michelmet may refer to works of reaping about Michaelmas or else to some meeting or moot at that time. Castleman generally occurs in connexion with the village where a dreng is found or which is near the bishop’s hall at Heighington. In Boldon Book it was paid by the actual service of a ‘ castle- man ’ perhaps at Durham, but in Hatfield’s time it was commuted. The ‘ castle ’ points to a post-Conquest origin, but it may be a reorganization of the military service of the pre-Conquest dreng.^ Cornage and milch cow are too often found together not to have a com- mon origin. Generally the liability to provide a milch cow is commuted in Hatfield’s Survey at the rate of hr., but unlike cornage it was a payment in kind in 1183. It may represent either the increase of the flock which fell to the lord, or more probably his right to sustenance when in early times he travelled from vill to vill. Cornage is a much thornier subject, but one explanation,® that it refers to tenure by blowing a horn to give warning of the Scots’ approach, may safely be dismissed. In the vocabulary of an old Durham book * we find ‘ Hornebiel (in margin Hornegeld) this is to be free from a certain custom exacted by tallage throughout the land.’ Probably we see an explanation of cornage in this, for a charter of Henry I to the monks of Durham ® tells us that the cornage of Borton was at the rate of 2{/. for every horned beast. Cornage is not paid by all vills in Boldon Book, and we are distinctly told that the men of Norton escaped it because they lacked pasture. Probably the vills which did pay cornage were primarily pastoral in pre- Conquest times, but the tax became somewhat arbitrary in later times and we find apparently new vills paying it and the assessments of older vills increased. The tax was sometimes levied on the whole vill, at other times on the villeins or each villein paid separately. Probably in time the incident like others became attached to definite holdings. The Stockton ward had only three episcopal cornage-paying vills. The due, together with milch cow, was paid at several of the prior’s vills as late as 1507, and probably in episcopal vills also, but the origin had long been forgotten. * Norgate, under the Angevins, ii, 472 et seq. ’ In post-Conquest times one of the Bulmers of Brancepeth built the church of St. Mary the Less in Durham for the use of his men when they performed Castle-ward. ^ By Littleton and Spelman, ^ The Registrum Primum belonging to the dean and chapter. * Printed in Feodarium (Surtees Soc. Iviii), 145 n. 185 I 2 24 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Besides the dues already mentioned certain vills or holdings near the great roads were bound to carry the lord’s goods, such as wine, herrings, mill- stones, &c., when required. As usual these dues were freely commuted in later times, but other obligations such as thatching the mill, cleaning out the pond or the stream, or working on the roads, lasted as actual tasks till com- paratively modern times. The cases of South Biddick and Ryton prove that even the Durham peasants had made some progress towards emancipation in the twelfth century. They farmed their vills from the bishop, and later interpolations in Boldon Book show how Bishop Walter de Kirkham (1249-60) allowed the peasants in the outlying districts of Bedlingtonshire to commute many of their labour services. Probably similar commutations took place elsewhere. Most of our knowledge of the mediaeval Durham village is derived from the Halmote Rolls. The halmote was the manorial court of the bishop and prior, but it seems to have been much more powerful than the similar court elsewhere. It met three times yearly and the vills were grouped in sections which afterwards received the name of manors.^ At one, generally the same vill in each group, the steward, or in the case of the prior sometimes the bursar or terrarer, presided at a meeting of the lord’s tenants from the vills of that group. Each tenant was fined (id. if absent, but the vill as such was represented by the reeve and a jury, generally of three to five men, who made presentments of offences against the local by-laws and generally carried out the orders of the halmote in their vill. The reeve and jury were in theory elected yearly and sworn. The office was naturally not a grateful one, and those chosen often earned only abuse by their attempts at arbitration or at repressing wrong-doing. The jury, besides presenting offenders, valued deterioration of cottages and holdings. The reeve was the lord’s agent in procuring that the tenants did their quota of work but his own exemption was dearly purchased by the obloquy he often found. He had also to give notice of the holding of the halmote. The halmote served both as court leet and court baron, but although the free tenants often took up their holdings or did homage at the halmote, its power over them was confined to attaching them to appear at the lord’s free court. ^ Over the bondagers the halmote’s power was very great, but its penalties were wholly pecuniary. Here the villein recovered his debts, entered upon his holding, and if a neif, or nativus, swore fealty. Such litiga- tion as was necessary had to be carried out in the halmote, and the lord’s tenant was forbidden to seek redress in any other court, ecclesiastical or lay, when he could obtain it from his lord’s halmote. The suitors were the judges, and if a tenant disputed the presentment of the jurors he had to bring six compurgators to establish his innocence before them. The halmote, especially in later times, often became a scene of disorder, and the peasants appear at times to have been garrulous and litigious, especially the women. It was not, however, merely a petty law court, but it also served as a sort of ‘ district council.’ The reeve and jury may be compared with com- ’ In the Halmote Rolls manerium always means the manor-house, but the phrase ‘custom of the manor’ occasionally occurs ; e.g. Dur. Curs. No. 14, fol. 397. * The prior and bishop had each a free court. These courts met at Durham every three weeks, but the existing rolls are late and tell us little of their procedure. We learn from the Inventarium of 1464 that the prior’s tenants refused to attend unless distrained ; Feodarium (Surtees Soc. Iviii), 207. 186 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY mittees representing the villages, and apparently the halmote had power to break itself up into a number of smaller bodies, one for each vill, whose recommendations and orders, if accepted by the steward, were entered on the halmote roll and were enforced by the court. We often find entries such as ‘ It is ordered to all that . . or ‘ it is ordained by the common assent . . . Sometimes the free tenants appear as assenting.^ It would be interesting if we could find out the precise connexion between the halmote and the local village assembly which might be convened by the reeve when necessary to discuss matters of common interest or profit to the villagers and the lord. Unfortunately this ‘ tun-moot ’ is seldom re- ferred to in the rolls, and then only in terms which show that attendance at it was become slack in the fourteenth century.^ It probably lingered in some form or other until it received a fresh lease of life as the vestry in Tudor times, its secular side thus being revived as the halmote was sinking into impo- tence before the justice of the peace and the constable, who had jurisdiction over bond and free tenant alike. But this shadowy village meeting had little importance in the village beside the officials whose election by the tenantry took place in or was con- firmed by the halmote. The reeve and jury have been mentioned already, and next to them came the ‘ messor ’ or hayward, who acted as foreman over the autumn works of the peasants and had also duties in connexion with the village pasture. In some vills he seems to have acted as assistant reeve. None of the officials were popular, and the messor fared worst of all. The peasant naturally resented the order that he should reap the lord’s crop whether his own was spoiled or not,® and the careless owner disliked the fine that ensued when the messor impounded beasts that had strayed. After the Black Death the messor was the official whom the vills most frequently refused to appoint. The pinder, or pounder, was an important village official. His main work was the impounding of straying cattle till their owners redeemed them from the village pinfold. Sometimes the more daring offenders would attempt to rescue their cattle by a sudden night attack, but if caught they were severely punished. Like the reeve the pinder escaped ordinary field work, and often had in addition a few acres of land and sheaves of corn from the other tenants. He paid his rent in the form of hens and eggs, or later a money equivalent. In the fourteenth century we find that the pindership was sometimes held by the vill in common and a deputy was paid to perform the work. There was a common pinfold for the whole county at Sadberge in the eighteenth century. We also meet with the village shepherd and the village swineherd, but in some vills they appear to have had difficulty in obtaining their wages. In other vills the tenants acted as shepherd or swineherd in turn, but all agreed in showing a steady disinclination to do their share. The village geese were supposed to be sent out in charge of a ‘ goose-boy,’ but after the Black Death we find frequent complaints that tenants did not ‘keep hirsill’ (i.e. send a keeper) with their pigs and geese. The hens, of which even the poorest * E.g. at AyclifFe ; Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 171. ’ E.g. at ‘Coupon,’ now Cowpen Bewley ; Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 172. ’ To refuse obedience to the reeve or messor was to incur a fine. 187 A HISTORY OF DURHAM peasant had a few, were apparently allowed to wander at their will. Naturally, as the gardens were unfenced, we hear frequent complaints of devastation, and walls of various kinds were ordered. In mediaeval Durham the common drink was beer brewed from grain, generally barley. It took the place of tea and coffee, and, with the coarse brown bread made from maslin^ or occasionally wheat, formed the staple of the peasant’s meal. Potatoes were, of course, unknown, and meat was not only too dear for him, but not very appetizing in winter, being roughly preserved by inferior salt. Naturally we find the assizes of bread and ale referred to frequently, especially the latter. Each village down to the nine- teenth century was supposed to appoint two men as ale-conners or ale-tasters, and the same or two others were appointed as bread-weighers. The toll of beer belonged to the lord, and we find that he granted a sort of licence to brew to certain people, generally ale-wives. These were forced to submit the ale to the verdict of the tasters, either before sale or when required, and were fined if the inferior quality broke the assize of ale. Some of the regu- lations are startlingly modern, such as those which forced the ale-wife to use sealed measures and to sell either on or off the premises, at the option of the buyer. The price was fixed for each vill and varied from \d. to \\d. a gallon. The seller had to exhibit a sign before his or her dwelling and must sell to anyone. If the publican was secured in his monopoly he had also to suffer drawbacks. At Sedgefield and perhaps elsewhere the brewer gave the lord, by ancient custom, a gallon of beer every time he brewed,^ and in the prior’s vills he had to supply the lord’s officials with good ale when they came to the vill. Sometimes the brewers on the great roads developed into innkeepers, who, we are told, were apt to pay more attention to the rich man on horseback than to the poor man on foot,® and the halmote denounced the reprehensible if natural custom. Breaches of the assize of bread are not often referred to in the rolls,^ but we hear a great deal of the common oven, which was a necessity, as the wretched huts of the peasants contained no convenience for cooking. The common oven was leased either to an individual or to the vill, and in the latter case the peasants tended it and found fuel in turn. It was a profitable investment in many cases, and we find that the obligation to use it was resented after the Black Death. When it was clear that the firmars of the oven could not enforce their rights, the lord licensed private ovens,® but the common oven lingered for centuries in some villages. There was generally a smith in each group of villages and sometimes a carpenter. They both held a few acres of land according to Boldon Book. The smith was the more important, and he was bound to make plough-irons and other instruments. Many of the tools were of wood shod with iron, which was very expensive. Probably much of it was from native ore, but the finer kinds were imported from Spain.® There was usually in each village a common forge which the tenants were bound to keep in repair. ' Maslin, a mixture generally of wheat and rye, was used as late as the early nineteenth century to make the brown bread which was the main article of diet ; Bailey, Gen. View of the Agric. of Dur. 358. * Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. \ 2od. ^ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 138. ^ In 1366 one of the bread-wives of Billingham was fined for forestalling and for selling bread non de integro frumento. ^ Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 258. ® Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix), 71, 143, &c. 188 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY They were forbidden to make their own ironwork, but in return they could force the smith to be present at fixed times to do what they wanted. Not the least important person in the village was the miller. The mill, worked either by water, or more rarely by wind, belonged to the lord, and all tenants of the lord had to grind their corn there, and to pay a portion for the service, which varied with their status. Some free tenants might get exemption ; others ground, but only paid perhaps of the produce ‘ ; the chekermen paid from to the burgesses in some burgs paid but the bondager paid We find that some mills had been farmed out as early as Boldon Book. Sometimes the whole village was the firmar, but generally we find the mill in the hands of one or two men who, for the length of their lease, had all the rights of the lord. Besides being compelled to grind at the mill the tenants had to thatch it, to clean out the mill-pond and stream, and to carry millstones when required.® Sometimes the free tenants helped in the work, but their obligations are not very clear.® Hand-mills were forbidden to the tenants, but probably were often used. If the miller was cheated he seems to have often been a rascal in his turn, and some of the vills made desperate efforts to free themselves from the obligations of mill suit.’’ Technically the obligation lasted as long as the mill worked, but early in the seventeenth century the Durham Chancery Court decided that pur- chased grain was exempt. The Westoe jury in 1662 apparently strained this decision and declared that no inhabitant of Shields or Panns need grind at the mill unless he pleased.® The local mill is now scarce in the county, and foreign wheat has largely displaced the native product. Besides corn-mills we read of fulling-mills, each one of which served a large area. These were used in the manufacture of local homespun cloth. At Oxenhall we learn from Boldon Book there was also a horse-mill which an ex-dreng was allowed to have free from suit or work at the mill. In connexion with the mill it might be as well to recall that the famous Newcastle grindstones of the Middle Ages really came from the Palatinate. They were gained from the quarries about Gateshead and Heworth, and we find the prior granting men licences to work and export them outside the prior’s territory.® In later times the ordinary village officials shrank into comparative insignificance before the constable, who became the henchman of the justice of the peace and the representative in the vill of the central government. The bishop introduced into the Palatinate in some form or other the reforms and legislation of the central Parliament. The Assize of Clarendon was put into force together with similar legislation, and we find the usual machinery of justice and police at work in Durham in the thirteenth century. For instance, each ward had a coroner, and often a sub-coroner, and justices who were commissioned by the bishop to see that the various royal statutes were carried out. In 1312 we find Bishop Kellaw appointing a Gustos Pacis^^ and * The rate varied, and a free tenant at Merrington paid ^3^ ; Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 35 * Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 82 Dur. Curs. No. 13, fol, 19. ‘ Ibid. fols. 16, 285. ‘ Ibid. 12,69 R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 126. ® Roy. Com. (Surtees Soc. cxi), 18-20. ’’ Canon Fowler, in his excellent edition of the Dur. Acc. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-ciii), provides a mine of information. ® See Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 1 1, for a curious quarrel between Moorsley and Dalton. 194 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY as they were called, formed the food of the people in the winter months. In consequence we find salt-pans flourishing at an early date around Billing- ham and South Shields, but as the salt was obtained by the evaporation of sea-water and was not purified, it is easy to understand that the salted flesh, and still more the salted fish, was neither a palatable nor healthy food, and the scurvy and plagues of mediaeval England resulted. The lord had his own shepherd, and often his own sheep-farm, but it was otherwise with the villagers, who had generally only one or two cows or horses and a dozen sheep or pigs. Hence we find the village shepherd and the village swineherd often referred to. They were not very important in the village, and although we find frequent orders by the halmote court that a shepherd or a swineherd should be appointed by a particular village,^ the order was successfully defied in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Instead we find regulations that each tenant should take his turn at guarding the sheep or pigs,^ that pigs should have rings through their noses,® that no beast should be allowed to wander about without an attendant (hirsill),^ and similar praiseworthy orders, which, as usual, were not carried out. We are told that no one might pasture beasts without licence from the reeve,® and that he might not exceed the number he was entitled to.® In the case of the cotmen, they might not turn out more than five sheep or one ox,^ and they seem to have been treated in rather a high-handed manner by their wealthier neighbours.® The common shepherd or swineherd implied also a common sheep-fold or pig-stye, the manure from which was claimed by the lord ; but in the fourteenth century the lord was apparently unable to enforce the rule that each vill should have a common sheep-fold.® The pasture or waste formed the outermost of the three concentric zones into which the mediaeval vill was divided. The central zone was taken up by the arable land, which consisted of three great open fields, cultivated year by year in an unvarying rotation. One field lay fallow each year, and the second field was sown wholly or mainly with wheat. The third field would then be sown with barley or oats, or with a mixed crop, including peas and beans or vetches. The following year the fallow field was devoted to wheat, the former wheat field to the barley or mixed crops, and the third field was left fallow. Round each field ran a hedge and a ditch to keep out straying cattle, but when the crop had been gathered the fences were thrown down, both in the corn lands and the hay fields, and the village cattle might pasture in all fields during the winter months, and in the fallow field all the year round. No man, however, might take beasts into the corn field, except draught cattle, and under no pretext might he tether a horse or an ox there for the night. The fields themselves would have presented a strange sight to the modern farmer. They were divided longitudinally into oblong blocks known as sheths (? sheaths) or flattes, which were parted from each other by paths and ‘ balks,’ or ridges of unploughed turf. Each sheth was divided into a number of strips called ‘ rigs ’ or ‘ selions,’ which ran parallel to its shorter sides, and between every two rigs ran a balk or ridge of equal length. It was a grave * Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), Ii6, 149. * Ibid. 161. * Ibid. 50. * Ibid. 44. * Ibid. 143. ® Ibid. 144. ' Ibid. 145. ® Ibid. 24. ® Ibid. 27, 31, 112, &c. 195 A HISTORY OF DURHAM offence to destroy the herbage on these balks, or to damage them in any way,^ for they were as much landmarks as the merstanes, or markstones, which parted holdings and estates.® In early times, when the agricultural com- munity was in its primitive form, every man had one-third of his holding in each of the three fields, and in each field his holding was scattered about the various sheths or fiattes, so that no two rigs lay together. It is clear from various things in the rolls that this ideal system had ceased to correspond to the actual even before the Black Death ; but even in the fourteenth century no two men were allowed to change their rigs without the lord’s consent, for which, of course, they had to pay.® The various balks and paths naturally wasted a great deal of the common fields, to say nothing of the misfortunes that a careless farmer might bring to his more industrious neigh- bours, but the system underwent no great change till the great inclosures of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is customary with some writers to instance the open field system as a proof of the Anglo-Saxon sturdy love of equality, but the probable explanation is that few peasants were rich enough to provide the team of eight oxen, or oxen and horses, which were needed to draw the cumbrous wooden plough then in use, and so the four nearest neigh- bours found two beasts each, and by having their holdings in strips they ensured that each of them should be able to reap their crops at the same time. It is quite possible that the strips were originally changed each year, but the rolls sanction no theory of co-ownership ; co-operation and co-aration are far better terms to use in this connexion. Legally, the whole land of the vill belonged to the lord, and the tenant’s privileges were dependent upon his occupation of a cottage or messuage to which a certain amount of land was attached by custom. Not much is told us of the way in which the peasantry tilled their land, but there are no indications of special progress or backwardness in historic times. From the payments referred to in Boldon Book it is clear that oats were the most important crop in early times, at any rate between the Tyne and Wear, but wheat was also grown in large quantities. That oats were at first the more common is to be deduced from the fact that the work of the peasantry was among the oat crop at Boldon, while their payment of grain in kind also took the form of oats, probably because it was the main crop. The demesne lands, however, paid as part of their rent i6 chalders of wheat, _and 8 chalders of barley. Under what circumstances the tenantry we do not know, but wheat ousted oats as the premier ~ ^ that at Bil- in the earliest laly were wltlTb^^ acre, lingham 7 acres o w e peas and 7 acres while, presumably in e of oats were only YY^.qencv to rise in value, and oats shared the movement. In^ Billinghamshire. wheat was valued at acre in 373, while barlev might range from lor. to 15^., but only "“cfes'^of Bdlasis minor were devoted to barley as t<> 66 under ^ 1 Oats oeas and hay were each worth qr. in 1370, at tne n g botuTng vmage'^.f Wolvistol an acre of wheat was worth tor., and an acre e 1 -N ’ Ibid. 26, 27, 52, 87, &c. ' Dur. Halmotc R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxu), 67. ^ ^ 6 ibid. 120-1. 196 • IJur. naimuii: tv. * Ibid. 80; Dur. Curs. No. i 2, fol. 63. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY of peas, beans, or oats Most of the barley, and perhaps some of the oats, would be used for beer, and the inference is irresistible that the wheat was grown for use as bread. We possess an account of the stock of a serf at Billingham and we find that, granting lo acres of the 30 to fallow, he divided the remaining 20 into 5 acres for wheat, 5 for barley, and the remaining 10 for peas and oats.^ The crops were sown as far as possible in the winter, but spring sowing was not unknown.^ The ground was ploughed over twice and sometimes thrice,* and some attempt was made at manuring.® If a tenant died leaving his land only partly ploughed, his executor was bound to finish the ploughing and keep the farm in working order, but he could recover the cost from the next holder.® Sometimes another peasant obtained permission to work tbe land in the interval between the two tenancies, but to do so without the lord’s permission incurred a fine.^ It is probable that even before the Black Death the villein who held a complete bondage of 30 acres or so required the help of his poorer neighbours the cotmen to work it,® unless, as would be the case very frequently, he had sons or brothers living under his roof. When we find two or more men sharing the same holding in Hatfield’s Survey we see a second system of co-operation inside the ordinary community, and the bishop formally licensed a partnership between his tenant and a man who was apparently an outsider, to work a bondage.® When harvest came elaborate precautions were taken to prevent any man from reaping his neighbour’s crop for his own benefit. Probably the peasantry assisted each other, but the rule was that the field was only to be entered through the gates near the village, where all could see, and the crops, as they were reaped, must be brought back the same road, that nothing might be concealed.*® In another place we read that no one at the time of reaping might have more than one horse among the corn for carrying his food, that at night-time even that one was to be taken away, and no one should carry off the corn of his neighbour.** Sometimes no one might begin to reap his crop, especially the pea crop, until the messor had sounded a horn,*® and when he sounded it the second time every one must leave his crop. Honesty at harvest-time was not always strictly observed in the open fields, and so the rule was that none might gather his neighbour’s peas, except the poor, who were presumably allowed to glean.*® Before leaving the subject it should be mentioned that although rye and various mixtures of wheat and rye were evidently grown by the lord, they were rarely found on peasants’ holdings so far as our information gods ; but they cannot have been wholly unknown, as the ‘ bland-corn ’ mentioned among the effects of a Westoe tenant in 1383** seems to represent the mixtil, maslin, or mancorn of the Winchester Compotus Rolls. The inmost of the three concentric zones previously referred to was taken up by the village proper. It was surrounded by a quickset hedge, * Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii),i33. * Ibid. 123. * Ibid. 29. * Ibid. 51. * Ibid. 39, 45. Besides dung, marl was sometimes used to improve light soils. Bp. Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 217, 233 ; Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix et seq.) passim. ® Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 48, 49. Ibid. 3, 4. ® e.g. Ibid. 26 shows us that the cotmen of ‘ Fery’ (Ferry Hill) were inclined to seek higher wages outside the vill in 1375. ® Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 63. Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 126, 131. '* Ibid. 155. 'Mbid. 144. ” Ibid. 144. “Ibid. 178. 197 A HISTORY OF DURHAM perhaps originally for defence, but preserved later to restrain straying cattle. The openings in it were closed by ledyates or lydegates, and the duty of keeping the lydegates and the intervening stiles in repair was incumbent upon the holders of certain lands.^ The houses lay disposed in ‘ rows,’ often known as North Row, South Row, &c. about the village green. They varied in size from the manor-house, the ‘ manerium ’ of the rolls, inclosed in its own court- yard and ditch, to the humble shanty of the widow ; but they were all alike in being built of wood and thatched. Even the village church in pre- Norman times was often built of wood, although some indisputable Saxon church architecture has come down to us, such as the church at Escombe or the tower of Billingham church. Perhaps the priest’s house might be a little more elaborate as time went on, but apart from the rectory and the manor- house, all dwellings can be grouped under two headings, the messuage and the cottage, the former being the home of the more substantial villager, who developed into the later yeoman, the latter being the home of the cotter, who at first held a few acres in the common fields or in a ‘ croft,’ but degenerated into the landless free-labourer. Hedge-bote and house-bote were not privileges of the Durham peasant under either the bishop or the prior, but permission could be obtained from the steward to cut down trees or to take underwood for the purpose of building or repairing a cottage.^ To take such materials without permission was a grave offence.® The tenant was bound to leave the cottage in as good a state of repair as he found it,* but if his goods were not valuable enough to distrain upon the halmote ordered the lord’s bailiff to make the cottage habitable,® or else the incoming tenant was allowed money or a remission of rent.® We are told of cases where anything portable was carried off by the villagers from an empty house. If the lord seems to have been hard on the tenant, we must remember that the latter was often very careless, and fires were not uncommon when the houses were all of wood. In any case the damage to be paid by the tenant was assessed by the village jury, and was generally none too severe. We are told little about the actual arrangements of the house, but pro- bably the messuage differed but little from the cottage save in size, which is indicated by the number of ‘syles ’ in it. Two couples of syles were found in the smaller cottage, and were the ‘ sills ’ or main beams which rested on the ‘ ribbs ’ or wooden posts which formed the outline of the house. Probably the wooden house in Durham resembled a similar structure elsewhere. The space between the ribbs would be occupied by rough planks nailed or tied to them on either side, and between the planks the interstices would be filled up by a sort of mortar made of chopped straw or brushwood and clay. Across the opening between a pair of syles the joists or ‘firsts’ were laid, and upon each of the other pair of syles a ‘ gavilforc ’ or triangular gable frame of wood was placed. The tops of the gables supported a beam still called the rig-tree in parts of the north country. From the rig-tree to the syle on either side ran the ‘ spars’ or rafters, and upon them the thatching was placed. If * Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 51, 142; Bp. Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 83 and glossary. ’ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 34. ® Ibid. 98. ‘ Ibid. 26, 1 14. ® Ibid. 42, 146. 198 * Ibid. 27. ' Ibid. 42. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY this upper space were used for sleeping accommodation it would be reached by a short wooden ladder from below. The windows, where they were found, were probably unglazed openings protected by a shutter at night. The door was supplied with a lock and key, but cannot have been very substantial, as we often read of deserted or locked-up houses being broken open and their contents stolen.^ The interior of the house was not very inviting. A proper chimney was by no means common, but the fire when used was made on a hob of clay, and the smoke had to escape as best it could through a hole in the roof or by the door and window. The floor consisted of the bare earth beaten hard, or where they were common perhaps of flints, and upon the floor were flung the bags of straw that served as beds for the night. It is true that we do occasionally hear of a feather bed, but it is generally as an heirloom handed down by will and evidently very precious.* In the ‘chimney-corner’ might be found a set of bow and arrows or a half-rusted bill-hook, and on the walls some of the more portable agricultural imple- ments. Add a carved chest or two around the walls, a few clumsy wooden stools, and a set of brass and earthenware cooking vessels, with perhaps a leaden brewing vat, and you have the contents of the ordinary peasant’s cottage, as we find them in the few inventories left to us.® The lists vary a little, but all agree in showing a lack of comfort. The jury of Easington even in 1409 only assessed Richard Watson’s ‘ domestic utensils ’ at 6s. 8^. out of a total estate of ^^8 lys. 0.(1. The richer peasant might use more syles and make his dwelling larger, he might have rough hangings of coarse sacking to keep out the wind, or brazen and iron vessels in greater number or of larger size than the poor cottagers, but the country was too disturbed even in the fourteenth century for civilization to make any progress. The Scots might swoop down and after burning his village carry off the peasant’s flocks, as we are told they sacked Heworth.* Even the prior had to send his cattle at times beyond the Tees for safety,® and the bishop was glad to buy a truce.® The result was that his house served as little more than a sleeping place for the peasant. When night came he had no temptation to sit round a tiny fire of smoky turf or evil-smelling coal, even if he could afford to burn it. Candles or other artificial light were quite out of the question, as a pound of candles cost almost a whole day’s wages, and the hard fats were four times as dear as the meat of animals.'^ This timber cottage with the thatched roof remained in all essentials unchanged as the home of the peasant down to the sixteenth century. In the middle of the fifteenth cen- tury the lost art of brickmaking was recovered, and in the later rolls we find that some of the dwellings were tiled, but the innovation was either not popular or unserviceable, as we find the thatch was sometimes replaced.® Not until England and Scotland were one kingdom could the Durham peasant feel safe enough to go to the expense of a brick or stone dwelling. * Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 56, 150, &c. * Ibid. 91. ® In Dur. Treas. Loc. 4, No. 146-7, are some interesting post mortem inventories of the possessions of tenants who died in the Black Death ; cf. also Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 151, 168 ; Dur. Curs. No. 14, fols. 307, 332, 402. * Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 31. ® Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix et seq.), 314, 541, &c. ® Chancery R. in Cursitor Rec. of fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, passim. ' Rogers, Centuries of Work and Wages, i, 67. ® MS. Prior’s Halmote Book, ii, fol. 194. igg A HISTORY OF DURHAM The exterior of the hovel was no more inviting than the interior. At the very door stood the ‘ mixen,’ a collection of all the refuse of the family, and, after rain, streams of filthy liquid flowed down to the little brook that often ran through the village. They might fertilize the meadow through which they passed, but they would certainly pollute the source whence the inhabitants drew their water supply, with the natural result of disease or sickness. Close by the house, if not leaning against it, would be the various outbuildings, such as barns, stables, piggeries, &c., in the case of a more important tenant. The buildings stood in the centre of a kind of yard or garden called a toft. After the Black Death, attempts were made to force the tenant to build a wall or fence about his toft so as to prevent straying animals from eating up his cabbages or herbs.^ Sometimes close at hand, at other times a little distance away, would be a croft or small inclosure into which the peasant might turn his animals, the presence of which would fertilize it for a crop of hay or perhaps of grain. Tofts and crofts might differ in detail and be larger in the case of an outlying tenement, but the use made of them was similar, except perhaps when a more enterprising tenant paid for permission to keep a pigeon-cote and maddened his neighbours by the sight of their crops being devoured for his benefit. In dealing with the position of the peasant and his transition from the status of one who paid in kind and in person to that of one who was a copy- holder or renewable leaseholder, it is superfluous to discuss whether all the tenants were originally pure serfs (or nativi, as the rolls call them). It is enough to say that in the thirteenth century there were already two distinct classes of men who held by servile tenure. The first were said to hold ‘ at the will of the lord because a nathus^ the second held ‘ for the term of their life.’ The former for the most part were unquestionably of servile birth and will be dealt with Igter ; the latter may have been largely of servile descent though themselves personally free, or they may represent the original free- men who preserved their freedom from the earliest times, but took land from the bishop or prior on servile terms. Boldon Book is too vague to help us to determine whether all who held by villein tenure (that is, formed part of the original village community) were personally unfree, but Hatfield’s Survey two hundred years later is quite explicit upon the point. It states by implication that all tenants not definitely called nativus are personally free. These personally free tenants who held for life had acquired a legal estate in their holding by the thirteenth century, but this estate was con- ditional upon their doing the accustomed services,® or paying an equivalent, and upon their working the land in a sufficient manner.^ For example, at Billingham in 1296, we find that Agnes, the widow of Roger Staf, was allowed to take her husband’s place upon his death by paying the usual fine,® but had she not tilled it carefully she would have experienced the fate of William the Miller, who was declared incompetent to hold his land because he had allowed one of his buildings to be destroyed by fire and the rest to fall into ruins.® Alan, son of Peter of Fulwell, on the contrary, paid all the lord’s dues and so in his childless old age he was allowed to bargain with a * Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 38, 92, &c. * MS. Prior’s Halmote Book, ii, fol. 61. ’ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 10. ■* Ibid. 9. * Ibid. i. ® Ibid. 12. 200 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY younger man to take over his interest in the land and allow Alan to live with him and to enjoy the produce of one rood of land in each of the three fields for the rest of his life.^ It was quite agreeable to mediaeval notions that the bishop or prior should be the legal owner of the estate in which a peasant had a conditional life interest. The tenant, if a free man, took the messuage and a number of acres that went with it, a bondage as it was called, upon two well-defined conditions : he would pay to the lord the usual services and rent ; and he would do to his lord and neighbours the things incumbent. These condi- tions became a formula and when the bargain had been ratified by the tenant’s payment of a fine of varying amount, called a gersuma or gressom, the tenant was secure for life so long as he kept the terms. Practically he became a life leaseholder, but the nature of his tenure was made clear when we find that without the lord’s consent he could not cut down a tree even if it grew in his own garden,^ he could not alienate or exchange a single rig of his land,® nor could he prevent the lord’s lessees from digging for coal under his land, although the lord did allow him compensation for his loss.* The utmost power of alienation that the tenant had was in the case of a widow or an infirm man, who were allowed to sublet their holding to a more able peasant for their own life.® However, when Robert Felow allowed William, son of Elena to take four crops off a rood of his land, without the lord’s consent, the land was taken into the hands of the lord.® If Robert had no further use for the land he must surrender it to the lord in court. Then his responsibility for the firm and rent ceased, and if the near relatives of Robert did not care to fine for it, the steward let it to a satisfactory applicant, who was sometimes certified by the jury.^ In any case the tenant must find two sureties or pledges. There are instances, however, in which the outgoing tenant was bribed to surrender his holding,® and so by collusion an outsider could obtain land. When the increase of population just before the Black Death rendered holdings valuable, we find freemen tempting serfs to escape by flight that they may obtain the vacant holding.® When a tenant died the village priest obtained his best beast by way of mortuary,^® and in some cases, at least, the lord received a sum of money as heriot,^^ although the latter custom died out early. If the deceased left a widow she came into court and claimed her late husband’s holding by widow- right. This claim was always recognized, but there was only one stipulation — she might not take a second husband without the lord’s licence, for which of course she had to pay a fine, the reason being that the second husband often became joint tenant with his wife and put in a claim to the land on her death. The widow’s right was superior to that of the eldest son or nearest relative, but failing her the nearest relative succeeded upon paying the usual or perhaps a slightly increased gersuma and firm, as, so far as our evidence goes, ‘ rents ’ showed a slight tendency to rise before the Black ' Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), lo. ^ Ibid. 8o ; Dur. Curs. No. 12, fols. 63, 80, 297 . Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 2 1 1 «. I'’ Ibid. fol. 76. Ibid. 38, 53, 90, 92. ‘ Ibid. 127. ^ Ibid. fol. 53. * Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 63. ” Ibid. fol. gi d 215 A HISTORY OF DURHAM promised to intercede with the steward, if hy any chance the lord may be willing to show them a special favour by allowing them to pay for the grain and carrying works in money. But he adds : ‘ Let it be kept secret for three years or two, lest it set a bad example to the other villages.’^ The question was debated by the bishop’s council,® and the last information we get is that in February 1356, the tenants were ordered to ‘pay the ancient firm in malt, and in all other services, and in money as they were accustomed to do as of old time.’® In Hatfield’s^ Survey we find each man responsible for his own holding, but allowed to commute the works at the * rate of ^s. for 30 acres, and it is probable that quite three hundred years passed before the men of Killerby realized their ambition of a purely money rent to the bishop.® In the eastern district of the Palatinate similar demands were made for a frank commutation of services. It must be remembered that even in the days of Hugh Pudsey purely money rents were not unknown. The question at issue between the lord and his tenants was not ‘ May the tenant commute his services ? ’ but ‘ At what price may he escape the necessity of perform- ing them when free labour is dear? ’ The tenants at Killerby fixed the com- mutation price too low. We are not told, unfortunately, what offer was made to the lord at Sedgefield in March 1350, but we learn that the tenantry of Sedgefield and Cornforth (and probably those of Middleham also) took their lands at penyferme for three years, but at the end of that time the lord might revert to the older system of works [pristinas operationes)} Bishop Hatfield himself tried to arrange some scheme to satisfy the discontent in the Stockton district, and by his order the tenants of bondages and half bondages (but not the cotters) of Norton, Hartburn, and Stockton were allowed to lease their vills and works at the same rate as the tenants of Sedgefield and Corn- forth had done.'^ We learn from a later entry that the Stockton tenants agreed to pay a rent which would enable Richard Stere, the bishop’s bailiff, to hire free labour enough to replace their commuted services.® It was high time something was done if the whole economic system of the Palatinate was not to go down in ruin. The yield was poor enough in the Middle Ages, and one year’s fallowing after two successive crops was the least the land could bear. However, at Sedgefield the peasantry had used their new rights unsparingly, and sowed even the third field that should have lain fallow. In the summer of 1352 the steward ‘coerced’ them into a promise that they would revert to the old system and allow one-third of the land to lie fallow each year.® It seems probable that as each man had more land at his disposal while labour was dear, the peasants had decided to go in for ‘ extensive ’ as opposed to ‘ intensive ’ cultivation, or at any rate only to sow the most fertile patches of each field. The ‘ coercion ’ of the steward was not very effectual, for not long afterwards we find that the Sedgefield jury were fined 2s. for refusing to present those tenants who sowed the fallow * Dur. Curs. No. iz, fol. 130. * Ibid, fob d. ^ Ibid, fob i64<^. * Bp. Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 23, 24. It is impossible to equate some of the old obligations in terms of money, but the old system, which seems to have been restored in 1356, was certainly more burden- some and probably less favourable to the tenants than a rate of I zd. an acre. ‘ From the Report of the Commonwealth Com. in 1646-7 it is clear that the copyholders of the Palatinate professed to commute some labour services in the seventeenth century and actually did perform others. ® Dur. Curs. No. 1 2, fob 5 1, 5 1 (/. ' Ibid, fob 75. ® Ibid, fob 1 1 3 d. instead of 12^., averrepes (reaping) at (^d. instead of \\d.^ and autumn works, which in 1350 were commuted for <^d. from each household, were now valued at I2<^., but to save the lord from loss every additional member of the peasant’s household paid 12^., if over fifteen, and td. if under fifteen.^ Hatfield’s Survey preserves us a few interesting notes of other lettings at penyferme, such as at Heighington^ and Boldon.® The process seems to have been general, and John de Heron, who was steward in the last year of Hatfield’s life, continued it when in office under Bishop Fordham. We hear in Hatfield’s Survey of a 7iova dimissio or new letting of the demesne and bondlands to the Boldon tenants at a money rent, and the manuscript Langley’s Survey^ of 1418 shows that the arrangement was renewed in Fordham’s time by John de Heron and was maintained in the fifteenth century. The peasants of Boldon were plainly copyholders by Langley’s time, and it is certain, despite the unfinished condition of the survey, that they were not in a unique position. As the prior’s rolls are defective for this period we have little informa- tion as to the arrangements made in his vills, but there is frequent mention ^ of lettings at penyferme in the later rolls. Indeed it is difficult to see what other arrangement could have been made when one man was responsible for two or more bondages and could not afford to perform labour services for each, even had he been willing.® It is uncertain to what extent the bishop or the prior really did try to obtain actual work from the tenants. Apparently week-work was not insisted upon, but at Wolviston, West Rainton, and Dalton we find cases where men paid the fine of i2d. rather than perform the reaping works in autumn.'^ This spirit of defiance among the peasantry was very marked in the latter half of the fourteenth century. Numerous cases occur in which the by-laws were broken ® and the village officials defied,® and as a matter of course services admittedly due to the lord, such as carriage, were systematically neglected or shamefully performed.^® Sometimes we read of a riot as a protest against unpopular demands, as when the men of Stanhope in 1360 fired the thatch of the local mill and refused to re-roof it.^^ When the tenants had made their bargain with the lord either in- dividually or collectively for the commutation of their works, there often arose some difficulty within the vill itself as to payment. Just before the Black Death a new village officer, the collector, was created, who, as his name implies, gathered in the lord’s rents and commutation money. His task was not a pleasant or popular one, but it was a grave offence to give him a ‘ Cf. Bp. Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 147 and 232. Perhaps we may understand ‘pro quolibet famulo ultra etatem xvj annorum . . . . I2d. et pro quolibet pagetto infra etatem predictam 6d.’ to mean that for every ii bovates a peasant had, he kept a man and a lad to assist him. * Bp. Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii). 19. ’ Ibid. loi. ‘ In P.R.O. Rentals and Surv. fol. 88. ‘ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 30, 35, 89, 122, 160, &c. ® Ibid. 114. ^ Ibid. 72, 108, 162. ® Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 45 et seq. ® Ibid. fol. 45 d. Ibid. No. 12, fol. 143 ; Ibid. No. 13, fol. 124 ; Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 67, 140. " Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 258 218 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY refusal/ Sometimes, however, the tenant denied that his tenement was liable for certain services, but he generally had great difficulty in persuading a jury to relieve him of a burden that would inevitably fall on themselves/ When bailiff-farming was given up by the lord, the question of works was simplified. The commutation money was paid to the treasury of the bishop or prior at Durham (at times it seems after being long in arrears),® or as frequently hap- pened the vill leased the meadows and demesnes to which the works were due just as the old firmars had done. For instance, at Middridge in 1394 the thirteen or fourteen bond tenants of Hatfield’s Survey had decreased to eight, and these eight were allowed to take the fifteen bondage holdings (450 acres) and 42 acres of the demesne for twelve years at 1 2d. an acre. It is true there is a proviso that their right lapsed if anybody else offered to work the land at the old rent, but that contingency was not very likely.^ In Hatfield’s Survey only two of the bondages were professedly at penyferme, but it is noted that this arrangement held good for six years only. The tenants, who commuted their week-work in the usual way, only paid about \\d. per acre for their holdings, but we are told that they owed works in the meadow and at the hay harvest, and these works would represent the "j\d. difference. The men of Sedgefield, Middleham, and Cornforth in a similar way leased the meadows and the works they owed to them for twelve years,® but at Stockton and Norton the tenants of maleland were only allowed to commute the meadow-works at %d. a day each so long as the bishop chose.® The bishop and the prior were each faced by the same difficulty. There were not enough husbandmen alive to work the land in the old way, and the solution of the problem by inclosing the better land for separate farms did not occur to them for some time. It is pathetic to see, time after time, the same condition inserted in all agreements : — A.B. may have the bondage at a reduced rent until a tenant shall come who will pay the old rent. As this tenant never did come, we find the bishop and prior trying to make the remaining tenants responsible for the vacant holding. These tenants were of two kinds : the personally free bondager who could in theory leave the land upon paying his debts, but not before, and the serf or nativus who could be compelled to work the land on the lord’s terms and could even be brought from a neighbouring village to hold land in his birthplace. When the original holder and his family had died out, the steward would order the reeve’’ or the vill® to work the land and answer for the rent, despite their protests. As a sequel the jury would present that certain of the tenants were able to hold an extra bondage,® and we thus have the phenomenon, so common in Hatfield’s Survey, of a man holding two tenements. Sometimes a peasant wished to leave the vill, perhaps hoping to fare better as a free labourer else- where. The steward thereupon forced the pledges of the defaulters to be responsible for the holding till someone else would take it. Not infrequently the wanderer did return disillusioned and ready to take up his old holding, and he did not find the bishop a hard creditor for the arrears.’® Sometimes a peasant to whom an extra holding had been committed by the steward and his neighbours threatened to leave the lord’s lands altogether, in which case * Dur. Curs. No. 16, fol. 285. ’ Ibid. No. 12, fol. 231. ’ Ibid. fol. 237 d, 238. Ibid. No. 13, fol. 155. * Ibid. fol. 223 d. ® Ibid. No. 14, fol. 422. ’’ As at Shotton, Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 61. ® As at Easington, ibid. fol. 67 d. * Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 82. Ibid. fol. 138. 219 A HISTORY OF DURHAM the coroner received orders to take security upon his goods and chattels. It is but fair to point out that only the wealthiest peasants were chosen for the extra burden.^ If a free peasant proposed to surrender the single holding he was well able to work he was fined for ‘ disrespect to the lord.’^ The worst sufferers, however, were the unfortunate serfs. Before the Black Death they had generally lived a life differing in little save legal rights from that of the free peasants. It is true that they held their land and all their possessions at the will of the lord, but apparently it had been an easy matter to obtain leave to absent themselves from their native village. All this was changed after 1349. The steward diligently sought out every peasant whose ancestry was in the least degree assailable, and forced him to throw him- self on the jury to establish his free condition.® If he could not the steward committed to him one of the vacant holdings in his native village.^ It did not matter where the serf was or how long he had been away. The jury of each vill were asked for a list of the lord’s neifs who belonged to the vill, and the persons named were brought back by the coroner.® Of course, the serfs, already decimated by the plague, became alarmed at the prospect and took to flight whenever they could.® The steward thereupon sent round an order to the vills that all wandering nativi should be arrested.^ We read of the ‘ hospicium ’ of the bishop to which neifs were to be sent by the coroner.® Even the dry records of the halmote become thrilling in dealing with the last tragedy of serfdom. At Boldon, William Short, a kinsman of the Thomas Short already referred to, found the burden imposed upon him by the coroner was too great. Aided by Thomas Short and others he took to flight. He escaped, probably to Newcastle, the serf’s Canada, but those who ‘ aided and abetted him ’ were made responsible for his land.® Sometimes, as in the case of John Roumanger, a neif of Shadforth, friends came by night with carts and carried off his scanty possessions — W et armis as the rolls say. John would be lucky if he escaped capture at South Sherburn, where he first took refuge.^® All neifs were not friendless, and in one case the steward was successfully defied for many years by two runaways, John Rede and Nicholas Todd, who had made friends with the powerful lessee of the burg of Sunder- land, Richard de Heworth. The neifs in question belonged to Bishop- wearmouth, but when the slave-hunt began they disappeared. For some time the authorities were baffled, but at last their uncle was coerced into saying that they were hiding across the Wear in Southwick, and William de Kirkeby, the Chester coroner, was ordered to arrest them. Then began a game of hide and seek. For several years Kirkeby and a fellow coroner of Easington ward, John Boner, received repeated orders to arrest the neifs who flitted about between Silksworth and Tunstall, until the steward threatened that further delay should cost Boner his office. The threat seems to have induced Boner to appeal to Richard de Heworth for his good offices, as in June, 1357, the two neifs appeared at Chester and took out licences as ‘ albanarii ’ with their protector as pledge. However, they were still unprofitable servants, for they were fined i 'id. each a little later for not paying suit of court. ’ Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 138. ' Ibid. fol. 133. * Ibid, fob 59. * Ibid. fol. ii'i d. ® Ibid. fol. 133 136. ® Ibid. fol. 66, 123(2'. ' Ibid. fol. 69. ® Ibid. fol. 134. ® Ibid. fol. 79(2'. ‘“Ibid. fol. 74. “Their story is to be gathered from the following entries ; — Dur. Curs. No. 1 2, fol. 66(2'. 104, 119, 148, 190, 230. 220 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY The same hunt after the serfs went on in the prior’s vills, but the prior was less fortunate in reclaiming his wanderers. Many of his serfs were in Northumberland,^ Yorkshire,* or other districts outside his reach. They had left their vills either as albanarii or later as pure fugitives, and in many cases there was considerable uncertainty as to their place of residence. Towns such as Newcastle, Hartlepool, or even York were their favourite retreats, and apparently the prior could not entice them back. After a while both bishop and prior allowed the persecution of the serfs to die down. In the case of the bishop it is possible that the actual number of his serfs was never very large after the Black Death, and the prior’s serfs were after a time seldom found outside certain districts. Harton, Southwick, and Billingham were the last homes of serfdom, and it died out first in the northern vills. However, there is another side to this sketch of the last days of serfdom. We find one prior rewarding the coroner’s assistant for arresting a neif who was escaping to Seaham,* biit that was during an economic crisis when every man’s work was needed. Two generations later another prior allows a pension to a worn-out neif who was ‘ prostrated with infirmity.’ * Nor was the bishop behind the prior in consideration. If a serf was known to be unable to pay his rent from poverty, it was forgiven him.® If he could gain any wealth his will was acknowledged and his children could inherit.® Long before the fourteenth century was over the main discomfort of the serf was the scorn of his more fortunate free neighbours. ‘ Rustic ’ and ‘neif’ came to be terms of vulgar abuse despite the prohibition of the halmote,^ and it is not surprising to find that the serfs gladly availed themselves of the opportunity to become albanarii, or if that was refused they fled away and skulked into freedom. When serfdom finally died out in the Palatinate it is impossible to say. However, in the fifteenth century there are very few references to serfs in the Halmote Rolls and not many more in the Chancery Rolls. The last certain reference may be to the last of the bishop’s serfs. In 1481 Bishop Dudley granted letters of manumission to Thomas Copyn, husbandman of Over- thurstan in the county of Sadberge, ‘ to him and to the heirs of his body begotten or yet to be begotten.’® Legally, serfdom lingered later on the prior’s lands. In 1407* and 1469^® ‘ inquisitions concerning serfs’ appear in the otherwise jejune Halmote Books of the prior. Two were held in 1407. The one at Harton discloses twenty-eight names, representing nineteen or twenty families. Sixty-two years later the northern serfs have entirely dis- appeared. Many of them were already across the Tyne in 1407, at Benwell, Earsdon, and Wallsend. When the heads of the family died the children silently melted away into the free peasantry, among whom they lived. Even in 1407 the prior did not know the names of many of these distant serfs. In 1469 we find the last of the prior’s serfs, thirty-eight in number, and representing nine families. Really there were only thirty-two living, for six were said to be ‘defunct.’ The names of many of the younger serfs were unknown, and the inevitable result would be that the prior’s rights would lapse. Not a single ' Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 136. ’ Ibid. 138. ^ Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-clii), 579. ^ Ibid. 623. * Dur. Curs. No. i2,fol. 162. ® Ibid. No. 14, fols. 307, 332, 402. ' Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 33, 40. ® Dur. Curs. No. 54, m. 13. Over-thurstan is probably Throston, now part of Hartlepool. ® Prior’s MS. Halmote Bk. i, fol. 18, 18 Ibid, ii, fol. 112 d. 1 13. A HISTORY OF DURHAM representative appears of the serfs who, in 1407, were dwelling at Pickering, Redcar, Allerton, York, and across the Tyne. In 1469 the serfs enumerated lived, as a rule, in the south-eastern corner of the bishopric, but there were others at York or in the vague ‘south country.’ Perhaps, like the serfs of an earlier date,^ they came back at intervals to see their parents, but when these died they returned no more. It is possible that serfs were to be found in the Palatinate as late as 1575, when Elizabeth manumitted the serfs of the Palatinate of Lancaster,* but no traces remain in any of the Durham records. IV — The Age of Transition The Black Death gave the final blow to an economic system which was already fast decaying. Sufficient emphasis cannot be laid upon the fact that serfdom and labour rents were an anachronism even before 1349. After that date circumstances forced men to admit that a new organization was necessary, but as there was no master mind to suggest a scheme, landlord and peasant blundered on for nearly two hundred years in mutual hatred and distrust. There was no peasant revolt in Durham, but nowhere was the spirit of silent defiance stronger than in the Palatinate during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. The prince bishop and the lordly prior were too power- ful from their spiritual position to be resisted openly, but all possible petty annoyances that could suggest themselves to the peasant mind were inflicted upon the luckless steward and his assistants. Reference has been made already to the indifferent way in which services were performed when they were not shirked entirely. When the steward and his men arrived at a village weary after a long journey they were refused accommodation by the peasantry, although by custom they were entitled to beds in the cottages.* So common was this refusal that it must have been the result of a general understanding among the villagers. At another time we find the lord’s rights of purveyance resisted, and the steward or terrarer was unable to buy the fowls or other victuals he required.^ A reference under Billingham suggests that the peasantry found certain itinerant traders had been taking advantage of their simplicity and reverence to obtain fish at a cheap rate,* but when we find that the peasants were selling their standing crops in defiance of the lord’s rights of pre-emption,® a less favourable interpretation of the former transaction is possible. Before the fourteenth century was over the terrarer or other official who held the halmote was unable to obtain carriage for his victuals and other impedimenta from some of the vills.’^ One of the most striking symptoms of the passive rebellion of the peasants was their growing hostility to the halmote as an institution and to the village community as the symbol of restraint. Before the Black Death neglect of suit of court was rare, but after 1349 it becomes increasingly common, both in the bishop’s* and prior’s vills.® Often those who did come ’ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 169, 170. * Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xvii, 235. Mr. Savigne mentions that so late as 1617 there were on the manor of Falmer in Sussex three persons who were apparently legally serfs. See also the Law Quarterly Rev. ix, 348, for an article by Mr. I. S. Leadam on ‘The Last Days of Bondage in England.’ ’ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 72, loi, 118, 140, 146. ■* Ibid. 49, 50. * Ibid. 51. * Ibid. 90-93 passim. ^ Ibid. 125, 144. ' Dur. Curs. No. 12, fol. 147 (^1. In his parlour two chairs and stools 14^. 6r/., two little tables and livery cupboards, 13^.; one old ‘ sute of rawde stuff hangers,’ ioj. ; in the chamber above the parlour one pair of tongs, 6r/. ; one bedstead with feather bed and furniture, ; six chairs and two stools, ys.; one ‘sute of rawde stuff hangers,’ lor. In the chamber over the hall one trundle bed with furniture, 5^.; one little bed with furniture, 6s. In Mrs. Naylor’s chamber one trundle bed with furniture, lor. ; one little table and three chairs, ^s. In the high chamber one bedstead with feather bed and furniture, 6s.; one cupboard and a flock bed, ioj. In the kitchen one dripping-pan, one frying-pan, one pair of iron racks, three spetts, one brass pot, one kettle, thirty pieces of pewter with some other implements, £1 ioj. In the milkhouse one churn, twelve milkbowls, 2 skeels, 3 cheesefatts, one dozen and a half of trenchers with some other small implements, 4J. Sum total £2 2 6j.® It is somewhat startling to find that the worthy parson had no books of any kind. Other inventories of laymen, chiefly Papists, follow, but actual ‘ furniture ’ was far ’ Ibid. 15. ® Ibid. 40-1. 1236 * Royalist Comp. (Surtees Soc. cxi), 18, 20. * Ibid. 212-21. * Ibid. 31. ® Ibid. 25. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY more scanty in them than in Sedgefield parsonage. It is interesting to note, however, that Mrs. Salvin of Hurworth owned a pair of ‘old virginals’ valued at 5^.^ About this time we get our last view of the older economics of the district in the shape of a survey of the Palatinate made by order of the Parliament in 1647. The section on the ‘manor of Stockton with its members’ is particularly interesting. We are told that the bishop’s demesnes were let for ^^218 although worth >^280, but his royalties in the Tees, fish, wrecks, &c., were not worth a year. There was one water corn-mill at Norton at which all the tenants were bound to grind their corn except those of Carlton. Attached to the mill, which was let on a lease for three lives, were six acres of meadow, but after the hay harvest the herbage belonged to the men of Norton. The copyholders of the manor were bound to repair the mill with thatch and wall, and to scour the race and dam if required. They had to fetch timber within a radius of 12 miles from the mill, and millstones from Raley Green or Walkerfield, receiving 4^/. per mile for draught and their men’s dinners from the tenant. There were no other mills on the manor. The copyholders were bound to do suit and service at the lord’s court and to carry his provisions and household stuff to Durham or Bishop Auck- land from Stockton Castle at i^/. a bushel for corn and per mile for every draught, with meat and drink for the men and cattle. The jurors knew of no relief or heriot paid to the bishop on a tenant’s death. There were also 60 oxgangs of land at Norton, the owners whereof at such times as the bishop had his demesnes at Stockton in his own possession did help to win and mow the hay, or otherwise to pay the sum of 40J. in lieu thereof, the service being sixty days’ work. The tenants of Hartburn paid yearly for service silver 8j-., Stockton township for the like 8j-. The fines upon death or alienation were certain, as the jurors believed, and not arbitrary, for that time out of mind the several copyholders upon the death or alienation have paid a certain sum to the lord, called a ‘ sesse,’ always certain, but on some holdings more than the annual rent reserved ; upon others the amount of the annual rent reserved, and on others again less than this rent. The works, customs, and services of the copyholders were of little worth, and there were no cottages within this manor.^ The conditions on Stockton manor were typical of those in the rest of the Palatinate, but already the copyholders were trying to shake off old obligations. The court of Darlington manor on 6 August, 1647, declared that the copyholders were liable to carry wood, lime, and stone not exceeding a ton weight in a wain for the repair of the tollbooth at Darlington, at the rate of 2ii/. a mile for a distance not exceeding seven miles from the manor- house nor outside the county. They were to have drink in their flasks, meat in their wallets, and their dinner when they came home. We are told that these customs were declared in 1592, 1609, and 1617.® The seigniorial mill still existed at Darlington in 1647, but the firmars seem to have had a difficulty in enforcing their claims.^ * Royalist Comp. (Surtees Soc. cxi.), 28. ’ Extracts from this survey are printed in Mackenzie and Ross, Hist, oj Dur. ii, 16, 17. ® Ibid. 123 «. ^ Ibid. 124. 237 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Perhaps the most striking feature in the reconstruction of the county in the seventeenth century is the rapid way in which so large a proportion of the land was inclosedd Inclosures were of two kinds, for pasture and for tillage. The former generally occurred in the fifteenth century, and in many parts of the midland counties at least were accompanied by much depopula- tion and misery. In Durham there was little inclosure for either arable or pasture before the seventeenth century, as only a small part of the county was under the plough, but we do find a few scattered references to inclosures of various kinds. One of the earliest and most interesting is at Chester le Street in 1343, when Richard de Gillyng and others were tried for breaking down the inclosure of Henry Hog which he had made upon the bishop’s waste at Chester by demise of the said bishop.^ This inclosure was probably for a small ‘park’ or orchard, such as we find often referred to in the Halmote Books® and other records. Sometimes we find payments made for relaxation of rights of common of pasture, when an inclosure was made from the waste.* The earliest inclosure of the ordinary kind seems to be that of Heigh- ington and Walworth Moor in 1551. Then there is a gap according to our records until 1618, when there was a great inclosure at Billingham. From that date until 1700 a large proportion of the common-fields of Durham were inclosed and divided among the tenants. Unfortunately we do not know in every case the area inclosed, or the proportions of arable and pasture. The usual process employed can be gathered from a concrete example such as the inclosure of Middridge affords. Middridge is an ancient episcopal vill lying a few miles south-east of Bishop Auckland. It suffered heavily in the Black Death, and probably in the later visitations. In September, 1634, the freeholders, copyholders, and lessees of the township agreed to procure a division of the town-fields. The bishop gave his licence on i December, 1634, for the division of the ‘ Town-fields and pastures.’ However, some of the copyholders objected at the last moment, for as one of them put it, the freehold and non-freehold strips were so intermixed that he might be awarded a piece of freehold and so ‘break his tenure.’ Answer was made that the moor alone was to be divided, but the bishop had been appealed to, and he vetoed the inclosure when a commission decided that it would be ‘ very prejudicial to divers farmers and poor of that town.’ However, those in favour of the division managed to bully some of the opposition to consent. In 1635 the commissioners appointed for the inclosure made their award, apparently disregarding the past status of the strips, and William Jackson, one of the ‘ inclosure party,’ received half an oxgang (i.e. yf acres) more than his share. The ‘ anti-inclosure ’ party were still strong, however, and on 3 April, 1637, an order was obtained from the Durham Court of Chancery stating that William Jackson and other tenants had prayed for relief against Richard Pallacer, for opposing the division ‘ See ‘The Inclosure of Common Fields’ by Miss E. M. Leona: d. In Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xix, loi. * Dur. Curs. No. 29, m. 16 d. ’ Dur. Halmote R. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxii), 48, 1 24. Cf. Dur. Curs. No. 14, fol. 761, where the bishop is inclos- ing his ancient demesne and letting it as chekerland, although the tenants claimed common of pasture over it. ‘ Dur. Acet. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-ciii), 630. 238 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY contrary to the agreement made with the bishop. The answer was that Pallacer’s party owned 20 oxgangs, while those in favour of the inclosure only held 18 oxgangs, and moreover the agreement was to divide the moor only. The court decided, however, that the chief point was the location of the freehold strips, and as these could not, from lapse of time, be distinguished, it was settled that ‘ acres ’ should be awarded in lieu thereof, and a sufficient part of the township was to be kept in tillage. Following on this decision came the award of 16 May, 1638, which was read in court and would have been confirmed had not one or two of the tenants still opposed division, although they had entered upon their allotted ground. Then a new factor of opposition appeared, for the farmers of the tithes feared that the inclosure of the fields would diminish the amount of land kept in tillage. Confirmation of the award was therefore postponed, but as some of the tenants had been put to expense in preparing their allotted ground they were allowed to sell it or hold it till further order was made; and on 29 August, 1639, Dunn, one of the opposing tenants, was restrained from interfering with Jackson’s inclosure. Meanwhile a certain Craggs, who was interested in the tithes, pro- cured the interference of the king’s attorney-general, who commenced a suit in the Exchequer because the tenants who had inclosed their lands were now devoting a very small portion to tillage, and it seemed likely that the whole vill would become meadow and pasture. The reply of the defendants is valuable for the picture it gives of general decay and loss of fertility in the old system. They agreed that the larger proportion of the land was under the plough, but asserted that of late the tithe corn had been insignificant because by constant cultivation the lands were so wasted and worn that scarcely any crops could be obtained. The only remedy was to put the old pasture land under the plough and give the old arable a rest. The bishop’s consent to the division had been obtained, and they had offered compensation to Craggs. The attorney-general denied that the ground was worn, and maintained that the conversion of arable to pasture had been carried too far. It was proved also that the bishop had only consented when assured that the cottagers freely agreed,^ but their agreement seems to have been procured by threats from Jackson. As a result the court stayed the proceedings in the Durham Chancery, and sent a commission down to value the tithe and to report on the situation. Acting on the advice of these commissioners the court ordered that 66 acres of each field should be tilled according to the course of husbandry so as to prevent any diminution of tithe. This final decree is dated 1642, and a few months afterwards the Chancery of Durham decided that, subject to these conditions, the division of the fields should hold good. A final commission was appointed to settle the question of compensa- tion for highways, but at the beginning of the Civil War our records cease, and the arrangements made are unknown.^ * Bishop Morton was very zealous on behalf of the poorer members of his flock, and it was probably due to him that the richer sort agreed to fence the allotments of the poor, who were also to receive a large piece of ground for their swine and geese, and be exempt from all common and public taxes. ^ For details of the above account of the Middridge Inclosure see the records of the Dur. Ct. of Chan, (now at the P.R.O.) and the Decrees, Orders, and Depositions of the National Ct. of the Exch. under the various years referred to. 239 A HISTORY OF DURHAM In the eighteenth century only 2,137 acres of common fields were in- closed by Private Acts of Parliament, or about one-twelfth of the amount inclosed in the seventeenth century by Chancery decree, but in 1757 began a new movement for the inclosure of commons and wastes, under the in- fluence of the new agriculture. The four Inclosure Acts in the reign of George II relate to waste land only ; out of twenty-two others in the eigh- teenth century and fifteen in the nineteenth century, only seven relate to the inclosure of common arable fields, but three others extinguish rights of common over them.^ Speaking generally, most of the later inclosures after 1759 were made by Act of Parliament, but some were simply by agreement. The lord of the manor generally reserved the right to minerals, subject to the payment of compensation for damage by the lessee. The lord also received a certain proportion of land for his rights or else a reserved rent of bd. or \d. per acre, called at Hamsterley the bishop’s groat. In this village 2,000 out of the 8,000 acres inclosed were not deemed worth \d. an acre, and so George Surtees, esq., one of the principal proprietors, was allowed to have them on condition that he paid the bishop’s groat. Bailey, from whose General View of the Agriculture of Durham much valuable information has been taken, is indignant when discussing the charge that inclosures wrong the poor. He points out that after inclosures population and farms increase.* The indus- trious poor must certainly be benefited by an increase of employment and an increase of provisions ; and inclosing of commons can only be inimical to vagabonds, sheep-thieves, and other pests of society. He admits, however, that in the vicinity of populous districts there was a tendency for commons to rise in rent, but elsewhere he maintained that the rights of the commoners were of little worth. He tells how he let an allotment for fj for which, before inclosure, the owner and his tenants did not receive benefits equal to as many shillings, and he ends by estimating from personal knowledge of their early condition that upon an average the commons have increased ten times in value by inclosures. It is certain that many agreed with him, for when he wrote in 1809-10, there had been 114,071 acres inclosed since 1759 and only 19,400 acres of common remained. Very little of this survived the nineteenth century except in the far west. VI — Modern Durham With the eighteenth century the golden age began to return to Durham, golden at least in comparison with the misery of the past. New coal mines, lead mines, and iron mines were opened and old ones enlarged. Villages began to spring up on the wastes, ugly and insanitary, but inhabited by a more prosperous race of colliers than the old villagers had been. The bishop had always owned or leased lead and iron mines in Weardale, there had been since the seventeenth century a flourishing iron industry about Winlaton, and coal, stone, and salt had been worked in the Palatinate at least from the twelfth century, but now a new spirit entered into all industries in Durham * For dates and other information as to inclosures see App. No. 2. * Bailey, Gen. Fietv of the Agric. ofDur. 98. 240 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY as elsewhere. Even agriculture felt the thrill, and the people of Durham set to work to inclose their wastes and to improve the breed of their cattle and sheep until the Durham ox became proverbial. Even the power of the sea was defied in the cause of agriculture, and between 1740 and 1808 1,400 acres of excellent corn-land were secured from Saltholm and Billingham Marsh at the mouth of the Tees.^ But this revolution was not accomplished without heart-burning or distress. Much of the land of Durham being copyhold or leasehold, the development of mining led to the awkward question of the bishop’s and chapter’s right to lease minerals under such ground. The protagonist in the struggle was Gilbert Spearman of Tanfield Western Leigh near the Whickham mines. He owned both freehold and copyhold land in the time of Bishop Talbot (1721-30), whose son-in-law. Dr. Exton Sayer, was Spearman’s pet aversion. Sayer obtained a lease to work the coal under Spearman’s land, but making all allowances for Spearman’s anger, the behaviour of Sayer was decidedly disingenuous. The story is told in great detail in Spearman’s Inquiry into the Ancient and Present State of Durham, which was published in 1729, when Spearman lost his case, and in revenge began a campaign for the abolition of the Palatinate, and the enfranchisement of copyhold and lease- hold lands. Spearman laboured with great ingenuity to prove that the Durham copy- holder had a right to the minerals according to custom, but there is no doubt that he was quite wrong, although he personally suffered great hardship. We know little about the ancient system of working coal in Durham, but all we do know tells against Spearman’s view. We find the bishop leasing mines of coal and iron ore and lead.^ The master of St. Edmund’s Hospital had to obtain a licence to dig and carry coal on the several soil of the hospital at Gateshead,® and we find that the bishop reserved all mineral rights and way- leaves in making a grant of 89 acres of forest waste in upper Weardale to Sir Ralph Eure.* It is true that all these references belong to the fifteenth century, but all entries referring to coal on the Chancery Rolls and elsewhere correspond. We can, however, trace the lord’s rights to minerals far back into the fourteenth century, and probably earlier. Hatfield’s Court Rolls disclose that the tenants at Whickham found it profitable to carry the coal of the lessees to Newcastle, and their charges were regulated by the bishop’s council.® From various sources we learn that they received compensation for damage done by the lessees, and it is clear therefore that they did not own the minerals.® As a matter of fact, they were not allowed to dig for coal without a licence from the lord.^ It is sometimes objected that the tenants’' * Bailey, Gen. View of the Agric. ofDur. 223. In the nineteenth century land-reclamation has been carried on with great success on the banks of the Tees and Wear, and especially on the Tyne. The low-lying lands are ‘ holms ’ on the Tees, ‘ batts ’ or ‘ haughs ’ on the Wear, and ‘ haughs ’ on the Tyne and Derwent. ’ Dur. Curs. No. 38, m. 20 d. ; ibid. No. 33, m. 5 (^6 in 1465.® Auckland was worth 50 marks in 1356,^^ but only hr. in 1442.®^ Stockton seems to have grown greatly in importance in the four- teenth century and steadily increased from 4 marks in 1 350-1 ® to ^4 in 1405,^® and probably superseded Yarm as a port. It is significant that these leases of boroughs appear as part of the transactions of the Halmote Court. What they meant can be gathered from one of the few leases given in full. At the Darlington halmote Ingelram Gentill and two others came before the steward and took to farm the borough of Darlington with the bailiwick of the same, and with the mill there and of Haughton and Blackwell with the oven of the said burg with the soken of the same, and with the court of the burg the soken fines, amerce- ments, and services of the same, and with other courts there ; likewise with whatever toll ‘ Shamelhires ’ rents and services approvements, &c., as is accustomed by lease ; and likewise with all other commodities and profits to the same burg and bailiwick belonging and thereof coming ; except escheat and forfeitures of lands and tenements there falling. It is granted also to the same firmars that they have power to arrest and punish and adjudge all the trespasses against the peace in the same burg. And likewise that they may have the office of marshal to their own use with the profits of the same, according to the law and custom of the county, so that no sheriff or marshal or other bailiff shall intrude himself unless by default of the same firmars during their term To have and to hold, &c., for one whole year, rendering for the said year Under such a system a real corporation could not exist. It was not applied to Hartlepool so far as we know, but over Hartlepool and Durham ‘ Boldon Book (Surtees Soc. xxv), App. vi. ’ Dur. Curs. No. 32, m. 8 ® Ibid. No. 12, fol. 83, 164 ; No. 13, fol. 165 d. * Ibid. No. 12, fol. 1 61. “ Ibid. l()\ d. ® Ibid. No. 16, fol. i\o d. ' Ibid. No. 12, fol. 164 d. ® Ibid. No. 15, fol. 167. ® Ibid. No. 12, fol. 52. Ibid. No. 14, fol. 9. According to Bp. Hatfield's Surv. the firm was io6r. 8d. ’’ Ibid. No. 29, m. i8459 1,956 1,953 2,231 2,363 2,589 2,757 3,052 3,943 5,311 6,341 9,266 Crawcrook 1,136 325 268 308 340 290 320 319 346 450 1,034 2,435 Township f Ryton Township 1,220 432 462 445 590 677 739 1,140 1,939 3,036 3,393 4,708 Ryton Wood- 2,813 883 838 1,057 951 1,059 1,133 1,051 1,066 1,082 1,106 1,309 side Town- ship t Stella Township 290 314 385 421 482 563 565 542 592 743 788 814 Winlaton : — 9.059 3,367 3,354 3,532 4,205 5,326 6,085 7,372 8,282 9,944 12,583 18,973 Chopwell 3,842 346 291 237 254 .320 458 563 788 1,614 2,193 4,183 Township Winlaton 3,217 3,021 3,063 3,295 3,951 5,006 3,627 6,809 7,494 8,330 10,390 14,790 Township Whickham t 5,961 3,659 3,746 3,713 3,848 4,319 5,565 5,921 6,483 7,976 9,167 12,708 Witton Gilbert 3.249 359 399 364 417 1,243 1,758 2,098 2,708 3,430 4,668 5,710 Par. Chap.^ f Darlington Ward — South-east Division Auckland St. An- 8,445 792 896 1,009 1,187 1,820 3,042 3,716 4,682 9,972 10,350 9,843 drew (part of) Bvers Green 1,082 77 199 231 207 489 1,025 1,634 1,852 2,432 2,346 2,333 Township f Coundon Grange 638 25 23 28 44 313 583 552 846 1,864 1,893 1,740 Township f Eldon Township 1,421 101 86 94 129 186 238 311 742 1,389 1,646 1,610 Middlestone 893 78 88 117 92 113 431 497 482 1,733 1,941 1,789 Township Middridge 1,160 198 199 201 307 345 300 313 331 853 874 774 Township f Middridge 950 41 39 38 55 40 54 56 46 64 77 63 Grange Township ® f Old Park 414 20 14 30 67 30 26 23 18 910 902 873 Township Westerton 699 56 58 77 85 89 210 196 211 463 495 480 Township Windlestone 1,188 196 190 173 201 215 133 134 154 244 176 179 Township Aycliffe J : — 1 1,106 1,137 1,129 1,379 1,564 1,372 1,366 1,458 1,374 1,290 1,079 1,175 Aycliffe, Great 2,191 640 633 807 937 823 812 840 822 839 702 763 Township f Brafferton 2,428 212 204 263 247 211 206 254 236 171 157 129 Township Preston le Skerne 2,680 119 127 126 176 131 139 146 137 135 102 135 Township Woodham 3,807 166 165 183 204 207 209 218 179 145 118 146 Township f Coniscliffe ]; : — 3,178 351 376 391 374 422 451 434 456 519 498 415 Coniscliffe, High 1,838 220 234 243 234 244 248 234 192 355 338 280 Township f Coniscliffe, Low 1,320 131 142 146 140 178 203 200 264 164 160 135 Township t Darlington : — 7,805 5,349 5,820 6,551 9,417 11,877 12,453 16,762 30,298 36,666 39,450 45,958 Archdeacon 1,064 72 71 64 50 63 62 61 30 34 52 68 Newton Township Blackwell 1,564 277 281 268 271 299 272 336 343 406 391 372 Township 1 MuRgleswick. — The increase in population in 1871 is attributed to the presence of labourers employed in con- structing two reservoirs. 2 Witton Gilbert Parochial Chapelry was said to be connected with Durham St. Oswald Ancient Parish. ^ Middrid^e Grange, although entirely shown in Auckland St. Andrew Ancient Parish, was stated to be partly in Heighington Ancient Parish. 2 265 34 A HISTORY OF DURHAM TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 [continued) Acre- 1811 1821 1 Parish age 1801 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Darlington Ward — South-east Division (cont.) Darlington (coni.) Cockerton 1,808 330 409 469 522 482 537 576 2,176 2,778 3,108 3,323 Township Darlington 3,369 4,670 5,059 5,750 8,574 11,033 11,582 15,789 27,729 33,428 35,899 42,195 Township Gainford (part 2,052 243 242 247 274 249 267 244 224 187 203 181 of) Denton Chap. 987 141 129 125 144 119 121 111 111 84 114 104 Houghton le 1,065 102 113 122 130 130 146 133 113 103 89 77 SideTownship Haughton le 6,899 589 673 746 1,108 1,008 883 979 1,413 1,302 1,323 1,263 Skeme (part of) Barmpton 1,545 126 127 105 90 124 135 127 112 108 103 100 1 Township Burdon, Great 605 78 66 76 102 117 96 104 112 120 104 89 Township Haughton 1,946 308 398 466 710 576 474 536 661 713 737 627 Township * Morton Palms 1,359 — — — 83 73 68 59 85 105 101 70 Township * 77 Whessoe Town- 1,444 82 99 123 118 110 153 443 256 278 377 ship i,ii8 1,182 Heighington * ; — 7,429 1,074 1,432 1,347 1,294 1,323 1,326 1,485 1,412 1,345 Coats a moor 455 9 17 12 13 19 21 16 20 17 16 10 Township f Heighington 1,766 543 502 557 767 695 685 668 697 621 626 653 Township f Killerby Town- 635 66 85 107 95 105 93 109 97 89 90 91 ship Redworth 1,886 322 284 307 370 351 322 325 325 553 522 449 Township School Aycliffe 531 41 34 37 32 25 31 25 27 23 20 20 Township f 137 Walworth 2,156 152 162 155 152 142 180 160 182 138 122 Township 8,164 1,068 1,098 2,673 8,204 Merrington : — 1,279 1,325 1,704 4,046 4,997 7,992 8,363 ChiltonTownship 2,422 176 171 182 168 189 977 1,456 643 2,693 1,536 1,411 Ferryhill Town- 2,502 507 507 574 591 850 958 1,423 2,647 3,510 3,971 4,306 ship 8 1 Hett Township 1,279 157 178 233 227 234 234 241 394 338 357 369 Merrington 1,961 228 242 290 339 431 504 926 1,313 1,663 2,128 2,277 Township 617 4,988 13,962 Whitworth Par. 3.35 1 331 407 409 341 1,059 10,035 1^,772 13,943 Chap. : — Tudhoe Town- 1,785 219 292 298 237 327 400 1,359 5,007 7,585 7,648 7,644 shipt Whitworth 1,566 112 115 111 104 290 659 3,629 5,028 6,187 6,295 6,318 Township St. Oswald (part of) Croxdale with Sunderland ( Bridge Town- [ 1,438 250 224 204 283 262 204 227 355 1,372 1,359 1,402 ship J Darlington Ward — South-west Division Cockfield ; — 4,491 539 577 688 1,013 1,187 887 1,256 1,294 1,785 2,266 2,545 Cockfield Town- 1,765 461 475 533 790 944 647 1,004 1,030 1,205 1,596 1,857 ship t Woodland 2,726 78 102 155 223 243 240 252 264 580 670 688 Township \ 1 Morton Palms was first distinguished in 1831 ; it is supposed to have been previously returned with Haughton Townsh p. ^ See note {^), p. 265. ^ Ferryhill. — A new village of Low Spennymoor built here between 1851 and 1861 266 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {continued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Darlington Ward — South-west Division (cont.) Gainford (part 22,710 4.884 5,046 5,966 6,801 6,834 7,081 7,020 6,917 6,823 6,955 6,937 of):- Barnard Castle 4,0/7 2,966 2,986 3,581 4,430 4,452 4,608 4,477 4,278 4,269 4,525 4,594 Chap, t Bolam Town- /,0/J 93 121 121 115 119 125 113 111 117 134 141 ship Cleatham 1,124 73 103 126 94 95 107 95 101 125 87 88 Township * Gainford 2,345 445 431 500 524 585 669 735 820 897 868 869 Township Headlam 808 89 175 232 109 117 129 102 105 107 87 87 Township Langton 1,085 78 65 90 107 99 95 116 114 101 79 86 Township Manvood 3,711 156 177 212 200 224 205 241 200 197 174 166 Township f Morton Tin- 416 23 28 31 19 28 28 27 33 31 35 27 mouth Town- ship Piercebridge 973 193 231 236 278 224 235 211 253 206 219 207 Township Stainton and 2,952 272 232 251 324 373 344 351 387 340 299 292 Streatlam Township f Summerhouse 830 158 156 189 192 165 177 184 145 118 127 95 Township Westwick 1,467 93 95 97 98 67 63 76 91 74 72 78 Township Whorlton Chap.J; 1,969 245 246 300 311 286 296 292 279 241 249 207 Middleton in 40,929 1.843 2,218 2,866 3,714 3,787 3,972 4,557 4,579 4,412 3,812 3,588 Teesdale ; — Eggleston 8,073 306 335 464 623 617 636 788 756 747 653 560 Chap. 1 1 Forest and Frith 17,699 460 601 723 760 884 904 862 792 757 675 635 Township X Middleton in 10,497 796 988 1,263 1,824 1,770 1,849 2,266 2,386 2,292 2,008 1,987 Teesdale Township f Newbiggin 4,660 281 294 416 507 516 583 641 645 616 476 406 Township f Staindrop^ : — 12,206 1.930 1.950 2,187 2,527 2,436 2,447 2,406 2,198 2,302 2,329 2,374 Hilton Town- 1,096 88 104 113 118 112 101 98 113 106 91 100 ship Ingleton Town- 847 236 285 295 355 334 305 300 247 246 290 311 ship Langleydale and 4,692 143 160 198 217 185 163 220 178 224 237 257 Shotton Township f Raby and Kever- 2,814 213 201 203 247 284 313 295 270 280 266 246 stone Town- ship Staindrop 2,006 1,156 1,087 1,273 1,478 1,399 1,429 1,333 1,234 1,318 1,307 1,307 Township Wackerfield 751 94 113 105 112 122 136 160 156 128 138 153 Township Winston 3.044 307 284 287 327 293 301 342 336 334 312 344 Darlington Ward — North-west Division Auckland St. An- drew (part of) Auckland 39.75s 6,246 6,413 7,241 9.974 17,280 19.596 28,395 38,082 44,046 48,630 54,108 1,275 121 135 119 296 1,367 1,329 1,401 1,811 2,289 3,110 3,508 St. Andrew Township 1 Chatham, although entirely shown in Gain/ord Ancient Parish, was stated to be partly in Staindrop Ancient Parish. 267 A HISTORY OF DURHAM TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {continued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 ^ 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Darlington Ward North-west Division (cont.) Auckland St. An- drew (part of — cont.) : Auckland St.HelenChap. 1,510 206 209 220 410 720 789 842 972 918 923 932 Auckland, West Township f 3,410 978 971 1,106 1,529 2,310 2,303 2,581 3,187 3,177 3,651 3,702 Bedburn, North Township f 2,858 245 282 351 387 457 1,151 1,771 2,305 2,426 2,503 2,437 Bedburn, South Township f 7,409 310 421 366 296 350 349 332 283 345 307 293 Binchester Township + 583 42 45 49 37 43 30 33 40 52 53 54 Bishop Auckland Township ^ f 2,126 1,961 1,807 2,180 2,859 3,776 5,112 7,279 10,112 11,632 12,436 14,886 Coundon Township f 824 163 163 222 475 990 1,073 2,765 3,148 3,510 3,671 3,801 Evenwood and Barony Town- ship t 5,433 769 719 785 1,019 1,729 1,381 2,674 3,060 2,954 3,882 4,428 Hamsterley Chap, t 2,967 491 529 552 503 490 532 522 475 493 510 545 Hunwick and Helmington Township f 1,594 122 150 160 164 338 486 1,203 1,558 2,086 2,115 2,225 Lynesack and Softley Township f 6,375 517 602 732 795 910 787 1,120 1,386 2,347 2,760 2,989 Newfield Township 206 11 16 11 8 345 1,016 1,024 995 1,150 1,130 1,043 Newton Cap Township f 1,681 114 134 145 156 148 280 404 1,030 1,349 1,503 1,506 Pollard’s Lands Township * f 438 82 93 117 138 224 212 355 583 614 539 — Shildon Township 598 101 124 115 867 2,631 2,144 2,947 5,574 6,946 7,870 9,011 Thickley, East Township 468 13 13 11 35 452 622 1,142 1,563 1,758 1,667 2,748 Brancepeth (ex- cluding Whit- worth Par. Chap.) 21,239 1,508 1,481 1,905 1,449 2,151 6,041 14,353 24,617 35,160 39,279 40,492 Brancepeth Township ^ f 4,565 367 455 539 329 352 470 1,496 1,558 1,567 1,964 1,952 Brandon and Byshottles Township ® f 6,840 522 435 609 478 467 525 1,486 4,273 10,853 14,242 15,579 Crook and Billy Row Town- ship 4,056 193 176 228 200 538 2,764 5,134 9,401 11,096 11,430 11,471 Hedleyhope Township ® 1,653 47 48 51 72 48 91 93 381 1,504 1,418 1,274 Helmington Row Town- ship t 1,274 121 120 154 97 435 1,182 3,469 3,900 4,040 3,981 3,923 Stockley Township f 1,347 89 62 103 57 53 44 282 712 1,094 1,137 1,073 Willington Township f 1,504 169 185 221 216 258 965 2,393 4,392 5,006 5,107 5,220 Escombe Par. Chap, t Lanchester (part of): 1,063 162 190 232 282 510 1,293 3,743 4,313 3.982 3,449 3,678 Cornsay Township + 3,088 234 254 249 230 201 370 367 1,432 2,327 2,275 2,255 1 Bishop Auckland and I'ollard's Lands Townships are returned together in 1901. 2 Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles. — The 1831 decrease in both is attributed to the removal of workmen employed in building Brancepeth Castle in 1821. ^ Hedleyhope, although shown entirely in Brancepeth Ancient Parish, was stated to be partly in Lanchester Ancient Parish. 268 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {continued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 i86i 1871 1881 i8gi 1901 Darlington Ward North-west Division (cont.) Stanhope t ■ • • 61,195 3,168 5.155 6,376 7,341 9,541 7,063 8,882 9,654 10,330 8,793 8,045 7,777 2,783 Witton le Wear 450 544 531 502 56s 918 1,366 2,329 2,469 2,601 Par. Chap, f t Wolsingham ‘ f • 21,934 1,834 1,983 2,197 2,239 2,086 4,585 5,531 7,778 7,895 7,519 7,653 Easing ton Ward — North Division Bishopwearmouth : 9,225 7,806 8,810 11,542 16,590 27,092 35,035 50,541 67,253 88,102 103,048 118,851 Bishopwear- 2,669 6,126 7,060 9,477 14,462 24,206 31,824 43,673 59,032 74,441 87,648 99,437 mouth Town- ship Bishopwear- 6 564 476 483 363 298 316 272 264 193 68 5 mouth Panns Township Burdon 1,135 69 107 149 162 114 123 95 116 104 125 195 Township Ford Township 1,029 602 712 791 911 1,720 1,922 2,036 2,477 2,631 2,737 2,954 Rvhope Chap. . 1,583 254 253 368 363 423 475 2,082 4,576 6,024 7,341 10,414 Silksworth 1,993 138 150 210 252 267 303 289 396 401 426 446 Township Tunstall 808 53 50 64 75 64 70 94 392 4,306 4,303 5,400 Township Chester le Street 0 CO 1,21 1 1,205 1,884 2,950 2,297 2,182 2,058 2,294 2,492 2,648 2,717 (part of) : — Lambton 691 266 233 293 256 120 115 130 149 151 164 151 Township Lumley, Great 1,642 696 693 1,240 2,301 1,796 1,730 1,353 1,819 1,830 1,927 2,004 Township Lumley, Little 873 249 259 351 393 381 337 373 326 511 557 362 Township Dalton le Dale : — 4,439 185 181 21 I 1,305 2,709 5,125 8,432 10,376 12,650 14,912 17,915 Dalton le Dale 812 40 52 49 73 88 83 102 128 118 134 339 Township Dawdon 1,101 22 27 33 1,022 2,017 3,538 6,137 7,132 7,714 9,044 10,163 Township Cold Hesledon 1,030 48 31 53 112 83 117 89 99 108 682 899 Township Murton, East Township Houghton le 1,496 75 71 72 98 521 1,387 2,104 3,017 4,710 3,052 6,514 15,575 6,414 8,339 12,550 20,1; 24 16,833 20,284 22,582 27,135 35,115 38,794 41,757 Spnng Biddick, South 352 490 141 167 199 74 38 48 30 30 58 48 Township Bournmoor 513 889 953 1,139 938 891 891 973 1,206 1,355 1,362 1,449 Township Cocken 464 17 59 59 71 65 96 77 104 184 176 100 Township Eppleton, Great 706 33 28 43 47 74 63 71 87 53 78 65 Township Eppleton, Little 337 6 30 32 17 38 24 26 37 38 31 36 Township Herrington, East 1,037 123 161 133 229 231 250 242 221 159 206 279 and Middle Township -f Herrington, 1,022 209 233 329 381 343 344 752 832 3,017 3,601 3,769 West Town- ship t Hetton le Hole 1,617 212 264 919 5,887 4,158 3,664 6,419 7,935 10,943 12,726 13,673 Chap. Houghton le 1,351 996 1,356 2,905 3,917 3,433 4,073 4,741 5,276 6,041 6,476 7,858 Spring Town- ship 1 IVolsingham.- — Tow Law in this Parish, which gave name to a single farmhouse in 1841, had become in 1851 a village containing about 2,000 persons. 2 Duwiion includes 183 seamen on vessels in 1841. 269 A HISTORY OF DURHAM TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {conlinued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 i8gi 1901 Easmgton Ward — North Division (cont.) Houghton le Spring {cont.) Moor House 282 23 28 29 30 45 49 94 72 71 1 90 89 Township Moorsley 603 36 43 48 748 821 942 973 1,025 1,078 1,108 1,033 Township Morton Grange 462 188 251 308 295 185 185 220 226 194 209 238 Township Newbottle 1,454 970 1,224 2,306 2,198 1,835 2,067 2,674 3,508 4,740 5,552 5,742 Township Offerton 847 77 175 198 190 200 218 172 136 137 112 159 Township f Painshaw Chap. 1,087 1,399 2,275 2,090 2,539 1,912 2,120 2,075 2,495 2,605 2,918 3,777 Rainton, East 1,091 294 455 671 1,600 1,414 1,695 1,505 1,611 1,680 1,510 1,422 Township Rainton, West 1,651 435 629 1,160 1,184 1,054 1,509 1,447 2,237 2,670 2,496 1,938 Chap, t Warden Law 499 15 12 14 54 60 54 73 77 96 85 82 Township Seaham ; — 2,917 2II 247 198 264 328 929 2,827 3,030 3,185 5,026 5,544 Seaham 1,525 115 121 103 130 153 729 2,591 2,802 2,989 4,798 5,285 Township Seaton and 1,392 96 126 95 134 175 200 236 228 196 228 259 Slingley Township Sunderland ^ . . 220 12,412 12,289 14,725 1 7,060 17,022 19,058 17,107 16,861 15,333 14,558 14,238 Easington Ward — South Division Castle Eden I . . 1.949 362 257 281 260 558 491 535 693 880 1,257 9,843 1,354 Easington : — • 13,524 944 1,060 1, 1 12 1,390 5,573 7,062 7,33^ 10,449 9,829 9,673 Easington 5,073 487 542 593 693 812 916 1,073 1,428 1,260 1,262 1,731 Township Haswell 3,224 93 114 115 263 3,981 4,356 4,165 5,623 6,156 6,276 5,512 Township Hawthorn 1,520 114 118 140 162 177 183 227 268 282 330 513 Township Shotton 3,707 250 286 264 272 603 1,607 1,871 3,130 2,131 1,975 1,917 Township Kelloe ; — 11,235 553 654 679 663 11,223 12,278 12,867 12,069 13,398 11,834 16,881 Cassop 1,636 53 59 78 69 1,076 1,769 1,661 783 596 691 653 Townshipt Coxhoe 1,058 117 171 132 154 3,904 4,101 4,171 3,749 2,455 3,133 3,278 Township Kelloe Church 1,596 80 72 101 102 156 149 530 509 937 976 1,050 Township Quarrington 1,622 112 143 177 173 732 1,063 1,056 865 329 501 957 Township f Thornley 1,148 56 58 60 50 2,730 2,740 3,306 3,059 3,132 2,070 2,938 Township Wingate 4,175 135 151 131 115 2,625 2,456 2,143 3,104 5,949 4,463 8,005 Township Hart (part of) : — 1,185 29 39 33 38 33 42 40 37 41 50 35 Nesbitt 333 5 5 9 10 12 11 12 7 10 11 13 Township Thorpe Bulnier 852 24 34 24 28 21 31 28 30 31 39 22 Township Monk Hesledon: — 6,903 412 411 470 463 935 2,709 2,077 2,351 4,422 7,143 4,038 Hutton Henry 2,017 156 155 174 162 287 1,067 392 539 1,825 3,151 2,578 Township Monk Hesledon 2,540 150 148 164 176 490 1,495 1,533 1,636 2,421 3,819 1,302 Township I 1 Sunderland. — The population in 1801 is exclusive of 1,249 seamen and 322 keelmen. 270 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {.continued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Easutgton Ward — South Division (cont.) Monk Hesledon {cont.) Sheraton with 2,346 106 108 132 125 158 147 132 176 176 173 158 Hulam Town- ship St. Oswald (part of):— Shincliffe 1,378 244 282 367 302 1,137 1,175 1,544 2,123 969 640 784 Township Pittington : — 6,830 656 762 808 2,205 4,577 6,241 5,699 5,345 6,741 6,801 6,994 Pittington 2,616 220 277 304 1,632 2,295 2,530 2,155 2,106 2,424 2,389 2,449 Township t Shadforth 2,904 184 226 223 236 336 1,348 1,164 1,064 1,677 1,424 1,493 Township Sherburn 1,310 232 259 281 337 1,946 2,363 2,380 2,173 2,640 2,988 3,050 Tow'nship Sherburn Hospital 740 80 56 67 59 86 34 186 142 196 217 235 Extra Par. Trimdon .... 2,495 278 274 302 276 382 1,598 2,975 3,266 3,057 4,136 4,844 Whitwell House 643 27 17 38 32 173 160 180 143 135 210 174 Extra Par. Stockton Ward — North-east Division Billingham : — 10,394 962 940 1,154 1,212 1,653 i,8ii 2,166 2,749 3,221 4,437 5,483 Billingham 3,036 335 341 393 401 782 723 931 1,022 1,488 2,673 3,729 Township Cowpen Bewley 3,348 128 123 132 137 196 217 448 970 997 1,051 1,026 Township Newton Bewley 1,564 88 84 86 92 87 121 134 132 131 126 121 Township Wolviston 2,446 411 390 541 582 588 750 633 623 603 385 607 Chap. Bishop Middle- 6,241 738 813 827 837 1,434 1,719 2,272 4,175 3,377 5,313 5,956 ham : — Bishop Middle- 2,087 331 391 404 387 511 446 432 506 480 443 552 ham Town- ship Comforth 1,738 324 327 330 353 700 1,040 1,619 3,416 2,553 4,459 5,060 Township Garmondsway 1,149 28 41 35 43 137 129 123 109 156 160 111 Moor Town- ship Mainsforth 652 33 40 44 39 42 59 58 31 114 158 144 Township Thrislington 593 14 14 15 24 43 38 93 74 91 89 Township Elwick Hall J; . . 4,438 129 129 176 169 165 187 206 217 166 178 258 Greatham % : — 3,372 484 453 484 551 687 700 779 768 788 918 949 Claxton Town- 881 42 46 38 32 52 49 35 51 31 48 40 ship Greatham 2,491 442 407 446 319 635 651 724 717 737 870 909 Township Grindon : — 4,295 363 275 314 384 337 317 343 490 1,026 1,481 1,490 Grindon Town- 3,311 323 230 255 309 283 267 303 348 343 400 391 ship I Whitton Town- 784 38 45 59 75 32 50 40 142 681 1,081 1,099 ship Hart (part of) : — 6,644 517 523 590 624 695 878 1,380 2,543 4,353 6,666 9,175 Dalton Piercv 1,006 70 68 75 79 78 91 98 69 82 86 103 Township Elwick Town- 1,537 170 179 213 232 238 230 240 247 228 206 236 ship Hart Township 2,465 219 228 231 243 278 297 297 309 291 291 300 Throston 1,636 38 48 71 70 101 240 743 1,918 3,752 6,083 8,516 Township Hartlepool . . . 139 993 1,047 1,249 1,330 \ 5,236 9,503 12,245 13,166 12,361 14,585 14,074 271 A HISTORY OF DURHAM TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {cofitinued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 Stockton Ward — North-east Division (cont.) Sedgefield : — 17,839 1,756 1,936 1,955 2,178 2,105 2,192 2,656 2,940 3,505 3,712 4,108 Bradbury 2,777 106 125 752 147 767 171 774 165 193 223 242 Township Butterwick 7,543 60 49 54 38 57 64 48 58 61 57 40 Township Embleton 3,425 98 105 702 105 98 113 136 129 174 147 134 Township Fishburn 2,726 154 171 792 212 239 261 255 288 317 1 290 323 Township Foxton and 7,803 53 62 63 73 44 58 56 49 48 52 58 Shotton Town- ship Mordon Town- 7,572 101 117 724 174 761 163 179 203 771 133 144 ship Sedgefield 5,259 1,184 1,307 7,268 1,429 1,345 1,362 1,808 2,048 2,601 2,816 3,767 Township Stainton, 1,996 141 136 154 248 132 155 140 156 172 147 125 Great J : — Elstob Town- 738 37 29 28 94 27 38 30 49 74 59 49 ship Stainton, Great 7,258 104 107 726 154 705 177 110 107 98 88 76 Township Stranton : — 6,997 610 659 704 736 2,106 4,769 14,515 23,246 30,914 44,252 63,756 Brierton Town- 762 22 27 22 27 ■33 30 27 37 38 41 ship Seaton Carew 3,404 263 j f 372 333 588 728 S84 1,053 1,734 2,388 2,253 Township Stranton Town- 2,837 325 1 1 371 381 1,491 4,008 13,601 22,166 29,143 41,826 61,462 ship Stockton Ward — South-west Division {excluding Craike Parish) Bishopton J : — 4,175 450 408 453 512 473 484 448 515 459 460 416 Bishopton 2,778 349 312 365 423 362 365 342 409 350 357 322 Township Newbiggin, East 852 42 34 26 35 37 37 33 44 39 40 36 and West Township Stainton, Little 1,745 59 62 62 54 74 82 73 62 70 63 58 Township Low Dinsdale % • 1,174 108 125 III 169 169 157 208 243 252 221 238 Egglescliffe J : — 4,931 420 476 542 625 628 701 698 729 844 965 1,426 Aislaby Town- 2,378 116 148 166 743 128 141 152 142 125 708 128 ship! Egglescliffe 1,523 270 293 332 424 443 493 496 539 655 791 1,240 Township Newsham 1,090 34 35 44 58 57 67 50 48 64 66 58 Township f Elton J . . . . 1,444 78 76 105 103 92 84 108 90 I13 106 II3 Haughton le 3,719 563 547 499 578 510 520 494 473 498 475 525 S kerne (part of) Coatham Mun- 7,631 772 151 184 775 138 149 139 125 127 138 129 devillc Town- ship t Sadberge Chap. 2,088 391 396 315 403 372 371 355 348 371 337 396 Hurworth X ■ — 4,075 867 960 1,124 1,348 1,599 1,449 1,525 1.722 1,940 1,774 1,761 Hurworth 2,438 661 692 811 7,077 1,235 1,154 1,792 1,357 1,579 1,439 1,377 Township Neasham 1,637 206 268 313 337 364 295 333 365 421 335 384 Township Middleton St. 2,516 215 202 209 299 433 332 294 826 1,103 870 1,157 George Newton, Long . . 4,311 295 253 338 313 293 325 353 313 268 00 386 272 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY TABLE OF POPULATION, i8oi — 1901 {contmued) Parish Acre- age 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 ! 1871 1 1881 1891 1901 Stockton Ward — South-west Division {excluding; Craike Parish) (cont.) Norton 1 1 . • • 4,653 965 1,053 1,186 264 1,486 1,628 1,725 2,3*7 2,824 3,195 3,778 4,523 Red marsh all : — 8,1:28 228 223 335 272 332 278 320 350 360 389 Carlton Chap. 1,500 99 105 140 183 157 186 176 185 209 217 254 Redmarshall Township 875 60 76 75 56 48 76 62 75 91 78 55 Stillington Chap. 1,153 69 42 49 96 67 70 40 60 50 65 80 Sockburn (part of) 1 712 34 37 i 1 43 50 42 43 59 35 44 44 74 Stockton upon Tees : — 5,324 4,177 i 4,406 5,184 7,991 10,071 10,459 13,761 28,339 42,242 ' 50,653 ! 52,833 Hartburn, East Tow'nship 1,045 104 115 121 152 135 174 163 208 360 474 559 Preston upon Tees Town- ship 1,117 64 62 57 76 111 113 111 110 163 156 521 Stockton upon Tees Town- ship t Durham City 3,162 4,009 4,229 5,006 7,763 9,825 10,172 13,487 28,021 41,719 50,023 51,753 Castle Precincts and Site of Old Gaol Extra Par. 2 9 55 138 57 24 29 38 35 37 University Extra Par. 28 106 103 1 12 61 86 84 62 91 66 107 83 St. Mary-le-Bow (or North Bailey) ‘‘‘ J 14 477 552 448 501 308 269 300 324 334 302 294 St. Mary-the-Less (or South Bailey) ^ X 4 154 I18 157 128 87 104 1 06 I18 1 10 103 133 St. Nicholas X • • 73 1,754 1,958 2,215 5,598 2,265 2,757 3,03* 2,606 2,482 2, *34 2,167 1,886 16,389 St. Oswald (part of) : — 8,077 4,099 4,3*6 5,903 7,Z79 9,366 11,057 *2,519 15,323 15,049 Crossgate Chap. 504 1,201 1,011 1,454 1,403 1,712 2,074 2,591 3,123 3,799 3,907 4,710 El vet (Barony and Borough) Township f 3,891 1,827 2,115 2,621 2,916 3,344 4 207 4,140 4,848 6,293 5,596 5,974 Framwellgate Township -f 3,682 1,071 1,190 1,523 Co 2,323 3,085 4,326 4,548 5,231 5,546 5,705 St. Giles (or Gilli- gate) 1,729 940 906 1,237 1,277 3,396 5,423 6,135 5,852 5,420 5,394 5,854 Magdalen Place (or St. Mary Mag- dalen) Extra Par. 27 18 16 27 16 17 General Notes for Durham 1. Many of the great fluctuations in the population of some of the places in the Table are occasioned by the expansion or depression of the coal-mining industry. 2. The abnormal increases in population in 1831 and 1841 of some of the places in the Table are mainly due to the presence of labourers on railway work. 1 Sockbiiyn — The part in Durham is known as Sockburn Township. The remainder of this Ancient Parish is in Yorkshire (North Riding). 2 Castle Precincts and Site of Old Gaol. — Castle Precincts in 1801, 1811, and 1831 was included in St. Mary-le-Bom Parish. Site of Old Gaol included in St. Mary-le-Bow Parish in 1801, and in 1811-31 in St. Mary-the-Less Parish Rightly shown together 1841-1901. 2 273 35 A HISTORY OF DURHAM 3. The Parishes which are divided are all entirely in this County, unless a note is made to the contrary. 4. The following Municipal Boroughs and Urban Districts are co-extensive at the Census of 1901 with one or more places mentioned in the Table : — Municipal Borough, or Urban District Crook U.D. .... Hetton U.D. .... Houghton le Spring U.D. Ryton U.D. .... Seaham Harbour U.D. Shildon and East Thickley U.D. South Shields M.B. Place Crook and Billy Row Township (Darlington Ward — North-west Division) Hetton le Hole Chapelry (Easington Ward — North Division) Houghton le Spring Township (Easington Ward — North Division) Crawcrook, Ryton, and Ryton Woodside Townships (Chester Ward — West Division) Dawdon Township (Easington Ward — North Division) Shildon and East Thickley Townships (Darlington Ward — North- west Division) South Shields and Westoe Townships (Chester Ward — East Division) 274 INDUSTRIES INTRODUCTION The industrial development of the county of Durham, except in re- spect of mining, is of late date. The constant inroads of the Scots, the isolation from the rest of England which resulted from its position as a county palatine, the ruthlessness of Newcastle in suppressing any possible rival, all tended to retard its progress. But from an historical point of view the mass of details available concerning the early salt and iron trades amply compensates for the tardiness of the county in reaching a full industrial development. All the towns of more than a few thousand inhabitants lie to the east of a line drawn from Gateshead through Durham to Darlington ; the west of the county though containing many mining villages is sparsely populated. In spite of this limited area it has succeeded in crowding into its industrial life illus- trations of many of the most interesting phases of economic development. This is the more remarkable as the county is by no means rich in gild records, the source of so much of our knowledge of early trade. Little has been pre- served concerning the gilds of the city of Dur- ham ; Gateshead alone of Durham towns can supply adequate materials for a picture of gild life. For so many centuries episcopal influence was the controlling factor in determining the lines along which Durham should develop that there is a certain dramatic fitness in the earliest in- formation of the industrial activity of the county being the fact recorded by Bede that the art of glass-making was taught to the English by the foreigners brought from Gaul by Benedict Biscop to glaze the windows of the great abbey he was building at Wearmouth. When, after an inter- mission of more than a thousand years, glass- making was once more begun on the Wear, and Sunderland became for a time one of the best- known centres of the industry, the site of the nineteenth-century glass-works was not far from the spot where the seventh-century glass-blowers plied their trade, and among the employees in the modern works numbers of French workmen too were included. Unfortunately there is no corresponding early account of the salt industry, though in all maritime counties the salt-maker was from the earliest times an important member of even the smallest village community, and the great monastic establishments of Wearmouth and Jarrow, aomirably placed for producing this necessity of life, doubtless made salt by evapora- tion for their own use. But what the salt trade, as compared with the glass trade, loses in antiquity it gains in continuity. In the possession of MSS. giving an uninterrupted account of an industry from the thirteenth to the twentieth century, Durham has a heritage of the utmost historical importance. Each link in the chain of events which connects the granting of a salt-pan at Hart for the rental of a pair of white gloves in 1290 to the export of salt from the Cerebos Works at Greatham in 1907 can be supplied from authentic records. A fourteenth-century trades directory seems an anachronism, but a MS. is extant which shows that William Pult, William Assom, William de Thorp, Gilbert Boys, William Schephyrd, John Golding, Thomas de Schorneton, Gilbert son of John, William son of Roger, Thomas Mart, John Staneson, Richard Pult, Gilbert Wodrof, William de Seton, and Thomas de Ferry at their twenty- four salt-pans were engaged in 1396 in making salt at Cowpen, practically in the same way in which salt is now being made at Greatham only a mile distant, the one difference being that the fourteenth-century salt-makers used sea water, and the modern salt-maker bores i,000 ft. into the earth for his brine. Nor is it only as a study in continuity that the Durham salt trade repays investigation. The misdirected energy of the Stuarts in attempting to interfere with the economic freedom of the people was an important factor in bringing about their downfall. The impression among all classes that the Stuart industrial innovations were beneficial to the king but prejudicial to the com- munity was universal and possibly justifiable. It is as a source of information of the Stuart methods of producing the maximum of irritation with the minimum of financial profit, that the history of the company of the salt-makers of North and South Shields stands unrivalled. In the eighteenth century the centre of in- terest moves from the salt to the iron trade. The settlements at Winlaton and Swalwell which owed their initiation to the enlightened 275 A HISTORY OF DURHAM despotism of Ambrose Crowley afford an inter- esting example of One of the earliest efforts after industrial betterment. The attempt to found a new industry at Shotley Bridge by bnnging over German sword- makers from the world-renowned Soligen was a reversion on the one side to the methods of Burghley ; but there is an essential difference be- tween the Elizabethan experiments and the attempt in the reign of Anne ; the one was the work of a statesman, the other of a private com- pany. The disaster of the Stuarts was too fresh in every one’s mind for quasi-royalist company- promoting to be countenanced. But to turn from these interesting industrial experiments to the region of inventions, here too Durham can claim to have left her mark. It seems but natural that a maritime county the chief indus- try of which is ship-building should have been the birthplace of the lifeboat, and the honour of this invention undoubtedly belongs to South Shields. Durham has never taken a foremost part in the textile industry ; still, a Darlington man, John Kendrew, was the first to apply machinery to the spinning of flax, though it was the Marshals of Leeds who utilized the inven- tion on a sufficiently large scale to render it a financial success. Coal is the staple industry of Durham, and Bailey in his well-known General View of the Agriculture of the County claims for George Dixon the discovery of coal tar. The discovery is generally attributed to Lord Dundonald, but he did not take out his patent until 1781, when George Dixon had been supplying the Sunderland shipbuilders with coal tar from his works at Cockfield near Barnard Castle for fully two years. Dixon claimed to have ■ arrived at his results twenty years before putting them into practice. On the other hand there is no evidence to prove that Dundonald took out his patent as soon as he made his dis- covery, in fact, as he was generally penniless, the immediate realization of his discovery is im- probable. There is, however, not the slightest doubt that Dixon was a man of ingenious and inventive mind. He was unquestionably among the first to realize the potentialities for illuminat- ing purposes that lay in coal. Bailey describes with every mark of verisimilitude being present as a boy when Dixon with the very rudest appli- ances, a kettle half filled with coal, tobacco pipes, a lump of clay for fastening the pipe to tlie spout, and a hot fire, succeeded in producing a brilliant light. A serious explosion which took place while Dixon was pursuing further investiga- tions into the nature of coal tar led him to abandon all hope of being able to apply his dis- covery practically. The use of gas for the light- ing of mines or houses seemed to him fraught with too much danger to be feasible. Unfor- tunately somewhat the same story is told of Dun- donald. It is impossible to decide between the rival claims of two men working at the same time at the same subject, but Dundonald is universally accepted as the inventor of coal-tar; the patent too stands in his name, and as, according to Bailey himself, Dixon relinquished the manufacture in 1783 as unprofitable, Dun- donald seems substantially to have the greater claim. It is, however, beyond dispute that friction matches were invented at Stockton. In April, 1827, Mr, John Walker, a chemist by trade, but a scientific investigator by nature and training, while experimenting with an explosive mixture dashed some of it on the hearth-stone, the friction produced explosion, and suggested to the experi- menter the idea of the friction match. The first box sold contained fifty matches, made like the old-fashioned fusees with double tips ; a piece of folded sand-paper was supplied with each box, the total cost being a shilling. The exact com- position of the mixture was never divulged, but Walker described the contents of the box as sulphurated hyperoxygenated matches, and it is doubtless owing to his lack of business capacity that he derived but slight advantage from his invention.^ Before the introduction of railways trade followed the rivers. Iron and steel forges and paper-mills clustered round the Derwent, abundant coal and iron were near it, and the rapid fall in the lower part of the river supplied a motive power of more importance at that time than in these days of electricity and steam. On the southern banks of the Tyne, salt, glass, and, at a later date, chemicals and shipbuilding were the chief industries. A network of mills — linen, wool, and worsted — were on either side of the Skerne ; and the same description fits both Wear and Tees — carpet-weaving in the higher reaches of the river, shipbuilding and potteries in the lower. But Durham is the home of lost indus- tries ; at the beginning of the nineteenth century the county had a world-wide reputation for pottery, glass, carpets, linen, leather, mustard, and nails ; for all practical purposes these industries are now extinct. Almost all the towns had their tanneries. Darlington especially, in the days of slow methods and excellent wear before chrome and chemicals were so exten- sively used, counted amongst its inhabitants many tanners and many dyers ; now worsted has to be sent into Yorkshire to be dyed, and one small tannery represents the multitude of tan-yards given in early directories and maps. When Arthur Young travelled through the north, he reports that round the city of Durham there is much mustard cultivated. The farmers sow it alone, on good rich moist ground, and on that which is pared and burnt. They get from thirty to one hundred bushels per acre, some crops worth floo an acre have been known. ^ Arch. Ael. (New Ser.), vii, 217. 276 INDUSTRIES John Timbs gives a circumstantial account of the way in which an old woman named Clements residing in Durham in 1720 invented a method of extracting the full flavour from the mustard, the details of which method she refused to impart to anyone ; George I and the various notabilities of the capital are said to have patronized her. How much truth there is in the story it is difficult to gauge accurately, but the fact remains that within the memory of many people Durham mustard was highly esteemed for its extreme pungency, and the industry was sufficiently flourishing to keep one of the Gateshead potteries busy in supplying the pots in which to send it away. The Durham mustard trade was killed by the competition of an article with less flavour but at a lower price. How far the competition of Germany is answerable for the collapse of the trade in earthenware is a difficult question to decide. The study of the history of the individual potteries leaves the impression that an important if not the determining factor in the matter was the incapacity of the managers who were installed on the death of the original founders. Many of the potteries came into the market at the moment when the rapid development of the iron and shipping industries led men to prefer to place their capital where a high rate of profit and a quick return could be commanded. Speculation was in the air ; frugal men, contented to watch the development of their own trade, had built up the pottery business ; unfortunately they did not succeed in handing down their own traditions to their sons, and the firm often consisted of persons ignorant of the details of the business. The situations of Sunderland, Stockton, and South Shields near the mouths of rivers gave them an advantage over the Staffordshire pot- teries ; and the success of the Malings at New- castle, who left Sunderland early in the last century, suggests the inference that had the Durham firms been willing to put energy, brains, capital, and new machinery into the potteries, Wearside and Tees-side might have held their own against competition, foreign or home. Another factor which must not be overlooked in accounting for the decay of both the glass and the pottery trades is that sometimes the site of the works was required for the extension of the shipyards, and the temptation to sell out when trade was not very flourishing was irresistible, especially when, as during the boom of shipping, shipbuilders were willing to pay enormously for land in the immediate neighbourhood of the shipyard. The loss of the carpet and dress material manufactures was doubtless partly due to the geographical position of Durham, Darlington, and Barnard Castle, the places chiefly associated with the trades. Buyers rightly prefer a market where, if one establishment does not supply their wants, they can without loss of time find another in the neighbourhood ; the centralization of northern textile industries in the West Riding of Yorkshire is economically sound, though the pathos of a decaying indust^ tends to make one overlook the inherent weakness of its claims to sympathy. The closing of the American market militated seriously against the Durham trade, and the more extensive use of linoleum against the cheaper carpets made at Barnard Castle. Nails were once extensively manufactured ; now Messrs. Galloway, of Gateshead, are the only important dealers. The trade has gone to Staffordshire. The fact of the extensive em- ployment of women in Staffordshire, with the consequent lessening of the cost of production, may be one reason why Durham, where, except in the textile industries, the employment of women is rare, has ceased to be a nail-making centre. Now that the potteries have vanished, and the manufacture of glass gone to Lancashire, the capital and energies of the county have concen- trated during the last fifty years on the building of ships, the working of iron, and the making of chemicals. This change has seriously affected the distribution of wealth and population ; Hartlepool, Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, and Durham, proud of their historic past, naturally mourn their lost precedence, but Con- sett, Blackhill, Spennymoor, have practically been created by the iron industry, Jarrow and West Hartlepool by the shipping and timber trade. In the midst of the enormous iron and steel works which spread like a net over many parts of Durham, it is difficult to realize how modern the trade is. But until the application of steam engines to the working of blast furnaces at the end of the eighteenth century, which almost immediately doubled the production of pig iron, the output in Durham was very small. The iron trade made steady progress for the first half of the nineteenth century, for the next quarter it grew rapidly, but the substitution of steel for iron rails about 1876, and, a few years later, of steel plates for iron plates in shipbuilding, has revolutionized the trade. In shipbuilding, the Durham tradition ot a firm handed down from father to son, the family system, still continues ; but in the iron and steel industry, except in the case of Bell Brothers, at Port Clarence (geographically a Durham firm, but for convenience of classification generally included as a Middlesbrough firm), there is no such continuity. The most marked feature of the steel industry in Durham during the last few years has been the amalgamation of many of the large works under one directorate ; the same applies to the chemical works ; the gradual sub- stitution of a trust system as contrasted with the family system of the last century is clearly dis- cernible throughout the county. 277 A HISTORY During the initial stages of its industrial development the county of Durham owed much to imported energy. The influence of the Cooksons from the middle of the eighteenth to the middle of the nineteenth century, and of the Peases during the nineteenth century, cannot be overrated ; but both these families belonged to other counties — the one came from Cumberland, the other from Yorkshire, The rapid growth of Sunderland was one of the marvels of the early Victorian age. The zeal with which Sunderland had espoused the Parliamentary cause was prophetic, for it was as a town free from gild or corporation restrictions that later she was to appeal to England. It is true that the Stallingers or ‘ the Freemen of the ancient borough of Sunderland,’ as they grandiloquently styled themselves, appropriated various rights often taken by gild fraternities or corporations ; but a certain sense of incongruity in their environment, and a knowledge of the slender basis on which their pretensions rested, restrained them from much active interference. No one in Sunderland seems to have taken the Stallingers very seriously except themselves. But at one time Sunderland stood to England in the relation that the Colonies do to-day. The restless son of the Yorkshire dalesman, chafing at the restric- tions of narrow country life, was attracted to Sunderland by the somewhat lawless traditions of the place, while the absence of all trade restrictions naturally appealed to the Scots. When the stolidity and caution of the York- shireman was tempered by the strenuosity and enterprise of the Scotchman, a type was pro- duced whose tenacity of purpose is nowhere more clearly shown than in the history of the struggles to overcome the natural defects of the River Wear. But not only does the removal of the impedi- ments to navigation in the Wear show the energy of Sunderland. Its iron bridge, designed by Tom Paine, and executed by the enterprise of OF DURHAM Roland Burdon, points the same moral. It was among the early iron bridges in England ; built in I79^» single span of iron excited the greatest wonder and some alarm, A local poet celebrated thus the completion of the work : — Sunderland Bridge Ye Sons of Sunderland, with shouts that rival ocean’s roar, Hail Burdon in his iron boots, that strides from shore to shore. O may ye firm support each leg, or much, O much I fear Poor Roland may o’erreach himself in striding cross the Wear. A Patent quickly issue out, lest some more bold than he Should put on larger boots, and stride across the Sea ! Then let us pray for speedy peace, lest Frenchmen should come over. And, following Burdon’s iron plan, from Calais stride to Dover.* As an engineering feat the building of the Sunderland bridge at the time was rightly re- garded as marvellous, and it still claims our admira- tion as the symbol of the enterprising and pro- gressive spirit that dominated the town, Stockton was once the centre of a corn-growing district, and so fruitful was the land in the neigh- bourhood of Hartlepool that ‘Those of the cor- poration affirm that with six weeks’ warning they can provide corn for an army, and the like for butter and cheese.’ * Even as late as 1832 about one-third of the labouring class of Durham were engaged in agriculture, but these things seem incredible as one looks at the intersecting blast furnaces, collieries, engineering works, shipyards, and chemical works that extend in an almost un- broken line from Jarrow, through South Shields, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Stockton, and Clarence, to the mouth of the Tees. IRON AND STEEL The heaps of iron scoriae which still remain scattered over the west of the county of Durham, far distant from any known iron works of modern times, point to the working of iron at a very early date.^ These mounds of slag are, it is true, generally in the neighbourhood of known Roman stations. The iron and steel discovered The first iron bridge was over the Severn, built in 1779. W. Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce ; Modern Times, 525. * The Bishoprick Garland. Collected by Sir Cuth- bert Sharp, 1834. * S.P. Dom. Chas. I, Feb. 1 638-9, vol. 41 2, No. 57. at Vinovium may possibly be of local manu- facture ; still, in the absence of the discovery of tools or coins of Roman origin among the slag, it remains an open question whether the ore was worked during the period of the Roman occupation, or not until mediaeval times. The evidence of the Pipe Rolls of Richard I and John disprove Scrivenor’s statement that the ‘ Sir Isaac L. Bell, ‘ Manufacture of Iron,’ Industrial Resources of Tyne, Tees, and Wear, 82 ; W. H. D. Longstaffe, ‘ Durham before the Conquest,’ Proc. Arch. Inst. Newcastle, 1852, p. 72. 278 INDUSTRIES iron of the north of England was rarely worked from the Conquest to the death of John,^ while later records show that a considerable amount of iron was produced during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The bishops of Durham, however, sent to Spain when in need of iron of superior quality. Little information is extant as to the methods adopted in the early ironworks, whether Roman or mediaeval. Probably the ore was sandwiched between layers of charcoal and placed in tall furnaces, the site being carefully selected on a high hill or in a draughty valley, the wind thus providing a capricious but natural bellows. Two tunnels have been discovered on the side of a hill near Lanchester, thought by Collingwood Bruce to be of Roman origin.® These tunnels taper from a wide mouth and converge on a point where the furnaces were placed. The mouths were towards the west, from which quarter the wind in that valley principally blows. The happy discovery by Mr. Lapsley among a miscellaneous bundle of Auditors’ Records in the Public Record Office of the account roll of John Dalton, the first Durham ironmaster of whose work any accurate account is extant, throws a flood of light on the subject during the fifteenth century. This extremely interesting document gives a detailed and consecutive account of the working of some newly-erected furnaces from I2 June, 1408, to 1 1 November, 1409. Up to this date the bishop had apparently put the mineral products of the Palatinate out to farm ; but Bishop Langley tried the experiment of running a forge of his own, and put the venture into the hands of John Dalton. The history of the enterprise subsequent to 1409 is not recorded ; possibly it was unsuccessful ; though the mana- ger seems to have put both energy and foresight into his work, for he visited a neighbouring forge to get an insight into the best methods of working his own. It is impossible to settle with complete certainty the precise site of the new undertaking. ‘ Byrkeknott juxta Bedbourne ’ has disappeared, but pro- bably Mr. Lapsley is right in identifying it with Bedburn Forge, a very small hamlet close to Bedburn Beck, between Hamsterley and Wolsingham. A foundry was carried on there in the early nineteenth century,^ but the buildings are now used as a stocking factory. Any ambiguity there may be about the position of the bishop’s forge is amply compensated for by the precise description that is given of the erection of the works. Two furnaces — a ‘ blomeharth,’ where the ore passed through the ’ H. Scrivenor, Hist, of the Iron Trade, 6. ’ J. C. Bruce, The Roman Wall, 433—4. ‘ White & Parson, Dir. Northumb. and Dur. 1828, P- 234- preliminary process of smelting, and a ‘ stryng- harth,’ where any impurities that still remained were got rid of, and the iron was heated for its second working by hand into vendible shape — were erected by local workmen under the super- vision of John Dalton.® Probably the furnace discovered and described by Mr. Richardson in 1884 was somewhat of the same nature. It had an internal diameter at its widest part of from five to six feet, contracted at its boshes to about 1 8 inches. Higher up the bank was found a heap of iron ore, where it had probably been placed to be calcined before being put into the furnace. About 30 loads of slag, some birch charcoal, and some lime- stone for flux were found round the furnace, and at the bottom of the furnace were a few small lumps of imperfectly smelted iron. . . . . the water of the burn furnished the power for the blast. The furnace was entirely built and lined with stone, and no bricks were found.® These primitive methods were a slight advance on the very earliest fashion of smelting, for an artificial blast was produced by a bellows, kept in motion by a wheel ^ turned by water from the dammed-up stream. Apparently this was the sole mechanical appliance, for no forge hammer is mentioned among the detailed list of tools given. The staff consisted of the general manager, John Dalton ; a collier, who prepared the char- coal from the brushwood of the neighbouring forest ; a ‘ blomesmyth ’ or ‘ smythman ’ in charge of the ‘ blomeharth,’ and a ‘ faber ’ working at the ‘ stryngharth.’ Some additional help must have been required, and from a reference to William Aycle, who undertook a journey to Yorkshire in order to procure workpeople, it may reasonably be conjectured that more hands were employed than are specifically enumerated. The employ- ment of the wives of the foreman and smith lends an air of domesticity to the little settlement. The wife of John Gyll, ‘the blomesmyth,’ seems to have been a general factotum ; sometimes helping her husband or the labourers, then work- ing at the bellows. At first her employment was intermittent and her payment irregular, but later she seems to have settled down to fixed employment at a regular rate of \d. a blome, i.e. a weight of 15 stones of 13 pounds each. ® R. Dur. Aud. Rec. 5, 149, printed in Engl. Hist. Rev. xlv, 509-29. ® J. C. Hodgson, Hist, of Northumb. vi, 161. ^ At the bishop’s forge we hear of the making of a ‘ water gate ’ and a waterwheel and of ‘ les spowtes lignea ducentia aquam i dicto Watergate usque dictam rotam pendentem,’ but it is doubtful whether water power was always applied for working the bellows, as the wife of the ‘ blomesmyth ’ is not only mentioned as ‘ folles sufflans,’ but also on occasion ‘ operariis auxi- lians ad le belowes.’ 279 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Piece work and specialized employment was the order among the men. The collier was paid 2d. a load for burning the charcoal, the blome- smyth received bd. for smelting a blome, the same sum was paid to the faber for working over the iron at the stryngharth, id. a blome was given for cutting the iron into suitable lengths for sale. The output was not great according to modern standards ; but if we consider the primi- tive character of the appliances a weekly produc- tion of 2 tons is considerable. The account roll gives a clear picture of a self-sufficing community, working up materials procured in the immediate neighbourhood to supply the wants of the district, the enterprise being in the hands of local men, living on the scene of their labours, for four houses are men- tioned among the building operations undertaken in connexion with the forge, but having under them workmen from the neighbouring county. How long Bishop Langley continued the experiment is not recorded, but doubtless the iron obtained from the Durham mines, to which we have frequent reference in the fifteenth century, continued to be worked at local forges® under much the same conditions as at the forge of John Dalton. The fact, however, that in 1473 all the ‘ conyng iryns ’ for the bishop’s mint had to be supplied by William Omorighe of York, may point to a lack of competent workers in iron in the Palatinate.® Early in the sixteenth century another change was made in the management of the mineral wealth of the Palatinate. A committee consisting of Robert Chambers, chancellor of Durham, William Senoys, clerk, William Lee, and John Rakes'® was appointed, and two years later a surveyor .of mines was added." No change of management made any difference to the prime factor in the retrogression of the iron trade — the scarcity of timber. Elizabeth legislated freely to prevent further depredations, with the result that, according to Scrivenor, the ironworks in many parts of the country were stopped entirely, and in other parts materially decreased.'® The immediate effect of this legislation was probably to hinder the development of the Durham iron trade ; but the effect was not permanent, for a piteous picture is drawn by A.L. in 1629, in a ‘ Relation of Some Abuses against the Common- wealth composed especially for the County of ® Robert Kirkhous, ‘ irynbrenner,’ in 1430 cove- nants to work certain forges, for which the bishop will furnish suitable ground and iron ore at a fixed rate. Dur. Curs. 37, m. 3 charges & hire of a horse & horse meat j Sma 0/ xvi"' xiii®' x'*- Sold to the sayd Symonde waughe the\ old lerne that remaned unoccupied weyinge xxvii stoones & : x : pounds)^ at ix'*- a stoone wch deduct owte of the secunde some the some remayn- inge wch is the chairge -V XV Tobias Matthew Dec Ricardi Johnsonn $. d. ix X s. d. ii iiii s. d. xiii V At the opening of the seventeenth century the suggestion that an official measurer for salt should be appointed roused the northern salt-makers to vehement protest. They drew up a description of the salt trade in Durham and Northumberland which is full of interesting details.^' The salt produced by the two counties amounted to about 7,650 weys annually, 430 workmen were em- ployed at the pans, the coal used in heating the pans was brought chiefly by water, 120 keelmen being employed, but cadgers and wainmen also brought coals where there was difficulty in get- ting coal by water. Salt-making does not appear to have been a very profitable investment. The owner supplied the coals, which for one pan cost £^2 135. 4i7. In return for this the worker delivered to the owner forty weys of salt, which if sold at 25^. the wey, ‘ communibus annis yealdeth the owner The annual yield of a pan being fifty weys, the salt-maker only gains ten weys, or ^ 1 2 i or. for his yearly wage from each pan. But the owner’s ^^50 was not all gain ; from that had to be deducted a rent of lor. per annum,^® and wear and tear of pans and im- plements, ^4. The initial expenses too were large ; each pan cost £100,^^ then the owner had to provide keels and keep a stock of coal, so that allowing for the fact that the statements are of an ex parte nature, possibly those who drew up the account were not far from a true estimate in stating ‘ that the owner receiveth for everie pann singulis annis but only 56;. 8(7.’ As the MS. in Dur. Treas. in a bundle of miscellaneous bills, sixteenth century. Duke of Northumberland’s MSS. Syon House. Collectanea Warburtoniana. ‘ A true narrative of the Trade and State of Salters and Saltmaking upon the Sea Coste in the Countyes of Durham and Northum- berland, e. 1605.’ Duke of Northumberland’s MSS. same date says, ‘ From the first of December until the 15th of April a waye of salt is commonly sold for 20/. and 22/.’ Dur. Treas. Rentals. Sir William Brereton, bart.. Notes of a Journey through Dur. and Northumb. In the year 1635, Chet. Soc. I ; MS. in private library. 295 A HISTORY OF DURHAM appointment of the new official, the ‘ Monopoli- taine Measurer,’ would lead to further diminution of profits, for he was to be paid ^d. for measuring each wey, the owner to pay for each pan 28r. 8^., it is easily credible that the suggestion was not received with favour. Even the salt- worker did not escape ‘ and which were more lamentable, he should receive 6r. ^d. per annum out of the poor salt makers waiges,’ Incidentally the document throws much light on the northern salt trade as a whole. The greatest number of salt pannes in these coun- ties lye partly on the mouth of the River Weare, where the Bishopp of Durham hath the Mannor and jura regalia, and cheeflie in the mouth of the River Tyne, where on the south side the Deane and Cha- piter of Durham hath the Mannor and the Bishop hath jura regalia. In these manners are yearly chosen 8 persons or a competent number of sworne men of the most substantial! and expert to see to the measures and measuring of salt, who make due execution thereof. The Halmote Court Roll for 1667 gives a list of the names of these measurers, fifteen in number. Three of them had to be present at the measur- ing, it was also their duty to see that all new bowls or tubs for measuring salt corresponded to the brazen pattern measure and were duly sealed with the seal of the town. In case the cooper delivered the bowls or tubs to the owners before they were certified as correct by the mea- surers, he was fined 3;. \dj'^ The petitioners point out with reason that when a fleet arrived in the Tyne anxious to buy salt and get away within the shortest possible time, the trade would be greatly hampered by their having to wait for the measurer, who single-handed could not cope with the emergency ; the direct result would be to discourage the English and encourage the Scotch trade. But the local market did not take up all the salt : the owners of salt-pans sent quan- tities by sea along the coast to seek a wider market, and the absurdity of the measurer measur- ing the salt to the owner of the salt was manifest. But the greatest sufferers would be the poorer class of salt-makers, who have nothing else to live on, they sell and utter it usually to the cuntry and in the markets there- aboutes by small quantities as they can wynn it. The cuntry are well pleased, and when they come to their markets within the land at Durham, Newcastle, Alne- wick, Barwick, Morpeth, Hexham and such places, the Lords and Maiors of these marketts have the Rule of their measures. But Tobias Matthew writes on 31 May, 1605, in still more condemnatory manner of the scheme : That devised monopolie of salt measuring, an office absurde in itselfe, inconvenient to that trade of Salting, injurious to the makers, more chargeable to the buyers. Unfortunately this roll is now missing from the treasury at Durham ; I am indebted to Mr. Robert Blair, F.S.A., for a transcription made some years ago. and much more subject to diverse corrupcons and abuses in those new measurers and their servants then the auncient accustomed maner of measuring heertofore alwaics used can justly be charged withall. ” In another account given in a letter dated 30 May, 1605, to the earl of Northumberland, the salt owners of the neighbourhood point out that whereas in London, Lynn, Yarmouth, Hull, Norwich, and other port towns, the bowl only contained sixteen gallons, their bowl con- tained nineteen. As for the officers at other ports, who measure the salt, ‘ who will bribe them most, buyer or seller, so shall he fynde his measure skant or full.’ Another correspondent, Mr. Robert Beckwith, meets the charge that those who traded with the north-country salt owners were cheated at all points and their trade ruined with an emphatic denial, and even evokes the supernatural to prove his case ; Whereas they hazard stock and life to losse, if some of them doe soe by reason of their newfanglenesse that they will be of all trades and lavish expences, yet verie manie trade therein and live honestly in that trade not overstudying to overthrowe it as these men doe, knowing that the salt making is made by the industrie of manie poore men, and by God’s providence of the two elements of her and water. And for such like lycence (for measuring salt) granted in Germanic, the water refused to yield salt untill the people prayed, the lycence being taken awaie, and then and untill this daie God is pleased to afford salt of the fires and elements. Thomas Riddell, mayor of Newcastle, was appointed by the Privy Council to get together evidence either to substantiate or rebut the charges brought against the Shields Salters, and in a long letter he successfully disposes of the charges.^® Unfortunately there is no description of the working of salt at Shields as early as 1605, but probably the circumstantial account given by Sir William Brereton, written thirty years later, applies to the earlier salt-works. 1 took a boat about twelve o’clock and went to Tinemouth and to Sheeldes and returned about seven o’clock ; Here I viewed the salt works, wherein is more salt works and more salt made than in any part of England that I know, and all the salt here made is made of salt water ; these pans which are not to be numbered, placed in the river mouths and wrought with coals brought by water from Newcastle pits. A most dainty new salt work lately here erected, which is absolutely the most complete work that I ever saw ; in the breadth thereof is placed six ranks of pans, four pans in a rank ; at either outside the furnaces are placed in the same manner as are my brother Boothes, under the grate of which furnaces the ashes fall and there is a lid or cover for both ; and by the heat of these Duke of Northumberland’s MSS. Collectanea Warburtoniana, Syon House. Ibid. Letter of mayor of Newcastle, 30 May, 1605. INDUSTRIES ashes, there being a pan made in the floor betwixt every furnace, which is made of brick, for which also there is a cover, there is boiled and made into lumps of hard and black salt, which is made from the brine which drops from the new made salt, which is placed over a cistern of lead, which cistern is under the floor of the store-house, which is in the end of the building ; These great lumps of hard black salt are sent to Col- chester to make salt upon salt, which are sold for a greater price than the rest, because without these at Colchester they cannot make any salt. These twenty- four pans have only twelve furnaces and twelve fires, and arc erected in this manner, all being square and of like proportion. They are placed by two and two together, one against the other ; the six pans in the highest rank, the bottom equal with the top of the lower. The highest pans are twice filled and boiled till it begins to draw toward salt, then a spiggot being pulled out, the brine thus prepared runs into the lower pans, which brings it to a larger proportion of salt than otherwise ; gains time and saves fire, because it must be longer boiled in the other pans, and would spend fire, which is saved by reason of the heat which derives from the furnace of the upper pan, which by a passige is conveyed under the lower pan, which passage is about half a yard broad in the bottom, and is, at the top, of the breadth of the pan, which rests upon a brick wall, which is of the thickness of one brick at top, and this concavity under the lower pans is shaped slopewise like unto a kiln, narrow in the bottom and broad at the top ; and this heat, which is conveyed under and makes the lower pans to boil, comes to- gether with the smoke which hath no other passage, under these pans through loop-holes or pigeon-holes, which is conveyed into a chimney, (a double rank thereof is placed in the middle of this building) be- twixt which is a passage for a man to walk. In the middle of every these chimneys is there a broad iron- plate, which is shaped to the chimney, which, as it stops and keeps in the heat, so it being pulled out abates the heat.®' He estimates the salt produced in all the pans to be worth ^^1,500 a year, and the clear annual gain ;^505. The workmen received 14^. a week, three men and one woman did the work. Lead pipes connected the various pans with the sump where the brine was stored, the sea water flowing into the brine pit at high tide. Stone walls surrounded the pans, and a roof of boards protected them. The size of the pans probably varied, those seen by Sir William Brereton were made of iron and were 3^ yds. broad by 5 yds. long, and f yd. deep.®^ In 1630 the exportation or salt from the Shields district was prohibited. From 1635 to 1639 the North and South Shields salt-pan owners, acting with some Londoners interested in the trade, made a determined effort to obtain the monopoly of salt for the whole kingdom. They induced Charles I to give them a charter. The king prohibited the erection of new salt-works on the sea coast between Berwick and Southamp- ®' Sir William Brereton, op. cit. One of these salt-pans is still to be seen in the garden of the Old Bent House, South Shields. ton by anyone except the Shields Company, and Nicholas Murford and Christopher Haworth, of Yarmouth, upon pain of demolition ; the sole right of manufacturing salt for the port towns was put into their hands. In return for these privileges the company agreed to make sufficient good and merchantable salt for both home con- sumption and fishing expeditions, and at no time to allow the price to exceed ,^5 the wey for home use, and 50r. for fishing expeditions. They also entered into a contract to pay a duty of los. a wey to the king for the former, and 3^. 4^. a wey for the latter. But the charter could be annulled at the end of three years in case a better way of making salt were discovered. But the affair was a fiasco ; these seventeenth- century promoters came from London, bought out some of the pan owners, coerced others to join the enterprise, though a third, in spite of royal pressure, refused either to join the company or to stop manufacturing. It was not until the promoters had spent £ 14,000 buying pans, build- ing houses, and organizing the trade that they realized in what a precarious position they were. A rival scheme had been got up by Murford, backed by the London fishmongers, and Charles was playing off one company against the other in order to obtain better terms for himself ; Sir Robert Heath, however, gave his decision in favour of the northern salt owners. But Yar- mouth refused to fetch the salt from Shields, declaring that the plague there rendered its im- portation a menace to life, and when the company sent the salt to Yarmouth by their own em- ployees, the men were seized and so seriously ill-treated that they appealed to the council for protection. Nor was outside competition the company’s only trouble ; they owned 157 pans, but George Harle, James King, Cuthbert Hunter, Margery Harle, and Katherine Roe, who owned among them forty-five pans in Shields, refused to pay the king’s duty, and were, therefore, able to undersell the company. By 1639 the company had resigned their patent and were being threat- ened with prosecution by the attorney-general for non-payment of arrears of duty amounting to £13,000}* Misfortune dogged the footsteps of the Shields salt-pan owners. They had expended much capital in removing the rocks and stones before they could erect their wharves and staithes ; they even claimed to have improved by this means the navigation of the Tyne. As soon as their pans were erected the dean and chapter claimed the site as spare church lands and forced them to take leases. During the Civil War, the Scots destroyed the pans, as belonging to royalists, ®® P.R.O. Doc. Chas. I, 23 Dec. 1635, 16 ; Orig. R. II Chas. I, 75 ; 12 Chas. I, 156. S.P. Dom. Chas. I, 1635-6, vol. 312 ; 1636-7, vols. 335, 344; 1637, vol. 362 ; 1639, vol. 441, No. 56. 297 2 38 A HISTORY OF DURHAM malignants, or popish owners. No sooner were they rebuilt than in 1648 the Commonwealth offered for sale all church lands, and the unfor- tunate owners had to buy their own property at a high rate. Then the friendly relations between England and Scotland during the Commonwealth led to the increased importation of Scotch salt, which ruined the Shields trade. As the petition for an imposition on Scotch imported salt urged, the encouragement of the Scotch salt trade meant the overthrow of them (the Shields owners) and their ffamilyes, who have spent their Estate in bringing such a Native and good Manufacture to perfecon, and another Nacon now like to enjoy the benefitt of their said Purchase and industry. That in South and North Sheels, Sunderland, Blith, there are above 100 owners of salt woorks who will be utterly undone together with their Families and many thousand Labourers, that depend thereon to inrich some in Scotland, for the Salt woorks there are in very few hands.’^ But the salt industry was not settled at South Shields without much opposition. A crisis came in 1617, and the salters were summoned to Durham to defend themselves against various charges of destroying the vegetation and render- ing the place uninhabitable. The plaintiffs’ case was stated with much eloquence ; their complaint was that the dean and chapter had let to the defendants some land upon which waist grounds, they the defendants and many others have builded and erected a great number of houses and buildings wherein they have placed salt- panns for making of salt, and thereby have sett up a new trade for making and boyling of salt of salt water, wherein they use great and extraordinary fires made of sea cole, and thereupon doe raise of every pann to themselves an annuall and yearly benefitt of forty or fifty pounds at the least by reason of which new- erected saltpans, used to the purpose aforesaid, such abondance of thicke smoake doth rise from the said panns as all or the most parte of the grasse growing upon the ox-pasture within twenty score yards of the topp of the said banke next to the said panns is alto- gether burnt up and waisted, as not one greene grasse feild doth grow of all that parte of the said pasture adjoyning to the said panns, and all the residue of the said pasture is by the same smoake also soe corrupted, poysoned and decayed in the spring season, when the grasse is tender and should begin to grow, as that the plaintiffs and presedent farmers usually keeping eight oxen for every farme to depasture, and to be well fed and kept, can keep now but foure oxen at the most, for every farme, and that very leane and scarce able to worke, and that likewise, whereas a part of that pasture was preserved for meadow whereupon every of the said farmers had yearly three loads of hay, for releife of their oxen in the winter season, now the same is soe corrupted and burnt up with the said B.M. Lansd. MSS. cclviii, fols. 252-261. (Printed in Richardson’s Rare Tracts, iii) Newcastle Hostmen’s Books. Petition, 19 Dec. 1654; Hunter MSS. Dean and Chapter Lib. Dur. No. 1 1, fob 59, ‘ Reasons for ye Preservation and Encouragement of ye Manu- facture of Salt at Shields.’ smoake, as noe meadow at all will grow upon the same, as also that their hedges arc soe consumed with the said smoake, as noe green leafe will grow therein, and the quickc hedges there be dryed up, and also their come yearly growing in the said fields is thereby soe decayed and impaired as the plaintiffs are scarce able to pay their rents. A committee was appointed by Sir Richard Hutton, keeper of the great seal for the County Palatine, consisting of Mr. Francis Burgaine and Mr. Peter Smarte, prebendaries, and Thomas Chambers and Thomas Palleson, gentlemen, who were to call witnesses before them and then settle the amount of compensation due to the plaintiffs. The award was given 25 March, 1618, and the defendants had to pay an annual sum of 6s. 8d. to the tenants of Westoe.^® Nor was this picture of the horrors of the smoke in the neighbourhood of Shields exagger- ated ; every writer dwells on it with astonishment. There is an old story that the wife of Patrick Wall, incumbent of South Shields in 1666, on riding down Churton Bank, where they got their first view of Shields, reproached her husband ‘ for bringing her from Norham, frae the bonny banks o’ Tweed, to Sodom and Gomorrah.’ Marma- duke Rawdon writes in 1664 that the salt trade causes such ‘ a smooke that one would thinke the town were on fire.’ Thoresby, Defoe, and Dibdin all dwell on the volumes of smoke seen arising from the salt and glass-works miles away from the town itself. The salt-makers seem to have been a some- what godless set of men ; even in the rollicking days of the Restoration they incurred the dis- pleasure of those in authority. John Cook, Saltmaker, for working at his panns ordinary in the lord’s day in time of service and being reproved by churchwardens he did abuse and work several days after. Cook appeared and submitted and confessed his crime before the minister and church- wardens.^® Nor was John Cook a solitary offender. The July previous it had been considered necessary to legislate on the subject, for the Salters of South Shields, as usually upon every Lord’s Day follow their ordinary Labour at working at their Panns about the making of salt, to the great dishonour of God and the constant profanation of the Lord’s day.^® It was accordingly ordered that the salters should not work upon the lord’s day and that their fires about the Salt Panns may soak upon every Sunday from six o’clock in the morning till six o’clock at night, and that they shall not draw their panns, nor burn lime, nor put in coles. Cosin’s Lib. Dur. MIckleton MSS. 91, 26. Brockie, Hist, of Shields, 76. Life of Marmaduke Rawdon of York (Camd. Soc.), 1863, p. 143. Dur. Book of Acts, 6 Oct. 1664. Court of Quarter Sessions for the county of Dur. 13 July, 1664. INDUSTRIES After the Restoration the trade flourished, though the number of pans fluctuated. In 1667, 121 pans were at work „ 1668, 107 „ „ 1669, 122 „ „ 1671, 119 „ „ 1672, no „ 1673, 1 12 „ „ 1674, *19 » » 1677, 133 » „ 1688, 1 19 „ „ 1694, 139 „ „ 1701, 143 „ The salt-works near the Mill Dam had a some- what disastrous history. Originally in the hands of John Waller in 1708, they were sold to Sir William Coles, who leased them from the dean and chapter for twenty-one years for a rent of 40r. for the land and lor. for each salt-pan. Sir to buy the salt-works at the valuation made by Edward Fairless, who had apparently continued to work them. Fairless valued the property at ,^610, but claimed so much for repairs that a clause was inserted in the final agreement that Robert Blunt should not be held answerable for any claims advanced by Fairless. Eventually the three daughters of Sir William Coles only re- ceived jTiSO for their share of the inheritance. Isaac Cookson bought the property from the executors of Robert Blunt — William Carr, of the city of London, powder-flask maker, John Carr, of the city of Dublin, John Wilkinson of Horsley, John Simpson of Ovington Hall, and Ruhumah Chicken of Ovington for ;^900. In 1745 he renewed the lease of the salt-works from the dean and chapter. Possibly the salt- works were continued to provide flux for the newly-erected glass-works.^’’ 9f 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 William Coles, who spent most of his time in London, appointed a manager, Charles Atkinson. On the death of Sir William in 1717, Dame Elizabeth, his widow, to whom the salt-works were bequeathed for her life, refused to prove the will as, according to Atkinson, only £4.0 had been made during the previous nine years. Edward Fairless, disregarding the lack of legal title, took a lease of it for seven years for On the death of Dame Elizabeth the heiresses. Sir William’s three daughters, Alice Brown, Katherine Cowlans, and Margaret Coles, put a mortgage on the salt-works, which was taken by Robert Blunt. In 1726 Robert Blunt offered Minute Book of the Ancient Vestry of St. Hilda’s Church, South Shields. I am indebted to Mr. Robert Blair, F.S.A., for the use of his transcription of the MS. The rentals in the treasury cannot always be relied upon, but according to them as late as 1791 there were nearly two hundred salt-pans at South Shields, by 1827 the number had decreased to fifty, and for all practical purposes by the end of the first half of the nineteenth century the Shields salt trade was at an end, although salt-pans were still worked as late as 1880 by Mrs. Cassidy in West Holborn, but the brine was obtained from rock salt,^^ not from sea water. Various reasons. From deeds in the possession of Mr. N. C. Cookson and copies of leases in the Dur. Treasury. The plan of the salt-works was attached to one of the Cookson Deeds, 1708, and probably represented the property as it existed at the end of the seventeenth century. Cheshire rock salt was first brought to Durham about 1825. 299 A HISTORY OF DURHAM none entirely satisfactory, are given for the col- lapse of the Shields salt trade; probably the discov- ery of rock salt and the fact that the owners of the salt-pans, who were often identical with the owners of the collieries, found another use for their inferior coal, when the demand for coke in- creased, had a prejudicial effect on the trade. Still the marvel is not that the trade ceased when it did, but, considering the long and tedious process employed, that it continued as long as it did. Before the trade was quite extinct, an import- ant discovery had been made, 1858-62, by Mr. John Vaughan (Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co.), who, while boring for water, discovered on the Yorkshire side of the Tees near Middlesbrough a bed of rock-salt. No practical results followed from the discovery ; and although Messrs. Bell Brothers found salt on the Durham side at Port Clarence in 1874 at a depth of 1,127 not until 1882 that the actual business of making salt was begun. Three years later the Newcastle Chemical Co. started works in connexion with their chemical works on the Tyne, and about the same time the Haverton Hill Salt Co., the first to make salt for domestic purposes, began work, and later the Greatham Salt Co., the most north- erly of the works, started at Greatham. Once started the development of the trade was rapid ; in 1882 Durham only produced a little more than 3,000 tons of salt ; ten years later, including the North Ormsby and Lackenby Works, 231,060 tons were being produced. The salt district ex- tends over an area of 20 square miles on either side of the Tees, and is estimated to contain 2,000,000,000 tons of salt, the average thickness of the bed being from eighty to ninety feet. Cheshire with its rock-salt near the surface has a great advantage over Durham, where the bed is at a depth of about 1,000 ft. ; on the other hand the proximity of coal and a navigable river to a certain extent counterbalance this disadvantage. For the great quantity of coal used is a serious item in the expense of working salt. Originally the boring down to the rock-salt was done by the diamond boring process ; but the substitution of the drilling system, as used in the American oil districts, of derricks and free falling ‘ string of tools,’ has been the means of saving time and expense. The tube which is inserted is per- forated three times, to admit the water from the sandstone ; then when the salt bed is reached to allow the water to flow over the rock-salt, and a^ain at the bottom of the salt bed so that the brine can get admission to the inner pump tube. The brine is then pumped to the surface, con- veyed in pipes to the filter, and thence to large pans, in which it is evaporated. The substitution of iron and steel for lead pans is the only change that has taken place in this part of the process during the last 2,000 years. The vacuum process, which decreases the con- sumption of coal by fifty per cent, and does away with the necessity of blocking and grinding, is probably the method of the immediate future as far as the works for the manufacture of fine salt are concerned. The utilization of the surplus heat from the blast furnaces decreases the expense of those works in their neighbourhood, but only the coarser salts can be made in this way. The salt-works at Clarence, where this method is adopted, originally belonged to Messrs. Bell Brothers. They are now worked by the Salt Union. The waste heat from the blast furnaces is conducted in flues under the salt-pans. The gases from the furnaces are burnt under boilers to raise the steam required to actuate the blowing machinery, and the results of combustion pass away from the end of the boilers at a high tem- perature, 1,400 Fahr. Between the chimney which draws the gas from the furnaces under the boilers and the boilers themselves, arrangements are made to place the shallow salt-pans, and in this way the heat which would otherwise be lost is utilized. The temperature obtained is not high enough nor under sufficient control to permit the manufacture of the various kinds of salt ; what is called technically chemical salt is the chief product ; still a small quantity of fishery salt is also obtained.^^ The United Alkali Company have two sets of salt-works on the Tees, one near Bellingham, the other near Clarence, and both in the Haverton Hill district, and the Tees Salt Company also work salt at Haverton Hill. The fineness of the grain depends upon the temperature at which the brine is evaporated.^® By a curious coincidence, Greatham, near West Hartlepool, where in the fourteenth century the best English salt was made, is now the site of the extensive Cerebos Salt Works. The business was begun in 1894 for the manufacture of a very fine table salt ; the invention is due to Mr. George Weddel, the present managing director of the company. In order to replace the phosphates lost when food is cooked, he conceived the idea of mixing in a definite proportion certain phosphates with the salt. The invention met with phenomenal success, and enlarged premises soon became necessary. In 1901 offices and works were erected in Elison Place, Newcastle, where the salt manufactured at Greatham is put through the final refining processes. The phos- phates, the addition of which differentiates Cere- bos from all other salt, are here added, the salt is put through various mills, sieves, and ovens, weighed by automatic scales, and finally emptied by automatic fillers into the cases, some of the labour-saving devices in this department being due to the ingenuity of Mr. Patterson, director of the I am indebted to the courtesy of Messrs. Bell Bro- thers for this account of the Clarence Salt Works. ^^Middlesbrough Salt Industry, by Richard Grigg. Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institute of Me- chanical Engineers, 2 Aug. 1893. INDUSTRIES works. The weighing and filling are in the charge of girls wearing the neat uniform supplied by the company, scrupulously clean white aprons, blouses, and caps. But during the whole process the salt is never once touched by the hand. Modern labour-saving machines worked by electricity, by which all the nails required to make one box are driven in by one blow, make all the boxes required for packing on the premises. A glance at the company’s books at once re- veals the enormous area covered by their trade operations. They have customers in every coun- try of Europe, do an extensive American trade, and have clients in the centre of Africa and the north of Queensland. But an important change is to take place shortly. In 1903 the Greatham Salt and Brine Works were purchased by the company for ;^3355°o 5 they were held under a lease for forty years from the trustees of the Greatham Hospital from 1887, and the company have now decided to move from Newcastle to Greatham, so that the whole process from the initial pumping up of the brine to the final packing and dispatch of the salt will take place in future at Greatham, thus a great saving in transit is effected. It is sometimes asserted that the first reference to chemical works, other than salt, on the Tyne is found in an account of the examination in 1638, before the attorney-general, of a certain John Cornelius, who was accused of trying to entice workmen from the Tyneside Alum Works to begin the industry in Denmark.^® It is probable, however, that the works referred to were in the North Riding of Yorkshire. But if the Northumberland Alum Works existed, the site is unknown, and it was not until nearly a century later that Mr. John Cookson started works at South Shields on the spot still called Alum House Ham. Possibly the works were run in connexion with the Saltwich Alum Works near Whitby, for the alum liquor which was crystallized into alum was brought in specially devised vessels fitted with tanks from Saltwich,^^ and Ralph Carr, one of the partners in the Salt- wich Works, into which he put ,^4,000 in 1758, appears in 1762 as the owner of the Alum House at South Shields. If the welfare of the two businesses were interdependent these early alkali works were not a success, for after losing money for thirty years the Whitby Alum Works were closed in 1789.^® Until the end of the eighteenth century alkali was made from Scotch kelp or barilla ; but Mr. William Losh, who was living in Paris at the time of the French Revolution, observed the methods used by Leblanc, by which soda was S.P. Dom. Chas. I, 16 Sept. 1538, vol. 398, No. 90. J. Salmon, South Shields : its Past, Present, and Future {\'S^(s), 19. Carr Family, iii, 68. obtained by decomposing salt by sulphuric acid. He returned to England and, helped by the earl of Dundonald, began a series of experiments which resulted in a patent being taken out in 1795 for treating neutral salts to obtain alkalies, and the English alkali trade was begun by the establishment of a manufactory of soda at Walker-on-Tyne (Northumberland) in 1806. But the new industry soon crossed the Tyne ; in 1822-3 Cookson established a manu- factory at Templetown (Tyne Docks), and later built furnaces and chambers at South Shields on a plan given to him by Mr. Doubleday. Messrs. Doubleday and Easterby had as early as 1808 established works at Bell Quay, and the repeal of the salt duty in 1823 produced a sudden expansion of the trade. John Alden began at Felling Shore in 1827-8, A. Clapham at Friar’s Goose in 1829, C. Allwood at South Shore in 1830, Mr. Bell at Jarrow in 1836, Mr. R. Imeary also at Jarrow in 1839, five years after the foundation of the historic firm of Pattinson and Co. at Felling.^® In the early days the gas which was thrown off during the process of manufacture escaped into the air and destroyed all vegetation round the works. Messrs. Cookson especially were subjected to constant and wearing prosecution. They had however, the most enthusiastic support of their workpeople. In a lengthy address they not only recall the fact that many of the Cookson works had existed for more than a century, and express the utmost contentment with the rewards they enjoyed in return for their labour,®® but offer to relieve the firm of expense in any defence they might be called upon to make, being as they say Quite satisfied that the continuance and prosperity of the works is more a matter of interest to us than to you. Our subscriptions though separately small will W. Gossage, History of the Alkali Manufacture ; R. C. Clapham, ‘The Commencement of the Soda Manufacture,’ Trans. H ewcastle-upon-Tyne Chem. Soe. 1, 43- *“We consider it impossible that any persons can have joined in such proceedings, who are at all acquainted with the vast importance of your works to the town or who have reflected on the incalculable mischief that must arise to the working classes by any interference with the peaceful working of those manu- factories, the suspension of which would bring ruin and misery upon hundreds. We have ever reflected with pleasure on the spirit and enterprise with which you have conducted your various works within the Borough, and when we call to mind that some of these works have existed for a hundred years and have been the support and comfort of our Forefathers, we cannot but regard your Families and Connections as the working man’s Best Benefactors, and feel compelled to express our most earnest hope that in spite of all vexatious Persecutions, your establishments may continue to benefit the poor man for generations yet to come. 301 A HISTORY OF DURHAM be collectively large, and we shall be proud to under- take the defence of the works against what we must deem an unprovoked attack on the dearest interests of the working man.^* In spite of this support, in 1843 Messrs. Cookson ceased to manufacture alkali, and in 1844 the works were acquired by the Jarrow Chemical Company. Under the management of James Stevenson they rapidly increased, until they became the largest in the North of England. In the great Exhibition they exhibited a minia- ture of the Arctic regions in crystal soda, which weighed 2 tons and measured 6 ft. In 1858 the Friar’s Goose Works united to the Templetown concern, and the amalgamated works were then the largest in the kingdom, employing nearly fifteen hundred men. The United Alkali Company acquired the whole concern in 1891.^^ The Templetown Works, generally known as the Tyne Dock Works, were closed and later pulled down, but the P'riar’s Goose Works still continue, though not in full work. In October, 1886, the chemical firm of Pattinson & Co., founded seventy years before at Felling, closed their works, and more than fourteen hundred men were thrown out of work ; the magnificent buildings still stand un- occupied. The Hebburn Works, once owned by Charles Tennant and partners, are now worked by the United Alkali Company, whose most extensive works are in the borough of Gateshead, and were formerly under the control of the New- castle Chemical Company.” The chemical works founded by H. Lee Pattinson in 1837 at Washington, and bought in 1872 by Mr. Newall, still continue. But the chemical industry was not confined to the Tyne. As early as 1772 copperas works were started at Deptford by Messrs. Taylor and Inman. Pyrites for the purpose was obtained from Lyme in Dorsetshire, a ton costing 305. On the death of Inman, the remaining partner, in 1780 the works were bought by Mr John Bliss and managed by him for seven years ; his son succeeded to the business and took Mr. Bernard Ogden into partnership. The works were enlarged and the manufacture of Glauber’s and Epsom Salts begun. Mr. Ogden became the sole proprietor in 1820, and six years later a further extension of business took place. Pyroligneous retorts were installed and the manu- facture of acetate of soda begun. Dr. Ogden succeeded his father, in 1831, and extended the manufacture of acetate of soda and acetic acid, until the works became one of the largest of the kind in the world. From 1869 to 1892 Mr. John Maude Ogden, his younger brother, was manager. His executors carried on the business, but sold the whole estate to Doxford & Sons, and in 1902 every vestige of these chemical works, and the old Deptford Hall, which Mr. Inman the founder of the firm had built, was swept away to make room for the extension of the Shipbuilding and Engineering Works.” SHIPBUILDING Shipbuilding is the most characteristic and im- portant industry in the county of Durham, and Durham is the most important shipbuilding county in the United Kingdom. Four hundred and sixty-eight ships above i,000 tons were built in the British Isles during 1905 ; of these 175 were built in this county. Durham accounts for 589,944 of the 1,808,771 tons that represent the total tonnage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Taking England, exclusive of Durham, as the standard of comparison, the pre-eminent position of Durham is still clearer, for England turns out only 465,460 tons, so that Durham with its output of 589,944 tons exceeds the total English output (exclusive of Durham) by 124,484 tons. Nor can this great industrial development be traced to any natural advantage ; the Wear is From a copy of an address to Isaac Cookson and William Cuthbert, esqs., from their workpeople, agreed to at a meeting held in South Shields Market- place on 22 Jan. 1832, kindly lent to me by Mr. N. C. Cookson. Chemical Trades Jount. 1890, pp. 32, 33. the only exclusively Durham river, for Northum- berland and Yorkshire claim the lion’s share of the shipbuilding of the Tyne and the Tees, and it has been rightly said that man has done every- thing for the Wear, nature nothing. Sunderland is often spoken of as a mushroom growth of the mid-seventeenth century, but its shipping had a history long anterior to that period. Among the Mickleton MSS. is a document com- piled in the early part of the seventeenth century, which contains a list of all the rolls then in existence which dealt with Sunderland shipping. They cover a period from 1183 to 1609. In many cases the date of the document only, no hint of its contents, is given. The first one quoted is dated 19 Edward III, and runs, ‘ Thomas Menvil held a certain place called Hendon for building of ships and paid yearly for the same I am indebted to Mr. Alfred Allhusen for many of the details of the Durham Alkali Works. From a manuscript description of the Deptford Copperas Works in possession of the Sunderland Antiquarian Society. 302 INDUSTRIES 2;.’ ^ A more comprehensive entry follows, headed : Diverse copies of Rolls of Accts showing ye Bishopps to have ye Passages and Feery Bootes at Sunderland and account for making new Bootes allowed upon ye accounts 1345, 1406, 1457, 1494, 1502, 1508. The bishop’s rights were not always undisputed. To a copy of a patent granted by Tobias, Bishop of Durham, to one Evans Witting for the anchor- age of Sunderland, is added the pregnant sen- tence, ‘The master of Trinity House preuved him to have a Patent from ye King and ye Bishop will not allow it.’ ^ Probably these copies of rolls bearing on shipping were compiled for the use of the bishop in his admiralty jurisdiction, for the admiralty court was an important part of the administration of the county palatine.^ The episcopal jurisdiction does not seem to have fostered or developed the trade of Sunder- land ; the Report of the Commissioners for the care of Ports and Havens within the Bishopric of Durham, presented in 1565, says of Sunder- land : There are neither ships nor boats and only seven fish cobbles that belong to the town occupying 20 fisher- men. This town is in great decay of building and inhabitants.’ ‘ By 1626, according to the return made to the Privy Council, Sunderland, where the coal trade is one-fourteenth that of Newcastle, ought to pay a fourteenth of the charge of setting out two ships for the king’s service, but the traders of Sunderland deny to yield any contribution. Ten years later Sunderland was assessed at £zo for ship-money, Gateshead paying ;^50, and Darlington £,2$.^ But its development was very slow until the out- break of the Civil War, when, as Royalist New- castle refused to send coal to Parliamentary London, the metropolis had to rely upon Sunder- land and Blyth for the supply. An ordinance dated 12 May, 1643, ordered that there should be free and open trade in the port of Sunderland. The jurisdiction of the bishop abolished, no trade or gild restrictions to hamper its development, supported by the government, Sunderland forged ahead with almost incredible rapidity. Coal was only found in the higher reaches of the river ; a local industry, the building of keels to convey the * R. Surtees, Durham, i, 256. ’ Cosin’s Lib. Durham ; Mickleton MSS. No. 10, fol. 362. ‘ Diverse copies of Rolls to prove that ye Bishop of Durham hath ye Borough of Sunderland and Rents for ye fishing ; which ye Prior had there, and yt ye Bishop had a place therein in ancient time for arrival of ships paying a rent.’ ^ G. J. Lapsley, The County Pal. of Dur. App. ii, 3 1 7. ‘ S.P. Dom. Eliz. Add. 26 Nov. 1565, vol. 12, No. 86 (i); W. Cunningham, Growth of Engl. Indust. .and Commerce, i, 66. ‘ S.P. Dom. Chas. I, March, 1636, vol. 317, No. 96. mineral to the harbour where it was shipped, was already begun. But the development of the coal trade increased the keelbuilding trade ; men ac- customed to building keels found little difficulty in dealing with the small wooden vessels so much used at the end of the seventeenth century ; when, therefore, there was an increased demand for ships in the eighteenth century, a race of men were at hand on the banks of the Wear with an inherited manual dexterity brought to its utmost development in the satisfactory training school of voluntary apprenticeship. The woods of Dur- ham, which the Petts had ransacked early in the seventeenth century to get timber for The Sovereign of the Sea, building in the naval dock- yards at Woolwich, had diminished so rapidly that the men of Sunderland could not rely on their own county for their needs, but they were favourably situated for commanding an inex- haustible supply from the forests of the Baltic regions.® Early in the eighteenth century several shipbuilders were on the Wear, though the average size of the vessels was only 135 tons. In 1753 only about 190 ships belonged to this port ; ^ four ships are mentioned as going annually to the Greenland Sea, but whether they were locally built it is impossible to say.® Bailey gives the table of the ships built in Sunderland which was presented to the House of Commons in 1807 : Years Number Average Tonnage Tonnage of Largest 1790 19 144 312 1791 6 202 356 I 804 51 163 34-9 I 805 36 163 337 ® Surtees gives statistics of the number of ships building at various dates, which taken in conjunc- tion with the previous list shows that the trade fluctuated considerably : Date Number Tonnage December, 1810 37 8,410 November, 1811 32 8,020 November, 1812 37 8,437 March, 1814 31 6,693 He adds, within the port of Sunderland there are twenty shipbuilding yards.^® The Napoleonic wars are supposed to have given an immense impetus to Sunderland ship- building, but the evidence given before a select committee of the House of Commons in 1833 does not support this theory. The evidence ® M. Oppenheim, Administration of the Navy, 261 ; F. W. Dendy, ‘ Extracts from Privy Seal Dockets,’ Arch. Aeliana, xxiv. ^ ‘ Letter from Sunderland, 13 June, 1755,’ Gent. Mag. XXV. ® Brit. Univ. Dir. 1792. ® J. Bailey, op. cit. 299. R. Surtees, op. cit. 264. 303 A HISTORY OF DURHAM brings out the facts that of thirty-four or more shipbuikling yards on both sides of the Wear, nineteen had been started since the peace ; that ships were built cheaper at Sunderland than else- where ; that every place where a ship could be built was a yard ; and that the smaller ship- builders, who undersold the larger shipbuilders, were generally carpenters who clubbed together and started business in the hopes of getting better wages for tliemselves than when they worked for others.^'^ These builders without capital were often the tools of the timber merchants, who advanced the timber, and who, in case the builders were unable to meet their claims at the end of the nine months for credit given, seized the vessels and put them on the market in a hastily finished condition. In many cases where the builders wtye working on contract, a quarter of the value was advanced. Over-production followed, and as a writer in the first number of the Northern Tribune^ in 1851, says : Until about ten years ago the character of the vessels built on the Wear was considered sloppy and the capital of the town had somewhat of a papery reputa- tion. In fact, ‘ Sunderland Barley Barrells,’ as at one time the Wear-built vessels were called, were synonymous with vessels built to enrich the owner and drown the crew. In 1840, 251 ves- sels were built on the Wear, with 64,446 gross tonnage; in 1843, only eighty-five, gross ton- nage 21,377.^^ But the Irish famine, emigration to Australia, and the Crimean War, restored the prosperity of Sunderland shipping. In 1850,158 vessels of 51,374 gross tonnage were built ; this number was never exceeded, although the tonnage in 1853 was increased. This was the high- water mark of wooden shipbuilding, although as late as 1857 ^^here were seventy-one wooden- shipbuilders, and the industry lasted until 1875, when William Gibbon built the last wooden ship. In 1852 the first iron sailing-ship built on the River Wear was launched. It was the Loftus^ built by Mr. Clark, during 1851, for Mr. George Forster of the Consett Iron Works, to carry Cleve- land ore from Yorkshire to the Tyne.^'^ The Amity^ from the shipyard of James Laing, was the second Wear-built iron vessel. The firm of Sir James Laing & Sons is the oldest firm on the River Wear ; the founder was Mr. Philip Laing, who in 1793, in partnership with his brother John, started shipbuilding on the Monkwearmouth shore, where the Strand Ship- way Company have their works. The partner- " Evidence of Mr. Henry Tanner of Sunderland, given 10 [uly, iS't't. Lloyd's Reg. i 840. Mr. 'r. Ray of Ryhope, to whom I am indebted for many details of e.irly Sunderland shipping, saw eight ships launched on one day in January, 1850. Rep. of Mech. Engl. March, 1885 ; Lloyd's Reg. 1851. ship was dissolved in 1818, Mr. Philip Laing then buying the Deptford Yard, where the busi- ness is now carried on.^® The firm have still a MS. volume containing an account of all the ships built by them since the inauguration of the trade. The Horta., tonnage 248, was the first ship built ; it was for Captain Forster of Whit- burn. The receipt for the building of the Polly for Captain Wheatley, who paid ,^5,426 I4J. as purchase-money, dated i December, 1814, is still extant ; her tonnage was 283^^. Sir James Laing succeeded to the business on his father’s retirement in 1843 ; of course all the ships built were of wood, but Sir James introduced the use of East India teak to supplement the use of oak, and he imported the first cargo of Moulmein teak into Sunderland. The firm took an active part in the emigrant shipbuilding in the forties and fifties. A number of Scotch emigrants from Glasgow, accompanied by their pastor, went over to Dunedin in 1846 in the Philip the bell of which ship was given to the Dunedin church to supply the place of the cracked bell then in use. The ill-fated Dunbar, built in 1853, was a large ship, more than 200 ft. in length ; she was wrecked at the entrance to Sydney Harbour, and, except one old man, all, both crew and emigrants, perished. In 1855 the La Hogue, the biggest ship built in the north up to that date, 221 ft. long, was launched.^® But as early as 1853 Sir James had begun the building of iron ships, his first iron ship being the Amity. The firm have always been celebrated for their first-class work- manship, and have built for the P. and O., the Royal Mail, Union, West India and Pacific, British India, Beaver Line, and for the Japanese line Toyo Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha of Tokio. The building of oil boats, which require the utmost nicety of finish, is also a specialty of the firm. The Luscarora, one of the largest oil steamers afloat at the time of the launch, was built for the Anglo-American Oil Co. A new type of trunk deck steamer was introduced by Sir James Laing & Sons a few years ago for carrying grain, ore, and other general cargo in bulk, where self-trimming is indispensable. The shipyard covers an area of 17 acres, with six berths. The most interesting ship launched lately from the yard is more like a floating dock- yard than an ordinary vessel ; it was built for the Government in 1 906 to accompany the fleet, so that in case of accidents the repairs can be done at sea ; it contains all the machinery neces- sary for repairing on the most extensive scale. The extensive brass-works belonging to the same firm not only supply their own ships, but also enable them to fulfil contracts with the Admiralty and the War Office. A propeller foundry was added in 1902. ** Hue and Cry, i 2 Dec. 1818. Ulus. London Hews, i i Aug. 1855. 304 INDUSTRIES Messrs. Doxford, of Sunderland, in 1905 secured the blue ribbon for the largest output of tonnage in the world ; they built twenty ships with an average tonnage of 4,332 tons. The firm was started in 1840 by Mr. William Dox- ford, father of the three senior members of the present firm, who began as a wooden-shipbuilder at Coxgreen ; he left Coxgreen in 1857, and started iron shipbuilding at Pallion near the site of the present works. In 1878 an engine-build- ing department was added ; in 1891 the firm became a limited liability company. The rapid development of the firm is unparalleled, and is chiefly owing to their having introduced the turret steamer in 1892. The main idea of the turret steamer is a combination of strength with lightness, a maximum carrying capacity with a minimum net register. With the exception of the space devoted to machinery and water ballast, the entire hull is used for cargo, and the holds are free of all obstruction. The hold beams during the last year (1905) have in some cases been en- tirely dispensed with, and vessels of this type are increasing in popularity. In 1895 a new metliod of rolling ships’ plates with joggled edges was adopted. The great advantage of the innovation was to reduce the weight of the vessel by abolishing packing, which was no longer necessary as the joggled edges of the plates fitted into each other. In 1892-3 the output was about 2,000 tons ; in 1902 it was 43,780 tons. In 1905 the firm turned out the three largest single-deck turret steamers afloat,^’’ when the output was 87,000 tons. For the Clan Line alone Doxfords have launched thirty turret-decked steamers, of from 6,000 tons to 8,000 tons capacity ; and they have also built for the P. and O. and the British India, and for America, Spain, Italy, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The most novel feature of the building slips is the arrangement of overhead gear ; above each vessel, resting on columns and beams, are tracks along which the hoisting trollies travel. These tracks overlap the vessel both on the shore and river ends, greatly facilitating and accelerating the bringing of the necessary material to the place where it is wanted. The startling fact that the establishment launches a vessel a fortnight is partly due to the extraordinary rapidity with which the slips can be cleared and the materials for the erection of the new vessel got into place. Another old and important firm on the Wear is Messrs. J. L. Thompson & Sons near the mouth of the river, founded in 1846. For the first twenty-four years of their history the firm were occupied solely with wooden vessels ; in 1871 the first iron steam vessel was built; in 1898 their gross tonnage launched amounted to 40,815 tons; from 1885 to 1902 they fifteen times headed the annual output of tonnage on the Wear ; for three successive years they held the The Quiloa, Querimba, and Queda, each 1 2,000 tons dead weight. fourth position in the annual output for the United Kingdom, and in 1905 were the eighth on the list with thirteen vessels and 48,009 gross tonnage. Messrs. Short Brothers, Pallion, begun in 1849 by Mr. George Short, is now carried on as a limited liability company; in 1905 they built nine vessels with a gross tonnage of 27,805 tons. Messrs. Osbourne, Graham & Co. started busi- ness in I 872 at North Hylton ; the second steamer launched in 1877, the Chillingharn Castle^ of 1,613 tons, attracted great attention, for at that date it was considered to be of enormous size. The first vessel lighted by electricity built on the Wear was the work of this firm. John Priestman & Son was established in 1882 at Southwick by Mr. John Priestman. In 1894 he patented his self-trimming trunk vessel. The Southwick yard has turned out some large vessels especially adapted for the cattle trade. Another old-established shipbuilding yard at Southwick is that of Messrs. Robert Thompson & Son. William Pickersgill & Sons, John Bulmer & Co., S. P. Austin & Son, turned out six vessels during 1905, the average size of the first firm’s vessels being nearly 4,000 tons, of the last, 1,215 tons. John Crown & Sons with three vessels, total tonnage 3,377 tons, the Sun- derland Shipbuilding Co. with eight vessels averaging nearly 2,000 tons, and Bartram & Sons, bring up the total number of Wear-side ship- builders to thirteen, the total tonnage of the Wear to 306,759 tons in 1905. On the Durham side of the Tyne, Jarrow, South Shields, and Hebburn are the shipbuilding centres. The Jarrow works were founded in 1851 by Charles and George Palmer ; where the town of Jarrow, with its 70,000 inhabitants, now stands, there was then but one house. They are the only shipbuilding works in the world where it is possible to watch all the processes through which an amorphous heap of iron-stone passes before it emerges as a seaworthy vessel. The shipyard covers an area of about too acres, and is on the site of an old yard where wooden frigates had been built early in the century for the British government. It has a river frontage of nearly three-quarters of a mile. Within this area there is a shipyard, graving dock and slipway, engine and boiler works, steel-works and blast furnaces. There are five blast furnaces, and in the steel- works there are eight smelting furnaces and cog- ging, sectional, sheet, and plate mills. The works are completely self-sufficing, having their own forge and rivet works, fitters’, plumbers’, joiners’, and cabinet-makers’ shops. The engine works are capable of turning out thirty-four sets of engines and boilers in one year. When the shipyards are at their busiest, about eight thou- sand men are employed. There are about eight 39 305 2 A HISTORY OF DURHAM miles of railway within the works, and twelve locomotives are constantly at work conveying materials from one department to another. The competition of the newly opened-up Midland coalfields was seriously affecting the staple industry of Northumberland and Durham when Charles Palmer opened his shipyards, and in order to counteract this new competition he designed an iron screw steamer, the John BoweSy having a carrying capacity of 650 tons, which, although launched on 30 June, 1852, is still afloat under the name of the Tramity and is ■owned by a Swedish firm. It is, however, chiefly as a builder of warships that Palmers’ Company is noted. They launched their first warship, H.M.S. Terrory during the Crimean War ; she had a displacement of 2,000 tons, was three-decked, and mounted twenty guns of the largest calibre. She was built in three months, 900 men being employed, for the government would brook no delay. The substitution of rolled for forged plates accounts for the short time in which the ship was built. The firm have built sixty-nine warships for the government, consist- ing of a troopship, the Jumna ; ten battleships, Terrory DefencOy CerheruSy Gorgony SwiftsurCy Triurnphy Resolutlony RevengCy Russelly Lord Nelson; ten cruisers, twelve gunboats, twenty-five torpedo boat destroyers, and ten torpedo miners.^® The Lord Nelson is the largest battleship yet launched in the north of England. Length, 410 ft. ; beam, 79 ft. 6 in. ; draught, 27 ft. ; displace- ment, 16,500 tons ; horse-power, 16,750; speed, 18 knots ; maximum coal capacity, 18,000 tons ; primary guns, four 12-inch and ten 9‘2-inch ; cost, ^1,616,083. It was launched on 4 Sep- tember, 1906. At Hebburn on Tyne Messrs. R. W. Haw- thorn Leslie & Co., a firm celebrated for their Russian connexion, have their shipbuilding yards. Of their first seventeen vessels, eleven were built for Russia. They make a special feature of tank steamers for the carriage of oil in bulk, and their vessels for the Australian and New Zealand chilled-meat trade are well known. In 1905 they launched six vessels of an average gross tonnage of 4,809. In the report to Queen Elizabeth, three ships are given as belonging to South Shields, called the Usweny the Edwardy and the Johyi of Shieldsy belonging to John Bowmaker, William Lawson, and Edward Kitchin. In addition there were six boats, or cobbles, all occupied in fishing.^® The shipping of South Shields was long hin- dered by the repressive policy of Newcastle,^® but early in the eighteenth century Robert Wallis successfully defied the authority of Newcastle Palmer Rcc. Oct. 1 906. S.P. Dom. Eliz. Addenda, loc. cit. R. Gardiner, England's Grievance Discovered, 1655. and opened shipyards there.^^ Fryer’s map of 1773 gives only two shipyards. Hutchinson, writing in 1787, says that forty years ago not more than four ships belonged to the town, but that in 1781 eleven ships were built and launched there. Bailey, writing in 1809, says there were four shipbuilding yards with docks adjoin- ing, one shipbuilding yard without a dock, and seven boatbuilding yards.^® The petition to the queen asking for incorporation in 1850 says that South Shields possessed graving docks and patent slipways capable of accommodating twenty-three ships at one time for repairs, and in addition fourteen yards for the building of ships. Mr. Marshall was the pioneer iron shipbuilder at South Shields. In 1839 the Stary apparently the first iron Tyneside vessel, and certainly among the first twenty iron vessels in the world, was built by him. It was intended for the pas- senger and towing trade on the Tyne. He also built the first iron screw steamer in the north of which there is any official account.^^ The vessel was built to the order of the Bedlington Coal Company, in order to convey loaded coal wagons from Blyth to the colliers in Shields harbour. It failed to fulfil the purpose for which it was built, and was turned into an ordinary cargo vessel. The Russians sank it in the Baltic during the Crimean War. It is owing to this lack of success that the Q.E.D. screw steam collier, built by Mr. Coates at Walker’s Quay, and fitted with a 20 h.-p. engine by Hawthorn, is known as the first vessel of this class. The arrival of the Q.E.D. at Rotherhithe caused an amount of excitement which certainly warrants the idea that it was a pioneer. The Illustrated London News contains a long account of it, and the description ends with the confident hope ‘ that the time is not far distant when our ships of the line will be fitted with engines and screw in a somewhat similar manner.’ South Shields early entered the steamship building trade, but the boats were of small size, about fifty tons ; by 1844 twenty-eight of these were afloat ; as the total number of steamers owned on the Tyne then only reached 135, South Shields had evidently done yeoman service in this pioneer trade.^® When Mr. Marshall retired, this early ship- building yard was taken over by Mr. J. Read- head about the middle of last century ; he had been engineer to Mr. Marshall, and in partner- ship with Mr. John Softley, another employee, took over the business. The firm stopped work- ing during the great depression in shipbuilding, but Mr. Readhead reopened the yards without G. B. Hodgson, Borough of South Shields, 320. W. Hutchinson, Hist, of Dur. ii, 483. ” J. Bailey, op. cit. 295. Lloyds Reg. 1843. ** Illus. Lond. News, 28 Sept. 1844. Lloyd's Reg. 1843-4; cf. G. B. Hodgson, op. cit. 324. 306 INDUSTRIES Mr. Softley, and the trade developed so rapidly under his sole management that by i88i exten- sions in the yard became necessary. In 1905 the firm, J. Readhead Sc Sons, turned out eight vessels of the average size of 3,530 tons. J. P, Rennoldson Sc Sons, who started the first engineering works at South Shields in 1826, are also shipbuilders. Their special line is tugs of 200 or 300 tons. They built seven of these during 1905. J. T. Eltringham Sc Co. are another ship- building firm at South Shields, but they are better known as makers of marine boilers. South Shields was the birth-place of the life- boat. To settle the exact question of the man to whom the invention was really due is almost impossible. Greathead is described as the inven- tor on his tombstone in Saint Hilda’s churchyard. He received a parliamentary grant of 1,200 guineas, 100 guineas from Trinity House, 60 guineas and their silver medal from the Society of Arts, and a diamond ring from the Emperor of Russia for his work. But many people defend Mr. Woulhave’s claim, and still more think that the invention was really due to suggestions from various sources. Many facts in connexion with the building are fortunately in- controvertible. It was built at South Shields by subscription, under the inspection of a committee of whom Nicholas Fairies was chairman, by Mr. Greathead, to whom the idea of a curved keel was entirely due. The terrible catastrophe, the wreck of the Adventure at South Shields in September, 1789, at the entrance to the harbour, when the men dropped from the rigging, exhausted by cold and hunger, into the sea before the eyes of thousands of helpless spectators, was the imme- diate cause of the effort to build a boat that would live in the stormiest sea. It was first used on 30 June, 1790, when several sailors were saved. Whatever doubt hangs over the real inventor, no one has ever disputed that South Shields was the home of the invention. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Hartlepool was the best-known port on the north-east coast. In the list of the fleet before Calais drawn up in 1346, ‘ Hartilpole has con- tributed five ships and 145 men.’^* In 1565 it possessed one ship, the Peter^ belonging to John Brown and George Smith, also three five-men boats and seventeen small cobbles.^® As late as 1614 it is spoken of as the only port town within the county of Durham, although some twenty years later the three travellers from Norwich allude to it even then as only interesting on account of its antiquity. Likewise that ancient decayed Coast Towne wch is surrounded some halfe a mile with the maine Sea ” J. Salmon, op. cit. 11-15. R. Hakluyt, Voyages, i, 124. S. P. Dom. Eliz. Addenda, loc. cit. every twelve howers. This hath been formerly a brave stately and well fortifyed Towne, now only a sea land habitation for Fishermen. ““ But Hartlepool is completely overshadowed by West Hartlepool, an entirely nineteenth-cen- tury growth. When Queen Victoria came to the throne, a mill and a farm-house were the only buildings where the populous town now stands. Ralph Ward Jackson founded West Hartlepool, as some say, with the idea of having a port in Durham to rival Liverpool. The docks were begun in 1845 in connexion with the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and though it has not grown with the rapidity some of its promoters expected, it is now an important ship- building centre with a total gross tonnage of 128,898 tons. The oldest firm, Messrs. William Gray & Co.,, was begun at Old Hartlepool by Mr. William Gray, in partnership with Mr. Denton, who had opened a shipbuilding yard there in 1836. In 1864 the new firm, Denton, Gray & Co., launched their first iron steamer. Five years later the firm removed to the yard in West Hartlepool that had been worked since 1853 by Pile Spence & Co. When in full work about six thousand men are employed. The firm have six times headed the list with the greatest output in the United Kingdom ; the last time they held the blue ribbon was in 1900. In 1901, although their total tonnage, 82,262, was a few hundred tons greater than in 1900, they were beaten by a Belfast firm and have not yet regained their supremacy. In 1883 it was determined to add an engineering department ; the marine engine works were opened in 1885 ; they have since been extended, and now cover almost ten acres of ground. Another enterprising shipbuilding firm at West Hartlepool is that of Messrs. Furness, Withy Sc Co., who were the first to adopt the use of electricity as a motive power throughout their ship^'^ard. They have built to the order of the Wilsons and Furness-Leyland Line, the Chesapeake and Ohio S.S. Co., the Hamburg- American and Allan Line. In 1905 they built ten vessels, average size 4,459 tons. The chair- man, Sir Christopher Furness, is also chairman of Irvine’s, the third shipbuilding yard at West Hartlepool. Bishop Pudsey, fired with the desire to go on the crusades, had, according to Hutchinson, a large vessel built either at Hartlepool or Stock- ton,^' but he did not carry out his intentions. In the history of the Exchequer the further career of the ship is narrated. Et in reparatione Magnae Navis quae fuit Epis- copi Dunelemensis xijj^ xv;. iijV. ob. . . . Et in ‘A Relation of a Short Survey of 26 Counties, 1634.’ Lansd. MSS. 213, fol. 320. Printed, Stuart Ser. vii. Hutchinson, Hist, of Dur. i, 175. 307 A HISTORY OF DURHAM eighteenth century there were two shipyards at Stockton where vessels of 800 tons could be built.^® The unnavigable nature of the Tees militated against its development as a shipbuild- ing centre; between 1838 and 1857 no less than eighteen vessels had been totally wrecked and sixteen stranded at the Tees mouth.®® The first iron shipbuilding yard was on the Yorkshire side of the river, but Messrs. Pearce, Lockwood & Co. started building iron steamers in 1854 on the Durham side. They met with immediate success, and by 1861 were building for the Indian government. The Talpore was built for conveying troops on the lower Indus, was fitted with 800 berths, and could, in case of urgent necessity, accommodate 3,000 troops. The following year they received another order for a large vessel for the same government. In 1888 the yard was taken over by Mr. Ropner, a West Hartlepool shipowner of German origin, in partnership with his son, Mr. Robert Ropner. The firm devotes itself specially to producing vessels with a great cargo-carrying capacity. In 1895 Mr. R. Ropner patented a new model, the trunk steamer, which soon achieved great popu- larity. In 1892, and again in 1894, the works were at a standstill for a considerable time on account of disastrous strikes of thirteen and four- teen weeks. In 1900, by their output of 42,263 gross tons, they secured the sixth place among the shipbuilding firms of Great Britain. In 1905 they built nine vessels of nearly 4,000 tons. When in full work they employ about i,5co hands. Unlike many of the Durham firms, Messrs. Ropner & Son do not build their own engines, but are supplied by Messrs. Blair & Co., whose works immediately adjoin the shipyards. This engineering firm is on the site of some old works started by Messrs. Fossick and Hackworth in 1839 ; here the first pair of marine engines were built in 1853 ; later Mr. G. J. Blair became first assistant, then manager, then owner of the works. The total production of new shipping from the several shipyards on the River Tees for the year 1905 was forty vessels, representing 138,577 tons,^° but only nine of these vessels, with a tonnage of 33,560, can be claimed for the county of Durham. Custamento ducendi praedictam navem Londinlam xl, per idem breve, et Roberto de Stockton qui duxit eandem Navem xiijr. \n]J. pro servitio (?) suo, per breve ejusdem.“ But if Stockton were of sufficient importance to be the building-place of the vessel it had sunk into complete insignificance as a port by the reign of Elizabeth, for the report of the Eliza- bethan commissioners treats it in a somewhat slighting manner. There is also a creek called Tees Mouth, three miles from Hartlepool, but no town nor habitation until Stockton 10 miles distant where ships may come near the shore and boats may come on land.®’ But in the seventeenth century Stockton was more flourishing; a report drawn up in 1638 says of the Tees that the effect of the tide was felt as far as Yarm, and that ships ‘of 60 tons come into the river many at a time that bring corn from Dantzic.’ So important had the Baltic trade at Stockton become by 1671 that the Eastland merchants thought it necessary to ap- point a surveyor there.®® There is a local tradi- tion that the revival of shipbuilding in the middle of the eighteenth century was due to a Mr. Chap- plelow, a government agent, who coming to get timber for the royal dockyards, stayed there to work up the inferior wood available in great quantities, but too small to be worth transporta- tion to London. The Headlams, who migrated to Gateshead as early as 1750, were the first shipbuilders, but the names of the Humphreys, Haws, Mellanbys, and Markhams are all con- nected with wooden shipbuilding at Stockton during the later eighteenth century. Mr. Haw built sixty-one vessels between 1782 and 1800.®® In 1779 the Bellona, a fine frigate, was built for the government ; it was unfortunately wrecked in the Texel.®^ It is difficult to associate the small town of Yarm, miles from the mouth of the river, with a shipbuilding industry, but there is no doubt that the increased prosperity of Stockton was due to the decay of Yarm as a port. At the end of the Madox, Hist, of the Exch. i, 7*4’ S.P. Dom. Eliz. loc. cit. Ibid. Chas. I, 1638, vol. 409, No. 189. Ibid. Chas. II, 8 Mar. 1671, Entry Book 25, fol. 194. H. Heaviside, Ann. of Stockton, 58. J. Brewster, Hist, of Stockton, 155* British Universal Dir. 1792. J. S. Jeans, Hotes on Northern Indust. 48. Ports of the- River Pees, compiled by the Secretary to the Tees Conservancy Commissioners. 308 INDUSTRIES GLASS WORKS There is no evidence to support the theory that glass was manufactured in England during the Roman occupation, but the first glass made of which we have any authentic information was certainly manufactured at Wearmouth. When Benedict Biscop’s church and monastery at Wearmouth was approaching completion, he sent to Gaul for workers in glass, who were unknown in Britain, to glaze the windows of his church — more than this they taught their art to the English.^ Not only window glass, but glasses for domes- tic uses were manufactured there ; but by 758 the art had completely died out, for at that date the abbot of Jarrow was sending to Mayence for a man who could make vessels of glass.* There is a blank in the history of northern glass-making for many centuries, but the glass- makers from Lorraine soon found their way to the Tyne, and Sir Robert Mansel, who in 1615 obtained a patent for making glass with coal, according to his own evidence given in 1624, after trying to start works in London, the Isle of Purbeck, and Milford Haven, was enforced for his last refuge contrary to all men’s opinion to make triall at Newcastle upon Tyne where after the expence of many thousand pounds that worke for window-glasse was effected with Newcastle Cole.* The fact that the register of All Saints’ Church contains upwards of six hundred entries of mar- riages and burials of Henzeys (Hennezels), Til- lorys, and Tyzacks, shows the extent of the French settlement of glass-makers, beginning early in the seventeenth century.^ How soon this new Tyneside industry crossed the river to the Durham side it is impossible to say with certainty. Salmon, writing in 1856, refers to a mixing book of plate glass made in South Shields in 1650, a letter written by John Cookson from his glass-works at South Shields in 1690, and the ancient books of the South Shields plate and crown glass-works of 1728, as being then extant.® A lease, dated 22 November, * Bede, Hist. Eccl. (ed. 1722), 275 ; cf. Mickleton MSS. 10. * Epistolae Bonifacii, cxiv. * S.P. Dom. Jas. I, 1624, vol. 162, No. 63. * ‘ Rise of the Art of Glass Making on the Tyne,’ by James Clepham, Arch. Acliana, viii. S. Graze- brook, Collection for the Genealogy of the noble families of Henzley, Tyllery, and Tyzack, Stourbridge, 1877. (Privately printed, a copy in the Newcastle Free Library). * If any of these are in existence, they have eluded a somewhat persistent search, nor have I been able to find anyone who has ever seen them. The Cess Book of St. Hilda’s from 1 660 to 1714 throws no light on the subject, and so far the Durham Treasury has yielded no earlier lease than one of 1737. 1737, refers to the building of two glass-houses on the south bank of the Tyne. The dean and chapter lease all that their parcel of ground set lying and being on the south side of the River of Tyne nigh South Sheles aforesaid containing in breadth six and twenty yards or thereabouts whereon two glass houses now in the tenure or occupation of the said John Dagnia his undertenants or assignes were lately erected to the said John Dagnia.® There is no positive evidence as to the site, but the expression ‘ from the top of the Bank there on the South to the low water mark of the River Tyne on the North,’ together with the known fact that the river frontage on the east of the Mill Dam was in other hands, points to the site of John Dagnia’s works being either where Altringham’s works now stand near the Mill Dam, or higher up Holborn where Moore’s glass-works are situated. Fortunately there is no doubt as to the site or history of the celebrated crown and plate glass works of Messrs. Cookson on Cookson’s Quay. On II March, 1737, Isaac Cookson leased the property from the administrators of the will of Robert Blunt for ;^900, and the following year John Cookson, his son, and Thomas Jeffreys, of Snow Hill, London, entered into partnership, the one putting in ;^3,750, the other ^^2,250, as manufacturers of crown and plate glass, each swearing that he would not at any time make known or reveal any of the secrett or secretts relating to the mixing of metalls for the making of the said crown and plate glass. Jeffreys undertook the management of the Lon- don warehouse, and travelled for the firm, as he already ‘ as merchandizing in Hairs travelled the principall towns between South Shields and the Land’s End.’ The London warehouse was in Old Swan Lane, Upper Thames Street, the lease being granted by the Worshipful Company of the body of Christ of the Skinners of London, for ninety-nine years at ,(^40 ; on the renewal of the lease it was raised to ^^1,000 a year. John Cookson managed the South Shields branch. The business increased rapidly ; by 1 746 the firm consisted of John Cookson, acting partner, Thomas Jeffreys, Richard Jeffreys, Sir John Delange, James Dixon, and Joseph Cookson. Thomas Jeffreys retired from the firm in 1748, and transferred his share to Richard, who also bought out Sir John Delange. But in 1776 John Cookson bought all his ten shares for ® For an interesting account of the Dagnia family see ‘John Dagnia of South Shields,’ by C. E. Adam- son, M.A., Arch. Aeliana, 1894. 309 A HISTORY ;^8,ooo ; thus only Dixon and Cookson were left in the firm. John Cookson died in 1783.^ The extensive foreign trade done by the firm is shown by an old day book, 1 745-47,® in which ‘adventures’ to Hamburg, New York, Rotter- dam, Copenhagen, Dantzic, Lisbon, Edinburgh, and Rhode Island are of frequent occurrence. As John Dagnia appears as a purchaser in this day book, the popular idea that he was a partner in the Cookson firm is disposed of. The Cess Books of St. Hilda’s from 1760 to 1797 contain each year returns of the payment of the Cookson glass-houses; in 1760 Cookson and Deer paid £1 05. 3^/., John Cookson i^s. 6d.y but by 1766 Cookson and Deer were paying at Js., John Cookson had become Cookson & Co. and was paying As Deer was a son-in-law of Dagnia, his con- nexion with the glass trade is easily explained. Apparently these were the old glass and bottle works in East Holborn ; unfortunately all the hooks and papers concerning these works were destroyed a few years ago, and the works having been carried on by a limited liability company were then taken over by Lamberts and eventually closed in 1873. In 1823 Mackenzie says that they employed about 100 men. Perhaps nothing can give a more vivid impression of the extent of the glass trade in the north than the description given in the Newcastle Courant of 20 September, 1823: On Friday last the flint glass makers employed in the houses on the Tyne and Wear walked in proces- sion in this town, and the elegant and magnificent display of workmanship exhibited on that occasion evinced the perfection this art has attained, as it may safely be affirmed that in the number of objects, the variety of the forms, the excellency of the workman- ship and the difficulty of their execution it has seldom been equalled. The men all wore sashes, and glass stars suspended from their necks, by chains or drops of variegated colour, the great majority of them had glass feathers in their hats, and each individual carried a glass ornament in his hand. The men from six glass houses composed the procession. South Shields, flag ; large cut glass upon pillars, supported by two swords ; bugle ; wind mill ; a fort mounted with seven cannon ; violin and bow; the men wore white sashes trimmed with blue. Sunderland, Wear. Silk banner with “Wear” and the arms of Messrs White and Young ; large cut vase and cover ; two chandeliers with branches, ornamented with coloured button drops ; bearing cut decanters, wines &c. and a wind mill at work, at the top ; 2 goblets with an engraving from Burns’ song of ‘ Willie brew’d,’ &c. ; a biblc lying open with 2 verses from Proverbs ; a glass case containing a ship, the Henry, mounting 64 guns ; a curious tube representing by means of the action of different fluids the circulation ' From deeds kindly lent me by Mr. N. C. Cook- son, and leases in the Durham Treasury. “ In the possession of Mr. N. C. Cookson. ® Cess Books of St. Hilda’s, South Shields ; i, 1690— 1716; ii (missing), 1716-60; iii, 1760-97. OF DURHAM of the blood in the human body .... 3 glass cases, one containing a Cossack ; another a gentleman driv- 3 g>g> with his dog following him ; and the third a representation of his infernal majesty. The men had pink sashes trimmed with blue, with the word “ Wear ” upon them, the cutters had a cut rose, thistle and shamrock supporting the feathers in the cap. Durham, flag. Gateshead arms on one side ; Dur- ham and British Fint glass works in the circle, and “ By honourable exertion ” in the garter on the other. Large Prussian lamp ; obscured and painted figure of Justice stained ; 28 words; crown gilded glass, with 2 tassels, supported by 2 persons carrying white wands ; 2 cut candlesticks, mounted with spangles and icicles ; crown borne by a person wearing a glass hat, with the Motto “Industry and Unity”; a representation in stained, painted and engraved glass of Samuel declaring the judgements of God upon Eli’s house ; 2 variegated pedestal lamps with painted shades. The men of these works had blue silk sashes trimmed with orange, with the letters D. G. W. on them and all cut rosettes below. But the glass-works on the east side of the Mill Dam, where blown plate glass was manu- factured, continued to flourish ; in 1833 Mr. Isaac Cookson, in evidence given in to a Govern- ment Commission of Inquiry sitting at Newcastle on the glass trade, stated that the eighteen glass- houses at Sunderland and South Shields paid in all ^^133,196 in duty out of ^^680,004 paid in all England, and five years later Mr. Shortridge, himself a South Shields glass-maker, in giving evidence before a Royal Commission says that he thought the firm had been in existence for about a century and a half and that they were the largest glass-makers in the kingdom.'® The works re- mained in the hands of the Cookson family until the year 1 845, when the returns of the excise duty show that there was more plate glass made at South Shields than at any other manufactory in the kingdom.^' Possibly these were the original Cookson glass-works. The Cooksons then re- tired from the trade ; the firm became R. W. Swinburne & Co. In 1858 a syndicate took over almost all the plate glass manufactures of England, the managing director was R. W. Swinburne of South Shields ; many of the works were stopped, but the South Shields were kept at full work; in 1862 they were paying ^30,000 in wages annually. In 1868 the syndicate dis- solved, and the limited liability company who took over the works failed in 1891. Another important firm established in 1797 was that of Shortridge & Co.^® Possibly these early works were the flint glass-works in West Holborn, but later the firm had crown and bottle works near the Mill Dam. In 1827 the glass '® Rep. from the Select Com. on Church Leases, 1838, p. 123 ; Evidence of Richard Shortridge. " R. Swinburne, ‘Glass,’ Industrial Resources of Tyne, Tees, and IV ear, 198. ” St. Hilda’s Cess Book, iii. 310 INDUSTRIES manufacturers were Isaac Cookson & Co., crown and plate, at Cookson’s Quay ; Cookson, Cuthbert & Co (bottle), in East Holborn ; and Shortridge, Sawyer & Co., flint glass-works.^* A great deal of glass was also manufactured in Sunderland and its neighbourhood. In 1751 the numbers of ships employed in carrrying not only coals and salt but glass and other merchan- dize to diverse parts of the kingdom as well as abroad makes it a fine nursery of seamen. In 1772 there were three green bottle-houses and one flint glass-house there. Thomas Wilson, who died in 1776, and was buried in Bishop- wearmouth Church, was a glass manufacturer at Ayre Quay. In 1818, 1,543 2 qrs. 241b. of bottles, 1,296 cwt. I qr. 19 lb. of crown glass, and 463 cwt. o qrs. 13 lb. of flint glass were ex- ported from this port. In 1827 the trade was flourishing ; two glass- works at Deptford, one at Southwick, and three in Sunderand proper were not only supplying local needs but exporting largely. The Ayre Quay Bottle Works, the oldest on the river, were then managed by John Candlish ; Philip Laing and Sir James Laing were partners in the firm. Pemberton’s Bottle Works were also at Ayre Quay, but were closed many years ago. There were also two large establishments at Deptford, the Wear Flint Glass Works in the hands of Mr. Booth, and Featherstonhaugh’s or the Wear Glass Bottle Works. Later the bottle- works engulfed the flint glass-works. In Sunder- land proper, Fenwick & Co, had crown glass and glass bottle-works in Low Street, and Hilkiah Hall bottle-works at Bridge End.^* Ten years later Dibdin visiting Sunderland was much struck by the development of the industry. My daughter was delighted with what she saw. An order had come down that morning for a thousand dozen of gin glasses. The ordinary wine or beer bottle is the prevailing article of commerce, but decanters, tumblers, and wine glasses, vases with their accompani- ments, are manufactured in a style of surprising beauty and in endless variety."^ J. Salmon, op. cit. 22, 23. England's Gaxetteer, 1751. White and Parson, op. cit. i, 343, 360, cxxxii. Dibdin, Tour in the Northern Counties of England, h 314- At one time the glass cutters were quite a feature of the Sunderland glass trade. Sailors in search of local novelties to take away as presents were their chief patrons. Glasses with Sunder- land Bridge cut on them, decorated with the initials or names of the buyers, found a ready sale ; these goods were not only manufactured in the works, but the trade was carried on as a domestic industry. Early in the nineteenth century Thomas Buller and Robert Pile, Low Street, Robert Greener in High Street, and Robert Haddock, Low Quay, were experts in the art. In 1877, except the Ayre Quay Bottle Co., all these glass-works which fifty years before had been giving remunerative employment to many men were closed. Occasionally in going over the shipyards a site is pointed out as being the locality of the old glass-works, but few traces still remain. This is not, however, so astonishing as the total collapse of the celebrated works of James Hartley & Co., for, comparatively speaking, they are a modern firm. 'Fhey were begun about 1 842, and gained a world-wide reputation on account of the invention by James Hartley of a new kind of plate glass called rolled plate, some- thing like unpolished plate glass, but not so heavy, and of the greatest utility for roofing and other purposes, where translucency only is required ; in 1863 Mr. Hartley stated that one-third of the English-made sheet glass used in England was made in these works, and some idea of their output may be gained from the fact that their account with the North Eastern Railway Company for the month of March 1865 was I5r. id. These works covered an enormous area on the Hylton Road, where Hartley’s Buildings now stand, and at one time employed 700 men, but the works were closed and dismantled in 1896.^® The Stockton Glass Works at one time did a very flourishing bus ness, but they are on the Yorkshire side of the river. Glass, at onetime one of the leading industries of Durham, is now represented by the Ellison Glass Works at Gateshead, Moores at South Shields, three firms in Sunderland, and one in the neighbourhood of Gateshead. ” Taylor Potts, op. cit. 162, 163. From a bill in possession of Mr. Williamson, Hylton Road, Sunderland. A HISTORY OF DURHAM POTTERIES The manufacture of white earthenware was introduced into the county of Durham between 1730 and 1740.^ The pottery was begun by Mr. Warburton at Carr’s Hill near Gateshead ; some of the original buildings still remain in a dilapidated condition, and a small brown-ware pottery is still carried on there. The initial stage once passed, the development was rapid, and soon four potteries were at work on Gateshead Fell.^ White clay, a prime necessity in the production of fine pottery, was cheap and abundant, as it was brought by the Devonshire and Cornish vessels fetching coal from the Tyne as ballast. The Newbottle Pottery was started as early as 1755, and, in spite of its isolated position, managed in the hands of the Scotts, Fairbairns, and Brod- ricks to do a considerable trade for the first six decades of the nineteenth century. The trade, however, concentrated itself chiefly on the banks of the Wear, and early in the nine- teenth century in one year the export numbered 292,042 pieces. This export trade was princi- pally with North-East Europe. Norway Denmark Prussia Germany Holland Guernsey Jersey British Northern Colonies took 99 99 99 99 99 99 16.000 pieces 5.95° » 47.000 „ 4.300 „ 145.092 .. 14.550 ., 15.800 „ 43.350 „ 292,042 * The favourite purchase of the many sailors who frequented the port of Sunderland was a set of Sunderland jugs or a gaily painted glass rolling- pin. The principal firms were Antony Scott, founded in 1788 at Southwick ; a rice dish with the mark AS and date in a circle is in the Sunderland Museum, and also a curious smoker’s companion, a pagoda-like erection consisting of spittoons, ash-dish, candlestick, and extinguisher fitting into each other. The firm celebrated their centenary in 1888, but stopped working, and the works were dismantled and sold in 1896. Their best-known pattern was views of Haddon Hall, Derbyshire ; at one time the Haddon Hall pattern rivalled the Willow pattern in the North of England in popularity. The Wear Pottery at Southwick was founded by Brunton in 1789, but taken over by Samuel ' Jcwitt, Ceramic Art of Gt. Brit. ^ J. Bailey, Gen. View of the Agric. of Dur. ^ T. Potts, Hist, of the Town, Port, Trade, and Com. of Sunderland, 165. Moore in 1803 ; it did an extensive continental trade at one time, but falling into the hands of inexperienced managers the trade decreased and it was dismantled. The excellent specimen of what is known as Sunderland pottery, probably made about 1820, in the British Museum, is stamped Moore & Co. The plate has in the centre the favourite design of a steamship, trans- fer printed ; the sea is washed with colour, the sides and rim decorated with pink lustre, the rim moulded with a shell and scroll design. The firm got their supply of flint from near Beamish, where they leased the Poctrerley Flint Mill ; ^ there was another flint mill neai Whitehill, and a third near Fencehouses ; all these were kept employed supplying the Wearside Potteries. It was, however, at Hylton that two of the best- known potteries were situated ; the earliest was founded at North Hylton in 1762 by John Maling, whose great-grandchildren now carry on the largest pottery in the North of England at Newcastle, to which place the works were re- moved in 1817.® But the finest buildings and the best-conducted pottery on Wearside was that of John Dawson at the Low Ford Pottery, South Hylton ; ® unfortunately the works have been dismantled, but an interesting document was discovered when the flint mill chimney was taken down in 1896 ; John Dawson, Esq. Hylton Lowford Pottery Charles Frederick Dawson William Dawson William Trotter Agent [A list of the workmen employed in building the chimney follows.] This building was erected A.D. 1840 by J"*®- Daw- son for the express purpose of grinding Flint. Colour. Engineer, R. Hawthorne, Esq., Newcastle-on- Tyne. Engine, 27 J Horse Power. Mr. J"°' Dawson aged 80. C. F. Dawson aged [no age given]. W. Dawson aged 15. Nachdem Charles F. & William Dawson ihre Erziehung in Deutschland bekommen hatten kam der erste in seinem i6ten & der letzte in seinem I5ten Jahre nach England zuruck um in dem Frabrika ihres Gross-vaters das Steinzeug Geschaft fortzusetzen unter dem Aufsichte ihrer Vormunde der Herrn * Beamish Estate Office ; ‘ Messrs. Smith, Moore & Co. held Poctrerley Flint Mill on a 14 years lease from April 5, 1827 to 1841 ; then Samuel Moore & Co. took another 14 years lease from April 5, 1841.’ “White and Parson, op. cit. i, 55. ® Ibid, ii, 263. 312 Plate II ; Sunderland Pottery OF THE rnivt>;ssiv op INDUSTRIES Ed"’'*' Lawrey J. Vint Tho®' Gales. Johann Hichtenschieid ist jetzt unser Rcisendcr Icbt mit seinem Familien in Hamburg thut den Aufsicht Uber unserer Lager in Hamburg. Charles F. Dawson. William Dawson. Have generally 6 Glost Kilns drawn every week. employ about 200 hands in the Factory George Chambers Foreman George Naisley Warehouse as 1827 consisted of Robert Dixon, William Austin, Thomas Henderson, and Alexander Phillips, though it traded under the name of Dixon, Austin, Phillips & Co.^^ The firm carried on the Hylton and Sunderland works simultaneously. They did a large export trade, and were especially noted for their pink lustre ware. At one time the firm turned out excellent work even from the artistic point of view ; the following description of a jug gives a typical example of their work about 1830. 1840 Building commenced April about 150 ships of large dimensions are build- ing in the Wear.’' The mill was capable of grinding 20 tons of flint a week. But John Dawson died in 1848,® and although the pottery continued in the hands of trustees, who at one time refused £g,000 for it, until 1864, no purchaser could then be found, the plant was sold by auction, the moulds and copper plates commanding a ready sale. About 1830 Dawson’s pottery produced the best earthen- ware and had the largest output of any pottery on the Wear. One reason for his success was the encouragement given to the workpeople to bring their minds to bear on their work ; they were encouraged to make new designs, and these were passed through the oven for them without question or delay. They were especially success- ful with their blue willow ware. Whether Dixon Sc Austin took over the North Hylton works when the Malings migrated to Newcastle it is impossible to say with certainty ; a John Phillips, whose identity is difficult to establish, hovers over the Hylton and Sunderland potteries, the marks John Phillips, Hylton Pottery,® J. Phillips, Sunderland Pottery,^® and Phillips & Co. still existing. Possibly he worked the pottery at Hylton before Dixon Sc Austin took it over. But leaving the region of hypo- thesis, the Sunderland, or as it was called by the workpeople, the Garrison Pottery was established by Robert Dixon & William Austin in 1807, in a building that up to that time had been used as a whiting factory ; Pottery Buildings now occupy the site. Later they were joined by Thomas Henderson ; and then Alexander Phillips, the nephew of John Phillips, who acted as clerk to the firm, was taken into partnership.^* As early ^The document is in the possession of Mr. William Ball of Deptford Pottery, to whom I am indebted for many local details concerning the Wearside potteries. ® He was buried in the family vault in Hylton Church. ® A specimen in the Victoria and Albert Museum has this mark. ‘“Mr. Ritson has a finely printed mug in his collec- tion with the mark J. Phillips, Sunderland Pottery. '* From information supplied by Mr. Dixon ot Brisbane, Queensland, once partner in the firm. Sunderland globular Jug of white earthenware, 1 1 in. high, loin. from tip ofspout to curveof handle. Decora- ted with band of leaves and flowers in colours round neck and with borders of dark purple lustre round the top and bottom of neck and the base of jug and on the spout. The body of the jug is decorated with purple lustre splash and designs in black transfer printing filled in with red, blue, green, and yellow, as follows — On front of jug — Below spout a shield with anchor on it ; supporters two sailors bearing colours ; crest full-rigged ship. Below shield is motto — ‘Deus dabit vela,’ and below is inscribed — ‘ Mariner’s Arms,’ Above this design is the address — ‘ Battle Bridge, Hawk ’ ; below, the name ‘ Plenty Chatters.’ On one side is the well-known design of the Wearmouth Bridge surmounted by inscription giving dimensions and date. On the other side is a design inscribed below ‘Chelmsford Road 1822’ and shewing a gig of marvellous construction out of which apparently two men have been thrown on to a high road. Further on in front of a screen of bushes is the figure of a man in dress of naval officer i8th or early 19th century together with woman and two children all in lachrymose attitudes and with ship of war at sea in distance and boat waiting in foreground. Under this is the name of the engraver. Below this design is this inscription — The orders giv’n, the signal gun is fir’d And the last mo- ment of my stay expir’d In haste the deck I mount,compar’d with me The storm knows rest & peace the raging sea. In the middle of which is the name of the firm of potters, ‘ Dixon Austin & Co., Sunderland,’ in an oval. An extremely popular product of these works was the lion ; the photograph is from a specimen in Mr. Ritson’s collection. It is of finely potted white earthenware with lustrous white glaze. The height is 9 in. and the length 10 in. ; it has the mark Austin, Dixon Sc Co. impressed on top of base. Date r. 1825.*® There is much difficulty with regard to the borough of Sunderland Pottery. Jewitt, whose assertions deservedly carry great weight, states From agreement in the possession of Mr. Ritson ; White and Parson, op. cit. i, 359. ’’ I am indebted to Mr. V. R. Ritson for the descriptions and the photographs. (PI. II.) 3*3 40 2 A HISTORY OF DURHAM that the Sunderland or Garrison Pottery was founded by J. Phillips but Mr. Dixon, who as a later partner in the firm had exceptional oppor- tunities of knowing the truth, affirms that his grandfather was the founder. Chaffers, whose statements about Sunderland pottery are open to question, makes confusion worse confounded by writing of two potteries, one the Garrison and the other the Sunderland, whereas the Garrison was only the workmen’s name for the Sunderland pottery. In addition to these well-known potteries there were a number of smaller firms, whose aggregate output reached a considerable total. A pottery was begun at Seaham by Captain Plowright in 1836, but he worked it for only a few years; then it was taken in hand by the workmen as a co- operative enterprise, but quickly abandoned ; again reopened by R. C. Wilson it was finally closed in 1852. At one time it manufactured a willow pattern in blue of exceptional excellence. Of all these numerous and flourishing potteries two only remain : — Ball Brothers, the Deptford Pottery, founded in 1857, which still manufac- tures some brown ware, but is principally employed as a factory, doing considerable trade in German ware ; and Messrs. Snowdon & Co., founded in 1840 by Thomas Rickaby at Sheepfolds. It is possible that Francis Place, the celebrated painter and potter, may have carried out some of his pottery experiments at Dinsdale, a few miles from Darlington. A few years ago some fur- naces were discovered there ; they were of brick with iron gates, and were at first supposed to be of Roman origin ; further investigation, however, pointed to a much later date, late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. As Place lived at Dinsdale before he went to the Manor House at York, where he had furnaces built and pursued many interesting experiments in the manufacture of pottery, the Dinsdale kilns may have been used by him.*'* At one time a con-| siderable amount of pottery was manufactured at Stockton-on-Tees ; Thomas Ainsworth had two glost kilns and a bisque kiln ; he started in 1850 in partnership with his brother William; the firm continued until 1901, the site being then bought by Colonel Ropner for the enlargement of his shipyards. William Smith had a pottery in the same neighbourhood, but removed to Hartlepool about 1896; he was unsuccessful and soon retired from the business. But the better-known firm of William Smith & Co., which started in 1826, is on the Yorkshire side of the river, and still continues. The Tyne or South Shields Pottery was estab- lished in Waterloo Vale by Mr. Robertson in 1830. In 1841 the business was bought by Mr. John Armstrong, who worked it success- fully until 1871, when Isaac Fell and George Young purchased it. They confined themselves to manufacturing ordinary brown ware and Sunderland ware ; if any Sunderland pottery was manufactured it was small in quantity and fur- nished no good specimens. The works were closed in 1890. TEXTILE INDUSTRIES The textile industries belong entirely to the south of the county, and date from the end of the seventeenth century. Spinning and weaving were carried on as a domestic industry from the earliest times, but there is a complete absence of reference to early textile industries in the county. Darlington dyers are alluded to in Boldon Book, and at the close of the thirteenth century ‘ Madersgarthis,’ the place where the dye was grown, is mentioned as belonging to the Wal- worth’s. Dyeing would hardly be carried on to any great extent unless cloth was manufactured in the district, but all accounts of the trade seem to have escaped record. Glovers figure frequently in the history of Darlington, but they were makers of leather not cloth gloves. In the city of Durham the woollen industry was sufficiently developed to admit of an influential gild of weavers. Fuller* makes no allusion to Durham in enumerating the centres of early woollen industry. In 1647 and 1655 silk weavers occur in the register of St. Cuth- ibert’s at Darlington, but these are isolated * T. Fuller, Ch. Hist. (ed. 1665), iii, 112. examples, and left no mark on the industrial history of the town. It is true that as early as 1531 the flax cultivated to a considerable extent in the neighbourhood of Houghton-le- Spring was spun in the district, for a note is added to the value of the tithes as given in the parish books, ‘ We have a bundle of lyne or flax mostly spun by the women, dame Hakford the smith’s wife of Newbotill and others.’ ** Gates- head, too, had a reputation for its woollen and linen goods,^ but these are exceptions. The county of Durham is especially exempted from the provisions of the Act of 1557-8, that cloth-making should not be carried on outside corporate towns or market towns where the manufacture had been carried on for the last ten years,^ which seems to point to the fact that the woollen industry was either non-existent or I am indebted to Mr. J. P. Gibson of Hexham for this interesting suggestion. * ‘ Rec. of Houghton-le-Spring,’ by R. W. Ramsay in Engl. Hist. Rev. Oct. 1905. * ‘ Old Gateshead,’ by J. Clephan, Jrch. Ael. viii, 228. ■* 4 & 5 Phil, and Mary, cap. 5, sec. 22-6. 3*4 INDUSTRIES in such poor case that the government felt that special legislation was necessary to foster it. Probably the report on the salt trade correctly represented the condition of affairs in the county about 1605. It is to be noted that in the Countyes of Durham and Northumberland there be no great trades as clothing and suchlike used, by which the poorer sort are sett on Worke and relieved from begery saving only the trades of Colyery and Salting.* But by the end of the century the industry had made some headway in the south of the county, and though Bishop Auckland, Barnard Castle, and Castle Eden as manufacturing centres had brief and fluctuating careers, Durham carpets retained their reputation until within the last few years, and Darlington had still worsted mills of great importance. Ralph Thoresby, when passing through Barnard Castle in 1694, mentions leather as its chief industry,® ‘ now chiefly famous for bridles there made,’ but some forty years later ‘ a great woollen manufactory of stockings ’ was carried on there.^ According to Bailey, whose authority as a native of the county and an observant man can- not be disregarded, the trade was lost owing to the manufacturers trying to undersell each other, and producing inferior goods. The customers were drawn away and the unfortunate employees forced to seek work in Durham, Darlington, and the neighbouring counties.® But the popularity of Barnard Castle carpets continued after the other worsted industries were lost. The waters of the Tees were supposed to be peculiarly well adapted for producing brilliant colouring from the dyes ; before the introduction of chemical dyes, this was a matter of the utmost importance. By 1827 there were five carpet factories in the town, manufacturing Dutch, Kidderminster, and Brussels carpets, and employing several hundred hands. The majority of these firms did not spin, but imported their worsted and yarn from York- shire ; the largest of the factories, however, Messrs. Monkhouse Sc Whitfield, did their own spinning. At one time they employed more than 200 men, and the closing of their works in 1870 was the final blow to the prosperity of the town. The last carpet factory, that of Smith, Powell Sc Co., was closed in 1888.® The flax mill, which was started in 1760, is still work- ing,^® and is one of the largest shoe-thread mills in the country, doing an extensive export trade with Spain, Turkey, and the Colonies. All the flax is imported from Belgium, Ireland, France, and Russia. The mill is worked by Messrs. * Duke of Northumberland’s MSS. Collectanea Warburtoniana. ® R. Thoresby, Diary, i, 279. 'Camden, Gough' s Additions, iii, 112. ®J. Bailey, op. cit. 294. ® I am indebted to Mr. Vincent Ord of Barnard Castle for information about the carpet trade. '“The mill is on the Yorkshire side of the river. Ullathorne, descendants of the original founders of the business. The firm has branch establish- ments in Melbourne, Paris, and London. About 100 men and 100 women and children are em- ployed. In addition to shoe-thread, a certain amount of twine and rope is made, in order to utilize the yarn which is not of sufficiently satisfactory quality to be made into shoe-thread. In 1792 a manufacture of corduroys and sail- cloth was begun by Mr. Burdon at Castle Eden ; about 200 boys and girls besides men were em- ployed in spinning and weaving. A row of houses called the Factories, where the overseers of the works used to live, still remains and gives some idea of the extensive nature of the enter- prise. All traces of the square where the factory was have disappeared, but in the coal-house of a cottage, still called the Bleacheries, there are the ovens of the bleaching ground ; a great quantity of sail-cloth was manufactured here. But the enterprise was not successful. The industry was removed to Durham in 1796, and the building where the transferred business was carried on being burnt down, it was never re-established.^^ Darlington from the earliest time was associa- ted with spinning and weaving. Boldon Book alludes to the dyers of Darlington, and the Cursi- tor’s records constantly refer to the mills on the Skerne. But no records giving the exact date when the corn mills changed into woollen or flax mills have yet been unearthed. Darlington was noted for its linen manufacture long before it won a reputation as a worsted industrial centre. Thoresby says that the linen manufacture was settled at Darlington owing to the influence of the late Queen Mary ; possibly he meant that the linen trade developed considerably under William and Mary throughout England, not that Queen Mary interested herself specifically in Darlington.^® In 1690 three linen corporations for England, Scotland, and Ireland were formed as joint-stock companies, to introduce the im- proved French methods of linen and damask weaving. In England and Ireland they were organized on the basis of buying up existing undertakings ; the discovery in a book of modern newspaper cuttings of three documents in a late seventeenth-century handwriting points to some connexion between Darlington and the newly- established King’s and Queen’s Corporation of Linen Manufacturers. ‘Darlington the 28th 96. 300 : = : = Six days sight of this my bill be pleased to pay to Jno. Grainger three hundred pounds as per advise of your friend Robert Trueman. The Committee of Linnen Manufactory Old Affrican House in Trogmorton Street London.’ " J. Bailey, op. cit. 293. R. Thoresby, op. cit. ii, 430. 315 A HISTORY OF DURHAM The second document is similar, but dated ye 17'" 1696, and for jTsoo. The third is fuller. London 26 June 1696, Sr. Pay under John Grainger for the account of Robert Trueman, the sum of Five hundred pounds, being in part, for his bill of Six hun- dred pounds, the 7th of Aprill 1696 for the use of the King and Queen’s Corporacon for the Linnen Manufacture in England and for your so Doing this shall be your Warrant. Paul Doeminique, Dpty. William Shepherd, John Blackler, Thom. Morice, Sam. Ongley, Wm. Lascoe, Phin. Bowler. Apparently John Grainger was a banker, Robert Trueman the manager of a weaving or flax- supplying concern at Darlington. The King’s and Queen’s Corporation had bought goods from or through Trueman, or (supposing there was a weaving factory owned by the corporation there) it had ordered goods produced there to be sent to London. Payment was made by Trueman drawing a bill of exchange on the corporation which was accepted by the corporation. As all three documents deal with round numbers, possi- bly there was a continuous series of transactions between Trueman and the corporation.^^ The Universal Magazine in its descriptive account of Darlington says : — It is the most noted place in the whole world for huckabacks, being made from half an ell to 3 yards wide. The price varies from "jd. to 1 8/., the broad sort being made nowhere else.*‘ Early in the eighteenth century the linen trade was chiefly in the hands of Quakers, and this fact gave Harley an opportunity for a gibe at the sect. Describing Darlington he says: — The Skerne runs at the bottom, and there is a navi- gable river eight miles off, which is a great promotion of the trade of the town, which lies chiefly in Hucka- back. I bought a coarse piece of it for towels, and that I might be sure to be imposed upon with great brevity {sic) dealt with Dobson a Quaker. The study of the registers of St. Cuthbert’s throws considerable light on the industries of Darlington. By the end of the eighteenth century there is ample evidence that a great pre- I am much indebted to Professor Scott of St. Andrews for elucidating these documents for me. Cf. W. R. Scott, ‘ The King’s and Queen’s Corpora- tion for the Linen Manufacture in Ireland,’ Royal Soc. Antiq. Ireland, xxxi. Universal Mag. Oct. 1749, p. 147. Portland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. 1899), v, 100. Journeys in England of Lord Harley, afterwards second earl of Oxford, 3 May, 1725. 31 ponderance of the people worked at one or other of the textile industries. Of the sixteen people buried in tlie month of April, 1797, nine were weavers or wool-combers. The list comprises weaver, taylor, husbandman, wool-comber, black- smith, weaver, weaver, weaver, skinner, wool- comber, weaver, wool-comber,husbandman,weaver, husbandman, spinster.'® Still, a great deal of the linen sold was not woven in Darlington, but in the surrounding villages. At Hurworth many of the sheds built at the back of the houses, where the weaving used to be carried on, are still to be seen, and some of the oldest in- habitants can recall the days when the road to Darlington was kept busy by weavers either carrying their linen in packs on their backs or driving donkeys laden with it to sell at the fac- tories. The high-water mark of Hurworth linen-weaving was reached early in the nine- teenth century ; of the forty-three people who had their children baptized in 1813, thirteen were weavers ; ten years later only ten out of thirty- nine, in 1833 nine out of forty-two, in 1843 out of fifty-two, and in 1853 thirty-six.'^ In some cases the merchants bought the linen in an unbleached state, and the earliest map of Darlington has a large space marked as bleaching grounds ;'®but the eighteenth-century newspapers, especially the Newcastle Courant, are full of ad- vertisements of owners of bleaching grounds seeking clients ; so evidently bleaching was car- ried on as a separate industry.'® Defoe, who had an intimate knowledge of the north, says that Darlington was noted for its successful bleaching of linen, so that quantities of the mate- rial were brought from Scotland to be bleached there; but as early as 1773 the trade had decreased so seriously that the inhabitants pre- sented a petition to the House of Commons on the subject. A petition of the Huckaback table linen manufac- turers of Darlington in the County of Durham was presented to the House, setting forth that Petitioners are informed that a committee is appointed to enquire into the present state of the Linen Manufactory of these Kingdoms, and representing to the House that the Linen Manufacture in that part of the Kingdom has within the last few years past greatly declined, and that the manufacturers are at present in a most distressed situation and the trade and manufacture there in danger of being lost which Petitioners appre- hend is owing to the increased importation of Foreign Table Linen.^“ '® St. Cuthbert’s Parish Registers, 1653—1797. These registers have not been published, but are full of interesting matter. Hurworth Parish Registers under date. ‘® The original map is in the possession of Mr. Edward Wooler. Newcastle Courant, 1750-1800. Com. Journ. 19 Mar. 1773. Fig. I. — SwALWELL Time-Gun Fig. 2. — CoATHAM Mundeville Mill Plate III ■‘■''n’OF .X INDUSTRIES But the case was not so desperate as the petition represents for, thirty years later, 500 looms were employed in Darlington manufacturing hucka- backs, diapers, and sheeting.^^ Arthur Young attributes the decay of trade to the idleness of the Darlington poor. At that town is a considerable manufacture of Hucker- back Cloths, in which the workmen earn from \od. to 2/. 64. a day, and women and children propor- tionately. One Master Manufacturer employs about fifty looms and asserts that he could easily set many more at work and employ numerous women and children if the idle part of the poor would be per- suaded to turn industrious ; but numbers of hands, capable of working, remain in total indolence ; and that in general, there need never be an unemployed person in Darlington. They make their cloths up to 14^. a yard.” Brewster, too, an observant man, writing about the same time, draws attention to the indolence of the people of Stockton, and attributes it to the want of manufactories.^^ John Kendrew owned a flax mill on the Skerne as early as 1788 ; he was an inventor of great ingenuity ; Bailey says He was the first that invented the mode of grinding optical glasses of a true spherical form by machinery. He neglected to get a patent, and it was meanly stolen by some person of superior capital near Sheffield, who engrossed nearly all the demand by having riders to take in orders in every part of the Kingdom.” The spectacle mill adjoined Mr. Backhouse’s woollen mill. But it is in connexion with the application of machinery to flax-spinning that John Kendrew’s inventions are of the greatest importance.*® In partnership with Porthouse he became the first spinner of flax by machinery in the world. On the dissolution of the partner- ship Kendrew went to a mill at Haughton-le- Skerne. The mill still stands, a large and imposing building, with the date 1782 on it. According to the evidence of the church registers early in the nineteenth century almost the whole village worked in some capacity at the mills. They were then in the hands of Edward Parker & Sons, who, some thirty years ago, removed their business to Ireland.*^ Among the Hurworth parish registers there is an interesting MS. account of parish apprentices, where Edward Parker is spoken of as a woollen manufacturer, but this J. Bailey, op. cit. 194. A Young, Six Months' Tour through the North of Engl. 1769, ii, 427. ” J. Brewster, Hist, of Stockton, 103. ” Darlington Leases. ” Bailey, op. cit. 294. ” Specification of Patents, 1787, No. 1613. ” Registers ofHaughton-le-Skerne, 1801—52; White and Parson, op. cit. 238. is probably due to the carelessness of the parish authorities. 1 804. Elizabeth Rickaby female 1 2 bound to Edward Parker woollen manufacturer Haughton for four years. (No fee is mentioned.) 1805. Edward Scarr male 9 bound to Edward Parker woollen manufacturer for 5 years, fee fi 16s. 1815. Richard Gouldborough male 1 i bound to Edward Parker woollen manufacturer Haughton four years £z 2/.” The Coatham Mundeville Mill had a disastrous history ; it was successfully worked as a shoe- thread mill for many years by Porthouse, then by Gibson, who removed to Selby about 1840 ; it then became a flour mill and was burnt down. (PI. Ill, fig. 2.) The I’Ansons, the Backhouses, and the Peases were all connected with the Darlington linen industry.*® The Peases came to Darlington early in the eighteenth century ; the earliest document pre- served amongst the leases of the manor of Dar- lington relating to the family is the copy of a plan and valuation ‘ of a water corn mill, bark mill, &c., in the parish of Darlington. Mr. Joseph Pease lessee for 3 lives. Sherburn 10 May 1793.’^° These mill buildings had been bought from Edward Stamper by Joseph Pease in 1781 for ^890.®^ Mr. Backhouse seems to have made a determined effort in 1795 to get complete possession of the Skerne from his own mill as far as Mr. Pease’s (i.e. from the present Leadyard Mill to the Priestgate Mill). But the bishop’s surveyor interfered ; he writes that there is a mill for the spinning of wool and a mill for the grinding of spectacle glasses, the former a spacious Building and the latter a very convenient and useful one. One must be of the value of at least £60 p. ann. for the uses at present put to, but having been built only seven years Mr. Backhouse assures me they are rated the poor at no more than £16 p. ann. He gives his opinion very emphatically that Mr. Backhouse’s request should be refused : — I do not think the Bishop ought to grant Mr. Back- house the river Skern between the Spinning Mill and Mr. Peas’s Mill; nor do I see what use it can be of to him, if he raise his spinning mill dam, it will naturally injure Mr. Peas’s Mill by checking the stream and causing Logg or Backwater ; and also it may be prejudicial to the See by preventing similar erections. The spinning mill is turned by steam and at present has a dam or head no more than 1 8 inches high. Lowes a Tanner and Locking a stone cutter ” Register Book of Parish Apprentices. ” Richley, Hist, of Bishop Auckland ; ‘ Romance of Commerce,’ in The Friend, 21 Oct. 1898. ” These leases are kept at Durham in the office of the Halmote Court (to which I had access by the courtesy of Mr. Wall of Darlington). H. D. Longstaffe, Hist, of Darlington, 284. 317 A HISTORY OF DURHAM both incroached upon the river the former by Tan- pitts and the latter by a stone cutter’s yard, and Mr. Peas (sk) appears to be encroaching upon the wastes at X. Arthur Mowbray. Sherburn 20 Sept. 1795.’' The mills mentioned in the documents are doubtless. worsted mills; it is said that the spin- ning and weaving of worsted goods was begun by the Peases in 1752 they claim to be the oldest manufacturers of this class of goods in the kingdom. In these days of cut-throat competition it is almost impossible to believe that a Pease from Darlington used to meet the senior partner of the Bradford Spinning Mill, and that between them they used to fix the prices for the ensuing six months. Spinning worsted by machinery was begun about 1796, the machinery being obtained by the Peases from Buck of Settle. But in the early part of the nineteenth century the Dar- lington mills were chiefly employed in spinning yarn to supply the West of England serge manu- facturers and the Scotch tartan manufacturers.^^ At the opening of the nineteenth century there was a large worsted manufactory where spinning both by hand and machinery was car- ried on ; about 300 looms, 100 combers, and 5,000 hand-spinners were employed. But the workpeople in Darlington were not sufficient for the demand ; a considerable quantity of wool had to be sent into Scotland to be spun ; Mr. Pease alone paid ;^8oo a year for spinning in Scotland.^^ Some idea of the rapid develop- ment of the Darlington woollen trade may be gained from the fact that the terrible fire which occurred at the mill of Messrs. Edward and Joseph Pease in 1817 destroyed property to the value of ^30,000, and threw 500 people out of employment.^® When, in 1825, the last grand septennial festi- val was held at Bradford of wool-combers, comb- makers, dyers, &c., in honour of Bishop Blaize, said to have invented wool-combing, William Clough of Darlington, who had enacted the part four times previously, was elected king. In 1832 when a dinner was given to the workmen of Darlington to commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill, a procession repre- senting the leading industries of the town was organized : wool-combers, worsted-weavers, linen- weavers, bricklayers, and carpet-weavers were in full force.®* In 1838 the factory inspectors prepared a re- turn of all the worsted mills and factories in the Darlington Leases. The worsted business had been begun at Dar- lington before 1727 ; Defoe, Eng/. Tradesman, ii, 61. J. James, Hist, of the Worsted Manufacture, 387. J. Bailey, op. cit. 163. W. H. D. Longstaffe, Hist, of Darlington, 3 1 8. J. James, op. cit. 596. W. H. D. Longstaffe, op. cit. 167. United Kingdom. In the county of Durham only two towns — Darlington and Gateshead — figure. Darlington had three mills with four steam-engines of 104 h.-p., and one water-wheel of 20 h.-p. Thirty-six children between the age of nine and thirteen and 194 youths and girls between thirteen and eighteen were employed, the total number of hands being 405. Gates- head had only one mill with one steam-engine of 1 2 h.-p., and employed twenty-seven hands.®* According to a similar report issued nine years later, the total number of people employed in the worsted trade in the county only reached 638.'*® At one time the Peases had three sets of worsted mills in different parts of the town as well as factories near Clay Row. The North- gate or Railway Mills were built by the Fells, but came into the Pease family by marriage. These mills were employed principally in pro- ducing materials, merinos, alpacas, and mohairs ; but they stopped working in 1880. The Lead- yard Mills are now used as an iron factory, but the Priestgate Mills still continue in active work, in spite of a disastrous fire in 1894, which did £20,000 worth of damage, and threw about six hundred people out of work. Early in the nineteenth century the Priestgate Mills were worked by Edward and Joseph Pease; the firm changed and became first Henry Pease & Co. and then Henry Pease & Co.’s Successors (i.e. Sir Joseph Pease, Mr. Henry Fell Pease, and Mr. Arthur Pease) ; the firm still retains the name, but is now a limited liability company. In 1886 the firm went in for producing dress materials, but weaving has now been entirely abandoned, though the wool which is obtained from Spain, Australia, and the neighbouring coun- tries is sorted, scoured, combed, and spun here. Between six and seven hundred hands are em- ployed, chiefly girls and women ; about one- third of the yarn is exported, but a great deal goes to Bradford and Scotland. At one time Darlington had a great many carpet manufactories, but the success of the Durham carpet industry threw Darlington into the shade, although in 1827 Francis Kipling & Son and William Thompson, both in North- gate, did considerable trade. Until within the last few years no carpets had a better reputation for durability and brilliancy of colour than Durham carpets. The rage for cheaper and flimsier goods, the failure of the American demand, and the tendency of manu- facturers to concentrate in one locality for con- veniences of sale, are the chief reasons for the decay of the trade. The initial impetus to the worsted in- dustry in Durham was given by a local charity. ** Return of Worsted Mills in the United Kingdom, ordered by the House of Commons, printed 1838. Return of Factory Operatives, 1847. 318 INDUSTRIES In 1689 Mr. Thomas Cradock gave build a convenient house and work houses for the master and workmen, for the employing a stock for a woollen manufactory, for to set the poor of the county on work.^' But the works were not successful ; in spite of the assistance lent by the charity, Mr. Starforth and Mr. Cooper failed to make the concern pay. In 1814 an advertisement appeared in the New- castle Courant that the county justices would advance ;^400 to anyone willing to re-establish the industry, and able to give securities for the capital. Mr. Gilbert Henderson, a weaver from the parish of Merrington, was the successful candidate. Coming of frugal and hardworking stock, married to an enterprising wife, under him the business developed rapidly. On the early death of Mr. Henderson the business was carried on by his wife and eldest son. Later the youngest of Gilbert Henderson’s sons was taken into partnership, and the firm attracted a great American trade ; even to-day people who were fortunate enough to furnish their houses with Durham carpets show them in excellent condition after ten or fifteen years’ wear. The secret of the success of the firm was their early recognition of the necessity of putting in new machinery as it was invented, and adding new buildings as they were required. The factory was carried on by members of the Henderson family until 1903, when the goodwill was sold to Messrs. Crossley of Halifax, who did not, however, take over the buildings, part of which have since been let to Messrs. Mackey & Co., Ltd., who still carry on a carpet manufactory there. The capital advanced in 1814 was not repaid until 1876, when the attention of the members of the flourishing firm being called to what was then a small detail, the money was at once repaid. A considerable trade was done at one time in ropes and sail-cloth ; in Sunderland alone there were in 1827 nineteen ropemakers and twenty sail-makers, but the substitution of wire for hemp rope and of steamers for sailing vessels has materi- ally affected both trades. Webster & Co. at Dept- ford, Haggle & Co. and Craven & Speeding at Sunderland, and the Hepburn Rope and Sail Works supply many of the Sunderland shipyards. The first application of machinery to the manufacture of ropes in the world was made at the works of Messrs. Webster & Co. at Deptford. This historic firm obtained a patent in 1797 ^7 which spinning machinery was introduced, the cumbrous way of making ropes at long rope- walks superseded, and the resistance power of the rope, according to tests made at Shields, Sunder- land, Liverpool, and London, doubled. The first idea of the invention is said to have occurred to Mr. Grimshaw, who, while helping a scientific lecturer, whose experiment had failed, to get his apparatus into order, was struck with the possi- bility of applying the same principle to rope- making. With the assistance of Ralph Hills, a clock-maker, the experiment was successfully carried out. Hills, however, did not derive much profit from his share of the undertaking ; he became a shipowner, had his ships seized by the French, and was forced to sell his share in the ropery, the original firm being Grimshaw, Webster & Co. When Dibdinwas in Sunderland he visited the rope-works and thought that the most wonderful department in trade there was the rope manu- factory. The length and size of the ropes especially attracted his attention : one rope was miles long without a single splice ; another of 4,900 yards long weighed 1 1 tons ; it was 6 in. in circumference, and valued at ;^450. The grand-nephew of the founder of the firm. Mr. Webster, still carries on the Deptford works. MINING It is so obvious a truism that the mining industries of any district depend first and fore- most upon its geological structure that a know- ledge of the geology of Durham may be pre- supposed in all who take an interest in the development of its mineral industry. As this subject has already been treated in the first volume of this history it is only necessary here to recall briefly the more characteristic features. It will be remembered that the western edges of the county consist of Carboniferous or Mountain Limestone, forming the hilly region intersected with deep dales in which the Tyne, Wear, Tees, and their tributaries take their origin. This formation is traversed by numerous fissure veins Will of Mr. Thomas Cradock, 5 Feb. 1689, proved at York. carrying galena and at times also zinc blende ; the galena is argentiferous, but the deepest ores are, as is practically always the case, far poorer in silver than the oxidized lead ores — carbonates, sulphates, phosphates, &c. — of the outcrops. This phenomenon of the secondary enrich- ment of mineral veins is, of course, one that is well known in all mineral districts, the reasons for which to-day are abundantly intelligible. In these veins, the gangue of the lead ore frequently contains spathic iron ore in smaller or larger quantities, and in the Weardale district this spathic ore becomes of considerable importance ; moreover, the limestone traversed by these veins is often changed locally into carbonate of iron by metasomatic action, whilst the carbonates of iron have in places been further converted into hydrated 319 A HISTORY OF DURHAM peroxide of iron by the process of weathering. Both the brown hematites so formed and the original spathic ores have been mined, and have laid the foundation of an iron industry in that part of the county. The ores are nowadays barely worth working, and the amount of iron so raised is unimportant, but the ironworks originally founded to treat them survive in the form of important iron and steel-works, treating ores imported from the neighbouring counties or from abroad. Directly above the Mountain Limestone Series comes the Millstone Grit, which forms an irregular belt about five miles wide, running, roughly speaking, north and south across the county. This formation contains but little workable mineral ; some thin and usually unprofitable beds of coal occur in it, but they are of no practical importance. In the overlying Lower Coal Measures, which pass gradually into the Coal Measures proper, a bed of ironstone exists, a little below the Brockwell seam, and was for some time worked in the Derwent valley, its outcrop having been exposed in the valley of that river. This ironstone has not been worked for over half a century, but was the material from which sword-blades were made by German workmen, in the valley of the Derwent, a locality which at one time enjoyed a high reputation for this craft. The well-known Consett Iron Works (first known as the Derwent Iron Works) were founded originally to smelt these ores, and still exist as flourishing iron and steel-works, although not a pound of ore is mined in the district, the whole of the ores there smelted being imported from abroad. The greater portion of the north-eastern part of the county of Durham consists of true Coal Measures, within which numerous seams of coal are known. Some fifteen different workable seams are known to exist, with a total thickness of about 40 ft. of coal. In the southern and eastern portion of the county the denuded Coal Measures dip underneath the unconformable overlying Permo-Triassic rocks, but still exist at a depth which admits of their being worked to advantage. The area of exposed Coal Measures is probably about 250 square miles, whilst the coalfield continues underneath the newer rocks for a further area of about 200 square miles. Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that the coalfield is not bounded by the sea-shore, but exists underneath the sea, and is in places already worked there. It is generally supposed that it may be workable for a total distance of ten miles beyond the shore-line. Upon this basis the recent 1903 Coal Commission estimated that there were 4,401 million tons of coal remaining to be worked in the Coal Measures of the county of Durham up to the shore limit, and a further 870 million tons of coal could be won underneath the sea, making the total amount of coal capable of being won in the county of Durham 5,271 million tons. The Permo-Triassic rocks overlie the Coal Measures quite unconformably, there being evidence of considerable erosion of the upper portions of these Measures before the newer rocks were deposited. The lower member of the latter consists of a bed of yellow sand carrying an enormous quantity of water, which has proved to be one of the most serious obstacles to the working of the Coal Measures beneath these newer rocks. Thus in the magnificent sinking recently completed at Horden, Seaham Harbour, close upon 10,000 gallons of water had to be pumped per minute during the course of the sinking. Above this sand comes the Magnesian Limestone, which is frequently extensively fissured, and carries also very large bodies of water. This Magnesian Limestone is extensively quarried, but otherwise contains no minerals of commercial importance, although small lead-veins are known in it, and veins of copper have been met with in the quarries at Raceby Hill and Garmondsway, but not in workable quantities. The overlying or so-called Red Beds developed in the southern portion of the county are frequently known as the Salt Beds on account of their containing thick layers of rock-salt and gypsum, which have given rise to an important salt-producing industry in the neighbourhood of the River Tees. It is scarcely possible to write an account of mining in the county of Durham without continual reference to the operations going on in the adjoining counties, because neither geological structures nor mineral deposits are respecters of county boundaries. In coal-mining the question is further complicated by the facts that not only does the great northern coalfield extend over the adjacent counties of Northumber- land and Durham, but that the principal coal- exporting port, namely the River Tyne, is common to these two adjacent counties ; and, furthermore, the districts assigned to the Inspectors of Mines coincide neither with county boundaries nor geological structures. Such a history must in fact be the history of a coalfield and not that of the county or counties within which it may happen to lie ; hence, this article, especially in as far as it relates to coal, must be read in con- junction with that of the history of coal-mining in Northumberland. COAL Although lead ore has long been mined in the hilly district that forms the western portion of Durham, and although iron ore has been worked in several places within the county, these branches of the mining industry are reduced to utter insignificance in comparison with the enor- mous development of coal-mining, which may be said now to form the staple industry of Durham. Here, as elsewhere, the origin of coal-mining is lost in obscurity, and it is quite uncertain when 320 INDUSTRIES coal was first used as fuel.* It is highly probable that the first coal used in this coalfield consisted of the rounded lumps of coal washed up on the beach from the seams that outcrop along the sea-shore in Northumberland, and that these were collected ^ and used as fuel, just as they are used to-day by the poorer fishing folk along the Northumbrian coast. It could not be very long before the outcrops of similar material in the valleys of the Derwent and other rivers also attracted attention, and these coal seams would then have been attacked and gradually followed downwards, thus forming the commencement of the industry of coal-mining. It is probable that the coal picked up along the shores was originally known as ‘ sea-coal,’ and that which was dug out of the ground as ‘ pit-coal,’ the words ‘ sea-coal ’ and ‘ pit-coal ’ that so frequently occur in documents of the seventeenth century showing apparently that the two terms bore somewhat different meanings at one time, although the material described by them was also recognized as being identical. One of the difficulties of determining the real beginning of the use of coal lies in the indis- criminate use of the word ‘ carbo ’ to designate both charcoal and mineral coal. The notices preserved in the Boldon Book of the smiths at Wearmouth and Sedgefield and of the colliers at Escombe who in Bishop Pudsey’s time were bound to provide coal [carbonem) for the making of plough-shares, relate more probably to charcoal fuel, as is certainly the case in the almost parallel though rather later record in the register of Worcester Priory of the holding of one John the collier who was to make each coke of coal for id} There is however no doubt that the rich and powerful bishops of Durham in their capacity as counts palatine favoured the development of coal-mining in their principality at a very early period, and it is to this fact that we owe the greater completeness of the records of the industry in this part of the country as compared with other portions of Great Britain. There is good reason to believe ^ that coal from the neighbourhood of Plessey in Northum- berland was shipped to London quite early in the reign of Henry III, and already in 1256 complaints were made that the approaches to Newcastle ' For evidence of its use in Durham during the Roman period see Hodgson, Hist, of Northumb. (1812), ii, 17. ^ Galloway, Annals of Coal Mining, i, 21. Cf. the Charter of Adam de Camhous to Newminster Abbey about 1236. ‘ Et dedl et concessi eisdem monachis ut capiant algam marls ad impinguendam eandem terram,et viam ad libere ducendum earn super praedictas terras, et ad carbonem maris capiendum, ubi inventus fuerit a praedictis terminis usque Blithe et versus mare quantum ad praedictas terras pertinet.’ Chart, de Novo Monasterio (Surtees Soc. Ixvi), 55. ^ Galloway, op. cit. i, 14, 15. ‘ Ibid. 29 et seq. were rendered dangerous after nightfall ® by derelict or unfenced coal-workings. In the next reign it was found by inquisition ® that the pros- perity of the same town had during the past century been enormously increased by traffic in coals. For the working of coal in the Palatinate during the thirteenth century there is less evidence, probably in great measure owing to the reckless destruction of the archives of the see, but as early as 1243 we find an entry on a roll ’’ of Pleas of the Crown before the justices appointed by Bishop Nicholas I'arnham that in Darlington ward, Ralf the son of Roger Wlger had been drowned ‘in quodam fossato carbonum maris’ probably a derelict coal-pit. The use of the term fossatum is worth notice, and probably indicates an open-cast working. In northern England, as in the Forest of Dean, open-cast workings and bell-pits marked the first development of mining, though in Northumberland and Durham the pit and adit stage had been reached in certain localities by the middle of the fourteenth century, if not before. It is hardly probable that the coal- mining industry of Durham during the thirteenth century was comparable in extent with that of the neighbouring county of Northumberland, to which the history of the early export trade un- doubtedly belongs, but with our fragmentary sources of information no exact estimate can be formed. It is not until the year 1274-5 that a specific reference to the profits of the bishop’s coal-mines is found in the accounts of the See. References at a much earlier date to mines generally may have covered mineral coal as well as lead and iron, but as to this no certainty is attainable. During the vacancy however con- sequent upon the death of Bishop Robert Stichill, the accountant who answers for the issues of the bishopric of Durham from 20 August 2 Edward I to 12 November of the following year includes ^^34 ']$. t^d. from the farm of the fisheries, with the mines of coal and brew-houses {bracinagiis) for the same time.® Rather more than twenty years later we learn from the Great Roll of Receipts of Bishop Anthony Bek that a regular profit was being derived from a coal-mine in the ward [quarterio) of Chester,® while the increasing recognition of the value of the new fuel is probably indicated by the composition of 1303 made by the same bishop with his great manorial freeholders when he was obliged to confirm to them the right of taking certain minerals in their several lands.*® * W. Page, Assize R. Northumb. (Surtees Soc. Ixxxviii), 34, 103. ® Misc. Inq. Chan, file 40, No. 25. ^ Assize R. (P.R.O.), 223, m. 4. ® Pipe Roll, 2 Edw. I. ® Two payments of i zs .6d. at two terms are entered. See Boldon Bk. (Surtees Soc. xxv), App. p. xxviii. *“ ‘ Et que chescun preigne mine de charbon [et] de ferre en sa terre severale.’ Reg. Pal. Dun. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 62. 321 41 A HISTORY OF DURHAM The early use of mineral coal was undoubtedly for industrial rather than domestic purposes, lime- burning in particular, and probably the working as distinct from the smelting of iron. But early in the fourteenth century the introduction of the iron chimney probably made the use of mineral coal less open to objection, and it may be noted that in 1310 the monks of Jarrow had two iron chimneys in their hall {aula) ; thus it may be no coincidence that in the earliest of their accounts extant,^^ those for 1313, we find men- tioned a purchase of nine chaldrons of sea-coals {carbonum maritinorum). We are unable to fix the exact date when coal-mining began on the southern bank of the Tyne at Gateshead and Whickham, and there is little doubt that the men of Newcastle-on-Tyne did everything possible to hamper the develop- ment of the industry, but probably coal was being worked in this neighbourhood and possibly shipped in vessels moored at the wharves on the southern side of the river in the early years of the four- teenth century. It is certain that by 1356 the industry had become well established at Whick- ham, as Bishop Hatfield in that year granted to Sir Thomas Gray, knt., and John Pulhore, rector of Whickham, five mines on lease for twelve years at a yearly rent of 500 marks, an enormous sum for the time. Some conditions of this lease are deserving of careful attention. It is agreed that the bishop shall not allow new mines to be opened in the neighbourhood which might depreciate the value of the privileges of the lessees. As to the mines of Gateshead, which were then already open and at work, the bishop promised that none of their output should be carried or sold to ships, while the holders of the Whickham mines should be allowed the option of acquiring the lease of the Gateshead mines also at the expiry of the term then existent. As to the management of the Whickham mines, the lessees were obliged to work them as far as they could with five barrow-men, according to the view and oath of the master forester and the viewers, the rate of output being fixed at not more than one keel of coal per day. The master forester on his part was bound to furnish a reasonable amount of timber not only for the timbering of the pits, but also for the staiths or wharves. It is significant however that any damage done to the bishop’s tenants in Whickham either by mining operations or the carriage of coals had to be made good by the lessees. “ Invent, of Jarrow (Surtees Soc. xxix), 3. " Ibid. 8. “ Perhaps more correctly sea-borne coal. The origin of the term carlo marls was being forgotten. Dur. Curs. No. 30, m. 1 1 About twenty tons. A measure taken from the carrying capacity of keels which plied between the riverside wharves and the sea-going vessels below Newcastle Bridge. It is probable that the lessees of the Whickham mines did ultimately acquire a lease of those at Gateshead, at least for a time, but the shipment of the coals from this neighbourhood was not effected without strenuous opposition from the burgesses of Newcastle, and the appeasement of the quarrel required the intervention of the king.^^ In connexion with a grant of mining rights at Gateshead about 1364, we find the first specific reference in this district to the use of the ‘ water- gate ’ or tunnel for the draining of the pit.^* In respect to the working of the Tyneside mines after the Black Death, it may also be mentioned that in 1373-4 John de Belgrave and Nicholas Cooke were authorized to seize workmen and coal-bearers within the liberty of Durham to supply the lack of labour at Whickham and Gateshead. Another important colliery in this district was in Winlaton, held by Lord de Nevill of the bishop of Durham. In 1366-7 no less than 576 chaldrons of coal were purchased here by order of Edward III for the works at Windsor Castle,^® while at about the same time the earl of Northumberland was holding the manor of Fugerhous with a coal-pit for which he paid a yearly rent of ^(^26 igr. \d. The importance of the mines along the south bank of the Tyne during the fourteenth century give them the first claim to attention, but coal- working activity was not restricted to that dis- trict. At Ferryhill, Hett, and Lanchester we hear^^ of coal-pits before 1350, and in this year some interesting technical details are preserved in Hatfield’s Survey of the opening of a fresh mine at Coundon, when ropes, scopes, and wind- lass were bought for the work, and the total expense was 5;. 6z/. Furthermore the monks of Durham were leasing a mine in the township of Ferry at least as early as 1354, and in 1361 they possessed a coal-pit at Rainton.^® From the Bursar’s RolD® for 1376-7 we find them paying ,^6 6r. t\d. ‘in sinctatione unius putei ’ at He- worth, together with the making of the necessary picks, buckets, and ropes {cordis). Another pit also was sunk there to a depth of 6 fathoms at ** Dur. Curs. No. 31, m. "] d. Pat. 41 Edw. Ill, pt. i,m. 19. Later, in 1384, Richard II granted a charter to Bishop Fordham for the mooring of ships and the loading of coals on the south side of the Tyne ; Galloway, op. cit. i, 50. Pat. 38 Edw. Ill, pt. 2, m. 26. It had cer- tainly been used earlier in the colliery of the prior of Tynemouth at Elswick, and also about 1354 in a mine rented by the prior of Durham at Ferryhill or its neighbourhood ; Surtees, Hist, of Dur. iii, 285. Dur. Curs. No. 31, m. 5 d. Galloway, op. cit. 49. Hatfield's Surv. (Surtees Soc. xxxii), 93. ” Galloway, op. cit. 52. Ut supra, 219. Surtees, Hist, of Dur. iii, 255. Hist. Dur. Script. Tres (Surtees Soc. ix), App. p. 136- Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-ciii), 585. 322 INDUSTRIES a cost of 6s. a fathom, with an additional 6d, for some extra. Finchale too owned a mine at Lumley in 1348-9, and in their inventory for 1354 figure two coal-picks and two wedges of iron {yeges ferris).^^ Their most important venture however was at Softley. This repaid them well from about 1362 right on into the next century, yielding a steady annual rent of 13^. ^.d. The Vavasours possessed a mine at Cockfield before 1375, and a colliery was being worked at Evenwood^® in 1383-4, and probably earlier. The amount of material available for the his- tory of the Durham coal-mines during the fif- teenth century is so abundant that a rigorous selection is necessary, and all that can be done here is to supplement with a few particulars, hitherto unpublished, the valuable account fur- nished by Mr. R. L. Galloway in his Annals of Coal Mining. That writer emphasizes the im- portance of the lease of South Durham mines, described as the ‘mines of coal and of iron ore under the coal ’ in ‘ Raby, Caldehirst, Hertkeld, Hethereclough, otherwise Tollawe and Wol- lawes,’ and in the barony of Evenwood, first granted to Ralf de Eure, and renewed in 1424 to William de Eure for a term of nine years at a rent of ;^ii2 13^. i^d. per annum,^® and later still renewed to him and other parties on many occasions with certain variations and intermis- sions. In all probability this lease put an end to the profitable working of the Finchale mine at Softley and affected adversely other mining specu- lations on a small scale in southern Durham. From the chief forester’s account®^ for the years i-2 Bishop Neville (about 1440) we obtain a clear idea of the considerable part played by the episcopal coal-mines in the economy of the Pala- tinate. As to the farm of 1 1 2 13^. 4^’. due from the mines of Raby, Caldehirst, and Hethere- clough, the account makes no return, because this was rendered by Thomas Buk,®® appruator earundem miner arum. He does however return a sum of 40r. received from the lessees of coal- mines at Chester with ‘ Les Scamelyng.’ Nothing was forthcoming from the farm of the coal- mine of Cholden, which usually amounted to f6 135. 4«f., because it was in the lord’s hands ” Priory of Finchale (Surtees Soc. vi), xxxi. Galloway, op. cit. i, 54. Dur. Curs. No. 38, m. zo d. Galloway, op. cit. 72. Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 190030. From the patent as chief forester granted in 1377 to Thomas Lumley, knt., we understand that amongst his duties were ‘ auxi que par la suvieu de nostre seneschall de Duresme pour le temps esteant le dit monsieur Thomas lesse les groues desmynes du charbons et les forces en tout lieus dans sa dite garde,’ and that he should render account thereof ; Dur. Curs. No. 145. He had been appointed to the ‘ bankmanship ’ of the coal mines of Ralifield and Harecrosfield by Bishop Neville soon after his accession to the see ; Dur. Curs. No. 42, m. 5. in default of a tenant. But from a coal-mine at Ryton 26r. ^d. was received, no doubt the value of a licence to work the mineral there with which the rector of Ryton was in some way connected. No return was made of the farm of the Whick- ham mines, usually £26 13^. 4^7., because that pertained to the accounts of the constable of Durham. Nothing was returned from Even- wood, ‘quia nullus puteus ibidem existit.’ From Robert Hall, lessee of a mine at Ivestone, which was wont to return 38^. 4^3'., and a new mine near Newbigging and Ivestone, which should return 13;. 4^., a sum of 26s. ^d. was received. The mine at Kimblesworth, which used to produce 20s. a year, was utterly ruined {omnino vastatur) and yielded nothing. Nothing again had been received from the mine at Stanleyburn in Chester ward, which used to pay 2s. 6d. a year. Nor from the mine at Burnhousden, which used to pay 3r. 4^/., but now in default of a tenant in the lord’s hands. Similarly the coal-mine of Middle- wood with the quarry of ‘ Bakstaneford ’ lay ‘ waste ’ in the lorTs hand, as also the coal-mines of Frankeleyn, Benfeldsyd, and Conkeburn. The Gateshead mines produced a farm of £66 i y. \d.., but they were not included in the chief forester’s account since they were managed by a special officer {appruator)., William Askeby. At W olley- hill mine, which used to return 26s. ?>d., there was no lessee, and in consequence it was in the lord’s hands. But 20s. had been received of Thomas Claxton in respect to a new coal-mine opened up at Camehill. From this account it is clear that the mines of Whickham and Gateshead in the north, and the mines of Raby (Raly?), Hethereclough, and Calde- hirst in the south of the county were immensely more valuable than any others, and it is probable that the success of their working and the great- ness of their output daunted mining speculators. This may account for the number of mines in the hands of the bishop for which apparently no tenants could be found. The religious houses, however, and doubtless private landowners, still worked coal-pits for their own use whenever they could profitably do so, a good example being the mine of Moorhouse Close, which about 1457-8 yielded the monks of Finchale ^10 a year, besides eighty chaldrons of coal supplied to the monastery. This mine was worked by them right up to the date of the dissolution of their house, and deserves special remembrance in the history of the coal-mines of Durham, as it is here that we first hear of coal being got under the level of free drainage,®® since in 1486-7 the monks spent £() 155. 6d. on the new ordinance of the pump, which was no doubt worked by horse-power. Galloway, op. cit. i, 71. Much later, in 1544, £\o was the contract price ‘ pro factura uniusle horse pompe pro extracione aque de puteis de Raynton ’ ; Dur. Acct. R. 722. 323 A HISTORY OF DURHAM The monks of Durham also continued their mining ventures with great spirit and activity. From accounts®^ for the period from the Inven- tion of the Cross until 6 December, 1443, we know that they received ;^I2 ir. from Rainton, and 10 Os. id. from Aldyngrige (Aldengrange), besides coal delivered for the use of their house. They spent js. ']d. on the ‘aqueduct’ at Aldengrange and on sinking there five new pits. They also allowed 8r. to Bertram Gaythirde ‘ pro fodicione et sinctacione ’ of a new pit at Rainton, while £\0 was allotted to pay the workmen ‘ in aqueductu et le dright, cum thir- lyng unius shafte ut patet per bill.’ An additional outlay £7. yr. lod. was for the workmen’s ale and for ‘scopes et pykkez ac 2 cordis.’ Soon after this date the supervisor of Aldengrange colliery bought off the threatened competition of the Finchale monks at Baxtanfordwood.^® The fifteenth century not only furnishes re- cords of coal-mining all over the Palatinate, but certain of the leases and accounts which have survived enable us to understand the methods employed and trace the gradual technical advance of the industry. An English lease is extant, granted in 1447 to John Brown of Tudhoe and five others by the prior of Durham relating to land and coal-pits inTrillesden and Spennymoor. In Trillesden the lessees are to wirke and wyn cole evere day overable with thre pikkes and ilk pike to wyn every day overable lx scopes and to have and to halde the said toft and land with the appertenantes and with the said colepite, fra the fest of Seynt Cuthbert in Septembre next commyng for terme of a yeer then next folowyng at an annual rent of 241. for the land and 10 marks of ‘goode Inglissh money’ for the coal-pit. The lessees sail wirke the said myne werkmanlike, to save the feld standyng, be the sight of certeyn vewers assigned be the said priour als oft as hym likes to lymet them within the same yeer to serche the same myn. Under similar conditions the coal-pit at Spenny- moor was let at £70 a year rent, and in addition the lessees sail of thare awen costages and expens labour and wyn a Watergate for wynnyng of cole in the same colepit of Spennyngmore, and the same Watergate like as thai wyn itt thai sail leefe it in the yeer ende by sight of the said vewers. A similar regulation of the daily output is in- sisted on in the renewal of the great lease of the southern mines to Sir William Eure in 1458, T>ur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-ciii), 712. Galloway, op. cit. "i- Hist. Dur. Trcs Scriptores (Surtees Soc. ix), App. p. cccxii. Dur. Curs. 48, m. 2. to the extent of 340 corfes or scopes at Raly, 300 scopes or corfes at Toftes, and 600 at Hert- keld, and at each of the other mines 20 corfes or scopes, but with permission to make up a deficiency at one mine by an increase at another. In this connexion it may be noted that we here find an early mention of ‘ styth ’ or choke-damp ; if the miners were stopped thereby on any occasion so that they could not get their authorized tale of coal, they were allowed to make up the amount lacking on the next convenient working day. Complaints were made and inquisitions held as to wastes and reckless working, such as cutting through the ‘ forbarres’ in the mines mentioned in this lease,®® and it is probable that in 1460-61 the bishop of Durham was working the Raly and Hertkeld mines on his own account. A compotus of his appruator, John Baker,^® relating to ‘ Raley ’ mine for the period 14 June, 38 Henry VI, to Christmas, 39 Henry VI, eleven days over a half year, still remains to us, and is extremely valu- able for the full and detailed description of the classes and condition of the workmen employed. In the week 14-22 June there were six working days, and John Harper, William Staynford, and John Bagot were employed as ‘ hewers,’ hewing {dolandum) i,8oo corfes of coals at 2^ bushels the corfe, or reckoning by chaldrons or chalders {celeras) 1 40 chaldrons 2 qr. 4 bus., a daily out- put of 23 chaldrons i qr. 6 bus., each man earning ^d. a day. In the same week John Marshall, Thomas Bagot, and Thomas Hode were employed as ‘ barowmen, removing the aforesaid coals from the places where they were won in the aforesaid mine to the bottom of the pit [fundamentum putei)P They were paid at the same rate as the ‘ hewers.’ Four other men, Thomas Stevenson, Henry Stevenson, Richard Ogle, and Robert Ogle, are described as ‘ drawers ’ of the aforesaid coal from the bottom of the pit, hewing it and placing it on the bank of the same pit. Their wages were exactly those of the others, viz., ^d. a day, the wage sheet of the ten men totalling 251. for the full week. During the period of the account only eight full weeks of six days were worked at getting coal, the output and wage sheet remaining the same. But eight weeks of five days were worked with an output of 1 1 7 chaldrons 6 bus. and a wage sheet of 70S. lod. a week ; five weeks of four days with an output of 93 chaldrons 3 qrs. and a wage sheet of i6r. ^d. a week; and one week of three days (Christmas week) with an output of 70 chal- drons I qr. 2 bus. and a wage sheet of I7s. bd. In sum 2,601 chaldrons 2 qr. 2 bus. of coal were Galloway, op. cit. 73. ’’ Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 190024. He apparently had just succeeded one Roger Stevenson ‘ nuper bankman minere predicte.’ In an almost contemporary compotus of Hertkeld, Christopher Buttery is mentioned as ‘ bankeman et appruator carbonum ’ ; Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 190023. 324 INDUSTRIES won, and £22 2s. 6d. paid to the hewers, barrow- men, and drawers thus employed. For several weeks probably during the hottest weather no coal was raised, and the miners were sometimes employed on work other than the actual handling of coal, both above and below ground, and for such tasks payments were separately entered. Thomas Hode cut down a wain-load of timber in Evenwood Park, and Henry Stevenson carted it to the pit both for the repair of the‘draght’ and for the mending of the sides of the pit {putei) as necessity required. The payment for this work was 8^. And on another day John Harper and eight of his fellows and ten other persons, working with this timber and other stuffura mending the sides of the pit and mak- ing a certain stone wall at the bottom of the said pit to hold up the earth (terram)^ which was utterly unsafe {fere perantea in cam rume\ earned yr. 10^., at the rate of 5^. a day each. John Taillour too got for labour at the woodwork, and William Paterson, smith, (ctd. for mending the worn-out and broken ironwork of the draght.’ Again, we hear of the repair by John Taylor and Henry Aleynson of a certain old shed {logium) above the pit of the mine [puteum mi- nere) and also the building another ‘ new shed for the tools and other things necessary for the afore- said work,’ while a great clades or clada (wattled screen ?) was bought ‘ad ponendum ante os putei minere predicte ad removendum ventum ab eodem.’ Candles for the miners were a heavy expense — no less than 760 lb. being used at a cost of £2 1 9^. 2d.^ while three forty-one fathom ropes {cordis canahi) were bought from William Roper of Darlington at 31. a rope, and twenty-one dozen corfes at i (od. a dozen. A barrow ^ [semivec- toria) cost \\d.^ and the same price was paid for a measure {modio ferro ligato) for the coal pro majori commodo domini. Mention is also made of the mending of two barrow-ways [vie semivectorie suhtus terrain). That one which John Harper undertook was stopped with earth and stone and gave him a day’s work to clear it, for which he was paid <2^. Amongst other repairs we hear of the mending of a ‘vase ligni vocate le synkyng tubbe ’ which was used ‘ pro aqua inhaurianda extra puteum,’ while John Patenson was entrusted with “ The clerk who drew up the account has appar- ently made certain mistakes in numbers and in the nomenclature of the months, and unless ‘ August ’ is emended to ‘ September ’ in four instances the entries are contradictory. If this is done the cessation of hewing coal was between the 14 July and 24 August. It may be noted that the choke-damp was apt to prove more troublesome in the hot weather. In an almost contemporary account of Hertkeld mine we read : ‘ Et sol. pro ij sennevectorias cum rotis emptis ad ponendum carbones ibidem subtus terram ac cum lez gorions et platez pro eisdem emptis per tempus compoti precii utriusque i^^d.-zs. 7«'.’ Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 190023. the sharpening {exasperatione) of nine score ‘ pikkis ’ broken or blunted in the course of the work. Some of the workmen were also occasionally em- ployed at the pit-brow in loading wains and pack- horses with coals. As the result of coal sales during the year som.e ^^41 14;. 2d. was paid to the receiver-general of Durham and apparently thirty- eight wain-loads of coal were sent to Auckland for use at the bishop’s house {hospiciurri). It is impossible in the space at our disposal to give any detailed account of the coal-mines of Durham during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the reader must be referred to Mr. Galloway’s Annals of Coal Mining., which presents an ex- cellent risumi of the chief facts of importance. When Wolsey was translated to Durham the best days of the Palatinate had passed, and the mer- chants of Newcastle were again claiming exclu- sive rights of shipment on the Tyne. Franklin his chancellor put the case^^ very clearly to the new bishop : It is no reason that they shuld enforce your grace to sell your colis only unto theym at their own prices and they to utter the same ayen at their own libertie bothe to Englishmen and straungers at prises onreason- able as they have doon heretofore, and he clinches the argument : If your grace will stikto your liberties (as in conscience your grace is bownde to do), the bishopriche will be better than it is by a 1,000 marks a yere only in cole and led. Wolsey probably never found time to enter the Palatinate during his tenure of the see, but he directed Dr. Strangways, surveyor of Durham, and Richard Bellysis, esq., to survey all lead, coal, and other mines within his bishopric, and make them as profitable as possible, as well as to finish the new house and furnace which he had ordered to be built at Gateshead for melting and trying lead with sea-coals. With the fall of Wolsey, however, the Newcastle traders had no longer anything to fear from the prestige and business ability of the great cardinal, and an Act of 1530 practically gave them a monopoly of the northern export trade, which was only for a brief space interrupted by a withdrawal of their privi- leges in the time of Queen Mary.^® All through the sixteenth century the working of coal was actively prosecuted in the county of Durham, and allusions to mines already mentioned are frequent in the leases, surveys, and accounts of the Palatinate ; many of these are cited by Mr. Galloway. A few additional notices are preserved in the survey^® of the possessions of the earl of Westmorland made on the occasion of his attainder after the Northern Rising in 1569. The royal commissioners returned amongst other sums £222. Hutchinson, Hist, of Dur. 404 «. et seq. “ L. and P. Hen. Fill, iv (2), 2241. Galloway, op. cit. 86. Exch. Misc. Bks. 37. 325 A HISTORY OF DURHAM year due from the bishop of Durham to the earl for coal-mines leased in ‘Cockfield, Mawefeldes, Wodyfeldes and Fulcye.’ To this, however, the bishop demurred, and his reasons were to the point : ‘ the pyttes and mynes are wrought out and no coales there to be gotten nor eny pyttes in worke within those places at this present.’ Again, at Thornley near Brancepeth, Christo- pher Danyell paid i6r. 8^. a year at Pente- cost and Martinmas for a coal-mine, holding at the will of the lord. The famous Westmorland Colliery at Winlaton had been granted on a thirty years’ lease dated 30 September, 5 Eliz., to Cuthbert Blunt, with ‘ free wayleave, grandleave, staythleave and waterleve.’ He sub-leased the mines to Christopher Cooke, and we learn from the depositions in a suit of 1587 that apparently Cooke’s mining operations had been interfered with by certain persons who had acquired the manor of Winlaton. In these depositions mention is made of scarcity of labour, and we hear that women had been enlisted ‘ for lack of men.’ It is incontestable that the second half of the sixteenth century witnessed an enormous develop- ment of the northern coal trade. Wood was becoming rapidly more scarce and dearer to pur- chase, while the great increase of house chimneys removed some of the more obvious drawbacks to the use of fossil fuel. Harrison in his Description of England published about ten years before the coming of the Armada, noted that ‘ theyr greatest trade beginneth nowe to growe from the forge into the kitchin and hall,’ and with this exten- sion of traffic in coals there synchronized an in- crease of chimneys marvellous to old men, whereas in their yoong dayes there were not above two or three if so many in most uplandish townes of the realme (the religious houses and mannour places of the lordes alwayes excepted, and peradventure some great personages), but eache one made his fire against a reredosse in the hall where he dined and dressed his meate. The increased demand for coal called forth the shrewd financier — in this case, Sutton, master of the ordnance at Berwick in 1569, who shortly after obtained a long lease of the mines of Whick- ham and Gateshead. In 1580 he was said to be worth 5^50,000. This apparently was the be- ginning of the famous ‘ Grand Lease,’ which ultimately passed into the hands of the merchants of Newcastle, who had already acquired several lesser collieries, and put them in a position to regulate still more effectively the price of coal. Consequently in 1 5 90, the Lord Mayor of London complained to Lord Burghley ‘ of the monopoly and extortion of the owners of Newcastle coals.’ ‘ Omnia mineria carbonum infra totum manerium de Wynlayton.’ “ Holinshed, Chron. (1577). For the intricate history of the ‘ Grand Lease ’ see Galloway, op. cit. 93 et seq. The earlier accounts are incorrect in important particulars. The Lord Mayor’s complaint was echoed by contemporary writers. No doubt the increased demand was responsible in part for the advance in prices, but the sufferers therefrom were prob- ably correct in judging that the Newcastle monopoly aggravated the evil. The history of the famous Society of Hostmen and the part they played in the control of the export trade from Newcastle belongs rather to the history of North- umberland than that of Durham, but we may mention here their charter of incorporation granted by Queen Elizabeth. These hostmen or fitters acted as intermediaries between coal- owners and merchants frequenting the port, and provided keels for carrying coals from the staiths to the sea-going ships.*® Some idea of the prob- able average production of the northern collieries towards the end of the sixteenth and in the first decade of the seventeenth century may be derived from the quantity of coal exported from the Tyne in 1609, which amounted to 239,261 tons, of which 24,956 tons were sent abroad. The corresponding figures for the Wear are stated to have been 11,648 tons and 2,383 tons.*^ As early at least as the fifteenth century, choke damp had been a recognized impediment to the work of the miners in the deeper pits of the Palati- nate, but in the year 1621 we meet with the first record of what was in all probability an explosion of fire-damp in an entry of the register of St. Mary’s Church, Gateshead ; ‘Richard Backus, burnt in a pit.’ About this time too we meet with records of pits being drowned out, and various accidents from drowning and burning are recorded at Whickham in the first half of the seventeenth century. The next half-century was a period of considerable disturbance, the Plague, the Great Fire of London, and the civil wars all contribut- ing to upset the regular course of trade. It is interesting to note that the first allusion to coke- making appears during this period, coke being mentioned as having been made in Derbyshire in 1644 for drying malt. An interesting item is the first record of railways and wagons being used, namely, in 1671, at Sir Thomas Liddell’s railway at Ravensworth, the rails being made of wood, and one horse drawing about four or five chaldrons from the colliery to the staiths, which were situated near the present Dunston staiths. In 1675 the output of the Tyne appears to have been increased to about 570,000 tons of coal ; but there is no certainty as to the exact value of the weights and measures used, until, in 1678, Parliament passed an Act to regulate the weights and measures in the coal trade. In 1681 the Grand Lease previously referred to expired, and Bishop Crewe granted a renewal of the lease to Colonel Liddell and his partners, Galloway, op. cit. 99. Proc. Arch. Inst. (Newcastle, 1852), i, 178. 326 INDUSTRIES from whom it passed afterwards to Lord Ravens- worth and otlier notable men who formed the partnership known as the ‘ Grand Allies.’ About this time, the coal-mines of Lumley Park are re- ferred to as amongst the most important in the north, and producing the best coal, which was shipped at Sunderland. Towards the end of the seventeenth century the number of those work- ing and selling coals who were not members of the Hostmen’s Corporation of Freemen, or the ‘ Non-Freemen,’ as they were called, had become so great, and they exercised so considerable an influence, that the hostmen were obliged to grant them some measure of recognition, and from this time onwards there appears to have been keen competition between the two parties. The seventeenth century witnessed several important technical changes in the mining for coal. In i6i8 we first hear of boring for coal, and in 1692 we learn that Thomas Wake com- menced to make various bore-holes near Ryton and Wylam. Water was at this time one of the gravest troubles, and in many places some form of machinery was introduced for draining the pits, apparently a chain-pump worked either by horses or water-wheel being employed. Tram- lines were in use in several places, although in many pits carts and horses were still employed. The existence of fire-damp was clearly recognized, and also the fact that it could be fired by a light or an accidental spark. It is probable that the comparative immunity from accident caused by fire at this period was due to the fact that work- ings never seem to have extended far from the shafts themselves, and it would appear probable that in most cases the old-fashioned bell pit was still in use. The coal trade of the Wear de- veloped very considerably during the seventeenth century. It has been seen that it was comparatively in- significant at the commencement of that period, but soon after the opening of the eigh- teenth century the Wear was exporting about 175,000 tons of coal as against some half million exported from the Tyne. At this time the price of coals in Newcastle was about iir. per chaldron, say about 4;. per ton, and about i8r. per chaldron, or about yr. per ton in London. The next century was destined to witness the com- mencement of a series of changes which pro- foundly affected the whole of the coal trade in general, and among others had a lasting effect upon the county of Durham. It has been seen that one of the great difficulties to be contended with in this county was the influx of water in the pits. It was about the year 1710 that New- comen invented his steam-engine, the first one having apparently been erected at a coal-pit in Staffordshire in the year 1712. It is said that the first steam-engine in the north of England was erected about the year 1 7 14 at a place called Washington Fell, for a colliery upon the River Wear, and the next at Norwood, near Ravens- worth Castle ; it is, however, doubtful whether these engines were erected as early as the date above given. In 1724 a Mr. John Potter of Chester le Street advertised himself as an agent for the erection of these engines, and it appears that about this period numerous engines were em- ployed, so much so that a list drawn up by Mr. W. Brown, of Throckley, gives no less than thirty- two of them, having cylinders up to 72 in. in diameter, as being employed in pumping at various pits in the county of Durham. The same year (1769) was the date of James Watt’s great in- vention of the independent condenser, but it would seem that the Watt engine did not dis- place the later Newcomen engines erected in the north of England at any very rapid rate. Very shortly after the application of the steam-engine to coal-mining came another invention of almost equal importance to the coal trade : in the year 1735 Abraham Darby succeeded in smelting pig- iron by means of coal. Although the manufac- ture of coke was known, as has been seen, long before this time, it is doubtful whether Darby was acquainted with it. He appears to have commenced by attempting to treat pit-coal in the same way as the charcoal burner treated wood, building a hemispherical pile, which he in this way coked. The coke thus made worked perfectly well in the blast furnace, and from this time on- wards the use of coal in the manufacture of iron was an established fact. It can easily be under- stood that these two inventions helped each other forwards by their mutual interdependence, and at the same time proved a powerful factor in develop- ing the coal trade, which in a sense was a common bond between them. During the eighteenth cen- tury, the increased demands for coal caused other methods of coal-mining to be adopted. Under- ground roads appear to have been laid out and working in pillars commenced. The first account of attempting to win the pillars in a colliery is stated to have been due to Edward Smith at Chartershaugh on the Wear in 1738. The same person also appears to have used some simple form of flue for producing artificial ventilation, which became a necessity now that colliery workings became more complicated. It is worth recording that the commencement of the eighteenth century witnessed the publication of the first book devoted to coal-mining, called The Compleat Collier^ or The Whole Art of Sinking, Getting, and Work- ing the Coal Mines, &c., as now used in the Northern Parts, especially about Sunderland and Newcastle. There is a certain amount of evi- dence that the practice to which this book re- ferred was that of the River Wear, and the little book shows that there was a considerable amount of crude knowledge of mining at that time. It seems that at the period at which the author writes pits were sunk of square form, timbered with wood until the stone head was reached. 327 A HISTORY OF DURHAM when they were continued in a circular shape. When much water had to be passed through, a method of tubbing, by means of water-tight frames covered with wooden staves like those of a tub, was employed, and it would seem that these were tolerably successful. Pits were, of course, small, namely, about 6 ft. in diameter, but even so some of them seem to have descended to depths of 300 or 400 ft. The underground workings consisted of roads driven in the coal at right angles to each other, consisting, as at present, of bords which were driven comparatively wide across the cleat of the coal, whilst the head ways were driven narrow at right angles to the former. At the time that this author wrote only the coal that was got in these working places appears to have been extracted, no attempt having been made at all to remove the pillars, and probably the method of transporting the coal underground was by wheelbarrows or sleds. Hoisting was performed in large baskets known as corves, which were probably drawn up by means of a whim gin or windlass worked by horses. In the commence- ment of the eighteenth century, when workings became more complex, and the number of people engaged in one and the same mine greater, we first meet with records of serious accidents, due to explosions of fire-damp. The first of these appears to have occurred in October, 1705, when over thirty individuals lost their lives. In 1708 another explosion took place at Fatfield in the parish of Chester le Street, where the loss of life was even greater. In 1710 an explosion took place in Bensham Colliery, whereby seventy-six people lost their lives, and in 1763 another explosion at Fatfield Colliery is recorded. It must have been soon after the latter period that Spedding’s Steel Mills were first used in this part of the country, they having been invented some time previously in the Whitehaven district. The manufacture of coke in the county of Durham appears already to have assumed some importance in the second part of the eighteenth century, but the coking was probably carried on in practically all cases in open piles. The earliest mention of a coke-oven appears to be in the year 1763, and Jars, in his Voyage Metallurgique^ gives a drawing of so-called ‘ kilns erected at Newcastle for reducing coal to cinders and coakes,’ About the year 1770 wooden screens seem to have been introduced for screening coal. In 1788 it is stated that 61,300 tons of pig- iron were made throughout England, of which 48,200 tons were smelted with coke and the rest with charcoal. According to the Hornsby MS. in the possession of the duke of Northumberland, printed amongst the Surtees Papers, the export of coal during the seventeenth century increased very rapidly ; the export in the year 1691 is given as 693,000 tons, whilst in 1784 it already exceeded 1,000,000 tons. In the year 1800 the vend horn the Tyne amounted to 685,280 chaldrons (11,816,000 tons), and that from the Wear tO’ 303,459 chaldrons (804,000 tons). The end of the eighteenth century was characterized by the increasing use of iron in all departments of colliery working. Rails were still for the most part made of wood, though in places cast-iron plates had been employed, laid on top of the wooden rails. Cast-iron wheels were replacing wooden ones as early as 1753, and there is a record of cast-iron rails being used in the year I797- 1’’°^ beams (for beam engines) were beginning to replace the wooden ones that were still very largely in use, although before the end of the eighteenth century cast-iron beams up to 16 in. in diameter were obtainable. It has been seen that beam engines had come extensively into use for pumping, and before the end of the cen- tury attempts had been made to use steam-engines for drawing coals as well as for pumping water. Cast-iron was first employed for the tubbing of shafts about the year 1759, Just about this, time, the old practice of cutting a coal seam up into small pillars was abandoned in favour of the method of leaving larger pillars, which were to be subsequently won. In the latter half of the century gunpowder began to be used in the stonework of the collieries, sinking of shafts, in the driving of cross-measure roads, but was not used in coal until a much later date. In 1800 the vend of coal for the Tyne was about 1.600.000 tons, and for the Wear about 800.000 tons. These two ports still appear to have been the only ones from which coal was exported in the county of Durham, Coke-ovens were now in pretty general use, and were worked largely along the outcrops of the Brockwell Seam at Cockfield, Woodland, and other places in the southern part of the county of Durham, the coke made being used by founders and brewers. Previous to the end of this century women had ceased to be employed in the mines of the county of Durham, No- doubt the rapid development in the uses of steam had much to do with the increased demand for coal that took place about this time. Steam navigation had already been shown to be suc- cessful on an experimental scale, and Richard Trevithick had built his first locomotive in 1804. It was very soon after this that George Stephen- son, who was engineer to the Killingworth Pit, and also engineer in charge of all the machinery of the various pits worked by the Grand Allies,, commenced to work out the problem of steam locomotion, being encouraged in his efforts by his employers, and especially by one of them, namely. Lord Ravensworth. As is well known, his first locomotive was completed in the year 1814, and was used for drawing coals along the colliery rail- way. This was followed in 1822 by the Hetton Railway, near Sunderland, a line of 8 miles long, built to convey coals from the Hetton Colliery to the banks of the Wear. Finally, in 1825, 328 INDUSTRIES Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened, and from this time onwards the construction of railways spread from the county of Durham over the whole kingdom, favouring the development of the coal trade, not only by the increased con- sumption of fuel, but also by affording a means of cheap and easy transport for quantities of mineral which it would have been practically im- possible to handle without their assistance. The locomotive engine and the railway may fairly be said to be the direct products of the north- country coal-trade, and as such deserve notice here. Furthermore, it will be remembered that the early years of the eighteenth century saw the introduction of coal-gas for illuminating purposes. This increasing demand for coal caused great activity in the number of borings and sinkings then set on foot, and the records of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries show an enormous de- velopment in this respect in the county of Durham, which is best indicated by a brief sum- mary of these operations, as far as possible in chronological order ; — 1696. — Boring operations were being con- ducted at Holborn Grange by Thomas Wake. 1727. — Boring operations were in progress at Kip Hill, in the township of Tanfield, to prove the Hutton Seam. 1729. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress on Mr. George Bowes’ estate at Stanley Row, proving the Hard Coal Seam. 1731. — Boring operations were commenced on Hedley Moor, near Beamish, and also at Dipton. 1732. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in Mr. Spearman’s grounds at Tanfield. 1735. — A boring was put down out of the stone drift. Gill Pit, Shield Row, proving the Upper Main Coal Seam. 1739. — A boring was in progress below the Main Coal Seam in a coal-pit at Twizell. 1740. — Boring operations were in operation from the surface at Stone Bridge in the township of Elvet, Durham, and others were also com- menced in Hylton grounds, about three miles from Fulwell. 1742. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress on Urpeth estate. 1743. — A bore-hole was put down in Ridley Gill above Mutton House, in the township of Hedley, proving a seam at 13 fathoms’ depth, and boring operations were also in progress at Stock- ley, but with unsatisfactory results, 1744. — A boring was made at Hedley Town. 2 3^ 1745. — Boring operations were in progress at Park House ground, Ravensworth. 1746. — Boring operations were carried out at the foot of Chowdene Bank. 1748. — A series of borings was commenced by Rawlings at Cornforth. 1750. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress on the Picktree estate, in the township of Harraton, proving the Maudlin and Hutton Seams, and were also commenced at Coxhoe. 1752. — A boring from the surface was put down by Mr. George Rawlings on the Picktree estate belonging to Mrs. Jane Marley, proving the Hutton Seam ; boring operations were in progress at Pontop, in the township of Collierley, Durham, and were commenced at Fatfield. 1753. — A boring was put down at Cornforth. 1754. — Boring operations were in progress on Holmside Common. 1755. — Boring operations were in progress from the surface at Ushaw Moor, but were not continued deep enough to find workable coal ; boring operations were being carried on at Fugar House in the parish of Lamesley. 1756. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Witton Castle, Witton-le-Wear ; a boring was put down in an old pit at Pelton, from the thill of the Main Coal Seam, proving the Low Main Seam. 1758. — Boring operations were in progress at Foulbridge and in the neighbourhood of Beamish, and were commenced in Felling grounds and on the Biddick estate. 1759. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the neighbourhood of Westoe, South Shields. The Mount Pit, Beamish South Moor Col- liery, was sunk. 1760. — A series of boring operations from the surface was in progress in the vicinity of Washington, proving the Main Coal Seam. 1762. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Tanfield Moor. 1763. — A boring was put down below the Brass Thill Coal Seam in Edge Pit, on Beamish South Moor, 25 January. Boring operations from the surface were in progress at Shildon, near Durham ; at Heworth, to the depth of the High Main Seam ; and on 9 42 A HISTORY OF DURHAM the east part of Lanchester Common, called Pontop Pike. 1764. — A series of bore-holes from the sur- face was put down on the Witton Castle estate. Mention is made of a pit, known as Fortune Pit, Tanfield Moor, and also of the Cap Pit. 1765. — A boring was put down at Kip Hill, near Beamish. Boring operations from the surface were being carried out by T. Rawlings on the Thornley estate ; in the vicinity of West Auckland, by Thomas and G. Rawlings ; and in the Gares- field grounds, near Winlaton, for the owners of Thornley Colliery. 1767. — Some deep borings were in progress at Pallion, near Sunderland, and a bore-hole put down at Pelton Fell from the surface, proving the Hutton Seam, near Howlet Hall. 1769. — Boring operations were in progress from the surface on the Low Flatts estate at South Pelaw in the township of Harraton, and on Lanchester Common, proving the Brass Thill Seam. 1771. — A boring was made from the Hard Coal Seam (north of Broom Pit) to the Hutton Seam. 1772. — Boring operations were commenced at Hetton le Hole. 1773. — A boring was made for water for Sir Walter Blackett’s refining mill. 1774. — Commenced to sink a pit at New- bottle, 10 August, from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. 1776. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress on the southern extremity of Waldridge Common, proving the Hutton Seam. A pit was sunk at Lumley Park Colliery below the thill of the Top Main Coal down to the Low Main Seam, and the No. 2 Pit, Lumley Park, was sunk down from the Top Main Coal to the Hutton Seam. 1777. — Boring operations were in progress in an old pit at Quarrington, working a seam at a depth of 23 fathoms, to find a lower seam. 1779. — Boring operations were being carried on at Blaydon Colliery by Andrew Wake. 1781. — Boring operations from the surface were commenced in vicinity of Wolsingham, for the use of Messrs. Pearson, Wright & Todd, and on the Chopwell estate. 1782. — Boring operations were in progress at Newton Cap from the surface, proving the Five Quarter Seam. 1783. — Boring operations were in progress in the neighbourhood of Boggle Hall, Stella. 1784. — A boring was put down below the Hard Coal Seam, South Pit, Beamish South Moor. 1785. — A bore-hole, proving three thin seams in a depth of 1 1 fathoms, was put down in the east working of the Oak Tree Pit, Grand Lease royalty. 1787. — Boring operations were in progress at Kelloe from the surface to Five Quarter Seam ; a bore-hole was put down from the thill of the Main Coal Seam in a pit at Ryton, a little north- east of the Glebe or Towneley Colliery, which proved the Crow, Old Five Quarter, and Ruler Seams. 1790. — A boring was put down in the South Pit, Fast Rainton, by Mr. Rawlings, from a seam lying 10 fathoms below the surface, and proving the Half Yard, Five Quarter, and Main Coal Seams. 1791. — C Pit, Bournmoor Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. A bore-hole was put down at the bottom of the shaft in the Fifth Pit, Lumley Colliery, below the level of the Main Coal Seam, to prove the Hutton Seam. 1792. — The Lambton Pit, Penshaw Colliery, was commenced and sunk from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. 1795. — A deep bore-hole was put down m the Maria Pit, Chopwell Colliery, below the Brockwell Seam. The A Pit, Stella Grand Lease Colliery, commenced to sink on 7 October, and was put down from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A staple was sunk from the surface at Twizell, near Edmondsley, proving four thin seams. 1796. — Crawford’s Elizabeth Pit, Crawcrook, was sunk from the surface to the Five Quarter Coal. 1797. — Boring operations from surface were in progress in vicinity of Tow Law. 1798. — Taylor Pit, Chopwell Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Three Quarter Seam. The Engine Pit, Tyne Main Colliery, bored below the thill of the Low Main Seam, proving the Beaumont and Denton Low Main. Ash Tree Colliery, Garesfield, was sunk from the surface to the Stone Coal Seam. 1799. — A boring was put down below the Hutton Seam, Engine Pit, Twizell Colliery. Conclusion Pit, Chopwell Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Three Quarter Seam. 330 INDUSTRIES 1800. — A boring was put down below the Hutton Seam at the bottom of the Law Pit on Lanchester Common, near Harelaw, proving the Busty Bank Seam, and boring operations by George Rawlings were in progress from the surface in the vicinity of White Mare Pool, in the township of Heworth. North Pit, Chopwell Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. 1801. — Commenced to sink the Alfred Pit, Jarrow Colliery ; sunk from surface to Main Coal Seam. A boring was put down in the First Pit, Garesfield Colliery, proving the Brockwell Seam ; boring operations were in progress on the Old Durham estate, proving the Hutton Seam. 1802. — Penny Hill Pit, Chopwell Colliery, was sunk from surface to the Brockwell Seam. A boring was put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam at South Birtley, and one by George Rawlings from the thill of the Main Coal Seam to prove the Busty Bank Seam in the Marley Hill Pit. 1803. — At the Stargate New Winning Pit, Grand Lease Colliery, near Ryton, sinking was begun 16 June, and was put down from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. 1804. — Boring operations were in progress at Stobbs Hill Pit, Lumley Colliery, below the thill of the Main Coal Seam, to prove the Hutton Seam, and from the surface in the vicinity of Twizell, near Edmondsley, proving the thickness and extent of the sand-beds. 1805. — The B Pit, Grand Lease Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Five Quarter Seam. As walling was put in the shaft at the Grand Lease Main Coal and also at the Five Quarter Seam, these two upper seams may be considered as having been worked out hereabouts by this period. 1806. — A bore-hole was put down at Salt- wellside for Messrs. Chapman by Andrew Wake on Mr. Barrass’ land for the use of the lord of the manor, from the surface, proving the Beau- mont Seam. 1810. — A boring was in progress at Jarrow Colliery to find lower coal seams ; in the Law Pit, Lanchester Common, below the Hutton Seam, which proved the Busty Bank Seam ; and boring operations were in progress on Hardwick estate. 1811. — Began to sink Dorothea Pit, New- bottle Colliery, in July ; finished and reached Hutton Seam in March, 1816. One of the first sinkings to prove the existence of a coalfield underneath the overlying Magnesian Limestone was that at Haswell, carried out by Dr. William Smith about this time. Little more was done in working the hidden portion of the coalfield until another twenty-five years or so had elapsed. 1813. — A series of borings was in progress at Manor, Wallsend, near South Shields, to prove the depth and thickness of the sand-beds in this vicinity. 1814. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of South Shields, and in the Elizabeth Pit, Newbottle Colliery, from the thill of the Maudlin Seam, in search of the Hutton Seam. 1815. — Boring operations from surface were in progress at Usworth, and a bore-hole was com- menced at Framwellgate Head on 18 February. 1816. — Commenced to sink the Resolution Pit, Rainton Colliery, 9 January ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations on 2 May, 1819. Started to sink the Adventure Pit, Rainton Colliery, on 9 January, and reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations on 6 July, 1817. 1817. — Commenced to sink the Plain Pit, Rainton Colliery, on 13 September, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Nicholson Pit, Rainton Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam about this time. Commenced to sink the Hunter Pit, Rainton Colliery, 15 September, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. 1818. — A boring was put down below the Hutton Seam at Kepier Colliery ; nothing was found. Commenced on i October to sink the No. i Pit in Spennymoor Close, Washington New Colliery ; it was put down from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. The Hazard Pit, Rainton Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam about this time. 1819. — A boring was put down below the Low Main Seam, Derwent Crook Colliery, Gateshead, proving the Beaumont and Lower Coal Seams. A boring was started below the Hutton Seam in Boundary Pit, Harraton Outside Colliery, and a deep bore-hole was put down in the Third Pit, Lumley Colliery, below the thill of the Hutton Seam, to prove the lower coals, which proved most disappointing as to their thickness and quality. 1820. — Engine or Blossom Pit, Hetton Col- liery, was sunk from surface to Main Coal Seam. 331 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Commenced to sink at Pittington Colliery, below the Five Quarter Seam down to the Main Coal Seam. Commenced sinking in the Minor Pit, Hetton Colliery, below the Main Coal Seam, down to the Hutton Seam. 1821. — Boring operations were commenced at Thrushwood, near Evenwood. Borings were put down from the thill of the High Main Seam to below the Low Main Seam at the C Pit, Hebburn Colliery ; at Pittington Colliery, below the thill of the High Main to the Maudlin Seam ; from the bottom of the Adolphus Pit, North Pittington Colliery, proving the Three Quarter and Five Quarter Seams ; and in the North Pit, Rainton Colliery, below the thill of the Low Main Seam, to prove the Hutton Seam. Commenced to sink the A and B Pits, Spring- well Colliery, 8 May ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations, 24 February, 1824. E or Deep Pit, Jarrow Colliery, was sunk from the High Main to the Low Main Seam. The Staple Pit, Pontop Pike Colliery, was sunk below the Brass Thill to the Hutton Seam. The Meadows West Pit, West Rainton, was commenced on i June, and reached the Hutton Seam, and finished sinking on 12 June, 1824. 1822. — A boring was put down 205 yards south from Towneley shaft by Howden Pickering to prove the Main Coal Seam. 1 823. — The Alexandria Pit, Rainton Colliery, was commenced on 22 October, and reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations on 4 August, 1824. A bore-hole was put down below the Main Coal Seam in the High Pit at Ferryhill, and bor- ing operations by Coulson were in progress in the vicinity of Dalden Ness Point, near Seaham, at the site of the intended harbour. Began to sink Houghton Colliery, belonging to the earl of Durham, 29 April ; finished sump below the Hutton Seam in April, 1827. 1824. — The Ouston B Pit was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. A bore-hole was put down at this colliery at the bottom of the staple sunk below the thill of the Hutton Seam, proving the Harvey Seam ; boring operations were in progress on High Downs estate, Hetton, on the Nunstainton estate, and at Brandon. A staple was sunk in the Black Fell Water Drift in the Centre Pit, Team Colliery, from the Six Quarter down to below the Low Main Seam. This pit was used for many years as the upcast furnace shaft to ventilate the whole of the extensive workings of the Team Colliery. sink on 23 May, and was put down to the Hutton Seam. A bore-hole was put down in the Pittington Old Lansdale Pit worked by Croudace, Hudson, and others, proving the Low Main, Brass Thill, and Hutton Seams, and one was put down below the High Main Seam, Manor Wallsend Colliery, to prove the Yard Coal and Bensham Seam. The Church or New Engine Pit, Manor Wallsend, now called Saint Hilda Colliery, South Shields, was sunk from the surface to the Harvey Seam, 1826. — Boring operations were commenced at Etherley, and on Deanery estate, near Bishop Auckland. A series of borings from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of West Auckland Colliery, to prove the depth and extent of the sand-bed. Commenced to sink Mr. Russell’s Moorsley Winning on 19 April, from the surface to the Hutton Seam ; finished sinking operations on 28 May, 1828. Commenced to sink from the surface the Lon- donderry Pit, North Pittington Colliery, 3 April ; reached Hutton Seam and finished sinking ope- rations on 19 June, 1828. 1827. — A pit was sunk at Coxhoe Colliery below the Five Quarter Seam down to the Main Coal Seam, and a boring put down to the level of the Brockwell Seam. A bore-hole was commenced in Quarrington Colliery from the thill of the Main Coal Seam, proving the Hutton Seam. This boring was con- tinued in 1827, proving the Harvey Seam, but nothing except thin and worthless coals below it. The Borehole Pit, Coxhoe Colliery, recom- menced sinking down to the Harvey Seam on 30 June, and was sunk 1 1 fathoms past the Harvey Seam, but was stopped on 14 January, 1830, without meeting with workable coal. 1828. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the neighbourhood of Sher- burn, near Durham, proving the Five Quarter Seam ; a series of borings was started on Sir P. Musgrave’s estate, near Saint Helen’s Auckland, from surface, proving the Main Coal or Brock- well Seam, and borings were put down below the thill of the Stone Coal Seam in the Little Pit at Winlaton, by Thomas Cheeseman and Partners, on Great Chilton estate, and at Knitsley, where nothing was found worth working. Whickham Pit, Coundon Colliery, sunk. 1829. — Northern Pit, Eldon Colliery, com- menced to sink on 20 August, and was put down to the Main Coal Seam. A bore-hole was put up over from the Main Coal at Copley Bent, Butterknowle, January. 1825. — George Pit, Elemore Colliery, was 1830. — Commenced on 3 March, to sink the sunk. Jane Pit, near Great Eppleton, began to Engine shaft, Tanfield Lea Colliery ; reached 332 INDUSTRIES the Main Coal Seam and finished sinking opera- tions on 25 November, 1831. Commenced on 24 March to sink the Engine Pit at Saint Helen’s Auckland Colliery from surface to the Brockwell Seam. The Flushie Mere No. 2 Lead Mine Shaft in the township of Forest and Frith was sunk from the surface down to the Great Limestone. Boring operations were in progress in the vi- cinity of Shildon Lodge, on the estate of Robert Surtees, esq. The Dor Whitfield Pit, Penshaw Colliery, was commenced on 30 October, and sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Shildon Engine Pit, near Durham, was sunk from the surface to the Maudlin Coal, here lying immediately below the Main Coal Seam. 1831. — Commenced to sink the Engine Pit, South Hetton Colliery, i March, from the sur- face to the Hutton Seam. The Lord Lambton and Lady Alice Pits sunk at Littletown from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Sunk the Emma Pit, Saint Helen’s Auckland Colliery, from the surface to the Yard Coal or Harvey Seam. Commenced to sink the New Winning at El- don or South Durham Colliery, December ; put down a little way below the Main Coal Seam. The Engine Pit, Haswell Colliery, was com- menced on 28 February and got down through 54 ft. of sand, when the pit was lost. A sinking was put down from the surface at Shildon by Robert Surtees, esq., to a thin seam about 26 fathoms below surface, the colliery and coal being known as Royal Shildon Wallsend. A new pit was sunk at Urpeth Colliery by William Coulson, about 700 yds. north of the Engine Pit, and put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The new D Pit, Penshaw Colliery, was com- menced and sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. 1832. — A sinking was made below the Main Coal Seam in the Corving Pit, Witton Park Colliery ; no workable seams met with. Commenced to sink at Thrushwood near Evenwood. The Water Pit, Beamish Colliery, was com- menced on 7 February. 1833. — The Engine Pit, Littletown Colliery, was sunk from surface to the Hutton Seam. Boring operations from surface by George Rawlings Maddison were in progress in the vicinity of Evenwood and at Crook Hall, and a boring was put down from the surface (but near a drift working the Yard Coal Seam) at Storey Lodge, in the township of Evenwood, proving the Five Quarter and Main Coal Seams. New Engine Pit was commenced at Haswell Colliery in July, and sunk down to the Hutton Seam ; bored further to below the Beaumont Seam in 1840. 1834. — Borings were put down below the Hutton Seam at Beamish South Moor Colliery Second Pit, from the surface at Corie, proving the Low Main Seam, and at the bottom of the old pit at Witton Park Colliery, below the thill of the Brockwell Seam, by Sir William Chaytor, bart. This hole proved two thin workable coal seams hereabouts. A staple was sunk from the Bensham Seam to the Hutton Seam in the Manor Wallsend Col- liery. Boring operations were commenced at Brus- selton, also on Little Chilton estate, and to sup- posed Low Main Seam at Cornforth. The Providence Pit at Gordon Gill, in the township of Barony, was sunk. Deanery Colliery, near Bishop Auckland, began to sink on 4 February, and was put down to Five Quarter Seam. 1835. Commenced on 2 June to sink the North or Engine Pit, Woodhouse Close Colliery (in the township of St. Andrew’s Auckland), from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. The Stella Freehold Pit, on the south side of the Ninety Fathom Dyke, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. . Boring operations were started from the sur- face at Thrislington, proving down to the Bottom Hutton Seam. Commenced on 26 March to sink the Cathe- rine Pit, St. Helen’s Colliery, Auckland, from the surface to the Main Coal or Brockwell Seam. Boring operations commenced in the vicinity of Ferryhill. Copy Crooks Colliery, near Bishop Auckland, was sunk from the surface to the Main Coal or Brockwell Seam. The East and West Pits, Sherburn Hill Colliery, were sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The first cargo of coal was shipped from the Bensham Seam, Monkwearmouth Colliery, on 14 June. This seam was met with 1,590 ft. below the surface, and the workings were gradu- ally developed till a yearly produce of 40,000 or 50,000 tons was obtained, the winding engine of 66 h.-p., aided by a heavy counter-balance, being able to raise about 300 tons in twelve hours. But in 1836 the current expenditure considerably exceeded the amount received for coal ; in 1837 the colliery was exempted by an arbitrator from the payment of poor rates on account of its unprofitable condition, and several experienced viewers gave it as their opinion that the undertaking never had been, and was not then, of any value to let. A better day, how- ever, soon began to dawn for it ; the superior 333 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Hutton Seam being discovered at a lower level, such an impulse was given to the prospects of the undertaking that it was transferred for a sum close upon ,^90,000, followed up by an expenditure of ;^20,000 more in the sinking and fitting up of a consort pit as a winding shaft, and in 1846 the Hutton Seam was reached at a depth of 1,722 ft. 1 836. — Boring operations were in progress on Harton estate. A boring was commenced at Easington, but was lost in the sand-bed. Engine Pit, Coxhoe Colliery, commenced to sink on 4 April, and was put down below the Beaumont or Harvey Seam ; borings were begun at Coaly Field, near Thornley and Hedleyhope, and were in progress in the Roddymoore royalty, near Crook ; from the surface in the Old Park royalty ; from the surface in the neighbourhood of South Hetton Colliery ; on the Whitwell Grange estate from the surface, proving the Hutton Seam ; from the surface on the Thick- ley estate, proving the Brockwell Seam ; and at Cassop from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. Sinking operations were commenced at North Pit, Kelloe Colliery, and the shaft sunk to the Harvey Seam. Commenced on 2 May to sink from the sur- face the A Pit, Whitwell Colliery. Got the Hutton Seam on 21 June, 1837. Belmont Colliery commenced shipping coal at Sunderland, and West Hetton Colliery coals were shipped on the Wear. In this year two large coal companies were formed in the county of Durham, and to this was due the sinking of a large number of new collieries. The Durham County Coal Company, the prospectus of which is dated 23 May, 1836, was started with a capital of ^^500,000, and leased royalties at Whitworth, Byers Green, Gordon, Evenwood, and Coxhoe. In the following year (1837) the Northern Coal Mining Company was formed, with a capital also of ;^5 00,000, and commenced opera- tions in 1838, leasing royalties at Framwellgate Moor, Willington, &c. At first there was a scramble for the shares in these two undertakings, but within a very few years both failed, the first- named company losing nearly the whole of its subscribed capital, and the latter not only its original capital, but an additional sum of an equal amount. 1837. — Blaydon Main Colliery was won, also Burnopside Colliery, Lanchester, and the Main Coal was reached at South Tanfield Colliery. Woodhouse Close Colliery, near Bishop Auck- land, was sunk to the Low Main Seam at a depth of 444 ft. At Crowtree Colliery, Wallsend, the Five Quarter Seam was won ; Whitwell Colliery, Durham, was won to the Hutton Seam at a depth of 354 ft. Boring operations were in progress from the surface in the vicinity of Lobley Hill, Farnacres Colliery, and found the Hutton Seam worked out ; also by W. Coulson from the surface on Tudhoe estate, proving the Brockwell Seam ; at Farewell Hall, near Croxdale, from the surface ; from the surface on the South Willington and Hunwick royalties, proving the Main Coal or Brockwell Seam ; at Burn Hall, near Durham ; on the Framwellgate Moor Royalty, and at Fishburn. Commenced on i February to sink Martin Charlton’s Pit, Whitworth estate. The westernmost of the shafts of the Skears Mine, Middleton-in-Teesdale, was sunk down from the surface to the Three Posts Limestone. South Tanfield Colliery, in Kyo estate, was sunk from the surface to the Five Quarter Seam. Started to sink the ShinclifFe Colliery, 1 1 Sep- tember ; shafts were put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam ; a shaft was also sunk on the Whitworth Royalty; and Garmondsway Moor Colliery, near Ferryhill, was sunk. A sinking, 20 fathoms deep, was put down in the Stella freehold, 500 yds. east of the Gate Pit. 1838. — The sinking of the Murton Colliery was commenced in the early part of the year, under the supervision of Mr. Edward Potter, for Colonel Bradyll and Partners, forming the South Hetton Coal Company — two pits, each 14 ft. in diameter, being carried forward simultaneously at a spot where it had been ascertained by boring that the limestone was 456 ft. thick, and the bed of sand beneath 30 to 35 ft. thick. The water encountered on piercing the limestone was tubbed off", so that immediately previous to the sand being reached the shaft was free from water. On the first shaft approaching the quicksand on 26 June, 1839, the bottom of the pit blew up like a blast, and a deluge of sand and water was thrown up and rose to a height of 1 00 ft. On the other pit nearing the sand on 23 May, 1840, the feeders broke away, the sinkers having great difficulty in saving themselves, and the column of water rose I20ft. in the shaft in a very short time. The water now amounted to 3,285 gallons per minute, and the engine power being inadequate, operations were brought to a standstill on 26 June. A third shaft, 18^ ft. in diameter, was started in July, 1840, and reached the sand in January, 1841, being pushed forward with all expedition. Then the sinking of all the three shafts through the sand was commenced, the total engine power available being 1,604 h.-p., 27 sets of pumps and 39 boilers being employed, and this power draw- ing 9,306 gallons of water per minute. The scouring action of the sand and water on the buckets and working parts greatly impeded the 334 INDUSTRIES work, the buckets being frequently worn out at the end of two or three hours. For some time the cost of the leather required for the buckets amounted to 5r. per hour, and three tan- yards were kept in operation to supply it. Some relief was obtained by resorting to the expedient of thrusting in straw behind the backing deals so as to form a filter to restrain the sand, and when all the available straw had been exhausted, stacks of corn were next put into requisition. At length, all the shafts were successively carried through the sand, and the whole of the water tubbed off by cast-iron tubbing, and the Hutton Seam reached on 15 April, 1843, ^ depth of 1,483 ft. The cost of this remarkable sinking is variously estimated, but it is calculated that between ^^250,000 and ^400,000 was spent, principally in consequence of the difficulties experienced in passing through sand only a few yards in thick- ness. Cornforth Colliery, near Coxhoe, was won, the shipment of coal at Hartlepool commencing in the following year. West Auckland Colliery was won. Boring operations were in progress from the surface on the Newfield Royalty, proving the Busty and Brockwell Seams. A sinking, 34 fathoms deep, was finished in April, in Stella township. North Ryton. The Kyo or South Tanfleld Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Five-Quarter Seam. Framwellgate Moor old pit was commenced on 5 January, and was put down to the Busty Seam. Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Crook Hall, also in the vicinity of Witton Gilbert, near Durham, proving the Busty Seam ; in the vicinity of Wheatbottom and Jobs Hill, near Crook, Peases West Collieries ; in the vicinity of Westerton Colliery, proving the Main Coal Seam ; on Hownes Gill Royalty, near Knitsley, below the horizon of the Brockwell Seam ; at Sacriston from the surface, proving the Main Coal Seam ; at Cockfield, and on Greencroft estate. The B Pit, Whitwell Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Murton Colliery, East Pit, was commenced on 19 February, and put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam. A sinking was commenced on 10 December from the surface at New Acres, near Moor Edge, South Moor Colliery, upon Lanchester Common Royalty, and put down to the Busty Bank Seam. Sinking was started in Kelloe freehold from the surface to below the Brass Thill Seam. 1839. — Commenced on 23 November to sink the Harelaw Pit, Pontop Colliery, from the sur- face to the Hutton Seam. A bore-hole was put down at Stella from the surface to prove the Stella Freehold Top or Five Quarter Seam, south-west of shaft ; on the Hunwick Royalty ; from the surface on the Pagebank estate. The Engine Pit, Axwell Park and Whickham Royalty, was sunk from the surface to the Main Coal Seam, and a deep boring continued lower. The Lord Pit, Wingate Grange Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam, and a boring continued lower, proving the Harvey Seam. Boring operations were recommenced on the Nunstainton estate. The Whitworth Park Pit was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Boring operations were in progress on Newfield estate from the surface, proving the Busty and Brockwell Seams ; from the surface on the Wil- lington estate in the vicinity of Sunnybrow House, proving the Brockwell Seam ; from the surface on the Willington estate in the neigh- bourhood of Bowden Close, proving the Brock- well Seam ; from the surface on Mr. G. Wil- kinson’s estate, near Crook, at Mawn Meadows, to prove the Brockwell Seam ; for the extended new winning at Boldon ; on Hardwick estate by William Coulson ; and in West Edmondsley estate. Commenced on 30 September to sink the Tanfield Lea New Colliery (600 yds. west of former pit) from the surface to the Five Quarter Seam. South Tanfield Colliery was sunk below the Five Quarter to the Brass Thill Seam. The William Pit, Craghead Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Stockerley House Pit, Crook Hall Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. Iveston Colliery, near Shotley Bridge, was won, and Medomsley Colliery commenced working. Garmondsway Moor Colliery shipped its first coal. Sacriston Colliery was opened. A seam of coal was won at Shincliffe Colliery. 1840. — Shotton Colliery was begun by the Haswell Coal Company and reached a fine seam of coal in 1850, after an expenditure of over P^I20,000. A company was organized to supply Newcas- tle, Gateshead, North and South Shields, Sun- derland and Bishopwearmouth with natural gas from Wallsend Colliery, and gas pipes were laid to Carville station on the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, and several lights were lighted in the evening, but the illuminating power was so low that the experiment proved a failure and the enterprise was abandoned.®^ Cassop Colliery shipped its first coal at Har- tlepool. Andrews House Colliery commenced shipping coals at Shields. Proc. Inst. Mech. Engl. 1849, p. 35. 335 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Boring operations from the surface were in progress at Shincliffe Colliery, near Durham ; a bore-hole was put down from the surface a quarter of a mile south of Hartbushes Farm House for the owners of Rodridge Colliery, by W. Coulson ; a boring was put down below the Hutton Seam at Andrews House South Pit on 26 October ; and boring operations were finished on 8 August at the Stella Freehold or Bog Pit ; no workable coal was found. East Edmondsley Pit was sunk from the sur- face to the Main Coal Seam. A sinking was commenced on 2 1 January and put down from the surface to the Five Quarters Coal, Westerton Colliery, and afterwards down to the Main Coal, as soon as the pump and engines were set to work, about 1 1 fathoms further. Belmont Colliery Furnace Pit sunk. The Big Pit, White Lee Colliery, was put down from the surface to the Main Coal Seam, and a boring continued further to prove the thickness of the lower coals. The Lodge Pit, Marley Hill Colliery, was commenced on 9 January, and put down from the surface to the Busty Bank Seam. West Cornforth or Thrislington Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. Boring operations commenced on Houghall estate, near Durham. Commenced to sink the West Pit, Murton Colliery, on 6 July ; this shaft went down to the Hutton Seam, but was not finished until 17 February, 1847. A bore-hole was put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam at Littleburn. Commenced to sink the Murton Middle Pit. Commenced on 18 November to sink the North Pit, Shotton Colliery, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Two shafts were sunk down to the Hutton Seam on the Greencroft estate. Boring operations were commenced in the vicinity of Garmondsway Moor Colliery ; a bore-hole was put down to the Beaumont Seam from the thill of the Low Main Seam in the John Pit, Felling Colliery ; and boring opera- tions were in progress at Nettlesworth. Frankland Park Pit, near Framwellgate, be- longing to the earl of Durham, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. A staple was sunk from the Five Quarter Seam to the Three Quarter Seam, Derwent Milkwell Burn Colliery, near Chopwell. Wheels Pit, Farnacres Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam ; commenced to sink lower to Brockwell Seam on 4 April, 1842. Maria Pit, Castle Eden Colliery, commenced to sink, September. Byers Green sinking commenced in January from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Boring operations were in progress at Holborn, near Ryton. 1841. — Brancepeth Park Colliery was sunk from the surface to supposed Harvey Seam. Framwellgate Moor Colliery was completed. This sinking was remarkable for the great amount of piling employed to carry the shaft through alluvial strata 120 ft. in depth. The excavation was commenced at the surface with a diameter of 30 ft., which, by the introduction of succes- sive tiers of piles, was reduced to diameter at the stone head.®® Westerton Colliery commenced shipping coal. Whitworth Park Colliery was won to the Hut- ton Seam at a depth of 516 ft. and at a cost of ,000 by the Durham County Coal Company. Coal was won at North Biddick Colliery. Sinking was commenced at Harton Colliery, 10 May, and on 10 July, 1844, •^he Bensham Seam was sunk through at a depth of 1,290 ft., being the greatest depth reached in the Tyne district. The shaft was a single one and divided into two by a timber brattice, and is remarkable for the cast-iron tubbing required, which extends to a length of 474 ft. owing to a fault met with in the shaft in sinking. Owing to this fault, one of the sinking sets reached the abnormal length of 474 ft. The royalty was of unusual magnitude, comprising an area of 9,000 acres, being the most extensive in the trade. A bore-hole was put down below the Hutton Seam, proving lower coals in the A Pit, Whit- well Colliery. A sinking was put down from surface to the Hutton Seam on Houghall estate by the Elvet Coal Company. Boring operations were in progress on Bitch- burn estate. Commenced to sink the William Pit, Tyne Main Colliery, 14 January, from the surface to the Low Main Seam, and on 18 September commenced to sink the Ninth Pit, Lumley Colliery, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Commenced to sink Gibson’s Pit, Newfield Colliery, and put a sinking down from the surface to the Brockwell Seam, Commenced to sink Rodridge or South Win- gate Colliery from the surface, proving the lowest coals. Harton Pit commenced sinking 10 May; finished the sump on 24 July, 1844 ; sank from the surface to the Six Quarter Seam. New winning sunk at Eldon Colliery from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. A series of borings was put down on the Sherburn estate to prove the thickness of the sand-bed and its depth. 1841. — Marley Hill Colliery, which appears to have been abandoned by the Grand Allies in Greenwell, Min. Engineering. 336 INDUSTRIES 1815, as unprofitable, was re-established by a company consisting of Messrs. J. Bowes, W. Hunt, N. Wood, and C. M. Palmer, for the manufacture of coke. 1842. — Kibblesworth Colliery commenced shipping coal and Oakwellgate Colliery, Gates- head, was won. A staple at the back end of the Beams Wheels Pit, Farnacres Colliery, was sunk from the sur- face to the Hutton Seam. A boring was put down below the thill of the Five Quarter Seam in the south-west district of Thornley Colliery, to prove the High Main Seam. A 10 ft. shaft was sunk at Leasingthorne Colliery from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. Boring operations were in progress at Kibbles- worth to prove the Hutton Seam south of the village. A staple was put down from the surface to the Harvey Seam at Trimdon Colliery. The George Pit, Cornforth Colliery, was abandoned, having nothing but dip coal, which was dipping about 12 in. to the yard to the north. Boring operations were carried on at Crook Bank, near Marley Hill, and in the Frankland estate, and were also commenced on the Grange estate, near Durham, by William Coulson. A bore-hole was put down below the level of the Five Quarter Seam, proving the Low Main and Hutton Seams. Houghall Colliery and Brancepeth Colliery commenced shipping coal. The High Main Seam being abandoned and tubbed off at Tyne Main Colliery in this year, an arrangement was entered into with the owners of Felling, Walker, Wallsend, Willington and Heaton Collieries, under which they contributed to the cost of keeping the large pumping engine at Friar’s Goose at work to prevent the water from passing to the dip. The quantity of water raised by the engine at Friar’s Goose Pit in 1849 amounted to 1,170 gallons per minute.®^ Castle Eden Colliery reached the Hutton Seam. 1843. — Trimdon Colliery and South Wingate Colliery commenced shipping coal. Coal was won at High Bitchburn Colliery, Crook, and Grange Colliery, Durham, was won. The Hobson Pit, Tanfield Moor Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Commenced to sink the Engine Pit, near Gingling Gate, Twizell Colliery, from the sur- face in March ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations in April, 1844. A series of bore-holes was in progress at the Langley estate to prove the Hutton Seam. Boring operations were also carried on from the surface for water at Stanley, near Crook, and Min. Journ. xix, 363. in the vicinity of Luttrington, in the township of Auckland Park. Commenced to sink on 8 June at Trimdon Colliery from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. New winning at Coxhoe Colliery was put down to the Five Quarter Coal Seam. Commenced on 1 1 September to sink the B Pit, Woodifield Colliery ; finished sinking operations on 8 November, 1843. 1844. — East Tanfield Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. A sinking was put down at Roddymoore by R. A. Heslop to work the Main Coal or Brock- well Seam. Brandon Colliery sunk, October. Commenced to sink Rodridge or South Win- gate Colliery from the bottom of the sump, 30 fathoms lower, but without finding any further workable coal. A series of borings were in operation on the Middlestone estate to prove the Main Coal Seam, also at Jobs Gate, near Crook, by George Stott, and from the surface on Urpeth estate. Began on 31 July to sink the Union Pit, Seaham and Seaton Colliery, from the surface to below the Hutton Seam. A series of borings in progress on the Newton Hall and Newton Grange estates from the surface, proved the Harvey and lower Coal Seams to be most disappointing and practically worthless. A bore-hole was put down below the thill of the Brockwell Seam, Whitworth Park Pit. Kepier Grange Pit, Durham, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A new winning was sunk on the Grange Royalty from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Coxhoe Colliery shipped its first coal. A seam of coal was won at Thrislington Colliery, near Ferryhill. A new colliery was commenced at Old Roddymoore, near Crook. 1845. — The Quaking House Pit, Shield Row Colliery, was sunk on the Lanchester Common Royalty from the surface to the Brass Thill Seam. Commenced on 1 7 March to sink the Emma Pit, Towneley Colliery ; the shaft was put down from the surface to below the Brockwell Seam. A boring was put down by G. and R. Stott below the thill of the Busty Seam, Framwellgate Colliery, proving the lower coals. Commenced to sink Usworth Colliery on 7 April ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations on 22 July, 1847. A bore-hole was put down below the Main Coal Seam, Trimdon Colliery, proving the Harvey Seam. North Bitchburn Colliery commenced to sink on 27 August, and was put down to the Brock- well Seam. 337 2 43 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Commenced to sink North Pit, Kepier Grange, in January, and shaft was put down to the Hutton Seam. Began on 25 May to sink Trimdon Grange Colliery from the surface to the Low Main Seam. The Royal George Pit, Cornsay Fell, near Tow Law, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Byers Green Colliery was re-opened. This colliery had been drowned out for two or three years. Bishop Middleham Colliery was won. The first coals were obtained at Croxdale Colliery. A new colliery was won at Job’s Hill, Crook. A new colliery was won at Paddock Myers, near to Evenwood Park. Chartershaugh Colliery was re-opened after having lain idle since being drowned out by the great flood on the River Wear in 1771. The Emma Pit, Towneley Colliery, Ryton, was commenced by the Stella Coal Company. Ludworth Colliery got coal at a depth of 840 ft. 1846. — Sunk the Merrington Colliery shafts, Whitworth estate, from the surface to the Brock- well Seam. Marshall Green Colliery was won. Ludworth Colliery commenced working. Commenced on 19 October to sink Peases West Sunnyside Colliery, near Crook, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A boring was begun at Butterknowle, west of High Copley Air Pit and Cow Close Colliery. Black Prince Pit on Cornsay Fell and Bishop Middleham Pit were sunk. Boring operations were in progress at Croxdale, and a bore-hole was put down in the Garmonds- way Moor Colliery to prove the coal lying below the Harvey Seam. 1847. — A bore-hole was put down from the bottom of the Black Bands, near the mouth of Greenhead Ironstone Drift, to prove the thin coals lying below, and another was put down in the Phoenix Pit, Etherley Colliery, below the thill of the Main Coal Seam ; nothing was found. A series of boring operations from the surface was in progress in the neighbourhood of St. Helen’s, Auckland, and on Burnhope estate. A boring was put down out of the Main Coal Seam (Brockwell) workings to prove the thickness of the ironstone bands lying below, in the B Pit, Woodifield Colliery. 1848. — Sunk the Old Durham Colliery, near to Shincliflfe Mill, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Boring operations from the surface were in progress on Thistle Flatt estate, near Crook, proving the Brockwell Scam. The Sunderland Water Company bored down to the sand-bed below the Magnesian Limestone on Humbledon Hill. 1849. — Broke ground on 13 April in the Seaham Colliery sinking ; shaft put down from the surface to the Busty Seam. A new colliery was opened on the Old Dur- ham estate by the marquis of Londonderry. Houghton Colliery recommenced working after standing idle twelve years. 1850. — A staple was sunk in the Emma Pit workings, north-west of this shaft, from the Five Quarters down to the Brockwell Seam. A boring was put down below the thill of the Beaumont Seam in the Allerdene Shop Pit and below the Main Coal in the Vale Pit, Crow Trees Colliery, proving the Low Main Seam, as also below the bottom of the Main Coal Seam, West Hetton Colliery, proving the Low Main Seam. A sinking was put down from the surface on the Wheal Bottom estate, near Crook, for the Thistle Flatts owners. Recommenced on 2 December to sink the South Pit, Woodhouse Close Colliery, from a depth of 15 fathoms down to the Main Coal Seam. A working drift was driven out of Etherley Dene into the Main Coal Seam on 13 June. A boring was put down from the Towneley Seam to prove the Tilley Seam north-east of the Emma Pit shaft, Towneley Colliery. Burnhope Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. 1851. — A bore-hole was put down from the surface to the Harvey Seam, Thrislington Colliery, proving the Old Main Coal Seam as worked out. 1852. — Boring operations were in progress at Kepier Colliery to prove the Busty Seam. A boring was put down from the surface, near Mr. Cowen’s water-mill, proving the Five Quarters Seam in waste in Mr. Cowen’s Free- hold Pit, Stella. 1853. — A staple was sunk 350 yds. north- west from Stargate Pit shaft, Stella, from the Towneley to the Tilley Seam. The Victoria Pit on Cornsay Hill was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A new pit was sunk at Dipton Colliery along- side the Delight Pit from the surface to the Bottom Busty Seam, and another was started at Houghton Colliery to act as a furnace upcast shaft. Boring operations were in progress at Stanley, near Crook. A sinking was commenced from the surface on 14 April on the Page Bank estate, near the east boundary, and put down to the Brockwell Seam. A series of bore-holes were put down at Marshall Green Colliery, near Witton-le-Wear, 338 INDUSTRIES to prove the coals and local ironstone deposits lying below the Main Coal or Brockwell Seam. The Longwall method of working was adopted at Seaton Colliery. 1854. — Boring operations from surface were in progress on Tursdale estate, proving the Busty Seam. Woodhouse Close Colliery (otherwise called Tindale Colliery) in the township of St. Helen’s, Auckland, was sunk from the surface to the Yard Seam. Boring operations were in progress in Bearpark Royalty, near Witton Gilbert, on the Brancepeth estate, and at Ryhope to prove the thickness of the Magnesian Limestone. The New Hunwick shaft belonging to Mr. Par was sunk. 1855. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress at Shildon, near Durham, on Sir George Musgrave’s estate. Commenced to sink the Oakenshaw Colliery for Messrs. Straker and Love ; the shaft was put down from the surface through the Hutton to the Brockwell Seam. Commenced on 25 November to sink the C Pit, Whitwell Colliery ; reached the Main Coal Seam on 26 December, 1855, and Low Main Seam on 24 March, 1856. 1856. — Boring operations in progress at Green- head, near Burnhope. Etherley Dene [aliai Dabble Ducks) Engine Pit was sunk. Belmont Colliery commenced to sink below the Hutton Seam on 4 August. Boring operations were commenced at bottom of Vale Pit, Cassop Colliery, to prove the Hutton and Harvey Seams, and were in progress near Long Acre Farm, Ravensworth estate, to prove the Low Main Seam. A new pit was sunk at Kelloe and put down to the Main Coal Seam. A sinking was put down from the thill of the Hutton Seam at the B Pit, Oxclose Colliery, to the supposed Brockwell Seam, and a boring con- tinued by G. Stott. Peases West Brandon Colliery was sunk in October. 1857. — Sunk the Mary (or Second) Pit at Peases West Brandon Colliery from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. Boring operations from the surface were in progress in vicinity of Woodhouse Close Colliery by Mr. William Coulson ; on Bishop Close Farm, Old Park; in Sir C. J. Smythe’s Royalty, Brandon; at Biggin ; at Hett, and at Belmont Colliery. A 6 ft. staple was put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam at Handen Hold, West Pelton Colliery. The Ripley Engine shaft was sunk through the Great Limestone down to the Quarry Hazel. Commenced on 19 November to sink the Lyon’s Winning at Hetton-le-Hole to work the Main Coal and upper Seams. A new winning was sunk at Brandon from the surface to the Hutton Seam. A boring was also continued below down to the Brancepeth Seam. Commenced to sink the Margaret Upcast Pit, Newbottle Colliery, a few fathoms lower, 13 February, and then put down a boring to prove the lower coals. Sinking was begun at No. 2 or Upcast Pit, North Hetton Colliery, by William Coulson, 23 March ; the Hutton Seam was reached and sinking finished on 29 January, 1858. A boring was put down from the thill of the Busty Seam at Pelton Colliery, proving the Brockwell and lower seams. Commenced to sink the Lyon’s Winning, Newton Cap Colliery, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam, 19 November. Boring operations were commenced at Rowley Gillet in the township of Esh. In August, the Josephine Pit, Stanley Colliery, near Crook, was commenced and put down to the Brockwell Seam. Etherley Dene No. 2 shaft was sunk from the surface to the Main Coal. 1858. — Sunk a staple in the Engine Pit, St. Helen’s, Auckland, Colliery, below the thill of the Brockwell Seam. Boring operations were in progress at Spenny- moor. South Engine Pit, Elvet Landsale Pit, near Durham City, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Rough Lea Colliery, in the township of Hun- wick, was sunk from the surface to the Brock- well Seam. 1859. — Kettledrum Pit, West Stanley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The North and West Pits, Ryhope Colliery, were being sunk, coals first drawn on 7 February, i860. Shafts were put down to the Hutton Seam. Commenced to sink Barrington Pit, Newton Cap Colliery, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam, 21 October. Bishop Close Pit sunk from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. A bore-hole was put down out of the Busty Bank Seam, East Tanfield Colliery, to prove the Brockwell Seam. Tursdale Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. Staple and Wolf Pit were sunk below the Busty to the Brockwell Seam. Witton Pit, Charlaw Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Stockton and Darlington Railway Com- pany sunk a pit at Water House, Soho, Shildon, proving four seams of coal. 339 A HISTORY OF DURHAM 1860. — A new sinking was put down at Lumley Colliery, near Red Rose Farm House, at Chester-le-Street, to work the Hutton Seam. Commenced on 9 October to sink the Mary Pit, West Stanley Colliery, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. 1861. — Staple sunk from the Low Main to the Busty Seam, Framwellgate Colliery. Boring operations from the surface were in progress on the Wheatley Hill estate to prove the site for the proposed new winning. Nettlesworth new pit sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. 1862. — A bore-hole was put down below the Hutton Seam at Low Grange Colliery and boring operations were commenced at Etherley by William Coulson. Staple sunk in the Hazard Pit, Blaydon Main Colliery, from the Five Quarter Seam to the Brockwell Seam. In this year, the year or the great Hartley disaster, the law compelling each colliery to have at least two exits was passed, and second shafts were sunk at Sherif Hill and Towneley to meet the requirements of the new Act. 1863. — A sinking was made to the ‘German Bands ’ Seam of ironstone in the vicinity of Consett. Boring operations from the surface were in progress on South Medomsley Royalty, and also in Colonel Towneley’s property near Ryton by the Stella Coal Company, proving the supposed Three Quarter Seam. Commenced to sink on 8 July the Seventh Pit, East Stanley Colliery, and put shaft down from the surface to the Hutton Seam. 1864. — Boring operations from the surface by G. R. Stott were in progress in the neighbourhood of Burnhope Colliery, proving the Busty Bank Seam. The Ann Pit (13 ft. in diameter). South Medomsley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Sunk the Furnace Shaft, Shildon Lodge Colliery, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A 1 5 ft. shaft called the Harry Pit sunk at Eldon Colliery from the surface to below the Brockwell Seam. Cassop Colliery sunk from the Main Coal to the Harvey Seam, and boring continued down to the Brockwell Seam. Commenced on 7 November to sink Tudhoe Colliery ; sunk through the Brockwell Seam on 7 July, 1866. Boring operations were again commenced on the Nunstainton estate, and boring was in progress in Brancepeth Royalty. Sunk Wooley Pit, Peases West Collieries, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. 1865. — Sunk the D Pit, Urpeth Colliery, from the Hutton to the Busty Bank Scam. A boring was put down by Stott out of the Hutton Seam, near the bottom of Kibblesworth Pit, proving the Brockwell Seam. C Pit, Brancepeth Colliery, was sunk. Findon Hill Pit, Sacriston Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. Commenced a boring on 15 August at South Hetton Colliery below the thill of the Hutton Seam to prove the lower coals. 1866. — Boldon winning commenced to sink on 1 9 March down to the Hutton Seam. Boring operations were in progress on South Moor Royalty, from surface on Wigglesworth Farm, New Copley Colliery, proving the Brock- well Seam, and on the Manor House estate to prove the Brockwell and also any lower seams, and resulted in finding a workable Victoria Seam. Boring operations from the surface were also in progress at Manor House Colliery, near Lan- chester, proving the Brockwell Seam. Sunnyside Pumping shaft, Iveston Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam, and Esh Colliery down to the Main Coal Seam. Upcast shaft at Edmondsley Colliery was enlarged between the surface and the Hutton Seam. 1867. — Boring operations were in progress in Chopwell Woods, on Hamsteels Common, and by Coulson, from the surface in the neighbour- hood of Silksworth. Also commenced to bore below the Hutton Seam, ShinclifFe Colliery, on 21 June, to beyond the horizon of the Brockwell with disappointing results. Chopwell Bute Pit, Garesfield Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Pumping shaft, Brasside Colliery, sunk in May from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Mary Pit, Thrislington Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A boring was put down below the thill of the Busty Seam, Sunnyside Pit, Iveston Colliery, to prove the Brockwell Seam. Sunk a staple from the Main Coal to the Hutton Seam at Murton Colliery. Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Oaky Bank Quarry, near Evenwood, at Ushaw Moor, proving the Brockwell Seam, and at West Auckland Colliery, proving the Busty Bank Seam, with lower thin coals. Sunk the New Sunnyside Pits, Peases West Collieries, near Crook, from the surface to the Main Coal Seam. Another staple sunk below the Busty Seam, Tursdale Colliery, proving the lower coals. The Mary Pit, South Medomsley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. 340 INDUSTRIES In this year Mr. John Daglish, general manager of Earl Vane’s Collieries, organized a system of voluntary inspection by some of the workmen at the pits under his charge, a system that was rendered compulsory afterwards by the Act of 1887. 1868. — Sinking Taylor Pit, Hamsteels Colliery, from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. The John Pit, New Copley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Bewicke Main Colliery upcast shaft sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam, February. New winning sunk at Dipton Colliery from the surface to the Brass Thill Seam. Staple sunk at Hill Top Farm, near Tow Law, proving the Three Quarter and other Seams to Five Quarter Seam. The North Pit, Pelton Colliery, sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. 1869. — Rush Pit, Old Etherley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Harvey Seam. Wheatley Hill Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. Boldon Colliery sunk below the Hutton down to the Beaumont Seam. Brandon Colliery sunk from the Hutton down to the Main Coal Seam. The upcast shaft at Cocken Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Low Main Seam. Commenced to sink the No. I shaft at Silks- worth Colliery, 16 August ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations on 13 Jan- uary, 1873. The Weardale Iron Company commenced to sink the Tudhoe Grange Colliery on 5 May ; reached the Brockwell Seam and finished sinking operations on 2 September, 1870. 1870. — The quarries at Frosterley, working the Great Limestone, had a face of 17 fathoms’ depth under a baring of 5 fathoms. A staple was sunk from the Low Main to the Hutton Seam at Edmondsley Colliery. Commenced on 20 April to sink the Engineer Pit (12 ft. in diameter) at North Brancepeth or Littleburn Colliery from the surface to the Busty Seam. Boring operations from the surface were in pro- gress in the vicinity of Etherley Dene. Sunk the Eppleton New Winning from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Sunk Broompark Colliery from the surface to the Victoria Seam. Boring operations from the surface were in progress at Ushaw Moor, proving the Brockwell Seam. Commenced to sink from the surface the C Pit, South Tanfield Colliery ; reached the Main Coal or Hutton Seam on 22 July, 1871. Carr House Pit, Crook Hall Colliery, sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. A holing was made in the Main Coal Seam between Thornley and Wheatley Hill Collieries. 1871. — Boring operations from the surface in operation at Woodhouse, near Swalwell. Commenced to sink the Merchant Pit, North Brancepeth New Winning, 31 March ; a 10 ft. shaft put down from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Busty Bank Air Shaft, Urpeth Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Busty Bank Seam. 1872. — No. 2 shaft, Florence Pit, Kepier Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. The Pelton New Winning, Newfield, was commenced and sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. Cowen’s Pit, Blaydon Burn Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. Witton Pit, Charlaw Colliery, was sunk from the Hutton to the Busty Seam. No. I shaft, Chilton Colliery, was commenced on 29 February, and sunk to the Main Coal Seam. A series of borings was put down from the surface on the Holmside Royalty, proving the Hutton Seam and upper coals, and another series of bore-holes in the vicinity of Woodlands Colliery, proving the Brockwell Seam. Boring operations from the surface were also in progress in the vicinity of Crake Scar Colliery, Cockfield, and others by Coulson on the Winston estate, proving a coal seam 30 in. thick, lying just above the Gannister Beds. The thickness of the Magnesian Limestone worked at the Stanhope Quarry was 60 ft. with a baring of 10 ft., and of that worked at the Raisby Hill Quarry was i o fathoms, with a baring of 8 ft. Commenced to sink the New Pit, Trimdon Grange Colliery, from the surface to the Busty Seam. East Howie Colliery commenced to sink and was put down to the Brockwell Seam. In this year there were seventeen Guibal ventilators at work in South Durham alone. Air compressing plant was erected at Ryhope and at North Hetton Collieries for working under- ground machinery, coal-cutters, &c. 1873. — A bore-hole was put down below the thill of the Hutton Seam, Kettledrum Pit, West Stanley Colliery, to the Busty Bank Seam. Inkermann Colliery, Dan’s Castle Royalty, was sunk from the surface to the Main Coal or Brockwell Seam, and the Oswald Pit, Holmside Royalty, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Commenced on 7 October to sink the upcast shaft at the Lady Durham Pit, Sherburn Colliery, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. Commenced on 29 May to put a diamond boring down on the Elstob estate for the earl of 341 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Eldon through the Magnesian Limestone, prov- ing the lower measures. Boring operations were being carried out from the surface in the vicinity of Westoe, South Shields, at Elwick, on the Whitworth estate, proving the Busty Seam, and by Coulson in the vicinity of Langley Park for the Consett Iron Company for a proposed new winning to work the Busty Seam, also on the Whitworth estate, near Durham, near the Whitwell Colliery, proving the Low Main Seam, and on the Whit- burn estate Shield Row Colliery was sunk. The No. 2 Pit, Axwell Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. 1874. — A diamond bore-hole was put down at Ryal, near Sedgefield, for the Weardale Coal Company. Redheugh Colliery, Gateshead, commenced to sink and was put down below the Hutton Seam. The New Herrington Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. A boring was put down below the Busty Seam, Edmondsley Colliery, and another from the surface was in progress in the vicinity of Woodhouse Close Colliery by Mr. William Coulson. A diamond boring was also put down at Ricknall Grange, north of AycliflFe, for coal, but proved fruitless. Commenced on 14 July to sink the Whitburn winnings ; a bore-hole was put down below the Brockwell Seam, without finding any workable coal. A bore-hole was put down at Bradbury, prov- ing the thickness of the Permian Measures and going through into the Millstone Grit series without meeting with any trace of coal. A trial bore-hole was put down on Salt Holme Farm, near Port Clarence, for Messrs. Bell Brothers, Limited. The Lamp Pit, West Stanley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Busty Bank Seam. 1875. — A staple was put down below the thill of the C Pit, Hebburn Colliery, proving the Beaumont Seam. Sunk the Busty Pit, Waldridge Colliery, from the surface to the Busty Seam. Boring operations were in progress in the up- cast shaft at Old Durham Colliery below the Hutton Seam, proving the Brockwell Seam. A diamond drill bore-hole was put down near Woodham on the Ricknall Grange Royalty, proving these coals worthless, and a boring was put down at Redheugh Colliery below the Brockwell Seam, also proving the lower coals worthless. The main shaft, Dunston Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A shaft was sunk at Osmondcroft, in the township of Winston, through the Mountain Limestone formation down to a coal - seam 3 ft. 9 in. thick. This is the only colliery, and the only district in the county of Durham, where any of the coals in the Mountain Limestone formation have been found so far thick enough to work. 1876. — A bore-hole was put down in Major Surtees’ Landsale Pit at Medomsley from the thill of the Hutton Seam to the Low Main Seam. The Thornton Pit, Croxdale, or Sunderland Bridge Colliery, was sunk from the surface and continued down to the Victoria Seam. A boring by W. Coulson was put down be- low the thill of the Hutton Seam at the Kepier New Pit in the township of St. Giles, Durham, to prove the lower coals, but with disappointing results ; boring operations out of the Harvey Seam were in progress at Coxhoe Colliery by Coulson, to prove the Busty Seam. A new winning (the New Pit), West Stanley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. In this year the coal trade was in an unsatis- factory state, and twenty-four pits were laid in. 1877. — The 16 ft. shaft at Windlestone Col- liery was finished in October for Messrs. Pease & Partners ; put down from surface to Marshall Green Seam, and bored further. The first successful shaft sunk by the Kind- Chaudron method in England was commenced in this year by the Whitburn Coal Company at Marsden, and was completed in two years, it having been found impossible to sink it by the ordinary methods, although over 12,000 gallons of water were being pumped. This year over sixty pits were laid in owing to bad trade. 1878. — The Old Furnace shaft, Cornsay Colliery, was sunk below the Main Coal or Brockwell Seam, proving the Victoria Seam, and the Marshall Green Seam, which was found worthless. 1879. — Over seventy pits were standing idle this year. 1880. — A couple of bore-holes were put down below the thill of the Hutton Seam at Houghall Colliery, proving the lower coals to be worthless at this point. 1881. — Boring was commenced from the sur- face in the vicinity of Hamsteels Pit. Boring operations from the surface were in progress at Croxdale Colliery and vicinity, proving the Busty Seam. A diamond boring was put down at Salt Holme salt works, near Port Clarence, for Messrs. Bell Brothers, Limited. A shaft was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam north of the Woodlands Pit, Woodlands Colliery. 342 INDUSTRIES 1883. — A diamond boring for salt was put down at Port Clarence by Mr. John Vivian for Messrs. C. Allhusen & Son. The No. 2 or Surtees shaft, Collierley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Bottom Busty Seam. 1884. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the neighbourhood of Shildon Colliery. 1885. — An upover staple was driven from the Busty to the Harvey Seam, New Shildon Colliery. A diamond boring for salt was put down at Westfield, Haverton Hill, for Mr. George Dyson. A number of diamond borings were put down for salt on Cowpen Marsh in the township of Billingham by Mr. John Vivian for the New- castle Chemical Works Company, Limited. 1886. — A bore-hole for salt was put down at Sandfield, Haverton Hill. A boring for salt was put down at Stone Marsh or Sweethill near Haverton Hill. The C Pit staple, Hebburn Colliery, was sunk further to the Brockwell Seam, and a boring put down further still. 1887. — Commenced boring operations below the Hutton Seam at Silksworth Colliery, 27 Sep- tember, proving the existence of no workable coal below the Bottom Busty. A diamond bore-hole for salt was put down near Seaton Carew for Mr. C. T. Casebourne. A staple was sunk below the Hutton Seam at Heyworth Colliery down as far as the Brockwell Seam, and a boring continued lower. A boring was put down below the Brockwell Seam at the bottom of the Arthur Pit, Peases West Collieries, by Mr. Coulson, but without proving workable coal. A diamond boring for salt was put down by Mr. John Vivian for Mr. C. T. Casebourne at March House, near Greatham. Sunk the Chester South Moor Fan Pit, Wal- dridge Colliery, from the surface to the Busty Bank Seam. 1888. — A diamond boring was put down at Warren Cement Works, West Hartlepool, by Mr. John Vivian. 1889. — A diamond boring for salt was put down by Mr. John Vivian on the White House estate, near Norton. Broom Park Pit was being sunk from the Hutton to the Victoria Seam, Wheatley Hill Pit, from the Main Coal to the Busty, and Chester South Moor Colliery from the Hutton to the Busty. 1890. — A bore-hole for water was put down at the Victoria Brewery, Darlington, for Mr. H. Warwick. South Pelaw Colliery was restarted and sunk from the surface to the Busty Seam. 1891. — No. 3 shaft. Deaf Hill Colliery, was sunk by Mr. Frank Coulson from the surface to the Harvey Seam, for the Trimdon Coal Com- pany. A boring was put down in the Alexandrina Pit, Rainton Colliery, below the thill of the Main Coal Seam, to prove the Low Main Seam. A diamond boring for salt was put down at Haverton Hill for Messrs. C. Allhusen & Partners. A bore-hole was put down at Tanfield Lea Colliery from the thill of the Brass Thill Seam to the Hutton Seam. A boring was put down at South Hetton Colliery below the thill of the Low Main Seam to prove the Harvey Seam. In this year the hewing time from bank to bank was reduced from eight hours to seven, and the pits’ drawing hours from eleven to ten hours per day. 1892. — A deep boring was put down below the thill of the Hutton Seam, near the bottom of the Adventure Pit, Rainton Colliery, to prove the lower coals and the Brockwell Seam. The Randolph shaft. Tees Helton Colliery, was sunk from the Harvey to the Brockwell Seam. 1893. — The Gordon House new winning was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam for the North Beechburn Coal Company. Durham Main Colliery, Crook Hall Royalty, was sunk from the Hutton to the Busty Seam. Randolph Pit, Evenwood Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A series of bore-holes was put down from the surface in the vicinity of Woodlands Colliery, proving the Brockwell Seam, and a boring was put down below the Busty Bank Seam at the Fell Pit, Burnhope Colliery, proving the Brockwell Seam. The Pioneer shaft. Crake Scar Colliery, Cock- field, was sunk from the surface through the Brockwell to the lower coals. Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Crake Gear Colliery, Cockfield. Commenced on i May to sink the No. 3 shaft. New Brancepeth Colliery, near Durham, for Messrs. Cochrane & Company ; sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A new fan shaft was sunk near the Charlie Pit, South Moor Royalty ; commenced to sink 9 February ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations 12 September. A boring was put down at Pelton Colliery be- low the thill of the Busty Seam, proving the Brockwell Seam too thin to work. 1894. — A deep diamond bore was put down at Blackballs, in the township of Monk Hesleden, 343 A HISTORY OF DURHAM from the surface to below the Brockwell Seam for the Horden Collieries, Limited. A boring was put down from the Three Quarter Seam in the Black Hill Drift, Consett Collieries, to prove the Brockwell Seam. The No. I shaft, Copycrooks Colliery (West Durham Wallsend Colliery), was sunk from the surface to below the Maudlin Seam, but sinking was stopped in May, 1895, before reaching the Low Main Seam, on account of water difficulties. Commenced on 10 September to sink the No. 3 shaft, Kimblesworth Colliery ; reached the Busty Seam and finished sinking operations on 28 June, 1895. The Little Pit, North Biddick Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Cator House Second Pit, Framwellgate Colliery, was put down from the surface to the Brass Thill Seam. The Hartbushes Pit of the Hutton Henry Colliery was re-opened. 1895. — A bore-hole was put down in the Ann Pit, Tanfield Lea Colliery, from the thill of the Brass Thill Seam to the Hutton Seam. 1896. — The Cowley shaft. Woodlands Col- liery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A series of bore-holes was put down from the surface in the vicinity of Woodlands Colliery, proving the Brockwell Seam ; boring operations were in progress at West Stanley Colliery from the thill of the Busty Seam to prove the lower coals, and a boring was put down in No. 2 pit. New Brancepeth Colliery, near Durham, below the Brockwell, proving the Victoria Seam. A bore-hole was put down below the thill of the Low Main Seam in the Alexandrina Pit, Rainton Colliery, to prove the Brockwell Seam, and the measures underlying it. A sinking was made below the thill of the Busty Seam in the E Pit, Ouston Colliery, proving the Three Quarter and Brockwell Seams. 1897. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Colepike Hall, near Lanchester, and a bore-hole was put down below the thill of the Hutton Seam in the Little- town Collieries, to prove the lower coals. A new winning, Hylton Colliery, commenced to sink on 1 7 May ; reached the Hutton Seam and finished sinking operations on 25 January, 1900. 1898. — The John Henry Pit, Eldon or South Durham Colliery, was sunk from the Main Coal to the Hutton Seam. A new staple was put down near the Morrison Pit, South Moor royalty, from the surface to the Hutton Seam. The Wind Pit, Tanfield Lea Colliery, was sunk from the thill of the Main Coal Seam down to the Victoria Seam. A deep boring was put down below the thill of the Hutton Seam in the Third Pit, Lumley Colliery, to prove the lower coals, which proved unsatisfactory. The Isabella shaft, Medomsley Colliery, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam for the Consett Iron Company, Ltd. Boring operations were in progress to the west of Kibblesworth Colliery from the surface, to prove the Hutton Seam. 1899. — Boring operations were in progress from the surface in the vicinity of Plawsworth for the owners of Waldridge Colliery ; in the vicinity of Easington prior to commencing to sink of the new shafts ; others by Coulson in the vicinity of Beechburn Colliery, near Crook, proving the Brockwell and lower seams, and also at the Raisby Hill Quarries, to prove the thick- ness of the workable limestone. 1 900. — The Horden shafts commencedsinking operations in November, and were put down from the surface to below the Hutton Seam. A series of borings by Coulson was put down in the vicinity of Burnhope Colliery, proving the Brockwell Seam ; as also from the surface in the vicinity of New Copley Colliery, Cockfield, prov- ing the Brockwell Seam. A series of bore-holes was put down at Der- wenthaugh, in the township of Winlaton, for the Consett Iron Company in connexion with the building of new staiths hereabouts, and the build- ing of a new railroad from the Chopwell and Garefield Collieries subsequent to the opening out and development of these pits. Sinking operations were commenced at Easing- ton. 1901. — Boring operations from the surface were in progress in the vicinity of Etherley Dene for Col. S. A. Sadler. A boring was put down below the thill of the Hutton Seam, Ryhope Colliery ; from the surface on the East Newbiggin Farm, near Lanchester, for Mr. J. Welford, which proved the coals worthless, and one below the thill of the Maudlin Seam, New Seaham Colliery, to prove the Hutton Seam. Sinking was commenced at Washington to reach the Harvey Seam at a depth of 720 ft. The first 120 ft. consisted largely of troublesome quicksands, which were sunk through successfully by the Poetsch freezing method — the first instance of its application in Great Britain. 1902. — Springwell Colliery was sunk from the Hutton to the Beaumont Seam. Sunk the shafts at Usworth Colliery from the Hutton to the Busty Seam. The A Pit, Greenside, Stella Royalty, was sunk from the surface to the Victoria Seam. 1903. — A bore-hole from the surface was put down at Hill Top, Langley Park Colliery, to 344 INDUSTRIES prove the Victoria Seam, on a site for a sug- gested additional air and travelling shaft. A staple was sunk from the Maudlin to the Low Main Seam, Edmondsley Colliery. The Margaret Pit, Tanfield Lea Colliery, was being sunk. Sunk below the Busty Seam at the New Pit, West Stanley Colliery, proving the Brockwell and Victoria Seams. At the end of this year there were forty-three electrically-driven coal cutters and twenty-four driven by compressed air at work in the county. 1904. — A diamond boring was put down on the Croxdale Estate for the Weardale Iron and Coal Company, Limited, from the surface to the Busty Seam. The Dean and Chapter Colliery, near Ferry- hill, begun last year, was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam by James Johnson for Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., Limited. The winning will eventually be one of the biggest in the North of England. The Dawdon Colliery, near Seaham, was sunk by the freezing process. 1905. — Ryhope Colliery was sunk from the surface to the Brockwell Seam. A diamond boring was put down at ShinclifFe by Messrs. Bell Brothers, Limited, from the surface to the Busty Seam. There were forty-two electrically-worked coal- cutters and seventy-four driven by compressed air at work in the county in this year. Corresponding to the greater activity in the development of coal mining, rapid advances were being made in the technique of the subject. It has been seen that in the eighteenth century numerous accidents due to colliery explosions occurred, which became more serious in propor- tion as the workings were more extensive and as more people were engaged underground. Apart from the steel mill of Spedding, which rendered for a while good service, but which suffered from the defect of giving an imperfect illumination, and which was also on several occasions proved to have fired gas, no serious attempt was made to combat this deadly enemy until Dr. Clanny, a medical man of Sunderland, commenced to experiment upon the subject. His first experi- ments seem to have dated back to the year 181 1, but his lamp was not perfected until 1813. Meanwhile occurred the great explosion at Felling Colliery on 25 May, 1812, which drew fresh attention to the subject. In the next year, 1813, a society was formed in Sunderland to prevent explosions in coal-mines, with a com- mittee consisting of gentlemen closely associated with the coal-trade of the north of England, including Dr. Clanny himself in the number. This society applied to Sir Humphry Davy for scientific guidance in the matter, and the result of their application was that Sir Humphry Davy came to Newcastle in 1 8 1 5. In the north he met Mr. Buddie, Dr. Clanny, and others interested in the matter, and visited Hebburn Colliery, where he obtained gas from which he made his experiments. As is well known, these resulted in the production of the Davy safety lamp, in which the flame was protected by a cylinder of wire gauze, and which is still used to-day in very much the same form as that in which the inventor left it. Stephenson had been working at the same subject simultaneously at Killing- worth Colliery, and although the claims to priority of the two types were urged energeti- cally at the time by their respective advocates, the general opinion seems to be that the credit belongs where it has been awarded by posterity, namely, to Sir Humphry Davy. His safety lamp received the unqualified approval of Mr. Buddie, who had up to that time looked upon ventilation as the only possible means of preventing colliery explosions, and the first Davy lamps were used at Hebburn Colliery in 1816. This invention was considered to be sufficient reason for dis- solving the Sunderland Society for the Prevention of Accidents in Mines, although it by no means realized the great expectations at one time formed of it, and was far from putting an end to colliery explosions, as is shown by the melancholy list of these accidents in the nineteenth century ; it, nevertheless, opened up a fresh era in coal- mining, as it rendered working possible in many places and under many conditions where it had hitherto been impracticable, and especially allowed the coal-miner to win very large portions of pil- lars that would otherwise have had to be aban- doned. In the meantime the proper ventilation of collieries was also receiving attention, largely through the exertions of Mr. Buddie. This gentleman tried various devices from the year 1807 onwards with the object of doing away with the furnace, amongst others trying a steam jet at Hebburn Colliery, and soon afterwards a large air pump with a piston 5 ft. square and 8 ft. stroke, capable of exhausting 5,000 to 6,000 cubic feet of air per minute. He did not, how- ever, succeed in displacing furnaces, because the devices which he invented, although perfectly suitable for the purpose for which he intended them, were soon found to be incapable of producing the enormous ventilating currents which modern methods of coal-mining demanded, and as such currents could be produced by the aid of the furnace, the latter maintained its place in spite of its obvious disadvantages, until it in turn had to give place to the centrifugal ventilator. Mr. Buddie contributed very considerably to the improvement of coal-mining. In 1810 he devised a system of dividing a large mine into separate districts or panels, and soon after this he originated the system which he called compound 44 345 A HISTORY OF DURHAM ventilation, which is usually spoken of as splitting the air. It was introduced in the Felling Colliery in 1815, which was probably one of the first to adopt it, but its use spread rapidly, and a very few years after that date it was in general use in the collieries of the Wear district. The use of centrifugal fans seems to have been first brought forward in a practical form in the year 1835, but had not become general until considerably after the latter half of the century. One of the earliest forms to be adopted in the north of England was the Guibal fan, invented in Belgium, which came into use in the collieries of the North about the year i860. Once ventilating fans were in- troduced, improvements in detail followed, but it may be said that the only substantial advance realized has been in increasing their speed of running, whilst at the same time decreasing their dimensions, so that very large quantities of air can readily be dealt with, and all the require- ments even of modern coal-mining can be amply met. The Biram anemometer was invented in 1 842, and the water-gauge appears to have been introduced about the same time. Among the important changes in mining en- gineering which affected the coal industry of the county of Durham was that introduced by Mr. T. Y. Hall, consisting of the substitution of cages travelling in guides for the old-fashioned corves which had hitherto been the principal means of raising coals. This was tried first in 1834 at South Hetton, where it was not entirely successful, but the same engineer introduced the method in an improved form at Ryton in con- junction with tubs running on flanged wheels upon suitably-shaped rails. The use of tubs and cages very soon became universal. About the year 1842, flat wire ropes for winding were in use at Wingate Grange, round wire ropes being first used about 1850. Although the employ- ment of iron wire ropes was at first resisted by the colliers, their advantages were not long in making themselves felt, but as soon as steel wire was introduced, this superior metal rapidly dis- placed iron, until now practically none other than steel wire ropes are employed. Underground haulage engines seem to have been first used in Hetton Colliery in 1826, and large underground appliances are known to have existed in the years 1841 and 1846 at Haswell and Monkwearmouth. About this same time main and tail rope haulage was introduced, it is said, by Mr. T. E. Forster. Although horses were employed underground as early as 1763, it was not until eighty years afterwards, namely, in 1843, that ponies were first introduced to replace hand-putting in what is now usually spoken of as secondary haulage. Although, as has been pointed out, powder had been used in the eighteenth century in the stonework of collieries, it does not seem to have been applied to blasting coal until about the year 1825, when it appears to have been used in the Derwent district. Previous to this time, wedging alone was employed. The great saving of labour due to the introduction of blasting caused its general adoption, but it was not long before it was recognized that gunpowder was capable of igniting fire-damp, and thus causing explosions, whilst about the middle of the cen- tury the theory, now quite generally adopted, that finely-divided coal dust suspended in the air was also capable of being exploded, began to meet with a certain measure of credence. Various explosives, which were claimed to be safe even in an explosive atmosphere, were soon upon the market under the name of ‘ flameless ’ or ‘ safety explosives.’ These were undoubtedly less dan- gerous than gunpowder, but the fact that all of them were nevertheless capable of bringing about explosions was ultimately proved conclusively by the Flameless Explosives Committee of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, who concluded their labours in the year 1898. It is interesting to note that this committee in its experiments used the same fire- damp from Hebburn Colliery that was used by Sir Humphry Davy in his investigations. Shot-holes were always put in by the methods used originally by the metal miner, namely, by striking a drill with a hammer, or occasionally by jumping holes in by the churn drill. It would seem that in the year 1865 an ingenious blacksmith devised the twisted drill or auger for drilling oil shale in the West Calder district, Scotland ; soon after its introduction a number of improvements were made, the ratchet princi- ple being applied to it in 1867. Very soon after this date similar machines were in use in the north of England, one of the earliest avail- able records showing that a ratchet drill was in use in Durham in 1869. It appears probable that this drill was first employed for drilling stone, and it was only a few years after its original introduction that it was applied to the drilling of coal. It was found to be so well adapted for this purpose that long before the end of the century the hammer and drill were prac- tically extinct, and it would be difficult to find nowadays a coal miner capable of using the older implement, so completely have they been dis- placed by the machine, although scarcely a generation has gone by since the latter was in- troduced. In an interesting manuscript in the possession of the north of England Mining Institute, ‘ A summary of the condition and state of pitmen on the Tyne in the year 1800,’ by Mr. Thomas of Denton Hall, addressed to Sir John Swin- burne, a good picture is given of the average coal-miner at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The writer states that lads com- mence to work in the pits at seven or eight years of age or sometimes at six ; they receive 346 INDUSTRIES practically no education, and grow up vicious, slovenly, extravagant, and intemperate, ‘ almost from infancy habituated to frequent intoxication,’ whilst the wives are described as ‘ a very in- dolent set of women, strangers to cleanliness, frugality or economy ’ ; he contrasts the coal- miner unfavourably in almost every respect with labourers in other branches of industry, though he admits that pitmen ‘ possess as good a share of health as their poor neighbours, who are em- ployed in other occupations.’ The only amuse- ments he mentions are cock-fighting and bowling, the latter of which — a purely local pastime — is fortunately still kept up in nearly the same form as it then existed. The introduction of mechanical coal-cutters into general practice is a marked characteristic of the latter part of the nineteer^th century. The earliest proposal to use mechanical power for coal-cutting seems to have been made by a Mr. Michael Menzies of Newcastle on Tyne before the end of the eighteenth century, but never seems to have reached the practical stage. It was about 1850 that the earliest machines upon the principles now employed were designed, and the development of coal-cutting may be said to date from that period. The soft coals and comparatively thick seams of the county of Durham offered less scope for such machinery than did many of the other coalfields of Great Britain, and hence we find that this method made less progress here than elsewhere. There is probably no department of coal- mining in which greater changes have to be chronicled during this century than in the con- ditions of mining labour and the legislation affecting it, although it must be borne in mind that the latter was considerably influenced by a series of disastrous accidents which characterized the century. At the beginning of the nine- teenth century coal-miners were still hired or bonded from year to year for a twelvemonth at a time, a small sum by way of earnest money, known as the ‘ bonding ’ or ‘ bounty ’ money, being paid to them. In the year 1800 this sum appears usually to have been two or three guineas per year. In the early years of the century a great demand for coal sprang up, and in conse- quence of this, and also because certain collieries, notably those of Penshaw and Rainton, had be- come greatly extended, the demand for hewers and putters at the ordinary binding time became excessively keen, and various coal-owners at- tempted to vie with each other in obtaining men. With this object the bounty money was rapidly increased, so much so that in this year (1804) from twelve to fourteen guineas per man per year were paid upon the Tyne and eigh- teen guineas upon the Wear, proportionately exorbitant bounties being given to putters and drivers and other men employed about the mines. Wages were also increased by 30 or 40 per cent. The result of the payment of these exceptionally large sums was to cause most extravagant habits amongst the miners, and led to a great amount of drunken- ness. Attempts were soon afterwards made to bring matters back to a more natural standard, with the result that the men resented the attempt. In 1810 a dispute took place between the owners and the men with reference to the custom of bonding, the owners desiring to change the bonding time from October, which was one of the busiest times of the year, to an earlier month, such as January. This change was re- sisted by the miners, and the dispute terminated in a strike. Ultimately 5 April was adopted as the bonding day, and the amount of the yearly bond fixed at five guineas per annum. In the article in this volume dealing with the Social and Economic History of the county the story of the struggle for the abolition of the ‘bonding’ system has been told, and an account given of the gradual growth of Trade Unionism in Durham. At present the Durham Miners’ Union con- sists of about 90,000 members and possesses accumulated funds to the extent of nearly j^350,ooo. It has been formed with two dis- tinct objects in view, each being established as regards contributions on a separate basis to the other ; these two objects are, first, the Trades Union and, secondly, the Sick Fund. The former was formed for the protection of the men in all matters pertaining to work and wages, the con- tribution of the men being %d. per fortnight, of which 6d. goes towards the maintenance of the Union and 2d. towards the relief of men out of work. Such men received benefit at the following rates : Sacrificed members or men who have lost their work through connexion with the Union receive 1 5i. per week plus 2s. per head for each child ; members out of work through strikes, lock-outs, trade depressions, &c., lOi. per week. The sick fund is supported by a contribution of It. per member per fortnight, and relief is paid to members incapacitated from work through accident or sickness at the following rates ; lor. per week for the first twenty-six weeks ; 5r. per week for the next twenty-six weeks ; 45. per week for remainder of life. The fund has no con- nexion with the Northumberland and Durham Miners’ Permanent Relief Fund, which provides an insurance for men who are injured or killed while following their occupation. This was started in 1862 immediately after the great Hart- ley disaster; it now numbers nearly 166,000 members with a capital of over ^398,000. Members pay 2^d. per week to the accident fund and 2^d. per week to the superannuation fund, half members (under sixteen years of age) paying one- half as much. Full members receive 5r. per week up to twenty-six weeks, and 8i. per week there- 347 A HISTORY OF DURHAM after ; in case of a fatal accident the widow receives and 5i. per week plus 2s. for each child ; any claimant, though an unmarried member, receives j^23 ; men over sixty, permanently unable to follow their occupation, receive 5r. per week. Furthermore the Durham Miners’ Association brought forward in 1897 a scheme for providing homes for aged miners, the funds for which are obtained by non-compulsory levies. In 1899 a long lease of three plots of land of 3 acres each was obtained at a low rental from the Ecclesias- tical Commissioners, and the scheme has been taken up so enthusiastically that no less than 277 such homes have been provided, whilst others are being built. Another association that has done much to improve the material well-being of the miners and to induce habits of economy and generally to contribute to raise their status is the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Ltd. This society was started in a small way in Manchester in 1863, having no shareholders except the members who deal at the stores, branch stores existing in most colliery villages. The work of this co-operative society extends to most of the requirements of the miner, and the branches are managed by committees of the men, the institution being in a most flourishing condition. The latter half of the nineteenth century was marked by legislation specially intended to pro- vide for the greater safety of the coal miner, in- cluding the Acts of 1842, 1850 (Coal Mines Inspection Act), 1855, i860, 1862, 1872, and 1887, which latter is still the principal Act regu- lating coal-mines, and various minor additions down to 1896. Regular mineral statistics were kept soon after the year 1 854, both as to the output and number of accidents, so that from that time onwards the development of the mineral industry can be readily traced. An important event in the northern coalfield was the foundation of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers in 1852, which contributed greatly to the dissemination of accurate scientific know- ledge on all matters connected with coal mining. The following table shows the development of the coal trade in the county of Durham in the latter half of the nineteenth century and its present position : — Vear Tons produced 1854 •5>+20,6i5 1864 23,284,367 1874 30,543,800 1884 28,552,303 1894 32,556,924 1904 36,154,273 1905 37,397,176 Persons employed (including Northumb.) 28,265 „ „ 33,115 (Durham only) 62,528 „ 98,496 „ 102,607 „ 129,212 „ 128,537 It is indeed possible that the Romans worked the lead deposits of Weardale and Teesdale, but no such positive and direct evidence of their opera- tions exists as in Derbyshire and Somerset. The mines of Alston, however, just across the Cumberland border, were certainly worked for both silver and lead in the reign of Henry I, and it is unlikely that the neighbouring mines of Durham were quite neglected. Yet the first specific reference to their existence is found in the well-known charter ^ of Stephen, in which he notifies the grant of the mineral rights^ of Weardale to his nephew. Bishop Hugh Pudsey. Since there is little doubt that at the time of the grant the bishop of Durham already owned the minerals exclusive of precious metals found on his demesne, it has been suggested with great probability that by this instrument the grantee was enabled to retain not only the lead raised from his mines but also the silver extracted from the lead, which, outside the Palatinate at least, was a special perquisite claimed by the crown. This interpretation is made the more likely by our knowledge that about this time a mint was established at Durham. Rather later also in his episcopate we find the same prelate, Hugh Pudsey, granting ^ amongst other property a mine of lead to the hospital of St. Giles at Durham ‘ for covering the church of St. Mary and All Saints and of the Infirmary of the Hospital aforesaid.’ V ery definite references to the mint at Durham, the purchase and smelting of lead, and the extrac- tion of silver are found on the Pipe Roll 8 Ric. I (i 196-7) during the vacancy of the see following the death of Bishop Pudsey. For making at the mint {Jd cambium faciendum') fi'^o 13/. 8<7. and in the_ cost of smelting the ore, £\6 y. zd., and in buying lead for making a profit for the king £zj i ir. lod. The same [accountants] render account of j^40 of the profit of the lead bought. In the treasury £^o. And they owe ,^10, which are to be sought of Adam de Selebi as it is said. The same render account of 4^. in silver {in plata) of the profits of the ore and mints. The bishopric of Durham was again in the hands of the crown after the death of Philip of Poitou, and it is probable that the sum of j^539 I2s. ’]d. ‘of the issue of minerals’ from 1208-11 refers especially to the mines of lead, as the sales of iron are separately entered. Again, in 1213, account is rendered of ffo 8r. \d. of the profit of lead mines besides 22 loads which the king had, and of ir. <:>\d. of the profit of the mint {cambii unius cune'i). Similar references both to the mining of lead and the extraction of silver within the Palatinate are LEAD Lead-mining was actively earned on within the district between the Tyne and Tees long before the commercial exploitation of the coal. * Surtees, Hist, of Dur. i, App. p. exxvi. ^ ‘ Minariam de Weredala ut faciat in ea operari quantum voluerit.’ ^ Boldon Book (Surtees Soc. xxv), App. p. xlix. 348 INDUSTRIES found occasionally on the Pipe Rolls during the reigns of Henry III ^ and Edward 1. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is possible that the bishop kept lead mines in his own hands; but at least as early as the four- teenth century long leases of certain mines were being granted. In 1379 Bishop Hatfield gave® a fifty years’ lease of the Weardale lead-mines {rnineram plumbi in alta foresta nostra de W fr- dale) to Alice widow of Thomas Birtby, with the exception of his mineral rights at ‘ Rykhope,’ Stanhope, and Newlandside, at a rent of one stone in eight of the metal smelted from the ore. The lessee was not only to have the timber necessary for her mine shafts [^pro puteis suis edificandis') from the bishop’s foresters, but also pasture {herbagium in communa) for the horses of her carts. It was also provided that if the mine lay unworked {in- ocupata) for a year and a day, unless this was the result of war {per communem guerram\ the lease should terminate and the bishop be at liberty to again re-enter and deal with the property at his will. F rom an indenture ® entered on the roll of Bishop Skirlaw about 1391, we learn that ‘tout le myne de plumbe deinz le forest de Werdale ’ had been leased by the bishop’s master forester, William de Fulthorp, to Robert del Water, for a term of twelve years at an annual rent of 4 fothers of lead for the first six years, and for the next six years, 5 fothers. A moiety of the mine had been granted again by the lessee to John de Appulton and Thomas Gate of York, who agreed to pay half the rent in lead reserved to the bishop and to bear half the expense ‘ de quere et gagner le profit de dit myne,’ during the term aforesaid. If either party to the second agreement desired to sink a new shaft {fair ou gagner un novell pute pour avoir ure de plumbe') and the other was unwilling to share the expense, the party sinking the shaft should be at liberty to take and work the pit and enjoy the profit without interference from the other. The mines referred to seem to have lain at ‘ Grenefeld, Dawtrysheles, Foggy- thawaytegrove and Blakeden.’ Fuller details as to the practical working or the lead of the Palatinate during the fifteenth century can only be gleaned from the very few lead-mining accounts which have survived. For the year ’’ from Michaelmas 20 Bishop Langley to the Michaelmas following (1426), Richard Burton, the bishop’s surveyor, reports that 25 loads ® of lead ore, at a cost of 35. ^d. a load, were won by Robert de Asshton, Thomas Wodmouse, ‘ Pipe R. 13 Hen. Ill, m. i. Here the 106/. ^d. issuing from the mines may refer to the sale of iron. The lead was accounted for, we are told, by a special officer. Also see Pipe R. 24 Hen. III. ^ Dur. Curs. No. 31, m. izd. ® Ibid. No. 33, m. 5 d. ’ Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 1900 12. ® Load = 60 stones. and William Natresse,® miners, at West Sedling, and delivered well washed and cleaned {pure la- vato et mundato)^ and 1 8 loads at 4.S. a load by John Henrison at East Sedling, but that the mines at Burnhope, Sedlingfeld, and ‘ Olawodclogh ’ were not worked during the year. Peter del Stobbes was paid lox. iid. for 2^ loads 14 stones at 4.S. a load, won at Hard rake. For 3 loads 25 stones of ore got at Ireshope by the sons of Thomas Wodmouse and William Natrasse and the brother of William de Westwood, I2i. 6d. was paid, a price which works out at 3^. 8d. a load. At ‘ Blakden,’ where the workings seem to have been deeper, John Westwood and his fellows got fifty- three loads in ‘le Watirgate,’ and were paid 45. a load, and also fifty-two loads at ‘ le Stulheued,’ for which they drew only 3;. 4^. a load. Finally forty loads were got at Scotours by John Trotter and his fellows, and they were paid at the rate of 4J. a load. All this, with nineteen loads pur- chased from the rector of Stanhope, was carried to ‘ les Bolehill ’ at Wolsingham at the cost of lid, a load, while another 3^ loads ‘de stauro dicti rectoris’ were carried to the same place at half the rate, viz., ^^d. a load. When the ore arrived at Wolsingham the lead was extracted, but possibly not always by the same method. This year payment was made to Robert de Whelehouse, ‘ boler,’ ‘ pro combustione et factura ’ of 8 fothers^® 166 stones of lead ‘in bolyng,’ to John Denning, ‘ boler,’ similarly for I fother 1 12 stones of lead, to Peter Dickson, ‘ boler,’ similarly for 7 fothers 156 stones of lead, and 5r. was paid by agreement for each fother ‘ ultra prostracionem, amputacionem et caragium ligni focalis necessarii pro cremacione eiusdem ad costagia domini.’ The total amount paid on the account of the lead got by ‘ boling ’ was ^4 os. “id. Besides this a payment of 47;. was made to Robert de Whelehouse ‘ pro combustione liquacione et factura ’ of 3 fothers 1 74 stones of lead ‘ in smeltyng ’ with a wheel {cum rota), which works out at \2s. a fother ‘ultra facturam carbonum et cariagium eorundem.’ Also 9 fo- thers 158 stones of lead were produced by smelt- ing with a wheel and a foot-blast {pedibus ho- minum), at a cost of lOr. a fother, besides the cost of carriage and coals and ‘ mercedem de les blawers.’ The said blowers were paid 315. ()d. in all, as we shall see later. Finally John Den- nyng was paid 95. ()d. for smelting 177 stones of lead with a wheel, which is at the rate of lor. a fother. This account of the extraction of the lead is of great interest, as it seems to indicate that in ® About 1429 John Natresse of Stanhope, miner, entered into recognizance in the bishop’s chancery at Durham for the proper working of a new shaft ‘ upon the forfeld of the leed myne of the Blakdene in Wer- dale’ ; Dur. Curs. No. 37, m. 2 d. Fother = 180 stones, and the stone = 14 lb. troy according to this account. 349 A HISTORY OF DURHAM 1426-7 the most primitive of all methods of reducing the ore, namely, by means of a wind- furnace, was still in use as being by far the cheapest whenever the atmospheric conditions were favour- able and the ore suitable, and that in this way more than half the lead was obtained. As late as the seventeenth century, at the bole-hills of Derbyshire, the same practice prevailed. They melt the lead upon the tops of the hills that lye open to the west wind ; making their fires to melt it as soon as the west wind begins to blow ; which wind by long experience they find holds longest of all others. The smelting-hearth, with water-power, also in use when required, probably differed in no essen- tial particular from the furnace of the Wirksworth lead-smelters described by Martyn in 1729, as very rude and simple, consisting only of some large rough stones, placed in such a manner as to form a square cavity, into which the ore and coals are thrown stratum super stratum ; two great bellows continually blowing the fire, being moved alternately by water. I saw no other fuel used on this occasion but dried sticks, which they call white coal. Mr. Ray informs us that they use both white and black coal or charcoal in Cardiganshire. I suppose because that ore is harder to flux, the charcoal making a more vehement fire. In such smelting-hearths not only native ore but slag or black-work, the refuse of the ‘ boiling,’ could be treated. As to the fuel used in Durham for the ‘ boiling ’ we learn that Adam del Stobbes was paid 3^. a day for sixteen days between Martinmas and Christmas ‘ pro prostracione, amputacione et cul- pacione bosci et ligni focalis pro plumbo faciendo hoc anno in bolyng,’ and also d^d. a day sine prandio for 128 days from Candlemas to Michael- mas while engaged on the same job. John Den- nyng also gave slight assistance, cutting twenty fothers or cart-loads of wood at i^. a fother. It is clear that when the wind was unfavour- able the ore was smelted with aid of a water- wheel or a foot-blast, the latter being employed in the summer-time on account of the drought [_pro 22 dies tempore aestivali causa siccitatis tem- ” The description by the Spanish priest Albaro Alonso Barba of the primitive furnaces used by the natives near the famous silver mines of Potosi in the New World might almost have been written of the Durham ‘ bole-hills.’ He distinctly states that bellows were not employed, but that otherwise they were ‘seme- jantes a los Castellanos dichos difercianse en que par todos partes estan llenos de agugeros per donde entra el aire quando el viento sopla, tiempo en que solo pueden fundir. . . Ponense en lugares altos, y donde corra viento de ordinario.’ Arte de los Metales {16^0), %o. Similarly Westgarth Foster describes these early Durham hearths or furnaces as built of piles of stones placed round a fire ‘ in such a way as to leave certain openings which served as flues and blast holes ’ ; Strata from Newcastle- upon-Tyne to Cross Fell (3rd ed.), 183. Joshua Childrey, Britannia Baconica (1661), 1 12. Philosophical 5oc. Trans, xxxvi, 31, 32. poris). Richard Skynner, Thomas Walker, and Robert de Whorlton, junior, were thus employed ‘operantibus et sufflantibus les belys pro combus- tione, liquacione et factura plumbi in smeltyng,’ and were paid i\.d. a day each. Two other men were similarly employed for twelve days at the same rate, but Maud Skynner, who had a seven days’ job of the same kind was only paid T^d. a day. Adam Saunderson, ‘ colyer,’ also cut wood and underwood, made 38 doz. 2 qr. of coals, and carried them to ‘ les smeltyng places ’ for the smelting. In respect to other expenses this year ‘A water- course apud le Redemyre ’ had been repaired, as also a wain-road, and no less than 4;. 6d. paid to John Richmond ‘ pro uno corio bovino molli- ficato,’ bought for covering a pair of bellows for the smelting, while 10^. was expended ‘pro uno potello olei ’ for the softening and oiling {unctione) of another pair of bellows for this work ; William Smith of Auckland also receiving 35. ^d. ‘ pro le letheryng et auxilacione ferramenti in capite ’ of a pair of bellows as well as the making and fit- ting of ‘ uno fistulo ferri pro vento intrando et exeundo in capite eorundem.’ Other iron-work is mentioned in connexion with the making or mending of tools, and at least three pairs of banastres were bought to carry the charcoal. Apparently about one fother of lead was pro- duced from eight loads of ore on an average, the amount of ore smelted during the period under consideration including some which had been mined but not ‘ boiled ’ or smelted during the previous year. As to the destination of the metal, there are entries of lead sent to the wharves of Whickham {stathas de Qwykham), and also direct to the manor of Auckland, the former con- signment no doubt for export, the latter for the bishop’s own use.^^ The following year^® (1427) we meet with entries which seem to indicate the opening up of a new mine, 20s. being paid to Robert Colyer and William Bunche, miners, ‘ for working and proving {prohantibus) a lead mine at Herthop for 3 weeks in April and May at the lord’s com- mand,’ while Robert de Whorlton and John del Grange received 45. for working six night shifts {noctes) at the same time. Two well-tanned hides were also bought for making a new tunica and ‘ 2 bagges (? leather buckets) pro minera de Herthop probanda,’ and the usual oil and lard for softening the leather. The tunica was apparently for the use of Robert Colyer. On the same occasion a 9-fathom rope was bought, which cost IS. gd., as well as two large picks and three great wedges. And one further entry from this account is worth notice, ‘ Paid to Robert It may be noted that the accounts do not suggest any extraction of silver at this period. In Wolsey’s time the silver for the mint at Durham was procured in London. Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 190013. 350 INDUSTRIES Whorlton and John del Graunge working at breaking and washing antiquum slagwerk rema- nentem ex antiquo in the park of Stanhope 5r. lod.^ Some thirty years after (1457-8) the mine at Harthope was in full working order, and four of the lord’s miners, John Dikson, Robert Thompson, Robert Donken, and Robert Chap- man, obtained at least twenty loads of lead-ore there, which was carried to the ‘ boilhuls ’ of Kughtlaw or Kughteslaw. Other ore was ob- tained at West Sedling, Hardrak, ‘ Esterblakden- clogh,’ ‘ Westerblakedenclogh,’ East Sedling, and ^ Bersehawmede ’ in Rookhope, various families and partnerships of miners being mentioned. The smelting took place at Wolsingham, ‘ Kughteslaw,’ and ‘ Fernelee,’ and the bellows were carried from one place to another, while at ‘ Kughteslaw ’ a shed {logium) was made ‘ causa salvacionis follium et aliorum instrumentorum ’ of the lord bishop. We also hear of ‘3 shole irens’ bought ‘pro cumulacione de le blakewerk,’ and of a payment of \Zd. to William Holme for carting nine fathers of ‘ blakwerk a boilisted usque smeltyng place.’ Robert Hogeson also earned '^d. for taking two fothers of ‘ blakwerk ’ from ‘ Kught- law usque smeltyng place ibidem.’ Probably the oven or ‘boilisted’ at ‘Fernelee ’or ‘Fer- nelecrag ’ was a new one, and we hear of earth, stony clay, and ‘blakwerk’ being carried thither apparently for building it. It is difficult to gather from the fragmentary records left to us whether the output of the Weardale lead-mines increased or decreased dur- ing the fifteenth century. For the first year of Bishop Booth, 1457-8, there seems to be a con- siderable decrease of output as compared with thirty years before, and a still further decrease in the third and fourth years of Bishop Fox (1497-8), but this may be quite accidental, or owing to deliberate restriction. At any rate, in the timej^ of Bishop Ruthall (lo-ii years) the number of loads of lead-ore bought from tenants in Wear- dale had risen to no less than 300 at 5;. a load, the miners winning the same at their own charges. In 1523-4^® (i> 2 Wolsey) we hear of 330 loads {summagla) of lead-ore bought of the Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 190016. Probably the slag of the ‘ boiling ’ was to be treated again in the more powerful smelting-hearth. Nearly 150 years before we hear not only of the * bolers ’ near the mines of Birland in Devon ‘ com- burencium et fundencium mineram per bolas,’ but also of the furnace-men (^foinellarii) with their blowers ‘ conflantibus et fundentibus nigrum opus et albam minam’ ; Exch. Accts. K.R. bdle. 260, No. 19, m. 4. In addition, at Birland, where the ore was richly argentiferous, we hear of the ‘ astra affinacionum ’ or finery-hearths for extracting the precious metal. Eccl. Com. Mins. Accts. 1 9001 7 ; 70 loads 40 stone of ore were then bought from miners. Ibid. 220221. Ibid. 199018. Weardale tenants at $s. a load. The carriage of these to the ‘ Balehills ’ of Wolsingham and Stanhope cost ^^14 12s. bd. At this time appa- rently, with improved methods of smelting, 5 1 loads of ore produced about one fother of lead,^® and of the sixty fothers [plaustratas) made in that year, thirty had been sold to Gilbert Middleton, merchant of Newcastle-on-Tyne, while thirty still remained at Sandhill in that town unsold at the time of the account. It is probable that the great drawback to the lead industry in Durham in the reign of Henry VIII was not so much a scarcity of ore as the increasing difficulty of getting sufficient char- coal fuel. We know that Wolsey attempted to smelt lead with pit-coal, but apparently with but poor success, and about 1527 granted^® to Thomas Wynter a great house and furnace near Gateshead, and all mines of metals and minerals within the bishopric and the country called Wear- dale for the term of thirty years at the rent of per annum. Of the later history of lead-mining in the county of Durham the merest outline can be given here. During the long episcopate of Bishop Tunstall, the lead-mines of the Weardale were still apparently leased at a rent of ,(^5 a year,^^ and about 1 595, in the time of Bishop Toby Mat- thew, we hear of William Vaux paying 50;. for the lead-mines for Michaelmas term, besides the 5 or. received by Oswald Baker at Lady Day, and also of 26r. ?>d. paid by Henry Chapman for a mine at Hollerbush, which had apparently for- merly brought in 53^. /^d. a year to the exchequer of the bishop. By 1626 the lead-mines, which had been leased at ,^5 a year, were apparently in the bishop’s own hands.^^ Hitherto we have been obliged to confine our attention to the lead-mines of Weardale, as very few notices remain of those in Teesdale or the Derwent Valley, which were not the property of the bishop. It is possible that some of these may have been worked at a very early time. In the survey made of the for- feited estates of the earl of Westmorland, after the northern rising in the reign of Elizabeth, we read under the account of Eggleston, that Sir George Bowes holds the easement of a hill ‘ ad plumbum suum triandum,’ and that he pays for it an annual rent of 2s. as of ancient custom to the lord of the manor. Probably this was a ‘ bole-hill ’ similar to those already described. During part of the seventeenth century the Tees- Early in the reign of Hen. VIII, 1 509-11, the monks of Durham were buying Weardale lead at ,^3 the fother ; Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-ciii), 660. Dur. Curs. No. 73, m. 2 (20 Hen. VIII). Eccl. Com. Various, 220204 220238. It is possible there was a customary royalty in kind as well. Ibid. 220184. Ibid. 220193. Misc. Books Exch. 37. 351 A HISTORY OF DURHAM dale lead mines were apparently held by Sir William Hudleston on a lease or assignment, the forfeited estates having passed into the hands of the Vane family. On the accession of Charles I the duke of Buckingham received a grant of the silver and lead mines of Muggleswick and the district ten miles round on a twenty-one years’ lease.^®^* After the Restoration the Weardale mines continued to be worked on lease by Humphrey Wharton, who sold his interest to W. Blackett about 1696. The royalty paid to the bishop seems to have been about one load in nine of the ore. Apparently trouble arose owing to the claims of the rector of Stanhope, but he established his case, and a tithe of lead ore was decreed to him after a verdict in his favour on trial at law.^® The next important event in the history of the lead-mines of Durham may be said to have been the extension to Durham of the operations of the company generally spoken of as ‘ The London Lead Company,’ the full title of which, according to its charter, is ‘ The Governor and Company for smelting down Lead with Pit Coal and Sea Coal,’ which was founded in London in the year 1692 under a charter of William and Mary. It was originally formed for taking over lead smelt- ing works at Bownham near Bristol from Sir Talbot Clerke, but soon extended its operations to Wales, and in 1704 acquired also the Ryton works in ‘ Aldstone Moor.’ About 1725 mines were acquired in the manor of Muggleswick in Durham, beside others in Swaledale, Yorkshire. In 1745 the company took a lease of the mines of ‘ Redgroves,’ Rampsgill, and ‘ Bromgill’ from the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, and finally, in 1771, a lease of ‘ Mannen Gill’ and ‘Hake- bridge ’ from the earl of Darlington, and ‘ a lease of Mineral Ground from Timothy Hutchinson in the Common of Eggleston with a smelt-mill at a rental of ^^6 per annum and ^ duty.’ Thus commenced the long connexion of the London Lead Company with the Teesdale district, which continued up to the close of the company’s opera- tions in 1905, the smelting works at Eggleston remaining in work to the last. In 1792 the company abandoned all its other mines and con- centrated its operations in the dales of Durham and the adjoining portions of Yorkshire. In 1801 a lease of several mines and a smelt-mill at Stan- hope was taken at a rental of £2^ and a royalty of one-sixth, and in 1 803 of the manors of Patter- dale and Ravenstonedale from Lord Lowther, and of the manor of Cregill from Lord Darlington, at a royalty of one-fifth. Further, sixteen leases of mines from Green- wich Hospital were executed in 1808, and the importance of the company’s holdings may be gauged by the fact that they satisfied the demand Stowe MS. (B.M.), 1046, fol. 88. Surtees, Dur. ii, 361. Martin, Index to Rec. \<^']a. made by the bishop of Durham in 1809 for royalties from the Weardale mines by the payment of over j^5,ooo. Up to 1850 or thereabouts the company enjoyed a period of great prosperity, but gradually the output of lead diminished, the ore became progressively poorer in silver, and these facts, together with the low price of metals that characterized the end of the nineteenth century, caused this famous old company to cease opera- tions in the year 1905. Bailey, in the General Fiew of the Agriculture of the County of Durham f states that in the year 1809 there were working in the county eighty- six lead mines, namely : in Weardale on the north side of the river, twenty mines, of which ten belonged to the bishop of Durham, all of which were leased to Colonel Beaumont ; in Weardale, on the south side of the river, fourteen mines, seven of which belonged to the bishop of Durham, and seven mines also were leased to Colonel Beaumont ; in Teesdale forty-eight mines, of which forty-two belonged to the earl of Darlington, and six were leased to the London Lead Company ; in the Derwent valley four mines ; there were also four smelt-mills in the Derwent valley, three in Weardale, and three in Teesdale. Of the whole number of mines then at work, the most profitable were Jeffries’ Rake in the Derwent valley, Brandon Wells, Wolf Cleugh, Breckon Side,^** Pasture Grove, and Coves in Weardale, and Wiregill, Marlebeck Head, Old Pike Law, High Langdon Grass Hill and Ashgill Head in Teesdale. From many of the others little ore was raised, and some were working at a considerable loss. According to Westgarth Forster there were in 1821 thirty-six mines at work in Weardale and thirty-eight in Teesdale, the former produc- ing about 1 7,000 bings and the latter about 8,000 bings of lead ore per annum. The yield of metallic lead was about i ton from 4.^ bings (36 cwt.) of ore. The smelt-mills were at Rookhope, Gleaton (High, Middle and Lower Mills), Gandless, Stanhope, Bodyhope, Edmond- byers, Jeffries and Healey field. In the year 1905 there were only eleven mines at work in the whole county the Weardale mines produced only 2,553 the others together only 335 tons, making the pro- duce of the entire county 2,888 tons of ore, equal Op. cit. 37. *®This famous mine of Breckon Side or Breckon Syke is said to have at one time yielded nearly 10,000 bings (i bing = 8 cwt.) of lead ore in one year ; Forster, Strata (3rd edit.), 148. Op. cit. 304 et seq. These were Cow Green at Harwood Fell, Flush O’Mea, Lady Rake in Teesdale, Pike Law in New- blggin, Wiregill Deep in Teesdale, with the following mines of the Weardale Lead Company, Bolt’s Burn, Craig’s Level, Groverake, Killhope and Sedling, all in Stanhope and Wolf Cleugh; Mines and Quarries Gen. Rep. and Statistics, 239. 352 INDUSTRIES to 2,039 tons of lead and 14,462 oz. of silver, the ore production being just about one-tenth of what it was fifty years ago. The once flourishing lead- mining districts now present a dismal picture of decay, many of the districts formerly occupied by the miners now being almost depopulated. The only company still doing any considerable amount of work is the Weardale Lead Company, Limited, some of whose deep mining at Stanhope Burn is giving promising results, whilst the principal mine. Bolt’s Burn, is doing extremely well, producing about 7,000 bings of ore yearly, the increase in the price of lead in 1906 having been of great assistance to this company. IRON No authentic record exists of the origin of iron-mining between the Tyne and Tees. It is however probable that as in Gloucestershire and Sussex surface deposits may have been worked by the Romans or even before their time,^ but the first specific notice that remains to us is no earlier than the second half of the twelfth century. Bishop Hugh Pudsey, whom we have already seen working the lead and silver mines of his bishopric, granted ^ to the Hospital of St. Giles at Durham ‘amine of iron within Rokehope for making ploughs and other necessaries.’ It is also worth notice that this mine was situate in the same dis- trict which at the present day still provides the meagre output of iron-ore credited to the county of Durham. Early in the following century there is ample evidence that iron was being pro- duced to a considerable extent within the Pala- tinate, and the records of sales of the bars wrought in the bishop’s forges appear regularly on the ac- counts® of the see in the few years for which these are extant. For the period from Midsum- mer to Martinmas ( 10 John), Aimeric, archdeacon of Durham, and Philip de Ulecote render account of 1141. for 733 hens and 624 \>2Lrs {esperdutis) ot iron sold. In the year following there is a return of ;^93 4r. <)\d., the value of perquisites of the forest with pannage-money, the issues of the ferry of Howden,^ and iron sold. In the two follow- ing years the issues of the forests with pannage and iron sold amounted to ;^I05 I'js. id. and ^^129 I or. id. respectively. Owing to a system ' The ‘ cinders ’ or slag found in such enormous quantities on the Durham moorlands and attributed by early antiquaries to the Danes, are probably for the most part the refuse of the mediaeval forges. A small portion may however go back to an earlier time. ^ Boldon Book (Surtees Soc. xxv), App. p. xlvi. ’ As already stated the early records of the bishopric of Durham have been to a great extent destroyed. Happily a few accounts when the see was vacant are entered on the great rolls of the national exchequer. See Pipe Rolls for Cumberland, Westmorland, and Durham (Soc. of Antiq. of Newcastle-on-Tyne), 197 et seq. * The amount derived from the ferry was a small amount varying from four to eight or at most twelve marks at this time. of accountancy which classes fowls and iron to- gether it is difficult to obtain any precise idea of the amount of iron obtained at this time from the mines of the bishop. These evidently lay within his forest, doubtless in Weardale,® and furnished a valuable portion of the forest issues, as in the parallel instance of the Forest of Dean. The mention of iron sent to Ireland and of 1,260 shovels, 240 spades, 160 picks, and 100 hatchets sent to Wales, may also point to the activity of the iron industry within the Palatinate. In the Pipe Roll 14 John (1213), the issues of the forest with pannage and iron sold are returned at ,^130 Js. 3^/., while the profit of the lead-mines amounted to ;^6o 8i. id., besides twenty-one loads [of lead] which the king had. It is also noted that 1,070 bars of iron had been bought and placed in the castle of Norham, and that iiir. id. had been paid for anchors and other armament for the king’s ^reat ship which came from Portsmouth, while the manufacture® of 97,175 quarrels cost ;^88 i8r. id. Besides this we read on the same Pipe Roll of 320 bars of iron sent from Newcastle to Portsmouth, and of 700 horse-shoes with nails, and of 1,060 shovels sent to Chester. In short, the consideration of the entries in these Pipe Rolls certainly suggests a considerable output of iron in and around the Palatinate of Durham, even allowing for a certain importation from abroad. About a century later there is again significant evidence^ that the Weardale mines were still productive, for the annual issues of the forges between Tyne and Tees are returned at ^^15 i6r. It is possible that this sum represents the value of the smelters’ licences,® or the amount at which the forges as a whole were farmed or leased. In 1368 we hear of a bloomery in Gordon and Evenwood leased ® by Bishop Hat- field through his forester, Alan de Shotlington, to John de Merley and three others for a term of years, while towards the close of that century ®It is of course possible, but not very probable, that at this time the bishop owned iron-mines outside the boundaries of the present county of Durham. ®As in the Forest of Dean, so in the Palatinate of Durham, the manufacture of quarrels was continued during the reign of Henry III. ‘ Et in quarellis fab- ricandis in episcopatu et flechandis et pennandis ad opus Regis ad balistas de j pede et ij pedibuSj^aq i zs. ^d. per breve eiusdem,’ and again, ‘ In cariagio xxxv mi- liarum quarellorum a Dunelmo usque Londoniam £"/,’ Pipe R. 13 Hen. Ill, m. i. The forest wood and iron in both Gloucestershire and Durham invited and almost rendered inevitable the manufacture of such material of war. ' Mins. Acets. (Gen. Ser.), bdle. 1144, No. 17, 4 Edw. II. ® In the Forest of Dean in 1282 the annual licence paid to the constable of St. Briavels for each forge at work the whole year through was js. ® Hutchinson, Hist, of Dur. iii, 338 ; Boyle, Guide to Dur. 1 1 5. 353 2 45 A HISTORY OF DURHAM it is probable that the mines of Evenwood with those of Raly, Caldherst, Hertkeld, Hethers- clough, otherwise Tow Law, and Wollewes, were leased to Sir Ralf de Eure, since in 1424 Bishop Langley granted to Master William de Eure a renewal of the lease ‘ of his mines of coals and of iron under the said coals, which mines his ancestor Ralf de Eure (whom God assoil) held at the time of his death ’ for the term of nine years at the annual rent of 12 13^. 4^. As to this lease it may be noted that in 1432 a writ^^ was issued for the recovery of 9^* rents due from Sir William Eure, The large rental was doubtless due to the increasing value of coal.^^ It was from the mines leased to Sir Ralf Eure at Raly, Hertkeld, and Morepytt, that ironstone was procured for the forge at Byrke- knott (Bedburn Forge?), worked in 1408 on behalf of Bishop Langley. It is also possible that the slag or ‘cinders’ of earlier smelters was in request in the Palatinate, as in the Forest of Dean, even as early as the fifteenth century. An indenture^® made in 1438 between the bishop of Durham and Robert Kirkhous, ‘ Iryn- brenner,’ affords still more information as to mining and smelting within the Palatinate. The lessee was to get ‘ stooneoeure ’ at Kahogh or near by if it may be found, and ‘ cinders ’ or slag at Ambrosegarth. But if it hap that the forsaid Robert may not get in the places aforsayd sufficient stooneoere for a smythie then it shal be leeful to the same Robert to gete at his cost irynoeur in the westsyd of Rookop and in the northsyd of Stanhop Park in the ground of the said bishop except Mardencrag sufficient for the brennyng and colyng of the sayd wode paying there- for to the sayd bishop alleweye for thre doseynes of oere two stone of the same iryne that is made of the same oeur. And of the same oer the said Robert shal latte noon othir man have part without leave of the said bishop. The wood granted by the bishop for the manu- facture of charcoal for the forge was also paid Dur. Curs. No. 38, m. 20 d. ” Ibid. No. 37, m. 6 d. These leases were on more than one occasion renewed. The important renewal of 1458 already considered shows that these mines were especially valuable as coal-mines. ‘ Et in liii duodenis petrae minerae ferri de Radulpho de Eure milite pro ferro inde faciendo, duodena ad i'ls. ex conventione secum facta per com- putatorem emptis evir.’ For further details see the ‘ Iron-master’s Roll ’ printed by Lapsley, Engl. Hist. Rev. xiv, 5 1 8. “ ‘ Et in stipendio Radulphi Sclater cum plaustro suo, per xij dies ad viijV. cariantis sindres a dicto campo de Hopyland usque dictum forgeum pro ferro novo ibidem cum eisdem temperando, ex conventione per computatorem cum eodem facta, viij/.’; Engl. Hist. Rev. ut supra. Dur. Curs. 37, m. 3 d. for in kind ; ‘ 20 stone of such iryne as the same [Robert] shall doo brenne theer ’ for ten dozen of ‘ coles.’ It is evident from the accounts of 1408 and the mention of the ‘ Watergate ’ in the lease under consideration that water-power was by this time being applied to the bellows, though not exclusively so, at least on the earlier occasion. Probably when there was an insufficiency of water or any defect in the mechanical connexions resort was had to the older foot-blast. As we have already seen in the smelting of lead the same partnership might use either a wheel or a foot-blast as occasion served. It is difficult to determine certainly, owing to the fragmentary character of the evidence which still remains to us, whether the output of iron in Durham was increasing or declining during the fifteenth century. On the one hand it is incon- testable that, owing to the application of water- power and other mechanical improvements, each forge at work turned out more metal ; on the other hand the store of easily-reached ore was probably diminishing, forges were almost certainly not so profitable, while Spanish iron was exten- sively imported and regarded as superior to that produced in Weardale. The account of the bishop’s chief forester about 1440 is not inconsistent with this view of the matter. Concerning the farm of the iron-forge {forget ferri) of Redgate in Hamsterleward which was wont to return £6 13/. j^d. nothing here because no forge exists there. Nor concerning the farm of the iron mine of Weardale which was wont to return 26/. 2id. annually, because Lord Latymer ought to make return in respect thereto on account of a certain agreement as to it made between him and the lord (bishop). Nor of the forge within the park of Bedburn because it is worked by {occupatur) William Blirthorn on a lease from the seneschal. Therefore the seneschal should make return in respect thereto. In the account of the chief forester (Sir George Lumley) for 1486-7 there is no specific mention of the Weardale iron-mines belonging to the bishop. It is possible, however, that they were included under the head of the coal-mines, which were at this time accounted for by the receiver-general. But as to the forge there is this significant note : ‘ Nor indeed of the farm of the forge there (in Weardale) because it is not worked {occupatur) but remains in the lord’s hands.’ About the time this account was presented, however, we meet with a mention of the Wear- dale iron-mines in a lease granted by Bishop Sherwood on 21 May, 1488, to Thomas Ferror of Brythburne, of his iron-mine in Weardale, Eccl. Com. Mins. Acets. 190030. For the first and second years of Bishop Neville. Ibid. 190031. Dur. Curs. 56, m. 4. 354 INDUSTRIES called ‘ HenrysongreyfF,’ with certain wood for charcoal to smelt the iron, the bishop, however, reserving to himself the right of winning at his own cost sufficient ore for Ralf, earl of West- morland, and the prior of Durham, to smelt at their iron mills. This referenceto the great Benedictine House of Durham may remind us that as early as 1360—61 their bursar*® was buying Weardale and Spanish iron ‘ Marescalcia. In 4 lades ferri de Werdall 5u. In 21 petras ferri de Spayne, petra ()^d. — l6r. 75-^.’ And from the Almoner’s roll®® nearly a century later, between 1441 and 1446, we find the priory procuring metal from one of the forges already mentioned, ‘ Et in undecim petris ferri de Werdall emptis de Roberto Kirk- house precio $s. bd.,' but simultaneously Spanish iron was bought, 12 stones for gs., working out at gd. a stone. At this time it is evident that the imported metal fetched half as much again as the native product. The mining of iron in the Weardale continued during the sixteenth century, though in its closing years probably in diminishing quantities. In the fourth year of Thomas, bishop of Durham, al- most certainly Bishop Ruthall, we meet with a licence®* issued to Thomas Siggeswyk,' chaplain, and Thomas Pikhall, to open the lord’s soil and win iron ore in Weardale from the feast of St. Peter’s Chains for two years at a rent of 1 80 stones of iron a year or the money value at 6d. a stone. Payment was to be made to the general receipt, the issues of the mines being no longer accounted for by the chief forester. In connexion with this licence two of ‘ lez smethes ferri infra parcum de Wolsyngham’ were leased to the same parties in the suitable allowance of brushwood for charcoal for two years from Mar- tinmas at a rent of ;^20 a year. Although it is hazardous to draw too definite conclusions from isolated entries in the general accounts of the bishopric, a summary®® of about 1509 is perhaps significant. From the coal-mines, ;^209 6s. ^d. ; licences for carting coal, ;^I0; sale of lead, £2^ 8d. ■, sale of iron, jTi ^s. Wolsey’s lease®® of all mines of metals and minerals within the bishopric and the country called ‘ Wardall,’ to Thomas Wynter in 20 Henry VIII, though no doubt referring especially to lead may have included the iron-mines as well. It was for thirty years at the rent of per annum. In a book of the great receipt®^ of Bishop Tunstall’s seventh year, while the amount derived from mining, leases, wayleaves, &c., is entered at £228 I or,, there is a blank space opposite the Dur. Acct. R. (Surtees Soc. xcix-ciii), 562. Ibid. 235. ®* Eccl. Com. Var. 220217, 765* ” Ibid. 220216, p. 451. An account cancelled, but probably only because elsewhere entered. ” Dur. Curs. 73, m. 2. Eccl. Com. Var. 220208, fol. 16. rubric ‘ Firma Minerae Ferri in Wardell,’ but this may be accidental since Weardale iron was certainly being produced at this time as the Durham Priory accounts clearly show. It is probable that all the iron-mines of the bishop were then let on lease. On the account ®® of the bursar of the priory for 1536-7, we have an entry of 26r. 8^^. received as the price of 80 stone of Weardale iron won at Muggleswick [lucratas apud Mugleswyk ad ^d. hoc anno\ perhaps surplus stuff, for at the same time they were purchasing®® the metal in considerable quantities, paying 22r. 6d. to James Lawson of Newcastle for 30 stone of Spanish iron at gd. a stone, and 4ir. 8d. for ‘ 100 petras ferri de Wardall emptas de Richardo Crosby de Rychemond ’ at 5^. a stone. And this was not all the native iron bought in this year, since 280 stones of Wear- dale metal were purchased ‘de tenentibus de Edmundbyrez et pastoribus de Mugleswyk’ for ^5 i6r. 8^/,, and this price works out again at y^d. a stone. Towards the middle of the sixteenth century the great wastage of timber, which resulted from smelting operations in all the mineral-producing districts of England, began to excite attention, and measures were taken to deal with the matter. It is probable, as already suggested, that the working of iron in Durham was already becom- ing less profitable, and any restriction of fuel would still further discourage the speculative renting of furnaces. From that time, however, until the present, iron has been mined intermit- tently within the county. In 1626 we hear of an iron-mine near Chester ; ®® about the time of the Restoration iron was still got in the west of Weardale, while in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century it is probable that ironstone as well as coal was mined, if only to a small extent, by the German sword-makers of Shotley Bridge. The great Whitehill furnaces of Mr. Cookson, founded originally in the early years of the eighteenth century, were supplied partly with local ore and partly with ore from Robin Hood’s Bay. In the first half of the nineteenth century the ironstone of the Derwent valley was for a time exploited for the works at Consett and else- where, but in 1852 the Derwent Iron Company ceased to mine the local ore, as with the greater facilities for the transport of large quantities of mineral that railways now afforded, it was found cheaper to bring the Cleveland ironstone over the county border. The Weardale iron ore deposits have been exploited during the last century chiefly by the Weardale Iron Company, under the management of Mr. Charles Attwood, who acquired a furnace at Stanhope in 1845, which had been erected by Mr. Cuthbert Rippon, followed by six others at “ Dur. Acct. R. ut supra, 686. Ibid. 694. ” Eccl. Com. Var. 220193. 355 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Tow Law, a position convenient for both iron ore and coal. In 1853 forges, and in 1870 blast furnaces, were also erected at Tudhoe, and these are still smelting the only ironstone^* mined in the county of Durham, namely from the Garrick Ironstone Mines and the Rookhope Iron Mines, both in Weardale. The production is, however, very small, so that even the well-known ‘Tud- hoe and Weardale’ brand of pig-iron of the Weardale Iron Company is made from a mixture of Weardale and Cleveland ironstone. The present company, known as the Weardale Steel, Coal and Coke Company Limited, has joined forces with two other large companies, the South Durham Steel and Iron Company Limited and the Cargo Fleet Iron Company Limited, the latter owning extensive ironstone mines at Cleveland, In 1905, 9,579 tons of brown iron ore were mined at Carrick, or Craig’s Level, and 3,114 tons obtained from quarries or open-cast workings. The average production of iron may be reckoned at about 30 per cent, of this ; Mines and Quarries Gen. Rep. 1906. and here again the business of iron-smelting has advanced by leaps and bounds, whilst that of iron-mining has shrunk to very small dimensions. BARYTES Durham is one of the few English counties from which sulphate of baryta is obtained in any quantity, the output in 1905 reaching a total ot some 5,626 tons, of which 1,507 came from the Cow Green Mine, 85 from the Flush O’Mea, and 4,034 from a very curious fault-fissure in the New Brancepeth Collieries. The estimated value of the mineral raised was ^^2,630.^ FLUORSPAR A considerable amount of fluorspar is obtained from Weardale, the chief producers being Sed- ling and Stanhopeburn mines, and the output about 10,000 tons per annum. * Mines and Quarries Gen. Rep. and Statistics for 1905 (1906), p. 163. 356 AGRICULTURE IN the county of Durham as elsewhere in England there were large areas of uninclosed waste land till the middle of the eighteenth cen- tury. Between 1756 and 1797 over 1,500 private Inclosure Acts were passed, and finally a general Commons Inclosure Act was passed in 1801. During this period the county took its full share in the develop- ment of English agriculture, as is well shown by comparing Arthur Young’s Northern 1768, with Bailey’s account of the agriculture of Durham in 1810. Young, in his describes how he crossed the Tees to Barnard Castle, and proceeded thence to Middleton-in-Teesdale and further west. He speaks of the valley towards Middleton as ‘ a noble extensive valley, inter- sected with hedges and a few walls into sweet inclosures which, being quite below the point of view, are seen distinct, though almost numberless ’ ; thus showing that a considerable amount of the valley land was inclosed at that time. Beyond Middleton he still found inclosures, and describes the wild banks of the Tees as ‘ clothed with the freshest verdure, and cut by hedges full of clumps of wood, and scattered with straggling trees.’ It is evident, therefore, that hedgerow timber is of old standing in the county. Young noted that grass inclosures in the valley were let at 25^. an acre, and that parts of the moors recently inclosed by the then Earl of Darlington, after * paring, burning and liming, sowing with turnips, oats and hard grain,^ and laying down with grass seeds,’ produced a rental of yj. bd. an acre. He also stated that a very large amount of the waste land of the district was well worth inclosing. His description of the Earl of Darlington’s Home Farm at Raby is full of interest. Its extent was about 1,100 acres, of which 430 were arable, 288 meadow for mowing, and 357 pasture. The rent was estimated at ^^00. Thirty-three labourers were employed, including six boys, and there were twenty horses and eighteen draught-oxen. The rotation of crops varied, but was usually: (i) fallow, (2) wheat, (3) fallow (dunged), (4) barley, (5) swedes. Peas or turnips might take the place of one of the fallows. The farm buildings were extensive and included a large barn, feed- ing-houses for fattening cattle, and even a sheep-yard, with a covered shed for the sheep in bad weather, while the urine from the animals was not allowed to drain away, but was collected in a reservoir and used as manure. In connexion with these buildings Young notes that he has ‘ seen a vast number of farms in this part of the kingdom that have nothing deserving the name of a farm-yard,’ and urges the need and the advantage of protection of cattle during the winter. In the previous year the grass land had included in its stocking thirty-seven Scotch cattle and fourteen cows. The cows were * polled, in order to do less injury to the young plantations, and also because ^ Wheat or wheat and rye. 357 A HISTORY OF DURHAM they were excellent milkers, giving eight gallons each a day. Unfortunately the breed is not mentioned, but it may be noted that Marshall in his work on Yorkshire (1796) stated that the ancient breed of black cattle was the most important breed of North Yorkshire, and that although mostly horned some of them were polled or hornless. The sheep were very profitable on this farm ; on an average there were three lambs to every two ewes, while each ewe’s wool sold at 6s. Most of the grass land was drained with stone drains, which were cut about 2J ft. deep, while the drains were from 4 to 7 yards apart. In laying land down to grass the seeds sown per acre were about 17 lb. white clover and 4 bushels cleaned hayseeds, along with small quantities of ribgrass and trefoil. Cabbages had also just been introduced on this farm with success as a field crop. In describing the general farming of the district. Young states that rents were about i6j. an acre, that rentals varied from about ^80 to ^100, and that the common courses of farming were either (i) fallow, (2) wheat, (3) oats, or (i) turnips, (2) barley, (3) seeds. The amounts of seed sown and the average crops were as follow : — Crop Seed per acre Time of sowing Crop per acre Wheat . 2 bushels . September 25 bushels Barley • ^2 » . April 35 )) Oats • 4 „ . March 40 )) Rye oT * ^ 2 yy ? 40 yy Peas 2 — • “^2 yy . March 30 yy Young notes that they knew nothing of red clover. The cost of stocking a farm was estimated at ^^4 an acre. and land sold at thirty-five years’ purchase. Tithes were generally compounded, wheat paying 6s. an acre, barley 4X. 6^/., and hay 2s. Poor rates were 6J. in the Labourers’ wages were ix. a day in the winter and up to 2x. a day in harvest, while dairy-maids received ^5, boys ^6, and men from i to ^14 annually. In connexion with this he estimated that the average value of servants’ board, washing and lodging was jTq a year. The labourers’ house rents were about 35X., and their firing about 25X. a year. Candles and soap were expensive at 6^. a pound, while meat of all kinds was about 32^., butter 7^/., cheese 2j^., and rye bread i^. a pound. Farm carts cost about jTy lox., ploughs about 22X., and harrows about lox. ; there were no four-wheeled farm-wagons, and rollers were nearly unknown. Proceeding from Raby to Durham, he found much good land rented on the average at about 22x. an acre, the farm rents being as a rule under £100 a year ; and again between Durham and Newcastle he noted that ‘ land is in general good and lets very high, even round Newcastle extravagantly, from 40X. to an acre.’ Further on he contrasts the agriculture of Northumber- land with that of Durham, and states that the farms are much larger in the former county, and that the small inclosed farms are well farmed, but the larger waste farms poorly managed and in poor condition. This account by Young shows that the farming of that time in the county was of a simple and primitive character, and also that the com- paratively small amount of inclosed land was farmed by a frugal and industrious class of farmers, whilst the owners of a few well-managed farms 358 AGRICULTURE like the Home Farm at Raby were improving the methods of cultivation, introducing fresh crops, importing cattle and other live stock into the county, and building good accommodation for live stock. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Durham was written in i8io by John Bailey of Chillingham, for the Board of Agriculture. Bailey began life as a schoolmaster and became steward to Lord Tankerville at Chillingham. He was a man of sound judgement and great practical know- ledge, his services were in great request as a valuer of land, and he claimed an intimate acquaintance with the agriculture of the county for upwards of forty years. The first authentic records of inclosure of commons he found were those of the Ryhope (1658) and Stockton Common Fields (1659), both containing 1,765 acres. In connexion with these dates it should be noticed that in 1652 Walter Blith, an officer in Cromwell’s army, had published the third edition of 'T'he 'English Improver Improved^ in which he strongly urged the inclosure of common lands, and it is evident that the influence of this advice was soon felt. Bailey gives a full account of the commons divided and inclosed in the county between 1756 and 1809, their total acreage being over 114,000 acres. The largest were the Weardale stinted moors and pastures (25,000 acres), and the Middleton and Eggleston commons (18,000 acres). Of the total of 114,000 acres, only about 74,000 were considered to be ‘ capable of improvement by the plough.’ The whole, however, was ‘ well inclosed, and sub-divided into proper sized fields by thorn hedges or stone walls, and a great many new farm houses, offices, etc., have been erected.’ The inclosure of these lands greatly enhanced their worth ; in fact Bailey states that he ‘valued and let an allotment for ^750, for the common right of which before the division, the proprietor and his tenants never received benefits equal to as many shillings,’ and he estimated that by inclosing these lands their average value had increased at least tenfold. Farms were usually let for from three to twelve years, the time of entry being Old May Day. Old pastures could not be broken ; when drainage was done by the landlord, seven per cent, on the outlay was paid annually by the tenant, and the tenant on leaving had a waygoing crop from two-thirds of the ploughed land, with use of the stackyard and barn for a year later. Minerals, &c., were reserved, but damage caused by their working was met. As to farm buildings he had ‘ not found any meriting any particular notice.’ The cottages were ‘ comfortable dwellings of one storey, covered with thatch or tiles.’ The farms were small, the greater number being between 50 and 150 acres; while only one is mentioned as being as large as 1,000 acres. The few large farmers however were ‘ men of education and superior intelligence, who travel to examine the cultivation of distant countries, and improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and other animals,’ and had capital to carry out their ideas. Among these were the Messrs. Culley, the great agricultural improvers of the north. The small farmers had little capital, had worked on the farm from childhood, toiling from four in the morning till eight in the evening in summer, and in winter from ‘ twilight to twilight,’ and obtaining their scanty education during the winter months; they were greater slaves than their servants. Rents had greatly increased during the previous twenty years, in many cases being doubled. Rent for arable land varied from 51. to ^3 an 359 A HISTORY OF DURHAM acre, the best pasture and meadows from 30^. to ^3, and land near towns reached ^4 to Farm servants were hired by the year ; a good man-servant was paid £21, and a woman-servant ^TS, with bed and board in the farmer’s house. The married labourers’ yearly earnings averaged about >(^38 a year. The cost of labour had doubled within twenty years. The average prices of provisions in Durham for the seven years 1803-10 were: wheat lor. a bushel ; beef 'jd. a lb.; butter u. t)d. a lb.; fowls ix. each ; eggs 6^. a dozen ; and potatoes 2s. a bushel. The turnpike roads were in good repair, ‘ but the road from Stockton to Durham is very ill kept ’ as well as the great post-road from Darlington to Newcastle, and the township roads were in wretched repair. These latter were kept by statute labour, of which every one did as little as possible, and Bailey suggested that if 6^/. to ix. in the pound had been charged for this ‘ every good farmer would cheerfully pay it, rather than have his draughts and his men taken off to perform statute duty.’ At this time swing ploughs^ only were used in the county. When Bailey knew these ploughs forty years before, the mouldboards were made of wood, and were very full at the breast, but when he wrote they were mostly made of cast iron. Great attention was then being given to the construction of ploughs so as to lessen the draught and make the mouldboard turn over the furrow in the best manner, as is shown in the full description given by Bailey. In 1770 Clarke of Belford, a northern agricultural improver, had been awarded a Gold Medal by the London Society of Arts for an essay on the construction of ploughs, which was published in Dossie’s Memoirs of Agriculture. Paring and burning was then a regular practice and had been in vogue for centuries. All turf over about seven years old (including common land reclaimed) was subjected to this process when it was broken up. Four or five expert labourers could pare off sods one inch deep from an acre daily,, but Bailey noted the introduction of a paring plough which greatly facilitated this work. This operation, which is now practically obsolete, was done in early summer, the turves being afterwards stacked loosely in heaps, and burned when dry enough, after which the ashes and burned soil were care- fully spread. Corn drills were at this time in use by one or two of the best farmers, while turnip seed drills were common. Threshing mills were also general, although the first had only been introduced by Robert Colling in 1795, and there was actually one worked by steam in 1810. Carts had almost entirely taken the place of wagons, and the one-horse cart was coming inta use on the roads, although two- or three-horse carts were principally used on the farm. Bailey had also seen a rake, drawn by a horse, on Robert Coding’s farm. Tithes were drawn in some places, but were usually valued and let every year, according to the value and average crops of grain less cost of marketing. Tithe lambs were due at midsummer, and wool when clipped ; turnip tithe varied from 2x. (od. to yx. (od. an acre, and potato tithe from lox. to i6x. Poor rates varied from ix. 3^. to 2x. (od. a pound in the rural districts, and ’ Ploughs without wheels. 360 AGRICULTURE from 2s. 6d. to 4J-. 6d. in the towns, on rentals reduced from one-third to one-fourth. Numerous agricultural societies had now been formed, some most thorough agricultural experiments had been conducted, and great progress had been made in improving methods of cultivation and in introducing new varieties of crops, especially of cereals. Great agricultural improvers like the Gulleys, the Codings, and other prominent Durham farmers, made large profits at the beginning of this period, as, while rents and cost of labour were still low, their improved methods of farming and the rising prices of agricultural produce gave them a handsome return for their skill and energy. These returns, however, were considerably reduced when a balance was established between rent, labour, and the farmer’s profits.^ James Caird, in English Agriculture in 1850—1, at a time of agricultural depression records that on the heavy farms of the county a three-course rotation was being followed, viz.: — i. fallow; 2. wheat; 3. one-half oats and one-half clover. Most of the fallow was uncropped, so that green crops were limited on these soils. Wheat was the main source of income, and lime the only manure purchased. Rents varied from i u. to i6j. an acre, and tithe* and rates were about 3J‘. bd. an acre. This system had considerably reduced the average number of bushels produced by the cereal crops. On the loams and lighter soils the four-course system was practised, and more of the fallow break was devoted to green crops, while in some cases the Northumberland five-course system was adopted, in which the ‘ seeds ’ were left down for two years. A good deal of the heavy land was drained by the landlords, who charged the tenants five per cent, annually on the outlay. On Lord Ravensworth’s well-managed estate to the south of Newcastle rents varied from ^2 to an acre. Dairy farming for milk supply was already greatly developed in this populous district, and a cow’s produce was reckoned to be worth ^20 a year. The home farms of the large estates were all well farmed. Lord Durham bought Highland heifers, eighteen months old, each autumn at ^os. a head, so that store stock was evidently low in price. Shorthorns were the principal cattle of the county, but the best herds were now on the Yorkshire side of the Tees. On most farms the housing accommodation for live stock was still inadequate. Dr. Bell, in a paper in the Royal Agricultural Society's ^Journal for 1856, recorded that a further 25,000 acres of common land had been reclaimed since 1809, which included 9,000 acres at Middleton-in-Teesdale, and the Eggleston Moor (6,000 acres). He estimated that the arable land of the county was then let at an average of i (^s. and the old grass-land at i 5J-. an acre. By this time the annual meetings of the Durham Agricultural Society had become important, and greatly encouraged the breeding of farm live stock ; many good farm horses were reared, chiefly of the Cleveland breed, while a considerable number of blood horses and hunters were bred. The ’ As an example of the remarkable development of this period it may be noted that the Messrs. Culley, who migrated from Durham to Northumberland in 1767, entered the farm of Wark, near Coldstream, in 1786, the area being 1,200 acres, and the rental [fioo. In 1812 the farm was let at ^^3,200 ! Roy. Jgric. Soc. Journ. (1841), p. 159. * The Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 had reduced this to a charge fluctuating with the price of corn. 361 2 46 A HISTORY OF DURHAM sheep of the lowland pasture were chiefly of the Leicester breed, with black- faced on the hill farms, the cross between the Leicester ram and the Cheviot ewe being popular. A hind’s wage was then 12s. to 13^. a week, with cottage and garden, while day labourers received 2s. to 2s, bd. and women field workers io<^. a day. Many of the drains put in at this time were only 30 inches deep. An estimate of the cost worked out to the low amount of ^^3 I or. an acre. When the show of the Royal Agricultural Society was held at Newcastle in 1887, the Earl of Durham (Lambton Castle), was awarded the first prize of ^50 for the best farm in Durham or Northumberland, occupied and carried on in conjunction with a colliery. As large areas are now farmed by colliery proprietors, mainly to avoid meeting claims for surface damage by tenant farmers, this kind of farming has become very important. The two farms which obtained the prize extended to 759 acres. The stock comprised 17 horses, 170 cattle, nearly 600 sheep, 290 lambs, 20 pigs, and 37 ponies. Over 3,000 loads of dung were made annually, which was supplemented by artificials and some gas lime. At the previous Christmas sale on the farm 49 fat bullocks had realized on the average ^^29 5^. and in the following June, 59 fat cattle gave an average of The arable land was farmed on the four-course system. In the final Report of the Royal Commission on Agricultural Depres- sion, issued in 1897, it was stated that in the north-eastern counties (includ- ing Durham) arable farmers had lost from the fall in the price of grain, and sheep breeders from the fall in wool and the low prices for sheep in 1892—3. Graziers and horse-breeders had done better, while dairy-farmers had hardly suffered. Arable farms were let at twenty to thirty per cent, less than in 1879, but the reduction was less on grass farms. Farms were let readily, although farmers had lost large amounts of capital. Landlords’ outgoings on improvements had increased considerably, so that the net rental had suffered more than the gross. Having thus completed our survey of the agricultural history of Durham during the nineteenth century, it will be advisable before dealing with the present state of agriculture in the county, to consider the important and per- manent factor of the soil. The New Red Sandstone formation underlies the drift deposits to the south-east of a line from the Hartlepools to Darlington, but is all covered with Boulder Clay and Glacial Sands (drift). The clays on the Boulder Clay here are better and more loamy in character, as a considerable amount of the underlying sandstone is found in them. The Magnesian Limestone extends from this to an irregular line drawn from South Shields by Houghton- le-Spring to Ferryhill, and thence by the east of Bishop Auckland and by Headlam to the Tees, one and a half miles east of Gainford. This limestone immediately underlies much of the county between Sunderland and Ferry- hill, where it forms a reddish brown soil, often thin, light and poor where it rests on the rock. Where it is overlaid by Boulder Clay, however, the clay soils are usually of a poor and infertile character, and recent field experiments indicate that the soils formed directly from this limestone are in special need of phosphatic manuring. Still further to the west the Coal Measures extend to a line drawn from the north-west boundary of the county at Wylam, right 362 AGRICULTURE away south to Barnard Castle. The soils lying directly on these are usually thin and poor sandy soils on the sandstones, and poor stiff clays on the shales of this system. While there are considerable areas of these sandy soils, there are thousands of acres of these poor clays, but Boulder Clay covers the greater part of this system, affording soils which are usually poor and shallow clays, but with some good sandy loams on the Glacial Sands. Very large areas of these, to the west, are overlaid by moorland and peat. The Mill- stone Grit occupies large areas of the high-lying land above the upper valleys of the Wear and the Tees in the west of the county, while this is the principal underlying formation for a few miles to the north of the Tees from Barnard Castle to Gainford. In this latter district dryer clay loams are found on the overlying Boulder Clay, but there are extensive tracts of poor sandy soil on the sandstones of this formation, and some poor clays on the shales with which the sandstones are interbedded. These poor sands and clays usually occur on high-lying areas, chiefly as moorland, much of which is of a peaty character. The sandy soils are usually very deficient in plant food, and are in great need of potash manuring, as has been shown by recent experiments. The valleys of the Wear and the Tees in this western part of Durham, as well as the flanks of the hills, lie chiefly on the Mountain Limestone, which here consists of a great succession of sand- stones and limestones, the former to the largest extent. Strong reddish soils of a good character are formed from the limestones, which are especially healthy for stock raising, while poorer sandy soils are formed from the sand- stones. Again, very much of this formation is overlaid by peat and moor- land. The extent of the Boulder Clay deposits may be realized from the fact that of about 435,000 acres under crops and pasture (exclusive of moun- tain pasturage) in the county, at least 250,000 acres lie on Boulder Clay. This differs from a sedimentary clay in that it was deposited under ice during the Glacial Period, without being subjected to weathering agencies. Its character usually depends to a large extent on the underlying and adjacent rock, although it may contain other rocks transported from con- siderable distances. These soils are, as already stated, of a better character in the south-east of the county, where they are derived largely from New Red Sandstone, but are as a rule poor and cold when derived from the shales ■of the Coal Measures. When they contain limestone rock they are usually of a valuable character. The great bulk of these Boulder Clay soils in the county however are thin, and are lying on a poor clay subsoil. On these soils deep ploughing is inadvisable, as this mixes with the small amount of surface soil the poor and unhealthy subsoil material. Some good sandy loams are found on the Glacial Sands and Gravels associated with this clay, which in places extend to quite considerable areas. The areas of good alluvial soil in the river basins are not extensive, as there are practically no wide and open valleys. A reference to Professor Lebour’s geological map^ will show the relative position of the underlying formations, but not of the drift deposits. F.C.H Dur. i. 363 A HISTORY OF DURHAM AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS FOR COUNTY DURHAM (Extracted from Agricultural Returns for Great Britain) Total Area 1 867 CO 0 1880 1890 1900 1905 Total acreage under crops and grass * 389-556 403-135 41 5,626 435-084 4-38,713 434-828 Corn Crops i f Wheat . . Barley .... Oats .... Rye .... Beans .... Peas .... 40,099 1 2,900 43-706 96 3-871 3-139 41-935 16,476 39-838 2 I I 3.194 3-083 31-557 19-406 35-676 102 2,61 2 818 20,572 , 16,565 33-714 119 1-432 673 14,1 14 17-492 32,750 1 20 935 315 14-333 16,1 2 1 32,641 132 980 132 Total . 103,81 1 104,737 90,171 73-065 65-726 64-339 Green Crops •< f Potatoes Turnips and Swedes Mangels Cabbages, Rape, &c. Vetches ^ Other Crops 5-596 22,720 50 507 } 3-563 8,262 24-114 66 578 3-052 9-874 21,205 240 497 2,976 7-821 21,322 144 464 2,490 9-399 20,8 1 3 806 633 ( 1,500 1 335 11-799 20,151 768 576 1-150 479 Total . , 32-456 36,108 34-835 32,285 33-486 34-923 Clover and Grasses (For Hay . under Rotation { For Grazing (?) (?) 33-607 18,673 (?) (?) 40,133 16,385 38,728 13-052 37-031 10,060 Total . 41-644 52,280 44-582 56,518 51-780 47-091 Permanent Pasture'! .* ( For (jrazing (?) (?) 57-320 129,037 (?) (?) 89,705 , 170,359 91-185 189,005 97-948 185,699 Total . 1,83-134 186,357 226,867 260,064 280,190 283,647 Flax ...... Small Fruit ..... Bare Fallow ..... Horses ...... (Including Agricultural) Cattle ..... (Including Milch Cows) Sheep ...... Ligs (?) 28,511 (?) (?) 50,915 18,164 209,819 17-417 1 26 (?) 23-525 15-309 11,297 57-166 18,790 192,093 10,910 16 (?) 19-155 16,859 11,271 62,395 21,124 214-427 7,732 3 263 1 2,886 17-925 1 1,624 69-037 26,004 224,504 14-758 I 344 7-186 20,167 14-310 78,185 28,882 258,257 10,624 1 301 4-526 20,771 14,688 78,648 28,569 238,729 t 11,792 The total extent of land in the county is 645,926 acres, of which 434,926 are under crops and pasture, the remainder being moor and moun- tain land. The earliest reliable agricultural returns were taken in 1867, and the figures are given for that year, for every ten years from 1870 onwards, ' Not including moorland and mountain pasture. 364 AGRICULTURE and for 1905. The area under wheat has decreased to an enormous extent, and was actually under 7,000 acres in 1904. Barley has been fairly constant, but oats have diminished by about one-fourth. Wheat is sold to the largest extent in the corn markets of Sunderland and Stockton, barley in Stockton and Darlington, and oats in Darlington. Rye is of little importance and is now grown principally as an early green food. Beans and peas were fairly extensive crops in 1867, but the areas of these, especially of peas, have latterly become very small, as the large amounts of oil-cakes now available for feeding purposes have made the use of beans and peas, which are both rich in albuminoids, not nearly so necessary on the farm, while the greater cost of harvesting them, especially peas, and the increase in the value of labour, have also restricted their growth. Much of the clay land also, which was especially suitable for beans, has been laid down to pasture. The area of potatoes has been more than doubled, while turnips and swedes have slightly decreased. Mangels are not important, although they have con- siderably increased in the past few years ; the short summer, however, and the prevalence of summer frosts operate specially against this crop. Cabbages are not extensively grown as a field crop, though they are found to be most useful on some of the dairy farms. Clovers and grasses under rotation are usually mown in the first year, and grazed when allowed to lie for a second. Practi- cally no sainfoin or lucerne is grown, nor clover excepting in a mixture with grasses. The area of permanent pasture has increased by about fifty per cent, and of meadow hay by about eighty per cent, and now nearly two-thirds of the old arable is laid away as pasture or meadow land. Bare fallowing is practised only to one-fourth of the extent of 1867. A considerable area of flax was grown about 1870, but this as a fibre crop was not a success and it has been practically given up. Mustard also, which was largely grown about 1770 for manufacture as a condiment, has for long been unimportant and has now disappeared. The four-course rotation is usually followed in a modified form, and is frequently lengthened to a five-course by keeping the seeds down for a second year. For the average of the ten years 1894—1903 the yields of crops (per acre) in the county compared with those of England and Great Britain were as follow : — Co. Durham England Great Britain Bushels Bushels Bushels Wheat 30‘44 30-95 30-95 Barley 36-14 33-00 33-17 Oats .... 37-99 41-09 39-06 Beans 26-63 28-02 28-25 Peas .... 24-27 26-35 26-29 Tons Tons Tons Potatoes 5-43 5-80 5-75 Turnips and swedes 13-02 11-96 12-79 Mangels ^ . 14-64 18-36 18-30 Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Hay (rotation) 33‘94 29-03 29-13 Hay (old land) 2427 24-05 23-63 ‘ Summer frosts (on the grass) are very prevalent in the north-east of England. An inquiry during the past few years has shown that this crop suffers both in bulk and quality to a marked degree when these frosts are frequent. The comparatively short summer of the county is also distinctly unfavourable to the mangel crop. On the other hand, barley does remarkably well in the county, probably because the local summer conditions prevent a too rapid ripening. 365 A HISTORY OF DURHAM From these figures it will be seen that the county produces heavier crops of barley, turnips and swedes, and rotation hay, but smaller crops of oats, beans, peas, and mangels than the average of England. Shorthorns are the cattle^ of the county. In about 1750, a Sedgefield breeder brought a bull from Holland, which is said to have greatly increased the size of the local cattle, and in the beginning of the nineteenth century the brothers Colling, by selection for quality, bred remarkably fine specimens of Durham cattle, as they were then called, from which all pedigree shorthorns are descended. Later the best breeders were located in North Yorkshire. This rapidly became the best-known breed of cattle in all parts of the world, and still maintains this position. Mr. George Harrison, of Gainford Hall, Darlington, now the principal breeder of these, has bred some of the best-known shorthorns of the day. During the eleven years 1893—1903 the herd, now numbering nearly one hundred, won about ^7,000 in prize-money. Among other leading breeders of these cattle are Lord Barnard, Lord Londonderry, and Messrs. Procter (Durham), Heugh (High ConisclifFe), Wilkinson (Stockton), and Reid (Weardale), while excellent non-pedigree dairy shorthorns are bred in Teesdale and Weardale. The total number of cattle has increased 50 per cent, since 1867. Farm horses are chiefly of the Clydesdale breed, but shires are also kept. Among the leading breeders are the Seaham Harbour Stud Company and the Earl of Durham. As a general rule the farmers breed one or two foals every year. The increase of farm horses by about 20 per cent, in the last thirty years indicates that many more are now bred than was formerly the case. Half-bred (Leicester-Cheviot) sheep arc kept principally in the east, and blackfaced on the higher lands of the west, but other breeds form part of the flocks. The total number of sheep tended to increase till about 1900, since when it has rather decreased. The pigs are mostly of the Middle White Yorkshire breed, and they are sometimes crossed with the Berkshire. Breeders find a ready sale for young pigs in the colliery districts, and though their total number decreased largely about 1880, they have again nearly reached the average of the past thirty years. With regard to animal diseases the county is now in a fortunate position. There were in 1905 only ten outbreaks of swine-fever, thirteen of sheep-scab, and no cases of other important contagious diseases. There were seventy-five owners of 1,000 acres and upwards of land in the county in 1875, among whom the following owned over 10,000 acres : — The Duke of Cleveland (now represented by Lord Barnard), the Marquis of Londonderry, the Earl of Durham, Viscount Boyne, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The University of Durham owns nearly 3,000 acres. Perhaps the largest agricultural estate in the county at the present time is that which has been for nearly 300 years in the hands of the same family, and to which the present Lord Barnard of Raby Castle succeeded on the death of the last Duke of Cleveland in 1891. The Raby estate comprises some 56,000 acres, which lie mostly in the Valley of the Tees, and include a con- siderable extent of moorland. The average rental in 1875 varied from * See Table, supra. 366 AGRICULTURE 32J. id. an acre for mixed farms to iSr. 10^. an acre for grass farms, whereas now the former stand at 25J. <^d. and the latter 15^. 'jd. an acre, a reduction of about twenty per cent, and seventeen per cent, respectively. But while the expenditure on up-keep (buildings, drainage, &c.) was 8x. '^d. in the ^ in 1875, it is I or. \d. in the ^ now, so that the reduction of net income is considerably greater than the above figures indicate. The holdings are of small size in the lead-mining districts of Upper Teesdale, where the occupiers generally combine mining with their farm work, but usually extend to over 200 acres towards the east of the county. The homesteads are nearly all built of stone with slate roofs, and as a rule are in good repair, a striking feature of the whole estate being that they are all whitewashed either annually or every two years. Lord Barnard places good shorthorn bulls, shire stallions, and a thoroughbred stallion at the disposal of his tenants for nominal fees. Leases are neither asked for nor granted, but it is unusual for a farm to change hands, although tenants by choice sometimes move to other farms on the estate. Agricultural land was on an average worth about thirty years’ purchase in 1875 ; it had dropped to about twenty-five a few years ago, but has now slightly recovered, varying from that to about twenty-seven. The in-coming tenant usually enters into full possession on 1 3 May, the out-going tenant giving up to him half of the tillage-land and all the straw on the preceding 30 November, the grass land for hay on 26 April, and the pasture land about 10 May. All dung made from 30 November is handed over to the in-coming tenant. In 1904 there were in the county 159 farms over 300 acres in extent, and 2,334 between 50 and 300 acres. There were also 3,057 smaller holdings of between 5 and 50 acres, and 1,197 of still less extent. On the smaller farms the farmer usually works a pair of horses himself, and while most of his time on the larger farms is required for superintending he is generally ready to take part in the work at busy times. The last census revealed a striking decrease in the number of male agricultural labourers in the county, as there were 10,004 of these in 1851 and only 5,049 in 1901. For this, the increased cost of labour, improved agricultural machinery, greater extent of pasture and lower prices for agri- cultural produce are all responsible. The custom of engaging the men at hiring markets is now being replaced by the better method of advertising in the newspapers. The hinds, or ploughmen, are usually hired from i 3 May (old May Day) for one year. The wages of married men have increased from about 12^. a week in 1845 to about 2ox. at the present time with a free house, about 7J cwt. of potatoes, and sometimes other allowances. The unmarried men usually live in the farmer’s house and receive from >^3° to ^(^36 a year, instead of about 8 as in 18 50. The old custom of giving ‘ arles ’ at the time of engagement has not yet disappeared. The food has been greatly improved, and usually now includes eggs and bacon for breakfast and meat with vegetables for dinner. Sixty years ago the food included oatmeal porridge with coffee, bread, and skim milk for breakfast, and ‘ dumpling ’ rather than meat was the principal dinner course. The hours of labour have also been considerably reduced, and overtime is now paid for at about \d. an hour, or is compounded by a payment of about ^3 or ^4 a year. Some women 367 A HISTORY OF DURHAM labourers are engaged at an average of about u. 3^. a day. The wages of dairymaids and of domestic servants have greatly increased. Farmhouses and homesteads are, as a rule, commodious, substantially built, and suitable for the farms, and labourers’ cottages show a marked improvement on what they were fifty years ago. Many of the farmers are now allowed to sell hay and straw on condition that equivalent manure is returned, and more free- dom of cropping is allowed, always providing that the condition of the holding is maintained. Generally speaking rents are lower by over twenty per cent, than they were in the seventies, but farms have always been in demand, and conditions have again slightly improved within the last few years, especially in those districts where dairy-farming is rapidly developing. Large amounts of manure produced in the county are available, and artificial manures are largely used, especially for roots, while basic slag is invaluable for pasture and meadow hay on the heavier soils. Lime is less extensively used than formerly, and care has to be taken to avoid the limes which con- tain much magnesia. The Magnesian Limestone quarries of East Durham usually produce lime containing too much magnesia for agricultural purposes. Oil-cakes of all kinds, mostly manufactured at Hull, are largely used for fattening animals and dairy cows, and add greatly to the manurial value of the dung produced. Full advantage has been taken of the improvements in farm implements of all kinds. From thirty to forty years ago ‘prize ploughs’ which cut a narrow and deep furrow, and with which a good ploughman could do well- executed work, were in use, but have now given place to digging ploughs with wheels. The latter are much easier in draught, they invert the furrow more thoroughly, bury the stubble better, and to a large extent break up the furrow as they turn it over.^ The American chilled plough was the pioneer of these, but English-made ploughs of this kind are now generally used. Corn drills are also in common use, although till about twenty years ago grain crops were generally sown broadcast. Till about fifty years ago corn crops were ‘ shorn ’ with hooks, but then the scythe came into more common use, and the reaping machine became general early in the ‘ seventies’ as did the ‘ binders ’ about twelve years ago, there being a great rush for them about 1898. Haymaking — of so great importance in this county — is more assisted by better implements than any other farm operation. The mowing machine, the horse rake,* the swathe- turner, the ‘ pike ’ lifter, and the horse fork, have all become invaluable for use in hay-harvest.^ Potato-diggers and manure distributors are also in common use, the latter being largely used for distributing basic slag on old pasture. The lighter classes of American forks, shovels, etc., introduced over thirty years ago, became very popular. The English makes of these, as well as of many light implements are now, however, excellent, last longer than the former, and are at the present time in most common use. ' The ‘ irons ’ of the old swing-plough were made of malleable iron and had to be ‘ laid,’ or renewed, frequently by the country blacksmith. These are now faced with cast steel, and are replaced by duplicates when worn out. ’ Introduced about i860. ’ The northern system of haymaking is practised in the county. The hay is cut, put into ‘ kyles ’ (small heaps), then into ‘pikes’ (small ricks), which are finally carried to the haystack. 368 AGRICULTURE On dairy farms where butter is made the cream separator is now in general use, and this has become much more efficient and less costly in the past ten years. A milking machine is also being used with success at a large dairy farm near Sunderland. These latter machines have still, however, to win the general approval of the dairy farmers. The amount of milk produced for consumption must have increased enormously with the great increase of the population of the county. From figures taken from a paper read by Mr. R. H. Rew to the Royal Statistical Society in 1904, it may be assumed that the annual consumption of new milk per head of the population was about ii gallons in 1868, and about I5‘9 gallons in 1904. A cow yielding milk for sale would give on an average annually about 400 gallons in 1867, and about 550 gallons in 1904, as the milk-producing powers of cows have been greatly developed in recent years owing to improved feeding and management, especially in the more populous districts. From these figures it is calculated that of the 20,130 milch cows in the county in 1867, about 17,000 would have been required to produce all the milk needed. In 1905 the number of milch cows was 28,572, or about 10,000 less than would have supplied the county with milk for that year. Very large amounts of milk, however, are now imported from North Yorkshire, West Cumberland, and the south of Scotland, and at the same time butter and cheese are being produced to a decreasing extent. Some Wensleydale and other cheeses are still made in the south-west, and a good deal of butter in the more rural districts, but these are rapidly diminishing. A movement is now on foot to develop co-operative dairying in Tees- dale, which, especially as it promises better facilities for the transit of milk, is certain still further to increase the production of milk for con- sumption. Milk-selling farms have greatly increased in the populous districts. For these shorthorn cows (non-pedigree) come from south-west Durham and North Yorkshire through Darlington, Gateshead and other marts. Many milk-sellers buy these cows at six to eight years old, when at calving, and milk them till they go dry, when they are fed off for the butcher. These produce about 750-800 gallons of milk per cow annually, for which liberal feeding is necessary, but recent experiments in the county show that fre- quently this high feeding is carried to excess. Other milk-sellers buy the cows a year or two younger, and breed from them for a year or two. The milk from these dairies is usually retailed locally by the farmers at or near 4^/. a quart. The railway milk which comes from a distance is purchased by dairy- men at about an average of 8^/. a gallon; the evening’s milk in this case not being retailed till the following morning, and the morning’s on the evening of the same day. The production of milk is a most important branch of farming for this county. It entails long hours and close atten- tion to the management of the cows and of the milk, and there is no more hard-working class of farmers than those so engaged in the county. The dairy research station at Offerton Hall, referred to later, is specially adapted for carrying out experiments on milk production, the results of which have already considerably modified local practice. 369 2 47 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Taking into consideration all the facts we may consider that the agricul- ture of the county is in a comparatively healthy condition. Reduced prices for grain and other farm produce generally and the increased cost of labour are serious drawbacks, but the dense population provides good local markets for all kinds of farm produce, even for by-products which are not saleable in thinly populated districts. Mining villages, when some distance from a port, are much better markets for the farmer than towns like Newcastle or Stockton, as foreign produce incurs the cost of the local transit from the port to the inland villages. The Durham agriculturists as a class are hard-working and energetic, and as a rule make the best of their farms, while they are fortunate in possessing several important educational establishments and a number of useful agricultural societies. This county has taken a prominent part in agricultural research. George Culley, the greatest farmer of his time, was born at Denton in 1734, went to Bakewell, the leading pioneer breeder of live stock in Leicestershire, as a pupil in 1762, became, with his brother, the great agricultural improver of Durham and Northumberland, and died in 1813. An Experimental Society of Agriculture met in Durham in July 1796, and passed resolutions to establish an experimental farm in the county. This was to extend to at least 200 acres, to be stocked with a variety of the best breeds of live stock and with proper machines and implements, and an annual sum of was to be raised to enable the experimental work to be done thoroughly.^ Nothing definite came of this, but an Experimental Society was formed at Rushyford in 1803, of which the brothers Colling were members. This society carried out most careful experiments on the farms -of its members, and Bailey gives the results of many of these which deal with tests of varieties of corn and root crops, as well as with lime and manures from different sources. The tests of varieties of crops were most thorough, and as a result of these experiments with lime they have the credit of showing that ‘the lime produced from the limestones which lie to the eastward of the coal district ’ had marked burning effects on the crops, and produced what was called the ‘burning lime’; while ‘the lime to the westward of the coal district produces no such effect, and is hence called the mild lime.’ Thus early did it become known that the magnesian limestones of the east of the county did not usually produce good agricul- tural lime like the mountain limestones to the west. Thomas Bates, the great shorthorn breeder, who was closely connected with the county, at the age of thirty-five attended courses of instruction in agricultural science in Edinburgh University during 1809—11 to equip himself thoroughly as an agriculturist. Johnston, the noted agriculturist and chemist, held the Readership in Chemistry in Durham University from 1833 to 1855, and was also chemist to the Agricultural Chemistry Association of Scotland. His work on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology is still in use in a revised form. Although Scotland claimed most of his attention, he made considerable investigations into the soils and limestones of this county. His trustees contributed to the cost of equipment of the ‘Johnston’ chemical laboratory of Armstrong College, Newcastle, and also founded scholarships in chemistry at that college. * Young, Annals of Agric. xxvii, 204. 370 AGRICULTURE At the present time agricultural education is carried out in the county by three bodies : 1. The Durham County Council, from its Residue Grant under the Local Taxation Act, 1890, spends about ^1,400 a year on agricultural instruction which includes : (i) travelling dairy schools and a fixed school, (ii) scholarships to agricultural and dairy students, and (iii) work done through the Agricultural Department of Armstrong College (see below). Most of this work has been in operation since 1892. 2. The North Eastern County School, Barnard Castle, established an agricultural side in 1890. This school provides a thorough secondary educa- tion for farmers’ sons in a good public school and at a moderate cost. On an average about fifteen of the right class of pupils are enrolled on this side. The special teaching provided is excellent, and it is to be regretted that agriculturists do not make more use of it. 3. The Agricultural Department of Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon- Tyne (in the University of Durham), in co-operation with the Durham County Council, {a) give lectures on agricultural subjects throughout the county, [b) carry out field experiments and research work dealing with the manorial needs of the various soils for the principal crops grown in the county, {c) make investigations on variations in the quality of milk and on the feeding of dairy cows and other farm live stock and carry out examinations in dairy work, {a) provide complete courses of instruction in agriculture, dairy-farming, forestry, and estate management at Armstrong College, and (e) give advice on matters relating to agricultural science to farmers in the county. The College works in close connexion with, and is subsidized by, the Board of Agriculture. Dr. Somerville (now of Oxford) was first Professor of Agriculture from 1892 to 1900. He was succeeded by Professor Middleton (now of Cam- bridge), who held the chair from 1900 to 1902, and was in turn succeeded by the present writer. Large numbers of farmers’ sons from the county have attended the College classes and hold important posts both at home and abroad, whilst many former students are now engaged in practical farming in the county. The College has issued reports which deal with the manuring of pasture and meadow land, the effects of various manures on different crops, and tests of different varieties of grain and root crops, and of different seed mixtures for hay and pasture. Offerton Hall, a dairy farm of nearly 600 acres near Sunderland, has become since 1903 a centre for investiga- tions in dairy work, the tenant, Mr. James McLaren, hiving co-operated with the County Council and the College to have thorough investigations made on his farm as to the best conditions for the feeding and manage- ment of dairy cows. The results already arrived at have been greatly appreciated by the milk-producers of the county. A lectureship in Forestry has been recently established, and an arrange- ment has been made by H.M. Commissioners of Woods which provides that the Chopwell Woods, extending to about 900 acres in the county of Durham, are now managed by the College and are available for de- monstration and teaching purposes. Investigations are in progress in other woods in the county, and lectures are also given on forestry at some centres. 371 A HISTORY OF DURHAM The Darlington Chamber of Agriculture was formed and admitted to the Central Chamber in 1884. There are now over three hundred and fifty members, who represent a large area of the county. There is a club-room at Darlington, where lectures on agricultural subjects are given, and it holds annually an Entire Horse Show and also a Seed, Grain, and Potato Show. The Marquis of Londonderry provides the chamber with a Clydesdale entire horse, for mares owned by the members. The Stockton Chamber of Agriculture, formed in 1888, is also affiliated to the Central Chamber, and has about three hundred and fifty members. Lectures are provided for the members, regular meetings are held for agricultural discussions, grain and root competitions are conducted, and much other work is carried out. The Farmers’ Protection Association has its head quarters at Darlington, was founded in 1899, and with its branches at Bedale, Barnard Castle, and Lartington, has now about six hundred and fifty members. This body is doing most valuable work in giving mutual protection to farmers in all business matters ; assisting also in settling difficulties with servants, with rail- way companies, in connexion with the sale of grain or live stock, and the purchase of feeding stuffs and manures and other substances. The Newcastle Farmers’ Club was formed in 1846 (although preceded by older clubs), and has nearly three hundred members, of whom many are from Durham. This club has long enjoyed a high reputation for the ex- cellent and practical papers read before its members, and its ‘ Scale for Compensation for Unexhausted Improvements ’ has long had the confidence of the north of England agriculturists. The Northumberland and Durham Dairy Farmers’ Association has a large number of members, many of whom are dairy farmers in north-east Durham. Excellent work is done by this body in providing lectures on dairying and in providing its members with information as to the production and sale of milk. These associations have a great influence on the agriculture of the county, and three of them are the real founders of the North-Eastern Agricultural Federation, an influential body which has for its main object the formation of a compact agricultural party in all rural constituencies. The Durham County Agricultural Society has been in existence since 1786. It now numbers about four hundred and fifty members, offers about £yoo in prizes at its annual agricultural shows, subsidizes four horse clubs which provide good entire horses in different parts of the county, and acts as a medium for members, obtaining analyses of feeding stuffs and manures at modified fees. At the annual shows prizes are offered for cattle (mainly for Shorthorns, but some for Polled Angus and for dairy cows), for agricultural horses (Shires and Clydesdales), Hunters, Hackneys, Dale and other ponies, and for sheep. Border Leicester, Half-bred (Leicester- Cheviot), Black- faced and Oxford Downs. There is usually excellent competition in all the classes. In the poultry department also all the principal breeds are well represented. There are besides local agricultural societies, which hold shows annually at Barnard Castle, Middleton-in-Teesdale, Sedgefield, Stanhope, Wolsingham, and at other centres. 372 FORESTRY jA LTHOUGH few counties are less famed by reason of their wood- j lands than the County Palatine of / 'Jk Durham, it still possesses sufficient features of arboricultural interest to repay those who may take the trouble to investigate them. It would be beyond the scope of this article to describe the forestry of Durham in as comprehensive a manner as the subject deserves, but an attempt will be made to deal with the most salient features of its past and present condition, and to note such of the individual trees in the county as are above the average in size, rarity, or interest. Clearly to understand the condition of forestry in the county it is necessary to glance at its physical, geological, and climatic features, to- gether with such of its industries as affect or influence the utilization of land. As is well known, the boundary lines of Durham form an irregular equilateral triangle, the apex of which points almost due west, while its base is repre- sented by the coast line of the North Sea. Its physical features are characterized by a tract of high-lying and mountainous land reaching almost to the centre of the county from its western apex, and which slopes gradually downwards towards the east. This mountain land forms some of the most elevated portion of the Pennine Chain, and is cut into and divided by the river valleys of the Derwent (which ultimately joins the Tyne above Newcastle), tbe Wear, and the Tees, the first and last of which form the north-east and south-west boundary lines of the county, while Upper Weardale practically divides the district lying to the west of a line drawn between Consett and Barnard Castle into two equal portions. It is thus seen that the physiography of the western portions of the county is very different from that prevailing on the east side. In the former, high-lying, exposed mountain land, intersected by deep valleys, provides con- ditions which alternately retard and favour the growth of trees ; while on the east, the existence of large tracts of gently undulating or flat land, at low elevations, would lead one to assume that tree-growth would meet with more favourable conditions than those prevailing in the hill districts. When the geological and climatic features of these two fairly distinct portions of the county are studied, however, it is found that they have almost as much influence upon the existence of trees as those arising from the elevation and con- tours of the land. While the surface of the western portions of the county is chiefly made up of soils formed directly from the Millstone Grit and other beds of the Carboniferous Series, a large proportion of the low-lying land to the east is entirely covered with a thick layer ot boulder clay. In the hill districts, again, the climate, although bleak and cold in winter and spring, is marked by a heavier summer rainfall and more humid conditions than that of the eastern sea-board, and although the western gales are more severe in the high-lying districts, the tendency of the ground to slope towards the east renders the surface less exposed to their force than on flat ground or slopes facing the west. The east of the county is often subjected to long spells of dry and cold winds blowing off the North Sea during late spring and early summer, while the generally low level of the land and its flat nature render late spring frosts of frequent occurrence. The combined influence of the geological and climatic conditions in these two portions of the county upon the growth and development of trees and plantations is fairly well-marked. In the west, wherever the situation is comparatively sheltered and the elevation not too great, species which favour a fairly porous and well-drained soil do better as a rule than in the east, where the stiff, cold nature of the soil and the absence of high grounds to serve as wind-breaks, render the growth of almost all species very slow after the first few years. The most favourable con- ditions for tree-growth throughout the county are found, as might be expected, in the river valleys. The Derwent, the Wear, and the Tees, with their numerous tributaries, not only provide sheltered ground along their banks, but the soil of the latter is usually much deeper, more porous, and more favourable in many ways for the growth of timber than the land between which they flow, which is usually devoted to agriculture and pasturage. At the present time the economic conditions prevailing in various parts of the county also indirectly affect the existence of woods, and in some cases their growth. The extensive Dur- ham coalfield, with its numerous collieries, iron-works, and coke-ovens, not only causes a more or less vitiated atmosphere, which injuri- 373 A HISTORY OF DURHAM ously affects the growth of many species, but the dense population, which is an inevitable accom- paniment of these industries, militates against the preservation of existing woods and timber trees, and discourages the formation of new plantations except on carefully inclosed land in the vicinity of county seats. The enhanced value of agricultural land in such districts also tends to remove many inducements to plant which exist in most rural localities wherever the nature of the soil is not conducive to high cultivation, and in consequence, brings in a low rental. In colliery districts, again, the value of grazing land is usually comparatively high, and little of it can be spared for such purposes as tree planting. The original condition of the county as regards woodland in prehistoric times probably differed little, if at all, from that found else- where in the northern counties. The greater part of the low-lying part of the county, and the valleys running into the hill districts, were covered with a forest growth of such trees as the oak, ash, wych elm, hazel, alder, holly, yew, &c. Although no actual remains of these forests now exist, except in the buried trunks and other portions which are occasionally found under clay, peat, or gravel, their descendants can be recognized with tolerable accuracy on any piece of waste land which carries self-sown trees of any kind. The steep banks of rivers, faces of cliffs, and the various ‘ denes ’ formed by streams cutting through the clays, shales, and softer strata in different parts of the east of the county, which are specially marked along the coast line, all carry fairly reliable evidence of what we can safely assume to be types of the original woodland of the county. Oak un- doubtedly occupied a prominent place in the composition of these woodlands, ash probably com- ing next in importance, wych elm predominating near rivers and rocky places, which gave it oppor- tunities of competing with its taller neighbours. Of the precise condition of these woodlands, so far as their density and the size of individual trees went, nothing is known. The probability is that the finest timber in prehistoric times existed where the best timber is found to-day, and there is the strongest evidence that the valley of the Derwent and the lower parts of Weardale and Teesdale possessed finer oak and other timber trees than other parts of the county. In the hilly districts forest growth could only have been of a stunted and irregular character, consisting chiefly of birch, juniper, and possibly Scotch pines, with alder, ash, willow, &c., in the glens and ravines. Birch undoubtedly covered large tracts at elevations up to 2,000 ft., as its roots are found everywhere under the peat at the present day. As to whether the Scotch pine existed to any great extent in these districts little evidence can be found one way or another. It is reported to have been found under the peat in Weardale, but records of its existence are so few and doubtful that it is safer to leave it an open question. Regarding the gradual disappearance of these natural forests, the probability is that those in the lowlands gradually gave way before the increase of population and the advance of agriculture, while primitive methods of mining and iron- smelting hastened their destruction to some extent. Although the Romans are credited with the destruction of much forest growth in various parts of the kingdom, little is actually known of the extent to which it proceeded, nor of the results which followed it in the way of perma- nently changing the character of the vegetation. It is practically certain, however, that the forests of Durham were not spared any more than those of other counties, and in the vicinity of their roads clearings would be made for strategic and other reasons. In the hill districts the disappearance of what- ever forest existed was due to other causes, although many destructive agencies were com- mon to both parts of the county. But there is little reason to doubt that the final destruction of these birch forests was mostly brought about by the persistent grazing of sheep, which prevented natural regeneration from following its usual course, while the practice of firing the heather from time to time and its accidental ignition contributed to the same result. According to Leland and the evidence afforded by old maps of the seventeenth century, considerable tracts of woodland existed in Teesdale and Weardale, but these had disappeared by the end of the eighteenth century, and it was not until the passing of Inclosure Acts permitted the fencing off of small patches of what previously existed as enormous commons, that forest growth was again introduced by artificial agency. The term forest has for so long a period been appropriated to a great wood that it is necessary to state in the briefest way that this term in its earlier signification normally implied a wild dis- trict or waste appropriated or reserved for royal sport. A forest always included a certain amount of woodland or thickets which were necessary as cover for the game, and not infrequently had parks or special inclosures within its limits. But in several instances, as Exmoor, Dartmoor, and the High Peak, the open stretches of woodland or heath covered a very much larger area than the woods or undergrowth.^ This was, to a great extent, the case with the widespread district of Weardale in the west of Durham ; there were several parks within Weardale, each containing some timber, as well as patches of woodland and cover in the hollows of the dales, but broadly speaking, Weardale Forest was bare of trees. ' Cox, Ro^al Forests, i . 374 FORESTRY In the county of Durham, however, the forest rights with other jura regalia were usually, for some four centuries at least, vested in the bishop, and only during a vacancy * of the see or the punitive resumption of the palatine privileges, can we expect to find the king actively con- cerned with the forest of Weardale. These forest rights of the see of Durham were ratified by Henry I in a charter repudiating the claims of Balliol, baron of Bywell, and others as to hunting and taking a certain quantity of wood for fuel and shipbuilding.^ The same king, however, during the vacancy of the see which followed the death of Ranulf Flambard, granted to the prior and convent of Durham freedom from forestage and pannage in all their demesne manors, as well as to the clergy holding churches in their gift.* The evidence to be gleaned from the various rolls and records both of the see and the priory of Durham, show that the county was in many parts well supplied with woodlands, par- ticularly in the western half. In addition to the large parks of Weardale and the partially wooded district comprising Hunstanworth, Edmond- byers, and Muggleswick on the Northumberland borders, there were the great parks of Raby and Barnard Castle in lay hands in the south. Near Newcastle the bishop held woodland at Winlaton, and the prior at Hedworth. Round Lanchester there was much timber. Near Durham the prior had the important park and woods of Beaurepaire, and the bishop woodlands on the manor of Killerby. And between Bishop Auck- land with its park and Darlington in the south abounding with timber and underwood, there was an almost continuous stretch of wood-bearing manors, such as AyclifFe, Heighington, and Haughton. Considerable information may be derived as to the actual working of the forest regulations within the county of Durham during the twelfth century from certain charters of Bishop Hugh Pudsey granting various exemptions and privi- leges. Amongst his manifold activities was the re- building and reorganization of the Hospital of St. Giles Kepier which had been destroyed during the conflict between Cumin and Bishop William de St. Barbara. This hospital possessed in the Weardale a ‘cow-close’ or dairy, and in the winter months strict ward was needful against the wolves of the fell, mastiffs or other dogs being kept as guardians of the cattle. Bishop Hugh ' One reference to the woodlands of Durham during the vacancy following the decease of Philip of Poitou may probably be found m the entry on the PipeR. II John, m. \ \ d. : Magister Simon de Fer- llnton xIot et iiij canes vulpectares pro misericordia in qua positus erat pro bosco de Auelent {sic Auclent) scisso.’ ^ Surtees, Dur. i, pp. xx, cxxv-vi. ’ Cal. Chart. R. ii, 484. Pudsey, amongst other privileges, granted^ to the brethren exemption for their dogs, whether at Durham or on the Weardale, from the ‘ lawing ’ or mutilation ® which the forest laws prescribed. He, however, ordained that the herdsmen who tended the cattle of the hospital within his forest should hold their dogs in leash that they might not molest the beasts of the chase {feris). By a still earlier charter the bishop had granted the brethren the right of pasture for their cattle within the forest, as well as firewood and timber and exemption from pannage.® As in the grants to the Kepier Hospital we see the forest law impinging on the external life of a religious community, so in the charter ’’ to Gateshead the predatory officials of the bishop’s forest are shown restricting, or at least harassing, the activities of the townsmen, until the bishop himself intervenes to grant greater liberty, and to establish a standard of dues in place of arbitrary exactions. In respect to ‘ forestage ’ the bur- gesses were to pay in future every half-year from Whitsuntide to Martinmas for each cart {quad- riga) which went to the wood 2^., and for each horse 2d. ; ash from ir. 4^. to 2s. 3^/., while oak bark rose from £$ to £12 per ton in the wood. It is said that 6 acres of old oak timber were sold about this time by the dean and chapter of Durham for ^6,000. In the early part of the nineteenth century a large number of plantations were formed, or had recently been formed, in various parts of the county, and premiums offered by the Society of Arts for the planting of a specified number of trees were secured by several landowners. Bailey states that one of the oldest planters was Sir John Eden of Windlestone Hall, whose opinion was that planters should grow their own trees in preference to buying from nurserymen or em- ploying the latter to plant them. He was also a believer in thick planting, and thinning out in five or six years’ time. At various dates, be- tween 1773 and 1811 a large tract of inclosed common was planted by Mr. Thomas White on his estate of Woodlands, near Lanchester. The value of the fee-simple of this land was not more than 20s. per acre. The cost of planting ’ Bailey, Agriculture of Dur. amounted to about an acre, and at that time the thinnings of mixed plantations would pay for the latter at six or seven years of age. At fifteen years the thinnings were used for corf- rods, pit-props, &c., and at twenty-four years they came in for the building of sheds and other small erections, the larch selling at u. (>d. per cubic foot, while eight years later the timber of this tree was worth 2s. per cubic foot. At thirty- five years of age the value of the thinnings was supposed to cover the entire cost of planting. For his enterprise Mr. White was awarded two gold and one silver medal by the Society of Arts. In 1813-15 the crown commenced plant- ing Chopwell Woods, which then existed as farms, with the exception of about 100 acres. The contract for this work was given to Mr. Falla, a nurseryman of Gateshead, whose nurseries extended to 500 acres, and the planting was supervised by William Billington, who recorded, in a book published in 1810, his experiences of raising young plantations of oaks. Billington had previously been employed in the planting of a large area in the Forest of Dean, and was an exponent of the art of pruning. In his account of the planting of Chopwell, he states that the plants used at the commence- ment of the work were one-half larch, one-quarter oak, and the other quarter ash, elm, beech, sycamore, and alder. Later on, he suggested that fewer larches should be planted, as they smothered the oaks, and he also introduced the Spanish chestnut in mixture with oak, which formerly was supposed to be too tender for the district. Amongst other details recorded by Billington are the good effects of cutting back the side branches of young trees, and the high value of small thinnings for corf-rods, pit-props, and other purposes in those days. The ground planted at Chopwell carried an extraordinary crop of whins or gorse, which attained a height of from 8 to 9 ft., with stems over 20 in. in girth. These were sold for conversion into charcoal. It is not quite clear if the ground planted at this time was the same as that previously mentioned as yielding large quantities of oak in the seven- teenth century. If the same, it had evidently been cleared of woodland entirely, as of the eight or nine hundred acres planted at Chopwell the greater part is said to have existed as farm land previous to 1813. Other places at which planting was done about this period were Wynyard (where ex- tensive plantations were formed of mixed coni- fers and hard-wood trees), Dryderdale, and Hoppy- land, near Wolsingham (chiefly larch, Scotch pine, and spruce at the former, and these species with beech at the latter) and many plantations in the hill districts following the inclosure of commons. In the colliery districts plantations on the whole have tended to decrease rather than increase, for reasons which are obvious, but else- 381 A HISTORY OF DURHAM where the formation of small plantations has been steadily if slowly going on during the last century, although much remains to be done in the hdl districts. At the present time the total area of wood- lands in the county extends to about 30,000 acres, or about 4 per cent, of the total area. These woods are rather unequally distributed, the bulk of them being confined to the central portion of the county, or a broad strip, the northern boundary of which follows the Derwent valley, and the southern the valley of the Tees between Barnard Castle and Darlington. To the east of this strip the county is chiefly occu- pied by agriculture, while to the west the land rises into bleak and barren moorlands, practically bare and free from woods. The best wooded portions of this strip are the Derwent valley between Muggleswick and Swalwell, the neigh- bourhood of Lanchester, the south banks of the Wear between Wolsingham and Witton-le- Wear, and the estates of Lambton and Lumley north of Durham, and Brancepeth, Whitworth, and Croxdale to the south of that city, while near Barnard Castle, Streatlam, and Raby are the most important wooded estates. On the east side of the county the principal woods are at Wynyard and Castle Eden, between which and Newcastle few woods of importance exist. The system of sylviculture followed at the present time is chiefly that of the mixed planta- tions of hardwoods with coniferous nurses on the low-lying land, and a mixture of larch, spruce, and Scotch pine in the hill districts. Patches of the older system of coppice or ‘ cop- pice with standard,’ still remain in the Derwent and Wear valleys and other parts of the county, but no serious attempt is made to retain it, and most of the woods under this system are regarded more or less as game-cover. The general method of planting is that ot planting the broad-leaved trees, chiefly sycamore, ash, beech, and occasionally oak, alder, poplar, and others at distances varying from 8 to 16 ft. apart, the intervals being filled up to 4 ft. with larch, Scotch pine, or spruce. The former are usually pit-planted at sizes varying from i to 3 ft. in height, and the latter slitted or notched in, the plants being about four years of age. On the stiff clay soils the plants rarely make much progress until they have been three or four years in the ground, and they frequently suffer from late spring frosts to a considerable extent. On more open soils and on the banks of the rivers the trees are usually making a good growth after the first two years, and from that time until their thirtieth or fortieth year their most rapid growth is made. Thinning is usually commenced about the tenth or twelfth year by taking out the rub- bish and diseased and sickly trees, and by this time a great many of the larch are often badly diseased or have died out altogether. The next thinning usually takes place about the twentieth year, when the larch is large enough for fencing posts and rails, pit-wood. See. At this thinning the trees are pruned up about 6 ft. from the ground, which enables beaters to pass between them easily in the shooting season, and is sup- posed to improve their appearance. By about the fortieth year thinning should cease, and the crop of four to five hundred trees per acre can then remain until it approaches maturity, which in the case of conifers is about the eightieth year, but such broad-leaved trees as oak, sycamore, and wych elm maybe kept until well over a hundred. In the latter case the conifers are gradually thinned out until few or none remain by the seventieth or eightieth year, an age at which most pure crops of conifers are felled altogether. The above is the system of forestry adopted on nearly all the estates in the county, and is fairly universal throughout the north of England. The details chiefly vary with the success or failure of the larch. This species is very uncer- tain, and may die out in twenty or thirty years, or continue sound and healthy for over a hundred years. In the latter case the hardwoods are often allowed to get smothered and suppressed by the faster growing conifer, and the latter eventually becomes the main crop. Plantations of this kind are usually more valuable than when the original idea of making the hardwoods the permanent crop has been realized, and it is doubtless good policy to treat each plantation according to the development of the larch rather than by any cut- and-dried method. Plantations in the hill districts are treated much in the same way as regards thinning in the early stages, but later on their management be- comes more or less irregular and uncertain, according to their size and situation. Small plantations which have been planted more with a view to shelter than timber production rarely receive any regular or systematic thinning after the twentieth year, being more often regarded as sources of fencing- wood, as this is required on the farms, and in the majority of cases being opened up for the grazing of sheep at an early age. Larger woods may be slightly better managed, but it is seldom that a full crop is found on the ground after the fiftieth year, especially when larch predominates. This is principally due to the constant demands made upon this species for various purposes in rural districts. Where spruce prevails in a wood, however, less inducement to thin prevails, and it is often kept thick and close until late in life, and under favourable conditions as to soil and situation, fairly fine timber is produced. As regards the condition of the various woods throughout the county, they vary to a considera- ble extent with the species, soil, and situation. On estates where a regular system of clearing and replanting is practised, as at Raby, Lambton, 382 FORESTRY Wynyard, and others, the young plantations are naturally in a better condition than where this work has been neglected. But conditions of soil and local climate affect the development of cer- tain species to an equal or greater extent than any system of management, and must be considered accordingly. The development of oak or larch, for instance, requires certain conditions which cannot everywhere be found, and the failure of these trees is not necessarily a sign in itself of bad management. Taking the woods as they are, however, a few of the most noteworthy may be mentioned which exhibit good specimens of the ordinary forest trees of the county. Oak woods, pure and simple, are not numerous, but probably the best type of timber may be seen in those at Hamsterley in the Derwent valley, where trees containing from forty to sixty feet or more of timber are common. Younger oak woods of a promising character may be seen at Lambton, Wynyard, Brancepeth, and else- where, although the growth of this tree in the cold stiff clays of these districts is very poor. Other broad-leaved trees chiefly exist in small clumps, or in mixture with other species, but a considerable number of beech woods or clumps exist in various parts of the county, chiefly in or near parks or pleasure grounds. The finest of these may be seen at Gibside, Hamsterley Hall, Axwell, and Ravensworth, on the banks of the Derwent ; Lambton, Lumley, and Bishop Auck- land on the banks of the Wear ; andatRabyand elsewhere in the Teesdale district. Of conifer- ous woods, the best are probably those in Upper Weardale, between Wolsingham and Witton-le- Wear, in which larch, spruce, and Scotch pine may be seen containing from fifty to eighty feet or more of timber and over lOO feet in height. Fairly large plantations of Scotch pine and larch also exist at Woodlands Hall, Weather- ly Hill, Bedburn, along the banks of the Der- went above Shotley Bridge, and in various parts of Upper Weardale and Teesdale. At the higher altitudes in the latter districts spruce succeeds better than Scotch pine as a rule, al- though most of the plantations are too small to obtain the best results. Sycamore, ash, and beech also grow at these elevations to moderate sizes, but it is only in sheltered places that the larch attains to timber dimensions. The timber trade in the county of Durham suffers considerably from the heavy imports of mining and other timber along the east coast. One hundred years ago practically all the pit- props and other timber used in the mines was grown in the county, while oak was exclusively used for ship and boat-building, beech for colliery rails and sleepers, ash for wagon building, wheels, tool handles, and so on. For many years now, however, foreign woods of all kinds have been steadily replacing English timber, until, at the present time, only such timber as oak and larch can be readily disposed of for mining purposes, and ash for wheelwright work. Large sycamore can also be sold at fair prices, but nearly all other species are often difficult to deal with in a satisfactory manner, even when lying at the pit’s mouth. The average prices for the principal kinds of timber are as follows : — Oak . . Per cubic standing in s. d, . . I 0 to foot, ^nd the wood J. d, I 6 Ash . . I 0 „ I 6 Beech . 0 + » 0 8 Elm . . . 0 4 » 0 8 Sycamore . 1 0 „ 2 0 Larch . 0 9 » I 0 Scotch pine . . . 0 3 » 0 6 Spruce 0 2 » 0 4 Much, of course, depends upon the quality of the timber, and the situation in which it is grow- ing, but it is only occasionally that higher prices than those quoted above are obtained. Of the various enemies to which trees and woods are exposed, none are peculiar to the county, although the more common of them may be mentioned. Rodents are chiefly repre- sented by rabbits and hares, squirrels and voles. The last-named do a great deal of damage to young plantations from time to time, especially to broad-leaved trees. Billington mentioned injuries caused by these animals having destroyed young oaks in Chopwell loo years ago, and the same method of trapping he employed to destroy them, by digging pits in the ground, is still adopted in the county. Insect and fungoid pests are chiefly represented by the pine-beetle and weevil, pine-bud moth, spruce gall aphis, larch-mining moth and woolly aphis, giant sirex, beech felted scale, and others. The most destruc- tive fungoid pests are the larch canker, heart rot, beech canker, honey fungus, and numerous others of minor importance. In the way of noteworthy trees in parks or pleasure grounds Durham cannot compare favour- ably with many counties. The following list of large or interesting trees may be given, which includes most of those existing at the present day, and which have been recently measured : — Oaks The finest in the county is probably the ‘King Oak,’ at Gibside, which girths 15 ft. 7 in. at 4^ ft. and contains nearly 500 ft. of timber. Other large oaks are at Axwell, 15ft. 8 in.; Brancepeth, 17 ft. 8 in. ; Bishop Auckland, 13 ft. 4 in. ; and Raby, 16 ft. Ashes A tree at Raby has a girth of 16 ft., while one at Wynyard girths nearly 20 ft., but has a very short bole. 383 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Beeches Some of the largest girthed trees are at Ax- weil, the tallest at Lumley ; the former girthing 1 6 ft. at 4^ ft. from the ground, the latter reach- ing a height of from i lo to 120 ft. Elms The largest wych elm, 16 ft. 8 in., is at Gib- side. Good English elms also exist at Bishop Auckland, 13 ft. 4 in., and also at Raby, 10 ft. Sycamores At Axwell two very fine trees stand in the park with girths of 14 ft. 8 in. and 15 ft. 10 in., and at Raby is a tree 16 ft. in girth and contain- ing 400 ft. of timber. Limes Good specimens of this tree may be seen at Lambton, Lumley, Stanhope, Axwell, and other places. A tree at Axwell girths 1 5 ft. 8 in., and a tree with the same girth exists at Raby. Spanish Chestnuts Several fine specimens for the north of England stand in Bishop Auckland Park, the largest girth- ing 14ft. Sin. and at Raby containing 200 ft. of timber. Horse Chestnuts Two fine old trees grow at Walworth Castle 16 ft. and 14 ft. girth. Planes [Platanus ortentalh) Probably the finest tree in the county is at Lambton, which is about 70 ft. in height — a large tree for the district. The finest coniferous trees to be met with are the larches at Raby (the largest of which con- tains nearly 300 cubic ft. of timber), Dryder- dale, Bedburn near Wolsingham, and elsewhere. At Dryderdale probably the best Scotch pine and spruce are to be found, the former up to 7 ft. 6 in. and the latter 7 ft. and over 100 ft. in height. At Hamsterley Hall in the Derwent valley good spruce and silver fir may be found, the latter up to 12 ft. in girth, and at one time of great height, but the tops of the remaining trees are decaying. The Scotch pines at this place are also good trees. Of the rarer conifers the cedars of Lebanon at Ravensworth are probably the oldest, the largest of which have girths of 13 ft. 4 in. and 13 ft- . Conifers planted within the last half-century or so exist at Streatlam, where a very fine col- lection has been planted, most of which are doing well on a stiff clay soil, especially Pinus monticola. At Raby and Lambton conifers of various kinds have been planted, many of which are doing well, but as a general rule these trees require sheltered situations to reach any great size. The most promising on ordinary soils is the Corsican pine, which grows well on the strong soils and exposed sites so frequently met with in the county. Neither the Douglas firs nor Weymouth pines do well as a rule, although both grow rapidly for a time, and until their tops are exposed to the wind. Of indigenous conifers the yews at Castle Eden are remarkable for their size, height, and age, and are probably direct descendants of the natural growth which gave the Dene its name. A Scotch fir at Raby has a girth of 10 ft. 4 in. and contains 1 80 ft. of timber but is indubitably a planted tree. 3S4 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN TO the inhabitant of the south of England, the notion that any form of field sport can flourish in the county of Durham may possibly appear absurd. If, when poking his fire, his thoughts should be diverted by train of consequence to such a hyperborean region, he probably pictures it to himself as a vast cinder-heap, only relieved from hideous monotony by the reeking chimneys of blast furnaces and collieries, where the inhabitants heave the pro- verbial ‘ ’arf-a-brick ’ at strangers, and find relaxation from their subterranean toil in the fine old English pastimes of dog-fighting, badger- baiting, and selling their wives for pots of beer. Yet in good truth, Durham is naturally one of the most beautiful counties in England. Granted that part of it has been scarred and defaced by man’s handiwork, where hideous collieries and their attendant squalid pit villages stand cheek by jowl with grand old Saxon churches and Norman castles, there equally remain large tracts whose pristine beauty is still undefiled, while it may be safely asserted that the manners and customs of the proletariat admit no inferiority to those of similar great industrial districts, where work is both plentiful and highly paid. Moreover, from the earliest times, no part of England has been more closely associated with field sports, and it is probable that, with the ex- ception of the New Forest, there were few larger tracts reserved for sporting than the great forests of Weardale and Teesdale, which respec- tively formed the hunting-grounds of the prince- bishops of the palatinate, and their scarcely less powerful neighbours, the Nevilles of Raby. The exact extent of the forest of Weardale does not seem to have been defined, but it probably in- cluded all the district now termed Weardale to the west of Stanhope — the villeins of which mostly held their land by due of forest service — and north-west again to at least the valley of the Derwent. Frequent reference to the bishop’s forest and its requirements is found in the Boldon Book, a survey of the palatinate estates made in 1183, by order of Bishop Hugh Pudsey, to an admirable monograph ^ on which, by Canon Greenwell, the writer is indebted for much inter- esting information. From this it would appear that, no doubt owing to difficulty of locomotion, the great hunts of the bishops necessarily partook of the nature of veritable expeditions. Enormous stores of provisions, wines, and beer, were trans- ported into the forest, where temporary habita- tions were erected for the prelate, his guests, and retainers — though it is probable that a good many of the latter ‘ lay all night up among the deer out on the open fell ’ — and relays of men were employed in carrying the venison down to Auck- land and Durham, and returning laden with fresh luxuries or necessaries for the bishop’s table. Indeed, the whole affair seems to have been conducted on much the same epicurean lines as the tiger-shooting or pig-sticking excursions of Anglo-Indians of a past generation. Thus we read that All the villans of Auklandshire . . . find at the great hunts of the Bishop for each oxgang — the extent of their arable land — one rope, and make the Bishop’s Hall in the forest of the length of 60 feet, and of the breadth within the posts of 16 feet, with a buttery and a hatch, and a chamber and a privy, also they make a chapel of the length of 40 feet, and of the breadth of 15 feet . . . and they make their part of the fence round the lodges, and they have on the Bishop’s departure a whole ton of beer, or half if it remain, and they guard the aeries of hawks which are in the district of Ralph the Crafty . . . Moreover all the villans and farmers attend the roe-hunt ^ at the summons of the Bishop. Again, Moreover all the villans — of Stanhope — make at the great hunts a kitchen and a larder and a kennel, and they find a settle in the hall and in the chamber, ‘ Publications of the Surtees Society, vol. xxv, 1852; Boldon Book, &c., by the Rev. William Greenwell, Fellow of University College, Durham. * Note the distinction between the great hunt — ‘ Caza Magna ’ — when presumably only red deer were killed, and the roe hunt — ‘ rahunt.’ 2 49 A HISTORY OF DURHAM and carry all the Bishop’s corrody ^ from Wolsingham to the lodges . . . and carry venison to Durham and Auckland. The object of the ‘ropes,’ of which frequent mention is made in the Boldon Book, as forming part of the forest service of the episcopal tenants and villeins, appears at first rather obscure, but according to Canon Greenwell, they were re- quired to make the haia or inclosure into which the deer were gradually collected. From this it would appear that the great hunting parties lacked all element of true sport, save the woodcraft re- quired to collect the deer in the inclosure, where the hapless animals, unable to escape, were butchered by the bishop and his fellow-sportsmen at their ease. The deer were apparently hunted with greyhounds, or more probably, wolf or stag hounds, the provision of which also formed part of the obligations of certain of the episcopal tenants or villeins. Thus, ‘ the dreng^ of Great Usworth feeds a dog and a horse, and attends the great chase with two greyhounds — lepororih — and five ropes,’ and when we consider that Us- worth is 25 miles, as the crow flies, from Stan- hope (where the confines of the forest proper would begin), and by road is certainly more than half as far again, and further, that the man’s recom- pense for this special service was only his food and such share of the ‘half ton of beer’ as he might be lucky enough to secure at the termination of the hunt, one can only presume that the fertility of his holding at Great Usworth was adequate indemnification for his trouble. Other forest service exacted of the tenants was the special watching of the forest for forty days in the calving or fawning season — tempus de foyneson ® — and again for a similar period in the rutting-time — ruyth. The repeated mention in Boldon Book of the bishop’s roe-hunts shows these animals to have been abundant in Durham in early times, and as the roe is essentially a timber-haunting deer, it is evident the county must have been more densely wooded than at the present time.® No record exists of the exact year in which Weardale was disforested, but it ceased to be used for sporting purposes by the bishops on the appointment of William Dudley to the see of ’ Corrody, food or sustenance. Here it refers to the food and drink which the bishop gave to the villeins who were making their stated work for him. From this word Canon Greenwell derives the word ‘ crowdy,’ still in use in the north, which is porridge made of oatmeal with boiling water poured on it. ^ ‘ Drengh,’ a half-freeman ; one who was midway between a free tenant and a villein. * This was held to extend fifteen days before to fifteen days after Midsummer Day. ® The present master of the North Durham Fox- hounds informs me that his hounds occasionally still find a roe-deer in Lord Bute’s plantations between Lanchester and Consett. 386 Durham in 1476. That prelate, however, granted a lease of it, in 1479, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The lease lapsed with the bishop’s death four years later, and as farm-leases were granted to the inhabitants of Weardale by Bishop Ruthall in 15 ii, the disforestment must have taken place between these dates. Red deer, however, lingered on in the dale for about another two centuries, owing to the ‘ parks ’ that had been inclosed with the increase of agri- culture, both for the better protection of the tenants’ crops and the preservation of the deer. One of these parks was at Stanhope and another at Wolsingham. The date when they were first inclosed is not known, but as early as 1327 Edward III is known to have camped in Stanhope Park when conducting his fruitless expedition against the Scots under Douglas and Randolph. A new park is believed to have been inclosed by Bishop Neville, of which Leland in h\s Itinerary^ remarks that it ‘ was rudely enclosed with stone of 12 or 14 miles in compass,’ and further adds, that ‘ there resorte many rede deer straglers to the mountains of Weredale.’ To such an extent had these stray deer increased by 1530, that a lease of Burnhope — the highest ground in Wear- dale — contains provision for a ‘ frith,’ for the better preservation of the deer in that locality. None the less, the deer kept steadily decreasing. According to Matthew’s Survey of Weardale^ Stanhope Park, which had contained 200 deer in 1575, maintained but 40 in 1595, and half a century later, in 1647, recorded that neither red nor fallow deer existed in Weardale.® A number of causes had contributed to this ; the great increase of agriculture, and especially of the head of pastoral stock maintained by the bishop’s tenants ; lack of interest in sport on the part of the prelates themselves, and consequent neglect to feed the deer in the parks in winter ; and probably poaching also, though no special reference is made to this. None the less, long after the above date red deer must frequently have strayed into Weardale from the forest of Teesdale, which marched with it, and was not disforested until a very much later date. When this actually occurred is not known, but in the muniment room at Raby is preserved, under date of 7 June, 1682, the ‘ Letters patent of Keeper of the Forest of Teesdale to George Simpson of Shipley, and Surrender to the Hon®'® Christopher Vane.”® Further, there is also a grant, dated 7 July, 1689, from William and Mary, to ’ 1506. ® 1595- ® I am indebted for much interesting information respecting the forest of Weardale to Stanhope and its N eighbourhood, by W. Morley Egglestone, published by the author in 1882. The date of this surrender is not given in the schedule of deeds at Raby, but it would presumably coincide with the general pardon granted to Vane by James II in 1688. SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN Christopher Vane, of the ‘ Forests of Barnard Castle and Marwood.’ Deer must have been very numerous in Teesdale, for on the authority of Mr. Christopher Saunderson, the Samuel Pepys of Barnard Castle, whose diary is believed to be preserved at Armathwaite Castle, we learn that ‘at Rood Day, 1673, there were above 400 red deer in Teesdale, but perished in the snow.’ It is thus tolerably evident that wild red deer existed in Durham until the beginning of the eighteenth century, or later, and it seems prob- able that the original stock of the Cumbrian forests of the present day was identical with these deer. Falconry, the gentleman’s sport par excellence of mediaeval times, does not appear to have been greatly practised in Durham, though reference is made in the Boldon Book to the bishop’s falconer or keeper of the hawks. It is probable, however, that so rugged and densely wooded a county as Durham did not lend itself to the sport, while on the other hand the moors would not afford safe riding ground for following a flight. With the gradual decay of the great episcopal or baronial rights, sport became in time the amusement of the many, and not of the few. Hunting, which appears to have been always the chief sport of the county, was firmly established on a modern basis by Lord Darlington and Ralph Lambton, in what must then have been one of the best hunting countries in England,^^ parts of which still maintain their old repu- tation. The western fells, unhuntable on horseback, have for generations provided sport for pedestrian packs of harriers, while at the same time they afford admirable breeding grounds for foxes. But it is in connexion with these same western fells that the greatest change has come over Durham sport. Time was, and that not many years ago, when a bag of from twenty to thirty brace of grouse killed over dogs, and dis- tributed among three or four guns, would have been held an excellent day’s sport on almost any Durham moor. To-day the same ground will probably yield a bag five or six times as great. The causes which have determined this result are easy of explanation ; they are careful pre- servation, ruthless extermination of vermin. Both Barnard Castle and Marwood were chases, but the term ‘ forests ’ here probably includes Tees- dale, as the grant from Charles I to Sir H. Vane of date 1635, is of ‘the Game in the Forest of Teesdale, and Common of all the Parks, Chases, and Forests within the Lordship of Barnard Castle.’ This grant makes mention of ‘ wild cattle,’ but no record exists of them. ** In 1825 Nimrod considered Durham ‘a very sporting country,’ and placed the Sedgefield portion of it at ‘ the head of the provincials.’ judicious heather-burning, and above all, sys- tematic driving. Proof of what the latter has effected is best illustrated by an anecdote repro- duced from an article on ‘ Grouse Shooting,’ contributed by the present writer to The Bad- minton Magaxine in November, 1903 : — It is but little more than half a century ago since the late Mr. Milbank of Thorp Perrow, shooting over dogs on famous Wemmergill,'' made to his own gun the excellent bag of some forty brace of grouse — I forget the exact figure — and not ill-pleased, sent word of his success to his kinsman, the then Duke of Cleve- land, himself the owner of some of the best moors in England. The Duke however was much perturbed in spirit by the news, averring that such sport was ‘ mere butchery,’ and that if other people behaved like his brother-in-law, game would become extinct. Yet since those days upwards of a thousand brace have been killed in a single day’s shooting, not only on Wemmergill, but on the Duke’s adjoining High Force Moors. Nor can this revolution in grouse-shooting be disregarded from an economic point of view. The rents of moors have risen enormously, in some cases a hundredfold, and as a consequence, a proportionate circulation of money has taken place in the dales. Only last year [1906] the local newspapers recorded the arrival at Middleton-in-Teesdale of a special train from Liverpool bearing a party of wealthy Americans who had crossed the Atlantic for a month’s grouse-shooting in Teesdale — a sufficient testi- mony to the value of grouse moors as a national asset. Though steeplechasing is still vigorous, flat- racing is extinct in Durham, and how far this is a matter for congratulation or the reverse must be left to the reader’s personal feelings. One point, however, is certain ; the abolition of racing has had no deterrent effect on its con- comitant evil of betting. Finally, while the growth of the taste for healthy field sports is undoubtedly a matter for congratulation, a less optimistic view must be taken of the present condition of games and pastimes. It is but too evident that our great national sports of cricket and football are fast degenerating into mere exhibitions of skill by combinations of highly paid professionals. There is scarcely a town or a colliery village in Dur- ham which does not maintain a football club ; but while its supporters will flock to line the arena and bawl encouragement or disapproval, few of them ever actively participate in the game. Nor, comparatively slight as is its hold on popular affection in Durham, can cricket be said to be in any better plight. Wemmergill is of course in Yorkshire. 387 A HISTORY OF DURHAM FOX-HUNTING It seems fairly certain that the first pack of foxhounds in the county of Durham was kept at Streatlam between 1730 and 1740 by Mr. Bowes. These hounds were originally the property of Mr. Thomas Fownes of Steeple- ton in Dorset, by whom they were sold to ‘Mr. Bowes of Streatlam in Yorkshire.’^ Now although the bulk of the Bowes estates, which have now passed to the Earls of Strathmore, lie to the south of the Tees, Streatlam itself is in Durham, and as the hounds must have been kennelled there, they can fairly be counted as a Durham pack. On the first day they were taken out hunting they ran their fox ‘ into a nobleman’s park — I believe Lord Darlington’s — which was full of all kinds of riot,^ and it had been customary to stop all hounds before they could enter it.’® Unfortunately no record of these hounds exists at Streatlam at the present day; and but little information can be gleaned respecting a pack of presumed foxhounds which was undoubtedly kept at Raby, only three miles away, about the middle of the eighteenth century, by the Duke of Cleveland and Southampton, the uncle of the second Earl of Darlington. But though so little is definitely known about these packs, one feels the greater pleasure in rescuing that little from oblivion. It is even doubtful whether the palm for priority of fox-hunting in Durham should not be awarded to the inhabitants of a sea-port, which few people nowadays would credit with much sympathy with the chase, although the enterprise of its honest burgesses has been obscured by the glamour of such famous names as Lambton and Darlington. According to the Newcastle Journal of No- vember, 1765, we learn as follows : — We hear from Sunderland that an assembly is held there during the winter season on every Thursday fortnight, and that the gentlemen of the independent hunt, every Monday fortnight hunt the fox till Candlemas : after which they then for certain change it to Monday and Thursday weekly till Ladyday.‘ It should be noted that in the above para- graph, the editor does not refer to the ‘ inde- ' Anecdotes respecting Cranbourne Chase, by the Rev. William Chafin. * In the oldest English treatise on hunting. The Master of Game (141 3), the author tells us that when a hound chased a rabbit in covert he was to be rated with a shout of ‘ war ryote war,’ for no other wild beast in England was called ‘ ryote ’ save the coney.’ The expression had evidently come to have its modern and more extended meaning in 1730. ® Anecdotes respecting Cranbourne Chase. ‘ Richardson, Local Historian’s Table Book (New castle, 1843). pendent hunt ’ as an innovation, but rather as an established institution ; and the sport that it afforded for its supporters appears at times to have been of a truly remarkable description. Thus — February 20th 1770. The gentlemen of the Sun- derland Hunt turned out a bag-fox at Newbottle ; just as the dogs went off a hare started which they killed at view ; they fell on the foxe’s scent again and after a chase of 1 2 miles he lept down a lime-kiln and crept out at the eye, when the dogs took up the scent again, he soon after took through a conduit and eluded them for some time, but being again closely pressed he lept down a rock and took the river, but not being pursued he soon returned and was again taken up by the dogs, and after another chase for near 14 miles he ran on board a ship at Ayres Quay, where he was taken alive by the sailors.'' This must indeed have been a stout-hearted bagman, to have survived a run of 26 miles, a lime-kiln, a conduit, and a (literally) ‘navigable arm of the sea ’ ! Let us sincerely trust that the sailors were as kind to him as Jack usually is to dumb animals, and that after delivering him from his persecutors, they eventually restored him to well-earned liberty. THE RABY, MR. CRADOCK’S, AND LORD ZETLAND’S FOXHOUNDS We must now retrace our steps to Raby, where we first find mention of an orthodox pack of foxhounds in 1787, instituted in that year by the second Earl of Darlington, for the amusement of his son Lord Barnard, who succeeded to the title five years later, and, at all events in sporting matters, is always known as the ‘famous’ Lord Darlington. History does not relate whence Lord Darlington obtained the material for the foundation of his pack, and it is pretty evident that at the outset this was of rather a rough-cast description, which confined its operations to the immediate neighbourhood of Raby. But in a very few seasons Lord Darlington succeeded in creating a first-rate level lot of hounds, while his sphere of action extended over a huge district stretching from the south of Yorkshire almost to Northumberland, and including the Badsworth, and most of the present York and Ainsty countries, the whole of the existing Bedale and Zetland territories, and practically all the area now hunted by the Hurworth and North and South Durham Hounds. It of course goes without saying that this cannot be termed Lord Darlington’s ‘coun- try’ in the modern acceptance of the term. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, sub- scription packs of hounds with their rigidly ' Ibid. 388 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN defined limits for hunting had not yet come into existence, and a great nobleman like Lord Darlington, provided he refrained from encroach- ing too heavily on the territories or the suscep- tibilities of other magnates, was probably free to hunt foxes wherever he chose to seek them in the north of England. None the less it is certainly curious that he should have elected to travel so far from home — at a time, too, when means of locomotion were exceedingly limited — as the south of Yorkshire, where for a few seasons, in late spring and early autumn, he hunted part of what is now the Badsworth country. Equally curious, and, in a sense, re- grettable, is it that the oft-quoted song of the Raby Hounds with its Irish-like refrain of ‘ Bally- namonaora’ should apply to this district, which Lord Darlington only retained for a few years.® It was not long before he gradually relinquished the rest of his Yorkshire territory, reserving only the present Bedale country — probably the cream of the whole of it — which in conjunction with practically the whole of the county of Durham ® proved an ample field for even his energy and resources. As it was, he found it necessary to maintain a separate establishment at Newton House, near Bedale, for the purpose of hunting the Yorkshire side of his country, where at ‘the 220th milestone on the London and Glasgow road ’ he built commodious kennels and stables and spent ‘the happiest days of the year.’ ^ The kennels at Raby still exist, and within the last few years have been converted into a gamekeeper’s house. Lord Darlington kept hounds for over fifty years, but he was not merely a master in name : he was his own huntsman for thirty-six seasons, and in addition took the most minute interest in kennel detail. It was his custom to draw his hounds himself on hunting mornings, and to feed them at night, while he personally supervised their drafting, breeding, and exercise. Small wonder that he should refer to them as his ‘ darling hounds,’ or note their performances in his famous diary with such pride and delight. His hounds were of the big, speedy type, and despite his keen eye for individual hound-work it is pretty evident that he was a riding, not a hunting, man. Not only is this the verdict of his contemporaries,® but it is amply corroborated by his own frequent references in his hunting ® Much of the information here given respecting Lord Darlington’s hounds is, by courtesy of the Editor of the Badminton Magazine, reproduced from an article on Raby which the present writer contributed to that periodical in March, 1904. ® Except that portion hunted by Mr. Lambton, of which more anon. A pack of foxhounds is said to have been kept at Gibside, near Newcastle, at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the then Earl of Strathmore, but no record exists of them. ' Nimrod’s Northern Tour. ® ‘ He was all for riding ; four couple of hounds in front, and the rest coming on anyhow.’ The Druid, journal to ‘lifting’ his hounds. Moreover, he would get away with his fox with, if need be, only two couple of hounds, leaving the body of the pack to be brought on, his theory — in which he has had many imitators — being that when hounds have been left in covert once or twice they learn to fly quicker to the horn. The most precise information, from an out- side source, respecting Lord Darlington and his hounds, is found in the writings of Charles James Apperley — better known by his nom de plume of Nimrod — who visited his lordship both at Newton House and at Raby in 1826, when engaged in producing his famous series of ‘ Hunt- ing Tours’ for the proprietors of the Sporting Maga- zine. Reading between the lines of Nimrod’s rather extravagant eulogiums, it is pretty evident that Lord Darlington — now Marquess of Cleve- land— no longer rode with his former freedom. Nor is this a matter for surprise when we recol- lect that he was at that time .sixty years of age, and had kept hounds for thirty-nine seasons. According to Nimrod ; — He rides all his horses with a hard hand, and he has a peculiar w.ay of putting them at his fences. I have seen him absolutely make them paw down the fence before he will let them rise, if there should be a blind and a deep ditch on the other side, by which plan he no doubt saves many falls. And again : ‘ His perfect knowledge of the country — the italics are mine — also gives him a great advantage in getting to his hounds, and he is seldom far from them when wanting ’ {sic)f Yet this ill accords with earlier contemporary verdicts of Lord Darlington’s style of going, or with the statement attached to Chalon’s portrait of one of his favourite horses, ‘ Flora, a celebrated hunting-mare of the old English breed,’ on which he made ‘an extraordinary leap over a hedge four feet high with a ditch beyond measuring seven and three quarter yards.’ Nimrod’s dictum is equally at variance with the oft-quoted lines from the Badsworth hunting song : — Then, first in the burst, see dashing away. Taking all on his stroke on Ralpho’* the grey. With persuaders in flank, comes Darlington’s peer. With his chin sticking out, and his cap on one ear.'^ With my Ballynamonaora The hounds of Old Raby for me. Nimrod gives many interesting details concern- ing Lord Darlington’s hunting establishment, Scott and Sebright. ‘ Many of the old hands still speak of him as always having his finger in his ears, or his cap in his hand, and consider that his hunting was conducted on no especial system.’ Ibid. ® Nimrod’s Hunting Tours — Yorkshire. Howell Wood ; or the Raby Hunt in Yorkshire, by Martin Hawke. A new hunting song to the tune of Ballynamonaora, n.d., probably circa 1795. “ The hide of this horse still adorns an armchair at Raby. ** From about 1805 onwards, not only Lord Dar- lington, but all his hunt servants wore hats, not caps. 389 A HISTORY OF DURHAM which he estimates to have been the most costly of that day.^® None the less Lord Darlington was exceedingly methodical in all matters appertain- ing to the upkeep of his hunt, keeping careful account of expenditure, and being supplied with a weekly report of the state of the coverts, and their fences, &c. Nimrod further adds that he annually paid ;^340 to his own tenants for fox- coverts, which seems a rather paradoxical state- ment. Lord Darlington was also a man of con- siderable initiative in the minor accessories of the chase. He was, for instance, the inventor of the modern kennel-coat, an article unknown to his guest, and described by him as ‘a sort of white smock something like what the better order of butchers wear,’ which in conjunction with ‘ a pair of calashes ’ enabled the master to leave the kennels ‘ fit to walk into a drawing- room.’ Another of Lord Darlington’s wrinkles that favourably impressed Apperley was that of causing his hounds to pass from the feeding-house to their benches along a trough 6 in. deep in broth. This caused them to lick their feet, ‘and the healing properties of a dog’s tongue to a sore are well established.’ Nimrod mentions two whip- pers-in and a second horseman as forming Lord Darlington’s field establishment, but only gives the full name of one of them. This was Will Price, who had previously whipped in to Mr. Musters in Northamptonshire. As showing that there is nothing new under the sun, it is worth mentioning that Lord Darlington’s daughters hunted in pink, a fashion that it was attempted to revive some years ago with, how- ever, but little success, in one or two hunts in the United Kingdom. One of the most remarkable proofs of Lord Darlington’s devotion to fox-hunting was his habit of keeping a most accurate record of every day’s sport. Neither the hardest day in the saddle nor what Nimrod politely terms ‘ the merriest evening ’ afterwards, prevented him from posting his diary before retiring to bed at night. These diaries were religiously kept every year till 1833, when the Bedale country was handed over to Mr. Milbank of Thorp Perrow.^* It is a regrettable fact that no complete set of the diaries is in existence, not even at Raby itself. The earliest diaries that we have seen are those for the seasons 1789-90 and 1790-1 ; but curiously enough they do not appear to have been printed till 1804, when they were published by H. Reynell, of 21 Piccadilly, ‘near the Black Bear,’ under the title of The Earlof Darlington This seems very probable ; the Raby pack con- sisted of 80 couples of working hounds. “ The profits resulting from their sale were given to William Storey, a valued servant of Lord Darlington for over fifty years. The still existing Storey’s Whin near Piercebridge was named after him. This title was adhered to, even after Lord Dar- lington’s elevation to the Marquessate of Cleveland. Foxhounds — Operations of the Raby Pack. In these the proceedings of each hunting day are conscientiously recorded : ‘The names of coverts where the Hounds threw off’; ‘The coverts where Foxes have been found ’ ; ‘ The number of Foxes earthed and killed by Lord Viscount Barnard’s Foxhounds’; and ‘Coverts whence Foxes have been killed ’ : the above all neatly shown in tabular form ; while in addition each day’s sport and its noteworthy incidents are faith- fully recorded, with a description of the weather, and the names of the horses ridden by the master and the hunt servants. The former’s favourite hunter during these two seasons seems to have been one rejoicing in the curious name of Pam-be-civil, a prophetic cognomen that smacks rather of 1851 than 1790. One noticeable fact about the early days of the Raby Hunt is the diversity of the hours at which Lord Darlington threw off ; thus, on 27 September he did so at noon, on 1 1 Oc- tober at 6.30, on the two following days at 10 and 1 1 respectively, on 7 November at 7 — there can surely have been but little daylight at such an hour — while he finished up the season on 24 April by meeting at 5.15 at Warden Law — an exceedingly bleak hill overlooking the sea, midway between Sunderland and Seaham Har- bour. A more uncongenial trysting place at this hour of a northern spring morning can hardly be imagined. Moreover, as the crow flies it is about twenty-six miles from Raby, and hounds must have lain out, though this is not mentioned in the diary. However, they found and killed a fox, which would not be an easy matter in the same district at the present day. The crowning glory, however, of the season of 1790 was a run from Dobinson’s Whin near Piercebridge, to Witton Gilbert, about four miles north-west of Durham, ‘ a most remarkable chase of four hours and thirty-five minutes, very much hard running, and computed to be forty- five miles, my mare first at the death, much the freshest.’ This run was honoured by a notice in the Newcastle ‘ Newspaper ’ [sic), which is quoted in the diary, and irresistibly recalls the ‘ Splendid run with Mr. Puffington’s Hounds.’ It concludes with the mention that ‘ only two were in at the death, his Lordship and Mr. Ralph Saunderson ; and what is remarkable, Mr. Saunderson being quite unprepared for the chase, rode it without boots, whip, or spurs.’ A list of the hounds is first given in the diary for 1797, and that for 1806 contains further in- formation as to their breeding, ages, &c. Lord Darlington was by no means averse to hunt- ing bagged foxes ; several entries in his diaries record good runs with them, notably one in January, 1799, when he turned down at ‘Selaby Carrs a fox brought me by Robert Waite from Cutherstone this morning,’ and killed it after a ‘ desperate hard burst of forty-seven minutes.’ Nor does his lordship confine himself to acommon- 390 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN place record of each day’s sport, but enlivens his narrative by comments, favourable or the reverse, on the behaviour of his field. Thus in i8ii he administers a rebuke to a gentleman who spoilt a run by overriding the hounds, whom he charit- ably describes as an excellent sportsman, who never means to do wrong, but from great keenness is sometimes too for- ward, which as an old sportsman I claim a right to say to him. Again in 1825 we find him in happier vein bestowing praise without stint on a hard-riding clergyman — I cannot omit to mention that the Rev. John Monson shone as conspicuously this day on his grey mare as in the pulpit, and was alone with the hounds over Ainderby Mires.*® A final extract (in 1826) may be given as showing that even in those days game- and fox-preserving had, alas ! become antagonistic interests ; In consequence of the innumerable foxes which Lord Tyrconnel reported to me were about Kipling, and attacking his hares ... I selected sixteen couples of my best and steadiest hounds to go to Kipling at eleven o’clock and obey his lordship’s commands, when they tried every myrtle, rush, whin-bush, hazel-tree, brick- kiln remains, thorn-hedge, pleasure ground, and pheasant preserve appurtenances without ever finding a fox for nearly three hours. . . The last volume of The Operations of the Raby Pack was issued in 1833, by which time its master, who was created Duke of Cleveland in the same year, had begun to evince the first symptoms of the strange dislike that characterized his latter years for the sport he had formerly held so dear. Hounds were kept on at Raby for a few more seasons under the care of a pro- fessional huntsman, but the duke’s interest in them and their performances gradually died away, until in 1839 the once famous Raby pack, quantum mutatus ! was sold at Y ork for the in- significant total of 250 guineas.^^ '® This is indeed ‘ approbation from Sir Hubert Stanley,’ for his lordship had the reputation of not liking to see others in front of him in the chase, as shown by the following extract from Howell Wood : — Lying close in his quarter see Scott of Woodhall ! And mind how he cheers them with * Hard to the cry ! ’ Whilst on him the Peer keeps a pretty sharp eye. It is an illustration not only of Lord Darlington’s devotion to fox-hunting, but also of the power formerly wielded by great landowners, that in 1818 he success- fully opposed the application to Parliament for the formation of the first Stockton and Darlington Rail- way, on the ground that it would interfere with one of his fox-coverts, and it was not until a fresh survey was made, and the coverts avoided, that he withdrew his opposition. Three years later the duke himself died in London, and with him expired the last of that race of masters of hounds which began with Hugo Meynell and John Warde, and elevated fox-hunting from the obscure pastime of a few Squire Westerns to the dignity of a great national sport. None the less his scutcheon ot sportsman is not without a stain. For some years prior to his death relations between himself and his eldest son had become strained, and the duke hit on an exceedingly characteristic method of annoy- ing his heir, a man as devoted to hunting as him- self. He proceeded methodically to grub up coverts and exterminate foxes on his estates, a course of procedure that a few years earlier he would have regarded as little short of sacrilege. So thoroughly, too, did he effect his purpose, that when the second duke succeeded to the title, he found neither foxes to hunt nor hounds to hunt them with ; but, nothing daunted, he got together a scratch pack of hounds, and hunted the carted stag for five years, by which time the coverts had re-grown to a fox-holding capacity. But little record exists of what may be called the second period of the Raby Hunt. Its master appears to be overshadowed by his more famous father’s personality, while he further unfortunately omitted to follow the first duke’s practice of keeping a hunting diary for the benefit of posterity.*® From all accounts, however, the second Duke of Cleve- land appears to have been a conscientious and popular landlord, and an indefatigable master of hounds. His huntsman was George Cox, with Jack Morgan and Tom Sebright as whips. Hounds were maintained at Raby until 1861, when the pack was sold at Tattersall’s, and realized good prices, the first five couples being sold for 100 guineas, and three other lots at over 80 guineas.*® On resigning his country, the Duke of Cleve- land proposed to divide it between the neigh- bouring Durham County and Hurworth hunts — to whose funds, as well as to those of the Bedale, he generously contributed ;^500 a year, until his death in 1864. But this offer could not be accepted in its entirety, and for several years the famous Raby country lay fallow and unhunted.®® One curious custom prevailed at Raby during his lifetime : on hunting days, when a fox had been killed, its tongue was grilled and served up as a separate course at dinner the same evening — needless to say, as a mere quaint conceit, and with no gastronomical intention. None the less, I have it on the authority of an eye-witness of the incident, that a guest, a lady into the bargain, once insisted on tasting the morsel. Bell's Life in London, Jan. 1873. During this time, those keen sportsmen, Mr. Cradock of Hartforth, and his neighbour Mr. Gilpin- Brown of Sedbury, subscribed ^^500 a year apiece to Mr. W. H. Duncombe — now Lord Feversham — the then master of the Bedale, on condition he hunted the Yorkshire side of the Raby country one day a week. 391 A HISTORY OF DURHAM That it was resuscitated was due to the enter- prise of the late Mr. Cradock, of Hartforth near Richmond, who came forward in the year follow- ing the Duke of Cleveland’s death, and undertook to hunt a large part of his former country in Yorkshire and Durham,^^ five days a fortnight, with a subscription of about ;^2,ooo a year. It is no easy matter to revive hunting in a country where it has been allowed to lapse. There were neither hounds nor kennels, and but few fox- preservers; but Mr. Cradock threw himself into the work with such energy that in his third sea- son he hunted seventy times without a single blank day, and in six years his hounds were known as ‘the best little pack in Yorkshire.’ At what expense this result had been achieved is best exemplified by the fact that of thirty couple of draft hounds drawn from the best kennels in England no less than twenty-five couple had to be destroyed in one day for sheep- worrying, the pack having broken away when at exercise on Gayles Moor, and enjoyed some ex- cellent sport on its own account with the black- faced sheep of the neighbourhood.^^ Mr. Cradock’s first huntsman was Dick Christian, who died in 1 8 70. He was followed by Bridger Champion, who was retained by Lord Zetland when he succeeded Mr. Cradock as master in 1876 ; Champion retired in 1906 owing to failing health, after thirty-six years’ con- tinuous service — a most remarkable record. Not only did he hunt the hounds four days a week, but in addition from 1878 onwards used to drive the hound-van drawn by four horses, which was utilized for reaching the distant side of the Durham country. The best run in the Durham country that took place during Mr. Cradock’s mastership was on 25 March, 1873, when a fox found at Houghton Whin, ran past Bolam and Keverstone to Cockfield, thence through Raby Park to Streatlam, where it was killed at Fryers Coat Farm. Time — three hours, and only two horsemen saw the finish, the late Colonel Wilson of ClifFe, and the hunts- man. Mr. Cradock, to the regret of all concerned, gave up his hounds in 1876, but for the next twenty years he was a regular follower of the pack he had helped to form, and took the keenest interest in its welfare. In 1874, in conjunction with the late Mr. W. T. Scarth of Staindrop, he revived the Old Raby Hunt Club, with the *' Including Sim Pastures and the district round Middridge, which was given to the South Durham when Sir William Eden became master of that pack in 1877. Twelve years is the period usually considered necessary to ‘ make ’ a pack. ” Life in London, Jan. 1873. I am indebted to his son, Major Cradock, D.S.O., the present owner of Hartforth, for this and much other interesting and valuable information. object of investing a capital sum for the future welfare of hunting in the Raby country.^® This result has been happily achieved, thanks to the energy and foresight of Sir J. E. Backhouse, bart., the honorary secretary and treasurer of the club. The Raby Hunt Club now consists of sixty-four members, who pay an entrance fee of five guineas, and an annual subscription of like amount ; and a substantial sum has been laid by to meet the necessity, should it ever arise, of purchasing a new pack of hounds for the country. On Mr. Cradock’s retirement, his country was taken over by Lord Zetland, by whose name it has been known ever since. The term ‘ popular ’ in connexion with a master of hounds has of late years become almost an accepted truism, but it is impossible to conceive one to whom it can be more honestly applied than to Lord Zetland, who for thirty years has hunted four days a week without subscription, — a trifling poultry and covert fund excepted — and spared neither trouble nor expense to pro- vide sport for his followers. The fact that his outside meets in the Durham country at Knitsley Fell or Black Banks are 25 miles from the kennels at Aske, and that hounds have to be vanned to Staindrop to reach these and many other distant meets, is perhaps the strongest proof of his devotion to fox-hunting. Taken as a whole. Lord Zetland’s country is probably the best in the county of Durham — though some may give the palm to the Hurworth. Except on its extreme northern fringe, where it is bounded by the North and South Durham terri- tories, it is free from the taint of coal-pits or manu- factories, while its plough rides light and carries a good scent, though grass is its predominating note. The Tees, which practically bisects it, though an exceedingly beautiful river in itself, is perhaps its worst attribute as regards hunting, as foxes, especially in the Barnard Castle district, are apt to take refuge in its steep and woody banks. The Zetland country contains every variety of fence, and though its envious neighbours occasion- ally apply an unflattering nickname to it, it takes a good man on a good horse to live with hounds when they run hard across it. This may be instanced by the famous run of i January, 1900, from Houghton Whin to Westwick — ten miles in seventy minutes — when of a very large field only five horsemen. Major Cradock and his brother, the late Mr. T. Sowerby, Champion, and one other, saw the finish. ** The Old Raby Hunt Club had been originally founded by Lord Darlington, but had ceased to exist on the death of the second Duke of Cleveland. In Lord Darlington’s day the club dined every Thurs- day night at the ‘ Swan ’ at Bedale, when hunting his Yorkshire country. His pink dress-coat with white silk facings, and a black velvet collar with embroidered foxes, was adopted by the members of the new club. 392 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN THE LAMBTON, THE DURHAM COUNTY, AND THE SOUTH DURHAM FOXHOUNDS Famous as Lord Darlington’s Hounds must always remain in the annals of fox-hunting, it is doubtful whether, at all events in the county of Durham, they were ever so enshrined in popular affection as those of his equally great compeer, Mr. Ralph Lambton. Yet it should not be over- looked that this pack was originally instituted, not by him, but by his elder brother, Mr. Wil- liam Henry Lambton, and the exact date is fixed by a letter written by the latter to his friend Mr. Robinson from London in April, 1793 : — Having given up hunting in Leicestershire, I purpose keeping a small pack of hounds in Durham. I have reason to think that Lord Darlington and my- self shall agree about the division of the country. As you are a good sportsman pray let me know what can be done in your neighbourhood to promote our sport. From the banks of the river to the seaside we might surely improve the country by inclosing some patches of whin, or making other coverts. I am sure you will have the goodness to keep a strict look-out that no litters are destroyed during the breeding season. I will thank you for any hints, and shall be obliged if you will assure persons that upon fair cases I will satisfy them for any loss they may sustain.^® William Henry Lambton was the son of General Lambton, of Harraton Hall, who com- manded the Coldstream Guards, and raised the 2nd Battalion of the 23rd Regiment, now the famous 68th or Durham Light Infantry. There is reason to believe that after his retirement from the army, General Lambton kept a small pack of hounds, with which he hunted fox or hare indis- criminately in the northern part of Durham. Mr. W. H. Lambton lost no time in starting his hunting establishment, for having presum- ably settled with Lord Darlington as to the limits of his new country he purchased Lord Talbot’s pack of sixty couples of hounds, which had hunted the Sudbury — now the Meynell — country in Derbyshire, taking over Lord Talbot’s hunt-servants with them. These were James Shelley as huntsman, and George Deane (who had whipped in to the Prince Regent’s hounds in Hampshire) and Dick Norman as whippers- in. But, unhappily, Mr. Lambton did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his enter- prise ; within three years his health failed, and The Field, 24 April, 1901. This is understood to have included all the county of Durham north of a line drawn from Castle Eden on the east to Wolsingham on the west, thence north through Edmondbyers to Corbridge in the present Tynedale country, thus including part of Northum- berland. A portion of the Raby country is omitted from mention in the operations of the Raby Pack in 1793, though no direct allusion is made to its cession to Mr. Lambton. leaving England he died at Pisa in December, 1797.^® Short as his tenure of office had been, it had sufficiently opened his neighbours’ eyes to the charms of fox-hunting in first-rate style to make them anxious for a continuance of it, and pending the time when it would be convenient for his younger brother, Ralph Lambton, to take on the hounds, Mr. Baker of Elemore came forward and hunted the country with a small sub- scription until 1798, in which year Mr. Lamb- ton commenced his mastership. For several seasons he retained Shelley as huntsman, after which he hunted hounds himself uninterruptedly until 1829, when owing to two very bad falls, in 1825 and 1827, he relinquished the horn to Jack Winter, his first whip. In the first six seasons the hounds were kennelled at Lambton, but when, in 1814, Lord Darlington gave Mr. Lambton his Sedgefield country — now the cream of the South Durham Hunt — kennels be- came also necessary at Sedgefield. Like Lord Darlington, Ralph Lambton omitted none of the duties of a huntsman, paying the greatest atten- tion to all details of kennel management, never failing to feed and exercise his hounds himself and taking the keenest interest in their breeding. His type of hound was a good deal smaller than Lord Darlington’s, being no more than 24 inches, or even less according to some authorities, and his great pleasure was to have them strictly uniform in size. He scoured England for the best hound blood, being particularly partial to the Duke of Beaufort’s and Mr. Warde’s strains. Although his hounds are invariably spoken of as ‘ Ralph Lambton’s,’ their proper designation was ‘The Lambton,’ owing to the master’s accepting a small subscription. The amount of this appears to have varied : the ubiquitous Nimrod — who included a visit to Mr. Lambton and Sedgefield in his Northern Tour — places it at ‘about ,^800,’^® but this is obviously incorrect, as Mr. Ord, of Sands Hall — himself, as will be seen, a quondam master of the South Durham Hunt — whose great-uncle was hon. secretary to the Lambton Hunt, is able to state authoritatively that the largest subscription ever received in one year was no more than I yx., or almost exactly half Nimrod’s estimate.’® But even the larger estimate could not have gone far towards such an establishment as Mr. Lambton’s ; for he invariably hunted four and often five days a week, had four admirably mounted men in the field, and kept sixty couple of hounds. Mr. W. H. Lambton was no mere tox-hunting squire. He had travelled a great deal on the con- tinent, and in Parliament, where he represented Dur- ham for seven years, his fluent oratory attracted attention. Nimrod’s Northern Tour. The Sedgefield Country, by the author of The Fox- hunter’s Fade Mecum, W. Dresser & Sons, Darlington, 1904. 2 393 50 A HISTORY OF DURHAM In the early part of the last century the social side of fox-hunting was an important element in its welfare ; reference has already been made to the ‘ assemblies’ of the Sunderland Hunt, and the dinners of the old Raby Hunt Club, and Ralph Lambton was responsible for the founda- tion of two Hunt Clubs : The Tallyho, which used to meet at Chester le Street in the northern country, and the Scdgefield, instituted after his acquisition of that territory, in 1804. Unfor- tunately, no precise record exists of the date of either the institution or the dissolution of these clubs, but it is undoubtedly to the former of them that we are indebted for all the three portraits that were painted of Ralph Lambton, the first by Warde in 1821, the second by Ferneley a few years later — both of these with hounds — and the third of Mr, Lambton only, in 1836 by Sir Francis Grant.®^ Little is known of the Tallyho Club, but the Sedgefield ‘meet- ings ’ took place twice during the hunting season, for six weeks from the first Monday in Novem- ber, and again for a month in February. During these periods the little village of Sedgefield earned, and not without good cause, the title of the ‘ Melton of the North.’ Not only was every stable in it, or its vicinity, taken, but even the humblest lodging that could accommodate a visitor was secured weeks beforehand, while all the country houses of the neighbourhood were filled with fox-hunting guests. The club dined every night at the Hardwick Arms, where ‘ every- thing was good and substantial, but without luxury,’ while to discourage heavy post-prandial drinking, the landlord was fined a bottle of wine if he neglected to bring in the bill exactly three hours after the members had sat down. Dinner was served at seven o’clock, an hour which even the fashionable Nimrod, fresh from Melton, considered unduly late ; and the dress-coat of the club was black, with a white waistcoat, and a scarlet under-waistcoat of silk or cloth.^^ Nimrod, who gives a very interesting account of the Lambton Hunt and its supporters, stayed several days at the Sedgefield Club, during which time he was fortunate enough to take part in a remarkably good run from Foxyhill to Elstob Whin, where they changed foxes, eventually killing the fresh one after running hard for two hours and seven minutes in all. Only fifteen horsemen, out of more than a hundred, were up at the finish, and at least one horse died in the field. Anotlier famous run with the Lambton Hounds was that of New Year’s Day, 1820, ” The Field, 24 April, 1897. ” Nimrod’s 'Northern Tour. We cannot trace the date when the present blue collar of the South Durham Hunt was adopted for both hunting and dress coats. There appears no solid foundation for the statement sometimes made that it was selected to commemorate the old ‘ royal ’ colours of the prince-bishops of Durham. from Wrekenton Whin — now no longer existing — near Gateshead, across the Wear, just fining down after a flood at Hylton, to Houghton le Spring, Painshaw Hill, and then turning east, to the neighbourhood of Seaham Harbour, where the fox was killed.^^ This run is specially worthy of note as being the occasion when Mr. John Harvey, then a boy of sixteen, was first entered to fox-hunting, and so well did the lad acquit himself that he was the only person, besides the master and the hunt-servants, who saw the finish. His good performance naturally attracted Mr. Lambton’s attention, and with characteristic kindly feeling he piloted him back towards New- castle, the delighted boy little thinking then that the day would come when he, in his turn, would be a master of hounds in the very Sedgefield country, over which Mr. Lambton then presided, and that he had that day laid the foundation of a close friendship which only ended with the latter’s death. Before quitting the Lambton Hounds it is perhaps excusable to draw a comparison be- tween those great contemporaries. Lord Dar- lington and Ralph Lambton, between whom there were many points of common resemblance. Both were men of old territorial family in the districts which they hunted ; both were ani- mated with that passionate love of fox-hunting which led them cheerfully to accept the drudgery aS well as the pleasures of the chase ; both esta- blished fox-hunting on a firm basis in a part of the country where it had been previously in- secure, and both were fearless riders to hounds. Nor did either of them allow sport to interfere with their public duties — the Duke of Cleveland would post from Raby to London to attend an important division in the House of Lords, and Ralph Lambton represented Durham in the Commons for several years.®‘ But here the resemblance ceases — the Duke of Cleveland was respected with the awe that rank then inspired to a degree unknown nowadays, but Ralph Lambton was revered with an affection happily common to no particular period — the one — though he cheerfully consented to others sharing his sport as long as he was able to enjoy it him- self— really kept hounds for his own amusement, but the other did so, not only because he loved The Sedgefield Country. It would be a stout- hearted fox, and an even bolder rider that would go straight at the present day from Wrekenton to Houghton le Spring. Ralph Lambton did not share his elder brother’s gift of oratory. Having once to address a meeting from the hustings at Durham, after a good deal of hesitation, he finally came to a dead stop for want of words. His predicament was appreciated by a hunt- ing-farmer in the crowd, who holloaed out ; ‘ How way, Mr. Ralph ! Thou’s i’ Sacriston Wood [a par- ticularly dense covert] noo, ar’s warned,’ an apt comparison which provoked a roar of laughter, under cover of which Mr. Lambton retired. 394 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN hunting himself, but because he wished others to enjoy it also. One more curious note of dis- similarity may be noted. So far as is known, Lord Darlington never had a serious fall in his life. Ralph Lambton had three. The first occurred in 1825, and for some time paralysis was feared, but thanks to his marvellous con- stitution he recovered so far as to be able to ride about. Then, when only convalescent, his hack fell with him in the followingyear on the road between Morton and Lambton,^® with the result that he carried his head to one side for the rest of his life. Nevertheless he again hunted hounds for eleven seasons, until his favourite hunter. The Kitten, gave him a terrible fall on the flat in 1837, from which he never recovered, and though he lingered on for another seven years he was practically a cripple. He died in 1844, the last of the old school of masters of hounds, leaving a blank in the county of Durham that has never since been filled. His hounds were sold in 1838 to Lord Suffield, the then master of the Quorn, for 3,000 guineas, but only a year later they were purchased by Sir Matthew White Ridley for about a third of that amount, and came back to the north of England. Mr. Lambton’s old huntsman. Jack Winter, was pensioned off, but his three whip- pers-in, Hunnam, Harrison, and Robinson, took service under Sir Matthew at Blagdon.®^ From the date of Mr. Lambton’s retirement in 1838 the history of fox-hunting in Durham becomes somewhat involved. In that year a meeting of those interested was held, when Mr. ‘ Billy ’ Williamson, a brother of Sir Hed- worth Williamson of Whitburn, was elected master, with a guaranteed subscription. Mr. Williamson, who was probably the hardest- riding man of his day in Durham, continued in office for three seasons, and with Glover as huntsman showed excellent sport. On his retirement in 1842 he was succeeded by the third Marquess of Londonderry, who took no subscription, the hounds being kennelled at Wynyard and known as the Wynyard and South Durham Foxhounds. Unfortunately in the following year Lord Londonderry had a bad fall and broke his arm ; a serious matter for a Peninsular veteran, and he was forced to retire in favour of Mr. Russell of Brancepeth. This gentleman had already kept hounds of his own for four seasons previously — since 1839 — hunting the country round Brancepeth, as far as Harperley on the west and Chester le Street to the north, but not going south of the Wear. His huntsman had been John Swinburne, whose ‘ He was not made of steel ; he was of those stub-heads they make gun-barrels of.’ Hounds were kennelled at Lambton, but Mr. Lambton himself lived at Morton House, three miles distant. 7'ie Field, 24 April, 1 897. manuscript diary has been kindly lent me for in- spection by Mr. Russell’s grandnephew, the pre- sent master of the South Durham Hounds. The diary records no very eventful runs, but the pack appears to have had capital sport over a wild country, which in those days was not so cut up by collieries and their attendant wagon-ways as at the present time. It is said that although fully cognizant of the great mineral wealth which lay beneath the surface of his estates, Mr. Russell would allow no pits to be sunk on them where he thought this might be injurious to fox-hunting. THE DURHAM COUNTY HOUNDS Mr. Russell did not long retain the undivided mastership of the South Durham Hounds. In 1844 the pack was purchased for ;^300, and renamed the Durham County Hounds ; Colonel Tower of Elemore and Earl Vane, afterwards the fourth Marquess of Londonderry, acting as a committee in conjunction with Mr. Russell. This arrangement lasted for a couple of seasons, when Colonel Tower became sole master. He showed excellent sport till 1852, when he retired in favour of the ever-green ‘Billy’ Williamson. The latter’s reign, however, only lasted for three years, when Mr. Henderson undertook office for the season of 1856-7, making way in this year for Major Johnson of the Deanery, Chester le Street, who, with Tom Harrison and subse- quently Will Snaith as huntsmen, showed ex- cellent sport till i860, when Mr. Henderson, as ever the guardian angel of Durham fox-hunt- ing, once more assumed the mastership for a single season. This year — 1861 — was a momentous one for the county hunts, being the date on which the second Duke of Cleveland offered to divide the Raby country between the Hurworth and Durham County Hunts, and to give a sub- scription of ;^500 per annum to each of them. This generous offer could not, however, be accepted in its entirety, the existing Durham country being already too large and unwieldy for a single pack, besides necessitating the main- tenance of two sets of kennels, one at Elvet Moor — close to the present (1907) North Durham Kennels — and the other at Sedgefield. Mr. Henderson was succeeded by a committee ; but only a year later he once more came forward and acted as joint-master with Mr. John Harvey until 1872, when the Durham County Hounds ceased to exist as a single pack. Martin Carr was huntsman from 1863-7,®® which year he had been succeeded by Thomas Dowdeswell. The question of dividing the Durham country, which had been frequently mooted, was finally decided in a very unexpected and tragic manner. This was due to the initiative of Mr. John Henderson of Durham. Snaith went in this year to Devon as huntsman to the Hon. Mark Rolle ; The Sedgefield Country. 395 A HISTORY OF DURHAM In October, 1871, a hound called Carver was found to be mad. Four hounds which Carver was known to have bitten were at once destroyed, and it was hoped that the worst was over, but other hounds manifested symptoms of rabies proper, the epidemic showed no signs of abatement, and at a meeting of the subscribers to the hunt, held at Durham on 17 November, it was reluc- tantly decided to sacrifice the entire pack of forty-one couples.^® Such a catastrophe as this, coming too at such a season of the year, might well have daunted most masters of hounds ; but Messrs. Henderson and Harvey at once set to work to get together a new pack, and thanks to the sympathy awakened in the hunting-world by the calamity that had overtaken the Durham Hounds, they actually succeeded in taking the field again in five weeksy and meeting at Aldin Grange in their northern territory on New Year’s Day of 1872, blooded their new pack by killing a leash of foxes ! From 1872 the Durham County Hounds were divided into two distinct packs, the South Durham, with Mr. Harvey as master, having their kennels at Sedgefield, and the newly created North Durham being taken over by Mr. Anthony Maynard of Newton Hall near Durham. Mr. John Harvey was born in 1804, and served his early apprenticeship to hunting with the harriers of the Newcastle Corporation. Re- ference has already been made to his first introduction to fox-hunting in 1820, and it is probable that the impression then produced on him by Mr. Lambton went far to mould his character for life. There were strong natural points of resemblance between the two ; both were men of extraordinary resolution, univer- sally beloved and respected, and endowed with a passionate love of hunting. In Mr. Harvey’s case this latter trait was the more remarkable, for as a hardworking man of business — he was head of a famous and long-established firm of tobacco manufacturers at Newcastle-on-Tyne — he had naturally many calls on his time. None the less these never prevented his hunting three days a week throughout the season, but at the same time they probably accounted for his being less of a ‘ hound man ’ than his prototype, Ralph Lambton, or indeed, most famous masters of hounds. He was, however, an undeniable man across country, no obstacle being too big for him, and it has been left on record by his whip The Sedgefield Country. It is a highly interesting fact as showing how long the germs of the disease had been lurking in the Durham Kennels prior to its outbreak, that a draft of four couples of hounds, sent the month previous to India, developed the same complaint, with the same ultimate fatal result, at almost the actual time when it broke out in England : ibid. Jack Bevans, that tears ran down his face, when, at the age of sixty, he turned from a fence for the first time in his life.^^ Most remarkable, and equally characteristic, is the fact that for many years of his life it was his invariable custom on hunting days to hack the twenty-six miles from Newcastle to Sedge- field, get his hunter there, ride on to the meet, hunt all day, and then hack back to Newcastle at night, being frequently in the saddle for twelve hours. Indeed, on the first occasion that he hunted with the Lambton Hounds, they had a most extraordinary run from near Blakiston to Great Ayton in Cleveland, on which occasion it is computed by careful map-measurement that he rode as nearly as possible ninety miles ! Even when advancing years compelled him to sleep at Sedgefield the night before hunting he always returned to Newcastle the same evening by a late train. No doubt his exceptional power of endurance in the saddle was due not only to Mr. Harvey’s light weight — he never rode more than about 9 stone — but also to his abstemious habits ; for many years he never ate anything on hunting days between an early breakfast and his dinner, which merely consisted of a mutton- chop and a single glass of claret.^ For the first two years of Mr. Harvey’s mastership the huntsman was Thomas Dowdes- well. He was succeeded by William Claxon from the Bicester, with J. Bevans and C. Hawkes as whips. Mr. Harvey continued in office for fifteen years, during nine of which he had been joint-master with Mr. Henderson. He resigned in 1878, when he was in his seventy-fifth year. It is impossible within the limits of the present article to enumerate even a tithe of the first-rate runs that took place during his mastership ; but it is pleasant to be able to record that his last season, 1877—8, was almost his best. In the following year he was presented by the members and friends of the South Durham Hunt with his portrait by Charlton, on his favourite mare, Polly, capping his hounds away from Lea Close. Mr. Harvey lived to be eighty-nine, a striking tribute to the health-giving qualities of fox- hunting combined with an abstemious habit of life. He died in 1893, regretted by all who knew him, an expression which in his case means much, for few men ever had a larger circle of friends in all classes of life than John Harvey. On his retirement. Sir William Eden of Windlestone was elected master of the South Durham Hounds, with a guaranteed subscrip- tion of £<)00 a year, on which he undertook to hunt the country two days a week. Sir William purchased the pack for ^^700, and built new kennels at Rushyford within easy reach of his own house. In the following year, however. Ibid. 396 Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN the master generously forwent a subscription — except the poultry and covert funds — and hunted the country three days a week at his own ex- pense, and from this date until he resigned office in 1 88 1 the pack was known as Sir William Eden’s Hounds. On his retirement, Mr. Ord of Sands Hall was unanimously elected master with a guarantee of 1, 600 per annum. Mr. Ord’s mastership lasted till 1884, during which time he showed good sport, and did much to popularize fox-hunt- ing among that most important body, the tenant- farmers. When Mr. Ord resigned office Sir William Eden once more came forward, and was ap- pointed master with a subscription of a year. Sir William’s second mastership lasted for six seasons, all of which may be deemed above the average. The kennels were retained at Rushyford, and Claxon continued as huntsman until 1887, when he retired, and was succeeded by George Gillson from the York and Ainsty. Sir William Eden finally gave up the hounds in 1890 when they were taken over by the Hon. Gustavus Hamilton-Russell, the grandnephew of Mr. William Russell, who was master of the South Durham Hounds in 1843. He has re- tained them ever since to the great satisfaction of all concerned, hunting the country three days a week on a subscription of ^i^ooo a year, which includes poultry and covert funds. On Mr. Hamilton-Russell’s assuming office, the old kennels at his residence, Hardwick Park, were again utilized, and W. Sheppard was appointed huntsman until 1894, since when the master has hunted hounds himself with Will Goodall as kennel-huntsman and first whipper-in. Mr. Hamilton-Russell has shown admirable sport during his sixteen years’ mastership, but for the past two or three seasons there has been a scarcity of foxes owing to the epidemic of mange that has devastated every country in England. It appears, happily, to have died out, and to be quite extinct now in the county of Durham. The South Durham country is still a first-rate hunting district. It may justly be termed a flying country, though in places it contains a certain amount of bank and ditch. Two-thirds of it are sound old pasture ; it has no big wood- lands, and landowners and farmers are staunch fox-preservers. Six new coverts were planted during the ‘eighties,’ namely Kap’s Hill near Mr. Ord represents a family long connected with hunting in Durham, his great-uncle Mr. Ben. Ord having been one of Ralph Lambton’s chief supporters, and hon. sec. to the Lambton Hunt. Mr. Ord has done much to help fox-hunting, not only in his own country, but throughout England, by his admirable little work. The Foxhunter’s Vade Mecum, the profits derived from which every year go to swell the funds ^ of the Hunt Servants’ Benefit Society and Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. Rushyford, Brierton New Whin, and Firtree, Bradbury, and Black Plantation Whins — the latter three being all Mr. Ord’s property.^® THE NORTH DURHAM FOXHOUNDS On the establishment of the North Durham Hunt in 1872, the Durham County Hounds were divided between Mr. Harvey and Mr. Maynard, the former being allowed priority of choice ; while Mr. Maynard further strength- ened his pack by a draft of fifteen couples from Lord Eglinton. The pack thus formed has ever since remained the property of the North Durham Hunt, each retiring master being bound to hand over to his successor the number of hounds which he received on assuming office. Mr. Anthony Lax Maynard, the master of the newly-formed pack, came of a family long con- nected with sport and agriculture in the north of England. He was a very good man to hounds, wonderfully popular with all classes, and showing remarkable tact in dealing with an unruly field. Many of his quaint, dry sayings are remembered and quoted to this day. Mr. Maynard undertook to hunt the country three days a week,^^ with Henry Haverson — who had previously been first whipper-in to the Bedale — as huntsman and T. Noble and W. Hawkeswell as first and second whippers-in. The hounds were kennelled at Mr. Maynard’s residence, Newton Hall, near Durham. Mr. Maynard’s mastership lasted until 1884, when advancing years obliged him to resign. He had shown consistent good sport for twelve years, and, what is more important still, had established fox-hunting on a firm basis in the face of great natural difficulties in a district where but for him it might easily have died out. Per- haps his best season was 1873, and almost his most remarkable run one from Broomshields to Dukesfield in the Haydon country. Mr. Maynard was succeeded by a committee consisting of the Earl of Durham, Mr. (now Sir) Lindsay Wood, and Messrs. P. H. Chapman, and N. W. Apperley, the kennels being moved to Viewley Grange near Plawsworth, with Richard Freeman, who had succeeded Haverson in 1880, as huntsman. This arrangement lasted until 1888, when Mr. J. E. Rogerson was elected master, with a guarantee of £%00 a year. He has now held the post for eighteen years, to the great satisfaction of all concerned, sparing no pains to ensure sport and to popularize hunting among the farmers of the country. It Mr. Ord, to whom, and to whose interesting book The Sedgefield Country, we are indebted for much valuable information, is honorary secretary to the South Durham Hunt. This was subsequently reduced to two days a week. 397 A HISTORY OF DURHAM is of course to be expected that in a great industrial district like North Durham portions of the country must from time to time become unhuntable, and of late years Mr. Rogerson has had to resign a large part of his eastern country lying between Silksworth and Castle Eden, but on the other hand he has been able to resume operations in the Wear Valley on the west, where mining operations are now decreasing. Freeman retired from the post of huntsman in 1906, after twenty-six years’ continuous service, during which time he had only been one day off duty. Mr. Rogerson has erected new kennels at his residence. Mount Oswald, near Durham, and will in future hunt the hounds himself, with Joseph Smailes, who has hitherto been first whip, as kennel huntsman. The North Durham country is naturally a fine wild sporting one. On its western side, where the best sport is usually enjoyed, it con- sists almost entirely of grass and moorland, with some big woodlands ; on the east, of about equal proportions of grass and plough, but the curse of wire is rather prevalent in this part of the country. Every variety of fence is to be met with, including stone-walls. The season of 1905-6 has been the best of the whole of the eighteen years of Mr. Rogerson’s mastership, some really remarkable sport having been en- joyed, especially in the west country. Like most of the Durham packs, the North Durham commemorate the Duke of Cleveland’s reign by their black velvet collar. THE HURWORTH HUNT Leaving the north of the county we must now return to its southern extremity, to en- deavour to trace the fortunes of the Hurworth Hunt. The most careful research and inquiry have only produced the most meagre results, a matter for deep regret in connexion with so famous a pack ; and we must go back to the pages of Nimrod for information respecting it. The Hurworth Hounds were founded originally as a private pack of harriers, towards the end of the eighteenth century, by three brothers, Messrs. Thomas, Lozalure, and Matthew Wil- kinson of Neasham Abbey, near Darlington, but were promoted to fox-hunting in 1799. As far as can be gathered each brother acted as master in turn, Thomas, the eldest of the three, doing so until his death in 1820, when he was suc- ceeded by Matthew, who was master at the time of Nimrod’s visit in 1826. The last of the three brothers died in 1840, when the master- ship was taken over by his nephew, Mr. Thomas Wilkinson, the hounds having thus been con- tinuously under the management of the Wilkin- son family for upwards of sixty years. During the whole of this time they were to all intents and purposes a private pack, with the kennels at Neasham Abbey, though a subscription was accepted from such as chose to offer it. In Matthew Wilkinson’s day this only amounted to ;^i75 a year, a sum which, as Nimrod remarks, might ‘ with good management find meal for the hounds.’ The pack then consisted of twenty-six couples of working hounds, with four couples at grass.^® Apperley, who reviewed the Hurworth after visiting the aristocratic Lambton and Raby establishments, admits he went prepared, in his own words, ‘ to meet with something still more out of the common way,’ and as frankly admits the error of his preconceived notions. The Wilkinsons of Neasham, a family of landowners long settled in Durham, repre- sented at the beginning of the last century the best of that now unhappily extinct class, the wealthy yeomen, who aspired with good reason to no higher rank, and rather prided themselves on a certain bluntness of manner and speech, the latter usually couched in their native Doric. To this day many of Matty Wilkinson’s terse expressions in the hunting-field are quoted in his native county, and one can only share Apperley’s regret that they would not look well in print. Still, to quote the latter’s own words : — A polish weakens the vigour of native powers. Eton and Christchurch might easily have spoiled Matty Wilkinson, and deprived him of a niche in the Temple of Fame ; and he aptly sums him up as — an English sportsman of the old stamp — resolute and daring in his favourite pursuit, and manly and powerful.^® Although he rode 17 stone, Matty Wilkinson hunted his hounds himself, and had a wonderful knack of living with them ; and Apperley refers with admiration to his method of handling his horse across country, though on occasion he was not above dismounting and leading over an awkward place. None the less Mr. Wilkinson was practically without fear where hunting was concerned, and though unable to swim, thought nothing of crossing the Tees when in flood, to get to his hounds. Matthew Wilkinson died in 1840, and was followed by his nephew Mr. Thomas Raper, who assumed the name of Wilkinson on succeed- ing to the family estates ; the hounds were still kennelled at Neasham while the hunt was practi- cally carried on at the master’s expense, the sub- scription being still merely a nominal one. Mr. Wilkinson hunted the hounds himself for several years, but then handed the horn over to Frank Coates, the first of several professional huntsmen who were in his service. Under Mr. Wilkin- son’s mastership the Hurworth Hounds and country soon acquired a more than local reputa- tion, and it is a matter for regret that his death Nimrod’s Northern Tour. Ibid. 398 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN in 1 86 1 should have coincided with the acqui- sition of a large slice of the Raby country, and the accompanying subscription of ;^500 a year from the second Duke of Cleveland. On Mr. Wilkinson’s death the hounds were sold by his executors to a committee of the hunt, and the mastership was offered to and accepted by Mr. Cookson of Neasham, well- known as a breeder of blood stock. Mr. J. Farrington,®® who had latterly acted as huntsman for Mr. Wilkinson, remained in the same capa- city with the new master. From this date, however, it is impossible to write a detailed history of the Hurworth Hunt, owing to the frequent changes of mastership. In twenty- seven years there were no fewer than nine changes in this respect, and we can merely note these up to the present time. Mr. James Cook- son was master from 1862-5, when he was succeeded by Major Elwen, who continued in office till 1869. In that year Mr. Cookson returned again until 1872, when he retired in favour of Lord Castlereagh, the present Mar- quess of Londonderry. He, in turn, in 1875 gave way to Major Godman, whose mastership lasted until 1879, when Mr. Cookson came forward for the third time. He finally retired in 1884, when he was succeeded by Mr. W. H. A. Wharton of Skelton Castle, who gave up the Hurworth two years later to assume the mastership of the adjoining Cleveland country, which he has held ever since. Sir Reginald Graham followed him as the master of the Hur- worth in 1886, but his tenure of office only lasted till 1888, when he retired in favour of the present master, Mr. William Forbes of Callendar. The old adage that it is ‘ an ill wind that blows nobody good ’ was never better exemplified than in the case of the Hurworth Hunt and Mr. Forbes, who from 1877 to 1884 was master of the Kildare. In 1882, owing to agrarian agita- tion fostered by the Land League, hunting was stopped in the Kildare country, and Mr. Forbes, bringing his horses to Croft, near Darlington, to hunt from there, was so pleased with the sport he enjoyed that, on resigning the Kildare country two years later, he returned to York- shire and accepted the mastership of the Hur- worth in 1888®^ a post he has now held for eighteen years. During this long period he has shown admirable sport, practically at his own expense, hunting the country three days a week on a guaranteed subscription of only a year ! As, in addition to Bishopp, his present huntsman, Mr. Forbes has three whippers-in in the field, while the pack consists of forty-six couples of working hounds, it will be understood that the subscription does not go far towards the expense of such an establishment. Mr. Farrington was subsequently master of the ■Sinnington Foxhounds. ®‘ The Sedgejield Country. The Hurworth is a good hunting country, though plough predominates, especially on the Yorkshire side, but this carries a good scent, and its grass is considered by many to be the best in Durham. There is a little moorland, and the woods are small ; six new coverts have been planted within recent years. Every variety of fence is to be met with, and it requires a good man and a free-jumping horse to live with hounds over the best of the country. THE BRAES OF DERWENT The Braes of Derwent Hounds hunt the extreme north-west of the county and a slice of Northumberland to boot. This country was originally hunted by one of those trencher-fed packs formerly so common in the north of England, and records of its existence date from the middle of the eighteenth century, when it was founded by Mr. Humble of Eltringham. On his death it became known as the Prudhoe, and later still, about 1837, as the Prudhoe and Derwent. Though no reliable record exists of the latter, it is certain that Mr. Thomas Ramsay of Park Head was master for several seasons ; but beyond that nothing is certain, and even the date when the pack ceased to exist is unknown. However, in the late ‘ forties ’ we find the country being hunted by the Slaley Hounds, under the mastership of Mr. Nicholas Maughan, afterwards the master of the Tynedale. This pack was soon dissolved, and for a few seasons a pack of hounds was kept at Castleside by the late Mr. Jonathan Richardson of Shotley Lodge, who founded his kennel with a draft given to him by the second Duke of Cleveland. Although these hounds were essentially a private pack, and probably but few people have ever heard of their existence, they must always possess an interest for hunting men, when it is known that their huntsman, Joe Kirk, was the original James Pigg of Handley Cross.^^ The exact date at which the Slaley Hounds ceased to exist cannot be traced, but it would be presumably about 1850, when the Derwent Valley remained unhunted for four years, save for Mr. Surtees, whose own residence of Hamsterley Hall was within a few miles of Mr. Richardson’s, used frequently to hunt with his hounds, and many of the Doric witticisms attributed by him to Pigg are known to have been actually used by Kirk. More- over, some of the incidents in Handley Cross are known to have been associated with the latter, notably the melon-frame one which Leech’s pencil has immor- talized, and which took place in a market-garden at Hexham ; while I am informed, though I confess I have not verified the statement, that, ‘gin ye gan to the Newcassel Formory ’ you will see the charitable bequest of one Kirk ‘ clagged agin the walls in great goud letters.’ 399 A HISTORY OF DURHAM occasional visits from the Tynedale, whose then master, Mr. Maughan, retained an affection for his old country.^* In 1854 Mr. William Cowen of Blaydon Burn, a prominent north-country sportsman,^^ came forward, and getting together a pack of hounds founded the present Braes of Derwent. Mr. Cowen’s mastership covered fifteen seasons, until 1868, when he was suc- ceeded by his brother, the late Colonel John Cowen. At first this gentleman, who took on his brother’s pack, had his kennels at Coal Burn, but they were subsequently moved to Blaydon Burn. His huntsman during the twenty-five years of his mastership was Siddle Dixon, who, Mr. Priestman, the present master of the Braes of Derwent, informs us, was the best blower of a horn, and had the finest voice of any huntsman he has ever known — no mean advantages among the great holding coverts and steep rocky gills which are such prominent features of the Der- went country. Indeed, it was with a view to obtaining a fuller cry of music in these that Colonel Cowen, who was a noted breeder and exhibitor of bloodhounds, introduced a strain of their blood into his foxhounds, but the experi- ments did not prove a success, the half-bred hounds having a tendency to potter and dwell on the line. Colonel Cowen died in 1895, when his hounds were sold and the hunt establishment broken up. For a full year after his death it seemed as though the country would cease to be hunted, but in 1896 Mr. Lewis Priestman, of Derwent Lodge, came forward, and consented to accept the mastership. He at once set to work to get together a new pack of hounds,^® for which he built kennels on his own property at Tinkler’s Hill. He has now been in office for eleven years and has spared no endeavour to promote sport and further the cause of fox-hunting ; and how well he has succeeded is amply proved by the fact that every season he is able to find walks for fifty or sixty puppies. The working pack con- sists of twenty-six couples of hounds which hunt two days a week. From the outset the master As successors to the Slaley Hounds, the Tynedale long claimed, and occasionally exercised, rights over a large portion of the existing Braes of Derwent country. As a matter of fact the claim still exists, but by amicable arrangement between the present masters of the two packs the Tynedale do not draw east of Healey Burn. Mr. Cowen was well known on the Turf, and I believe sold Lord Rosebery the colt Ladas, which ran in the latter’s colours in the Derby of 1869, while he was still an undergraduate at Christchurch. Mr. Cowen was also the brother of the famous orator and patriot, ‘Joe’ Cowen, who was a prominent figure in Parliament towards the end of the last century. “ Curiously enough Mr. Priestman laid the founda- tion of much that is best in his present pack by breeding from a bitch that had been drafted from the North Durham Hounds for being a persistent hare- hunter ! has hunted his hounds himself with marked success in an extremely difficult county. Mr. Priestman has no guaranteed subscription.®* The Braes of Derwent country is a wild sporting one, of which more than half is grass, with a very small proportion of plough, the remainder being wood and moorland. Stone walls and bank-set thorn hedges predominate, and, considering the industrialism of its eastern extremity, wire is not so formidable a feature as might be expected. The upper portion of the Derwent Valley is an exceedingly attractive bit of hunting country, yet curiously enough better sport is usually obtained in the more populous district to the east. THE GROVE Among extinct packs of foxhounds in Durham mention must be made of the Grove Hounds, which existed for a few seasons some thirty-five years ago. The joint masters were the late Mr. Henry Surtees of Redworth and The Grove, and the late Mr. W. T. Scarth of Staindrop, for many years the agent for the Raby Estates. Even after such a comparatively short lapse of time, it seems impossible to glean any definite information respecting these hounds, which how- ever were, to all intents and purposes, a private pack hunting an out-of-the-way and sparsely inhabited corner of the county. Their country seems to have extended from about Crook across the Wear into Mr. Surtees’ estates at The Grove, and thence to the Tees west of Barnard Castle. Part of the pack was kept at The Grove itself and part at Keverstone near Raby, where Mr. Scarth then resided. The writer recollects having heard from Mr. Scarth’s own lips the accounts of some excellent runs, notably one from Hargill Hill above Witton le Wear to — he thinks — Eggle- ston, but any really definite information respect- ing these hounds is entirely lacking. The pack was dissolved in the early seventies, the best of it going to Mr. Cradock at Hartforth, and a draft to the Calpe Hunt at Gibraltar, while the remainder found a premature grave where the rippling Bedburn flows through the lovely Grove plantations.®^ I am indebted for practically all the above infor- mation as to the Braes of Derwent Hunt to the article by ‘Shotley’ in The Foxhounds of Great Britain and Ireland, by Sir Humphrey de TrafFord (London : Southwood, 1906). In making researches about these hounds I chanced on an old gentleman who had been employed in some menial capacity about the kennels, and append his matter-of-fact account of the dispersal of the pack ; — ‘ Wy, Champion cam’ and took part hunds tee Hartforth, and ar’ve heerd theer was part went furrin, and ar joost felled t’oothers an’ pitted them doon by t’ beck-side.’ 400 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN HARE-HUNTING It is probable that there was a period when few Durham squires of any position were with- out their pack of harriers, but the earliest men- tion that has been traced of hare-hunting is in 1766, when ‘some gentlemen were hunting on Gateshead Fell the hare and three hounds fell into an old pit-hole and were drowned.’^ The first reference to harriers as a distinct class of hound occurs nine years later, in 1775, when, under date of 27 November, we find that as the harriers of John Burdon of Hardwick, esq., were running a hare they chanced on a fox, which they ran and killed near Darlington after a very smart chase of 25 miles, and crossed the Skerne ; out of 25 horsemen only two and the huntsman were in at the death.’ From about this date it is probable that hare- hunting waned in popularity before the new style of fox-hunting introduced by Mr. Lambton and Lord Darlington ; but about the beginning of the nineteenth century Mr. George Baker of Elemore, a famous all-round sportsman of his day, who had been master of the Lambton Hounds in 1797, kept a private pack of harriers. Little is known of them beyond the assertion that they once found a fox at Elemore, and killed it in Raby Park, a most remarkable point, the length of which would lead one to suppose that hounds changed foxes in the course of the run, but this is disproved by the fact that it was ‘a bob-tailed fox that they found, and a bob- tailed fox that they killed.’ ^ A well-known pack of a slightly later date was that of Mr. Bowser, an extensive land- owner near Bishop Auckland, the reputation of which was so far established that even the great Nimrod found it worth his while to have a day with it in 1825. None the less he evidently considered the whole thing beneath the serious attention of a fox-hunter, and beyond stating that Mr. Bowser took the field in pink, and that hounds were hunted by an amateur, a yeoman of the name of Harry Chapman, well known with Lord Darlington’s hounds, he has little to tell us. But if Nimrod failed to do justice to Mr. Bowser and his harriers their fame has been handed down in imperishable verse by John Borrowdale, town constable, poet and tragedian, in his Lay of the Auckland Hunt. This poem, dealing with one of the not infre- quent occasions where Mr. Bowser hunted a fox instead of his legitimate quarry, used to be recited periodically on the boards of the Auckland theatre by the author in person, clad in cast- ' Gillespy’s Col. ’ Ibid. It is curious to observe how Hardwick appears to have always been associated with sport. ’ The Yield, 24 April, 1897. off hunting apparel of Mr. Bowser’s. A short extract from it is interesting, as giving the names of some followers of the pack ^ — ‘ The sportsmen of the chase were those Bowser,* Chaytor,® Harland,’ and two Shaftos.® Wooler, Dobson,Chapman,“ and our young Squire And Lowson who nobly brought up the rear. With Joplin, too, as I’ve told you.’ None the less, despite its more than local reputation, nothing further seems known of Mr. Bowser’s pack, and the dates of its institu- tion and of its dispersal are equally un trace- able. However, his son, Mr. Richard Bowser, the ‘ young Squire ’ of the poem, kept up the family tradition by purchasing a pack of harriers from Mr. Hutchinson of Eggleston, in 1854, with which he hunted his father’s country until 1863, when he gave up hounds, only to resume them again in 1868. Mr. Bowser kept this second pack, with which he showed first-rate sport, until 1881, when he finally sold them into Wales. It is curious that no other pack of ‘ mounted ’ as opposed to ‘ foot ’ harriers appears to have existed in Durham until 1898 when Sir William Chaytor started a private pack at Witton Castle, of which the foundation was laid by his taking over part of the Wolsingham foot harriers. These hounds, however, proved useless for mounted work, and Sir William purchased the Ayton Harriers out of Cleveland, and supple- mented them with drafts of dwarf foxhounds from the Belvoir, Bilsdale, and other packs. By these means he got together an exceedingly smart pack of forty couples of 22 in. hounds, which were hunted by his brother-in-law, Mr. Allan Havelock-Allan of Blackwell Manor, and showed first-rate sport for three seasons, when the pack was broken up owing to the master’s temporary ill-health, and sold by auction at York.i2 ‘ M. Richley, Hist, of Bp. Auckland. * Mr. R. Bowser. ® Mr. Chaytor of Witton Castle. ’ Mr. Harland of Sutton Hall, York. ® The Messrs. John and Thomas Duncombe Shafto of Whitworth Park. ® Thomas Chapman, the huntsman. Mr. Bowser, jun. ” Mr. Newby Lowson of Witton Tower, the friend and pupil of Turner, R.A. ” Mention should be made of the ‘ Northumber- land and Durham Harriers,’ the property of Mr. Frederick Lamb of Newcastle, who for many years hunted the country round Newcastle both north and south of the Tyne. They were, I believe, the descendants of, or successors to, the Newcastle Cor- poration Harriers, and can scarcely be regarded as a Durham pack, though hunting part of the county. 51 401 A HISTORY OF DURHAM If a scarcity of mounted packs of harriers has existed in Durham, an exactly opposite state of things presents itself with regard to ‘ foot ’ harriers or beagles. Without going quite so far as a cynical friend who warned the writer before- hand, that everyone in the county who owned a pair of thick shoes and could afford to pay for a dog licence, kept a pack of beagles at some period of his life, he must confess to having been appalled at the number of pedestrian packs of hounds that has been brought to his notice. Space alone would forbid reference to each of them, and at the risk of giving unintentional offence to many excellent sportsmen, he is obliged to confine himself to the mention of two packs only, the Durham Beagles and the Dar- lington Harriers. The first-named were originally a private pack of Mr. Marmaduke Salvin of Burn Hall, who gave them up about 1850, when they were sold to a committee of the undergraduates of Durham University, and became the ‘University College Beagles.’ The pack consisted of about fifteen couples of pure-bred 15 in. beagles, and was kennelled at Lowes Barn, fresh blood being introduced about 1854 by a draft from Lord Sefton’s. The expense of the hunt was entirely borne by the members of the University Hunt, assisted by subscriptions from some of the fellows, notably the present provost of Eton, then a tutor at Durham, and the warden — the late Archdeacon Thorp — to whom the first hare of the season was always presented. Another good friend to the pack was the late Mr. Farrington, then agent to the Brancepeth estates, who was able to procure leave for much additional country. He invariably hunted the hounds (on horseback) during the University Christmas vacation, with the inevitable result of making them too fast for pedestrians. In those days, it must be borne in mind, the neighbourhood of Durham was much better adapted for hunting than at present, the Auckland railway was only in process of making during the ‘fifties,’ and Brandon Hill and the adjacent county were innocent of coal-pits. The University Beagles flourished for many years, providing admirable sport, but the pack was dispersed in 1874. They next passed into the possession of Mr. Creighton Foster of Dur- ham, who sold them in 1886 to Mr. J. E. Rogerson, the present master of the North Durham Foxhounds, who thus served that apprenticeship to hare-hunting, which so many authorities have held to be the best training for the pursuit of the fox. During Mr. Rogerson’s mastership his hounds were kennelled at Crox- dale Hall, near Durham, until 1889, when he sold them to Mr. Craig of Bishop Auckland. They were subsequently disposed of to Mr. Deevey of Wolsingham, when they became known as the Wolsingham Harriers, a pack which has now ceased to exist. Having traced the history of the original Durham Beagles,^® we must now turn to the more famous Darlington Harriers, which date back to 1872, when Mr. ‘Tom’ Watson of Darlington formed the nucleus of a pack. On the dissolution of the Durham University Beagles, he obtained a pure-bred bitch called Violet, which he mated with a dog from a scratch pack kept by some lead-miners at Middleton in Tees- dale, and her first litter formed the foundation of the famous Darlington foot-pack which for eighteen years hunted all the western dales of Durham, besides a considerable slice of the Cumberland and Westmorland fells, in addition to its home country. The pack usually con- sisted of fifteen couples of trencher-fed hounds which were gathered up the evening before hunting, and on the conclusion of the day’s sport were left to find their own way home to their respective kennels. The little pack showed most extraordinary sport. During Mr. Watson’s mastership it accounted for 1,042 hares, and the average number of kills for the last six seasons was 103 — all fairly hunted hares — those chopped in covert, &c., not being counted. This is believed to be a record for a pack of foot harriers, and is a really remarkable performance in view of the wild country which the master preferably hunted. Small wonder that when he gave up his hounds he should be presented with a por- trait of himself and his favourite hounds by Heywood Hardy, subscribed for by friends and followers of the pack. The hounds were sold to go into Hampshire, but one dog and bitch were reserved, and the resulting litter formed the foundation of a small pack which was hunted for a few seasons by the present Sir Spencer Havelock - Allan, and was then taken over by a committee. This little pack still hunts the district, and shows good sport with Mr. Watson’s former whip, George Robinson, as huntsman. Other existing packs of foot harriers in Dur- ham at the present time are the Stockton, and the Woodlands Beagles. ” These must not be confused with the existing Durham Beagles, a subscription pack which was started about 1890, and is kennelled at ShinclifFe. The first master was Mr. Hall of ShinclifFe, who was succeeded by Mr. Roberts of Hollinside. The latter in turn gave way to the present master, Mr. C. G. Wilkinson of Newcastle-on-Tyne. 402 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN OTTER-HUNTING It is impossible to say when a pack of hounds solely used for hunting otters was first kept in Durham, but probably the first person to do so was Mr. John Gallon, a native of St. Helens, near Bishop Auckland, who latterly resided at Ponteland. Unfortunately but little informa- tion can be gleaned about these hounds, but they are known to have existed for many years prior to 1873, when Mr. Gallon was most unfortu- nately drowned when hunting a river in Ayr- shire.^ On his death the pack was purchased by Major Browne of Callaly Castle, Northum- berland, who, in conjunction with Mr. Fenwick of Sandhoe, hunted Durham and Northumber- land until 1877. In this year Mr. T. L. Wil- kinson of Neasham Abbey, near Darlington — the representative of the family which had founded the Hurworth Foxhounds nearly a cen- tury earlier — came forward and purchased seven and a half couple of pure-bred otter-hounds from Mr. Traherne, which he supplemented with a few other hounds that he was able to pick up in his own neighbourhood. In the next five years Mr. Wilkinson showed most excellent sport in North Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumber- land, taking no subscription, and hunting on an average twenty-four days a season, which would probably have been more had it not been for the great distances he had to travel to get to his water, otters being comparatively few and far between in those days. The hounds were ken- nelled at Neasham, his whippers-in being Kit Hunter and George Dodds. In 1882 Mr. Wil- kinson sold his pack to Mr. William Yates, who then hunted the Cheshire and Lancashire streams. To these Mr. Yates now added Mr. Wilkin- son’s country, whither he brought his hounds regularly every season for a few days’ hunting until 1888. In this year Mr. Wilkinson once more started a pack of otter-hounds, buying seven couple of rough-haired hounds from Lord Bandon. With his second pack, which was a subscription one, Mr. Wilkinson showed marvellous sport, almost his best season being in 1889, when, with what was practically a strange pack, he hunted thirty- one days and killed fifteen otters. His average for the eleven years that he kept this pack was thirty days’ hunting per season and twelve otters ‘ It is, of course, understood that neither in Dur- ham nor any other part of England, does a pack of otter hounds confine its operations to a single county. killed, his best season being in 1896, when he brought sixteen otters to hand in 36 days. His whippers-in were Kit Hunter and Robert Hall, the latter of whom is now kennel-huntsman to the Northern Counties otter-hounds, and, as before, hounds were kennelled at Neasham. Mr. Wilkinson’s ‘ country ’ may be said to have stretched from Ouse to Tweed, and his best sport was obtained on the latter ; but he would go anywhere, and travel any distance, on the chance of finding an otter. His wonderful pedestrian powers enabled him to draw a very large extent of water in the course of a day’s hunting. In the writer’s opinion he was the best heel-and-toe walker he ever saw, getting over the ground without apparent effort at a pace that kept his field at a jog-trot. Mr. Wilkinson’s last season was in 1899, and he died early in 1900, when his pack of twenty- one and a half couple of hounds — of which three couple were foxhounds — was broken up and sold. There was keen competition for them among the various packs of otter-hounds in the kingdom. A few of them even found their way to Italy, a country one does not usually associate with such a sport as otter-hunting. A very good portrait of Mr. Wilkinson (and of many of his hounds and habitual followers) is to be seen in the well-known picture ‘ Gone to Ground,’ an engraving of which was subscribed for and presented to him by the members of his hunt. The original picture, which was of enor- mous size — some 14 ft. square — represented an actual incident on the Till at Fowberry, and was the work of two Alnwick artists, one of whom painted the portraits, and the other the back- ground and hounds. It is owing presumably to its unwieldly proportions that this picture has, we believe, found a most unsuitable resting-place in the lobby of a Newcastle theatre ! For the first three seasons after Mr. Wilkinson’s death his country was hunted by invitation by various packs of otter-hounds, including such distant establishments as the Culmstock from Devon and Mr. Courtenay Tracy’s from Hampshire. In 1903, however, a subscription pack, chiefly drawn from the Culmstock kennels, was started under the title of the ‘ Northern Counties Otter Hounds,’ and now hunts Northumberland, Durham, and the North Riding of Yorkshire, as far south as the River Ure. The kennels are at Loansdean, near Morpeth, and the present master is Mr. F. P. Barnett. 403 A HISTORY OF DURHAM COURSING We cannot claim that the Palatinate county has ever taken high rank as a coursing territory. Nor is the history of public coursing of the hare in its wild state within its confines distinctly traceable to any period earlier than a century ago. The more important meetings extending over two, three or more days, that were wont to be held in the neighbouring counties of the north and on the Scottish border always over- shadowed the gatherings held in the county of Durham. Noteworthy among the noblemen who patronized coursing in the purely sportman- like fashion was the Duke of Cleveland. He maintained a kennel for some years, but never ran any of its inmates at public gatherings, rather preferring to test their merits by drawing them in ‘ eights ’ and running them privately within the area of the park at Raby. His kinsman, the present Lord Barnard, though in nowise a breeder or runner of greyhounds, indirectly countenances coursing ; for since he inherited the Raby estates he has in the most open-handed manner given permission for public meetings to be held on his preserves by the North of England Club under the secretaryship of Mr. Thomas Snowdon, and latterly under the direction in the same position of the present writer. In like manner Lord Barnard has given the necessary leave on other lands which he owns in the county. Prominent among other noblemen and gentlemen who have conceded like facilities may be mentioned the Earl of Ravensworth on the Ravensworth estate, and over his preserves at Eslington in the county of Northumberland. The present Earl of Durham too, like his fore- bears, has been a patron, though not an ardent courser himself ; the Chase and the Turf having possessed more attractions for his house since the days of Ralph Lambton, who for many seasons hunted the county. Within the same category in recent years we must mention the late Mr. John Bowes, Mr. Shafto, Mr. Pemberton of Hawthorn, and Major Vaux of Grindon, the Marquess of Londonderry, and Mr. V. W. Corbett, J.P., who holds the shooting rights over Lord Londonderry’s West Rainton estate. For nearly quarter of a century the North of England Club has held periodical meetings at West Rainton, which is not an ideal coursing country, surrounded as it is by a mining population and intersected by roads and footpaths. It would appear somewhat remarkable that hares can be preserved in such a district ; but it is gratifying to find that by way of return for the permission to run their greyhounds the miners act as so many game preservers, a code of honour existing amongst them to co-operate with the patrons of meetings in the preservation of game. Yet a more wonderful coursing territory was that at West Stanley, where Major W. G. Joicey, a large colliery owner in the district, was the patron of the meetings held there from time to time, some twenty-five to thirty years ago. For a period Major Joicey ran a few greyhounds ; one of the most notable being that grand bitch Haytime, which he bought from the Messrs. Heslop, now of Kirby Moor, near Brampton, for 1^00. The district round about Barnard Castle has been long celebrated for its coursing re-unions. The writer can recall old Mr. Errington judging some of the meetings here when he was well advanced in years. He never wore the red coat or hunting cap of the orthodox judge, rather favouring a high silk hat and cut-away swallowtails. About that period the late Mr. George Maw of Bishop Auckland was running a sterling greyhound named Weardale, of which old Mr. Errington was a great admirer. On one occasion when the dog had won a course, he shouted ‘ Weardale’s won ’ which was contrary to all rule, for it is presumed that a judge is igno- rant of the names of dogs that may be engaged, while he should never signify his decision other- wise than by calling the colour of the winning dog, or signalling the white or red handkerchief. But rules were, perhaps, more elastic in those days than they are under the stern jurisdiction of the National Coursing Club. The present Sir William and Lady Eden have also patronized the sport in recent years as owners of greyhounds and by laying open the fine Windlestone estate to the public courser. Here again the North of England Club held one and sometimes two meetings a year. An abun- dant stock of game of the right straight-backed sort was always to be met with at Windlestone, with the result that the trials were of the best, and afforded the highest enjoyment to the people of the countryside, who regard the ‘ Coursing ’ as so many red letter days in the monotony of their lives. Perhaps the most notable of Durham coursers was the late Mr. George Gregson of Warden Law, near Houghton le Spring. He coursed for upwards of half a century, his love of ‘ the comeley greyhound ’ and the ancient sport being unabated up to the end of his long life. Even when he was over eighty years of age he bred and reared dogs and followed them to slips. His unabated passion for the sport was equalled only by that of the late Lord Masham, who like Mr. Gregson, went far and near to see his greyhounds run, attending the Waterloo meetings until he was approaching ninety years of age. The last litter bred by Mr. Gregson includes Hongleton, 404 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN owned in the present day by Mr. V. W. B. Corbett, for whom the dog has won several minor stakes in the county. Mr. Gregson achieved the highest ambition of the courser, that of winning the Waterloo Cup. This triumph was gained by his handsome bitch Roaring Meg, by Beacon — Polly, in 1862, the only occasion in the long history of the Cup on which a greyhound bred, reared, trained and owned in Durham gained the most coveted honour of the leash. Of other dogs owned by him, which were more or less successful, may be mentioned Whipcord, Polly, The Mummy, Bellona, Cat o’ Nine Tails, and Cassop Lass, all whelped between 1850 and i860. The last notable hound that he bred and ran was Flora’s Wreath, which, alike on the coursing field and as a matron, earned a good name. A contemporary of Mr. Gregson’s w.is the late Mr. Robert Anderson of High Felling, Gates- head-on-Tyne, who bred Annoyance in 1857, Agility in 1861, and Armstrong Gun in 1862. Annoyance was the ancestress of an illustrious line of greyhounds whose exploits find place in the calendar. She was the dam of Agility by Fundango ; of Armstrong Gun ; of King Death (winner of the Waterloo Cup for the late Dr. Richardson of Harbottle) ; of Tullochgorum; and of Johnny Cope and Theresa, by Canaradzo, the last-named brace being a litter later than the former celebrities. Mr. Anderson’s son, the pre- sent Mr. Anderson, owned a fast dog in Harvester and a useful one in Royal Letter, while Amuse- ment was the best of a deteriorated kennel. The late genial and good-hearted Dr. O’Kelly of the Felling, Gateshead, was also a keen courser ; his bitch Kindle being noted for a great turn of speed, though she could rarely steady herself from the turns. Another prominent breeder and owner was Mr. Thomas Lamb of Hetton le Hole, who mated Roman Strong with Dr. Richardson’s Minute Gun in 1876, the result being that the dam produced such good runners in high-class coursing as Arquebuse, Lighthouse, Londonderry and Mitrailleuse, in addition to Labitza and Ptarmigan in 1883. Increasing years led to Mr. Lamb’s retirement from the sport about a quarter of a century ago. He still survives at a great age. The name of Royal Stag (bred by Mr. J. Robinson of Durham in 1881) recalls many stirring recollections of the great inclosure days and the ‘ thousand pounders ’ that were promoted at High Gosforth Park and Kempton. A dog of tremendous speed. Royal Stag won five courses in the Gosforth Derby. He was subsequently sold to Mr. Lambert Nicholls for ^^loo, and won for his new owner the i, 000 stake at Kempton in the spring of 1883. Mr. W. H. Jamieson of Lanchester also must be included in our gallery of coursing celebrities. His speedy puppy, Jawblade by Prince Willie — Mutiny, divided the Gosforth Derby (104 acceptances) in 1885. Jawblade, like Accident, a son of old Annoyance, was minus his tail, which had been cut clean off by a passing train in his sapling days. The mishap no doubt mili- tated against his being able to turn with his game so smartly as could have been desired, yet he was by no means a slovenly performer. Later in his career Jawblade was beaten in the semi- final of the Cardinal Wolsey Stakes at Kempton by the speedy Mullingar, the eventual winner, a triumph which the latter supplemented by winning the Gosforth Gold Cup in 1887. That the giving of big money for saplings is not the golden way to success on the coursing field is exemplified in the case of Mullingar, one of the fastest dogs ever slipped. He was owned by the late Mr. H. G. Miller of Sherborne in Dorset, and purchased as a sapling for the paltry sum of 9 guineas. Mr. Jamieson also owned Judge Hawkins by Aquafortis — Lady Ella (1898) a divider of the Hornby Castle Derby in 1899. Aquafortis belonged to Mr. J. Sisterson of Low Fell, Gateshead, who for many years has been a consistent supporter of coursing without the success he merits. After giving great promise as a young sire Aquafortis sustained a fatal accident, which meant no small loss to his worthy owner. Away on the north-east coast at West Hartlepool Mr. W. Everton has long courted fortune in his endeavours to get a ‘ clinker ’ ; but the best in his ownership that we can call to mind was Our Nell by Reality — May Fly, bred in 1884. In 1886, the late Mr. Alfred Potts of Gates- head was to the fore with Snowflake by Lord Haddington’s Herrera — Duteous, which was subsequently bought for stud purposes by Mr. Nathaniel Dunn, of Newcastle-on-Tyne. If not a flier to game. Snowflake, which was a gift from Mr. Dunn to Mr. Potts, was wonderfully smart at close quarters, one of his best perform- ances being the division of the Studley Royal Stakes (64 subs.) with Mars Hill. From the year 1870 up to the close of the century Jack Thompson of Spennymoor made a great name as a breeder and owner of running greyhounds. A remarkably brilliant litter that he bred in 1883 by Macpherson from Star- gazing II included Jenny Macpherson (late Black Lass), Jinnie Macpherson, Lance Macpherson, and Rose Macpherson. Two years later the same happy cross produced the mighty Herschel and the moderate Bird’s Head. The difference in merit between the pair was as wide as the poles — a proof that in the mating of longtails there is no royal road to success. Jenny Macpherson was noted for all-round excellence of the highest class, and had she been kept for the classic events, as were Fullerton, Master McGrath, and many other great runners, it was quite probable that she would have gained re- markable renown on Altcar plain in the Waterloo 405 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Cup. But Thompson was a poor man, and he made ‘ Jenny ’ as game a piece of greyhound flesh as ever was whelped, ‘ sweat for t’ brass.’ It is claimed for Jenny Macpherson that she raised more flags in public than any other grey- hound, the total number certainly exceeding eighty-four. She represented Mr. N. Dunn in Bit o’ Fashion’s and Miss Glendyne’s Waterloo Cup, but was dismissed in the first round by Iowa, and then beaten in the second round for the Purse by Nobleman. ‘Jenny,’ ‘ Jinnie,’ ‘Jock,’ ‘ Lance,’ Rose Macpherson and Bird’s Head all hailed from Spennymoor ; but Herschel, the Koh-i-noor of the litter, became the property of that famous Lancashire courser, the late Mr. T. D. Hornby, and divided for that gentleman the Waterloo Cup of 1887 with his kennel companion, Mr. R. F. Gladstone’s Greater Scot. Herschel was indeed a great all-round dog ; for, apart from his victory in the Cup, he ran a splendid course in the following year against the mighty Fullerton. He had, too, the worst of the handicap ; for whereas the Shortflatt wonder (owned by the late Colonel North, who gave Mr. Edward Dent ;^850 for him) had got lightly off on the preceding night, Herschel had been run to a standstill by a real Altcar ‘ stag.’ By a cross between Lance Macpherson and Border-at-Home, Mr. Thompson bred a useful bitch in Never-at-Home (1887), who produced Flitting Far, Found Faithless, and Mull-at- Home to Mullingar in 1891. He also owned one of the hardest and soundest dogs that ever went after a hare in Randy Scot by Greater Scot — Rora (1891), ‘Randy’ being the sire of Our Nellie, a Netherby Cup winner in 1899, then running in the ownership of Mr. W. Anderson Felling. British Engineer, Jarrow Engineer, and Lake- side II whelped in 1893, were also Durham- bred dogs, always fairly useful when placed in their own class. The first-named pair did good service at minor meetings for Mr. Z. Harris, ex-mayor of Jarrow-on-Tyne. Come we now to the sensational flier Can- goroo,^ whelped in 1 884 by Bothal Park — Bundle- and-Go, and owned by Mr. J. Kellet, of Butter- knowle, for whom he won the Gosforth Gold Cup (128 entries) in 1886, beating in the final course Mr. R. F. Gladstone’s great dog Green- tick. After this fine performance Cangoroo ran for Mr. T. Wilkinson, also a county Durham man, who owned the dam of the speedy black as he did also Bundle and Go 11. — a smart runner of a hare. Never a greyhound of all-round attributes, Cangoroo thereafter distinguished him- ‘ A little story is attached to the naming of Can- goroo. Kellet, his owner, intended that the dog’s name should be ‘ Kangaroo ’ ; but adopting his own orthography he spelt it ‘ Cangoroo,’ and as such the name was accepted by Mr. David Brown, of Dairy, N.B., the first keeper of the Greyhound Stud-book. self on the field by running into the last four for the Gosforth Gold Cup of 1888. He was a product of the spurious inclosed coursing which originated under the late Mr. Thomas Case at Plumpton nearly thirty years ago, and which obtained at Gosforth Park for some seven or eight seasons in the ‘ eighties ’ of the last century, and at Haydock Park. The modus operands of inclosure coursing was essentially artificial. The hares were collected overnight into a ‘ prison ’ and driven out to the slipper in the field, puss making as a rule straight for the escape covert at the far end of the inclo- sure. It was, in fact, more a case of racing than of true coursing in the open, where the hare has all the many chances of escape at sough, drain, fence, smeuse or covert ; her dodging and doubling bringing out all-round cleverness rather than pace alone. At the period we are speaking of a breed of greyhounds came into existence whose speed alone was their forte. Our Nellie (1895) by Randy Scot — Our Mary was owned by Mr. W. Bland of Boldon Colliery, and won a few stakes for him during her running career, the Netherby Cup of 1899 being her greatest exploit. The late Mr. R. Nellist, of Bishop Auckland, was a prominent supporter of coursing a quarter of a century ago, but he never possessed a top- sawyer. Nor should the names of the late Jim Simpson (the owner of Mousquetaire), Mat Forrest, and Mr. ‘ Joe ’ Harley, all of Sunder- land, be omitted from a list of Palatinate coursers. Simpson was afterwards closely associated with the great Shortflatt kennel of Mr. Edward Dent, training for him the great Fullerton and others of the brilliant stud that carried everything before them between 1880 and 1890. The blight of impaired health and misfortune fell upon poor Simpson in the closing years of his chequered career, and he died a broken-hearted man. Mention of the name of Mr. ‘ Joe ’ Harley recalls one of the most exciting scenes ever witnessed in an inclosure. He owned a very smart but slow bitch in Border Lass. She met the great Irish dog, Alec Halliday, in the course of a Gosforth Gold Cup. The ‘ Emperor of judges,’ the late Mr. James Hedley, officiated at nearly all of those great meetings. Long odds were laid on Alec Halliday, who took a com- manding lead ; but the bitch, nicking in from the turn, scored and fairly outworked the favourite. When Mr. Hedley decided for the dog he came in for a most hostile demonstration from the spectators, as nearly every man on the stand thought it was a clear win for the bitch. At the period of which we are speaking, Mr. Hedley judged the courses at Gosforth from a ladder which was placed in the middle of the trial field, the competing greyhounds running between his view and that of the crowd. Thus he viewed the courses from a totally different 406 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN angle from that of the crowd. Never again did he judge from the ladder. The very next day and thenceafter he was mounted and rode after his dogs in the same line of vision as the specta- tors, thus minimizing any illusion of angles.^ One of the oldest coursers in the county is Mr. W. Howson of Shildon, always a dangerous ‘ one dog ’ man. He has been a consistent breeder, owner, and runner for fully half a cen- tury, amongst the best winners he has owned being Ned Hannam, Romping Fly, Polly Hart, Babbling Brook, Sadler Watson and Bella Byers. More modern recruits are Mr. W. Smith of Shiney Row and Mr. D. Beaton of Philadelphia. The former’s fame rests chiefly on Water Chute and First Down, the latter by Under the Globe — Flowing Wit, bought by Mr. Willie Campbell of Glasgow for ;^io, and trained for him by Mr. W. Smith. First Down (1900) was lent by Mr. Campbell Smith to the late Mr. William Dewar of Edinburgh to fulfil that gentleman’s Waterloo Cup nomination, and won three courses before being put out in the fourth round by Father Flint, the ultimate winner m a short contested course. Mr. Dewar backed the dog to win ;^20,000 at very long shots, and he put Mr. Smith ‘ on ’ ^^2,000 to nothing, and the writer of these notes a like sum on a similar liberal condition. First Down afterwards won the Carmichael Cup, beating a good class of greyhounds over the late Sir Wyndham Anstruther’s fine coursing ground in Lanarkshire. Mr. D. Beaton, during his short association with the sport, has run some smart dogs, the most noteworthy being Biddick Ferry, Barrington Ferry, and Broughty Ferry. Others bred in the county that have gained more or less distinction are Night Hawk (1900), Sir Christopher (1901) who won or divided three stakes within a week. Wear Valley (late Sammy * An incident of a similar kind occurred many years ago at Southport in which Mr. Hedley was also concerned. A greyhound belonging to Sir Thomas Brocklebank was running against a dog called Sir James, the latter getting the verdict to the amaze- ment of the crowd. So decisively did Sir Thomas’s dog appear to win, and so hostile was the demonstra- tion against the judge that the baronet (who although he ran greyhounds in the Waterloo Cup for half a century, never achieved his great ambition of winning it), went across to Mr. Hedley and asked him to give a description of the course. It so happened that Mr. Harold Brocklebank, son of Sir Thomas, was at the foot of the ladder on which the judge was placed. When Sir Thomas questioned the decision Mr. Harold exclaimed with surprise, ‘ How could you ever imagine that our dog won, father ? He was never once next the hare ! ’ The disclaimer of the son was quite sufficient for Sir Thomas, whose subsequent explanation to the crowd smoothed down the resent- ment against the judge. But this is one of the many instances that could be cited of how frequently a judge incurs hostility through a foul-running dog causing illusory angles. Moody) (1900) and Longdale* (1902), Mr. G. Wright’s Winning Wargrave, Westwick (1904), Ryton F erry ( 1 904), Hesledon, Houghton, Harton, and Horden (1903) bred by old George Gregson proved useful for the county. Durham also can lay claim to having sent out two recent Corrie Cup dividers in Bewcastle and Newcastleton. Mr. J. J. Bell-Irving, their part owner, resides at Rokeby Park, Barnard Castle, where he has promoted meetings during his tenancy of the estate. It would be ungallant to omit Miss Maud May of Simonside Hall, South Shields, from the list of county coursers. This plucky sports- woman, besides upholding a good breed of Borzois and other show dogs, has raised a promising kennel of greyhounds, of which the most successful has been Millions of Money by Fabulous Fortune — Allan Water (1899), a win- ner of several good stakes. Another of her best is March Mists. On the borders of the county Messrs. P. and J. Mason of Middlesbrough may also be honourably mentioned as good coursers. Market Day by Wet Day — Mary Landale, who represented them in the Waterloo Cup of 1904, has won several stakes in good company and proved himself a stout-hearted, clever greyhound. Farther back into the ‘ eighties ’ of the last century we can recall a sterling greyhound in Mr. Morgan Robinson’s, of Sacriston, Free Flag, which ran well in the Waterloo Cup, but was unluckily defeated in a wretched trial by Mr. Vyner’s slow but clever Vindictive. Free Flag afterwards showed his true quality by winning the Netherby Cup in the most brilliant fashion. For nearly the third of a century Mr. E. J. Wardle had a small kennel at Craghead near Chester le Street. The first good dog that he owned was Sterling Wine, a winner at West Rainton in the early ‘eighties.’ Some few years afterwards his smart little bitch Xebee (late What is It) more than paid her way, one of her most remarkable performances being at Raby. During her progress through the stake long odds were laid against her. She had been run to a standstill in the semi-final, and as a consequence odds of 10 to I were laid on her opponent for the final. She, however, upset the odds in the most brilliant fashion, proving herself one of the gamest bitches ever seen in the county of Durham. Xantippe also got to the end of the stake for Mr. Wardle, who of late seasons has not been rewarded with the good fortune he deserves. The late Mr. Robert Widowfield of Pelton coursed from boyhood. His dog Durham won the Newmarket Champion Puppy Stakes and in later years Nine for Nothing won him *This dog unfortunately broke its leg at the outset of what promised to be a brilliant career. His owner, Mr. T. Stobbs of Consett, had the leg amputated, since when the dog has done good service at the stud. 407 A HISTORY OF DURHAM a few stakes. Another Palatinate courser is Mr. Stark of Croxdale, from whose kennel several useful dogs have been sent out during the last twenty-five years. After having practically retired for some twenty years, Mr. George Gregson of Warden Law bred from Chillingham Rose. The litter from her by Our Randy included Houghton, Harton, Horden, and Hesledon, all of which have been successful at various small meetings held in the county. Bonnie Pit Laddie, a good runner, was also bred by Mr. Gregson and sold to Captain R. Scott of Alnwick. Since the sport has been established on a firm basis, officiating judges at the meetings in the district, in addition to the late Mr. James Hedley, have been Messrs. Thomas Heads, B. Golds- borough, James Dodd, Hector Clark, Robert Huntley, and on a few occasions Mr. J. Cutter. Among the officiating slippers the name of the late Tom Raper, the famous Waterloo slipper, stands out in great prominence. Although not a Durham man by birth, Raper followed his profession with unequalled ability in this county for many seasons. Later slippers were George Gowland, now retired, and the present Tom Sutton. At the long defunct Darlington Club, the slipping was for many seasons in the hands of that grand all-round sportsman Mr. Thomas Watson, who when he went out with his wonderful pack of harriers often ran 50 miles a day. Darlington was once a stronghold of the sport ; but whereas dozens of greyhounds were kept in the district some thirty years ago when Mr. Tom Watson was the leading spirit there are but few to call upon at the present day. For a long period of years the veteran Mr. George Buckle of Etherley has been a good supporter of the sport, the best of his greyhounds being perhaps Schoolgirl II and the useful Giddy Girl II, both winners of minor events in the county. Within the last three decades the names of Mr. G. F. Fawcett and the late Mr. C. J. Fawcett are writ large in the history of Coursing. Up to the time of Mr. C. J. Fawcett’s death in 1906 the brothers ran most of their greyhounds as partners, but since the latter passed away Mr. G. F. Fawcett on his own behalf has maintained the largest kennel ever owned by an individual courser. The county is proud to claim these honoured descendants of an ancient Durham family as supporters of coursing. For a few years they bred and reared extensively on their estate at Lanchester, and for several seasons the worst of ill-fortune attended their early efforts to send out winners. Their names were synony- mous with failure for a weary period. Men of less grit would have been tempted to retire from the fray. It was not until the kennel was removed from Lanchester to Saughall in Cheshire that the horizon brightened and that success at last rewarded their perseverance and indifference to defeat. Henceforth the story of the Fawcett kennel belongs rather to Cheshire than to our own county. We cannot here make more than bare mention of the names of the famous blue bitch Faster and Faster, runner up for the Waterloo Cup in Fullerton’s third year, 1891 ; of f'abu- lous Fortune, the Waterloo winner in 1896 ; of the magnificent Fearless Footstep, winner of the Waterloo cups in 1900 and 1901 ; of Farn- don Ferry, which won the cup in 1902 ; and of the great Father Flint, the winner in 1903. But in the doings of these greyhounds, and of others almost as famous, that have been bred and trained in the breezy Bewcastle moors, Durham sports- men may well take a legitimate pride. The county of Durham is further indirectly associated with Waterloo honours, as Mr. Thomas Holmes of Jarrow-on-Tyne owned Gallant by Young Fullerton — Sally Milburn the winner of 1897. Gallant’s victory was never anticipated by the public at large, though to his owner and to his breeder and trainer, the late Mr. Thomas Graham of Stonerigg, the dog was much ‘ ex- pected ’ after his home trial with Under the Globe. They won a nice stake over Young Fullerton’s son, 1 7,000 being netted, it is said, and that invested at the remunerative odds of 50 to i, a price which was obtainable through the dog having been beaten hollow the preceding October in a minor stake at the Border Union Meeting. Mr. Holmes has not only gained renown on the coursing field but also on the turf, having owned such good winners as Harriet Laws, Lawminster, Lauriscope and others during a long lifetime. Mr. J. E. Neale of Durham has been a liberal supporter of the sport ; but as yet has hardly got his due meed of success. His best greyhound, no doubt, was North Road (late Langton II) which he bought of Mr. Allgood, of Titlington, Alnwick, for ;^30. This dog did a great per- formance at Ripon meeting when he won the 32 for all ages. In his way to the end of the stake he dismissed representations of the formid- able kennels upheld by Messrs. Fawcett, Colonel North, Mr. Pilkington, and Mr. Allgood, his original owner. For many seasons old Mr. Kent promoted meetings at Aycliffe. He was wont to drive the hares from two plantations into a field, the plantations and running field being wired in so as to prevent game escaping. It is asserted that he had one hare only for one of his meetings which lasted two days, the result being one decided course only. The old fellow had an eye for ‘Number One,’ for he provided a liquor booth on the field which went by the name of ‘Jumbo.’ After each course he reminded his patrons of its existence and, ‘ Noo, we’ gang and see Jumbo agyen,’ was his appeal between almost every trial. Out in the west part of the county small 408 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN meetings used to be held at Iveston, Lanchester, Stanley, Greencroft, Tow Law (Inkerman), and Cornsay for many years, but owing to the effect of legislation, hares became scarce and the pleasant little gatherings dropped out of the calendar. The sport was conducted on very primitive lines ; and according to the testimony of the still surviving Mr. George Elliott of Seaton Moor, these meetings were very small affairs. The farmers used to get some six or seven dogs together and run them for small stakes. They thought it a very good day if they obtained half a dozen trials. The coursing dinner, too, before or after the running was then a great institution, the good fellowship which sport promotes keeping them in a state of joviality for days after. A figure at these meet- ings was John Havelock, who was head keeper to Mr. John Gregson for sixty years. The passing of the Hares and Rabbits Bill threatened for a time the extinction of coursing in the county. But a reaction has set in within the last two decades. Landlords find that the granting of the necessary permission to course over their acres suppresses poaching of game in a great measure, for the miners, who as a rule are fond of the greyhound, act as so many unpaid watchers in return for the privilege granted. The barbarous, cowardly and inhuman practice now so popular in mining districts of coursing rabbits in an inclosure with greyhounds has very materially affected the sport. Hundreds of greyhounds are now kept solely for this purpose. The patrons of this horrible libel upon sport find they can win more money with less outlay by rabbit coursing than they can at the more legitimate and more health-giving recreation in the open fields. SHOOTING Judged by the standard of modern require- ments, big bags, Durham, with the exception of its grouse moors, is not a good shooting county. Its natural disadvantages of a generally heavy soil, a cold climate, and a high-lying elevation are inevitably augmented by its mineral indus- try. It is scarcely exaggeration to declare that throughout its length and breadth there does not exist one of those dense warm hedgerows that form such admirable nesting and ‘ dusting ’ places for the partridges of the southern counties ; its woods are largely composed of beech, a selfish tree which forbids undergrowth, and its teeming population is by no means the least factor in discouraging a large head of natural — as opposed to artificially produced — game. This is not so much due to poaching, for the Durham miners pay but scant attention to this branch of indus- try, as to their extraordinary predilection for trespass. The pitman has one attribute in com- mon with his homing-pigeon, that of making straight for the place where he would be, and as soon as he, in his own vernacular, ‘comes to bank,’ he makes a bee line for home, until un- interrupted user of this practice for generations has produced the most astonishing network of so-called ‘ rights of way ’ all over the county. Game is thus not only constantly disturbed by pedestrians, but as most pitmen like to be accom- panied by a dog during their leisure rambles, the nests in the breeding season are perpetually harried by hunting curs. Other causes militate against the natural pro- duction of game in Durham. It is an admitted fact that game always flourishes best on large farms, and it is rare to find one of over 300 acres in the county, where, indeed, the majority of the holdings would probably average less than half that size. Another potent factor for ill is the great increase of late years in the number of rooks, a matter which affects the farmers no less adversely than sportsmen. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that rook-shooting has become the fashion. Then, too, if preservation has in- creased, so too have shooters, with the result that all game, but especially partridges, is deci- mated to an extent that precludes reproduction. The chief glory of Durham, as far as shooting is concerned, must, however, be attributed to its grouse moors.^ At the present day a line drawn from Eggleston on the south to Edmond- byers on the north would define the grouse- producing zone of Durham with tolerable accu- racy. There are, of course, neither ptarmigan nor capercailzie ^ in the county ; and black game are only found in very limited quanti- ties on the fringe of the moors, though until quite recently they were occasionally shot on Brandon Hill, within four miles of the city or Durham.^ It is only within the last thirty or forty years that the Durham moors have achieved their true standard of excellence, and the reason may be summed up in the one word — ‘ driving.’ Up to 1870 all grouse were shot over dogs, and grand sport as this is, the sportsman who would make a bag on an English moor by these means must ^ In 1668 ‘ Spenny Moor and the adjoining moor of Byers Green were open commons, and covered with heather’ ; Richley, Hist, of Bishop Auckland. ^ Bones of the capercailzie have been found in the Teesdale ‘ cave,’ so it must have once been indigenous to the county. ’ The last — a grey hen, sad to relate— was shot during the season of 1902— 3 in the ‘Middles’ near Brancepeth Castle. 409 2 52 A HISTORY combine a philosophical temperament with re- markable pedestrian powers. At the present time a day’s driving will probably yield a bag five or even ten times as large as that which was formerly obtained on many of the Durham grouse moors over dogs, and this is especially the case on the famous Raby moors in Teesdale. It is to be regretted that the practice of keeping game-books or shooting diaries did not commend itself to the sportsman of a past generation. Fortunately, however, Henry, Duke of Cleveland, was an exception, and through the kindness of Lord Barnard we have been enabled to see those of his game-books which are still at Raby. The oldest of the duke’s game-books is for the year 1846, where in ‘Teesdale’ (sic) the day’s bag on 12 August was 75 brace of grouse, the number of guns not being stated. The total bag for the same season on the Raby estates was 2,058 head, made up of 557 grouse, 373 par- tridges, 263 pheasants, 19 woodcocks, 693 hares — of these 1 14 were killed in a single day — and 153 rabbits.^ The year 1849 must have been a famous one for grouse, as between 14 and 24 August, five guns, muzzle-loaders be it remembered, killed 1,073 grouse over dogs in Teesdale, an average of almost exactly 60 brace a day — a remarkably good performance. The duke gives the indi- vidual scores of each gun on the 14th — himself 21 brace. Sir J. Trollope 20 brace. Lord Seaham 14 brace. Lord Hinton 12 brace, and Colonel Arden 4 brace. Another entry for the same year is ‘ Womergill (sic) 21 grouse,’ but no further details are vouchsafed. In 1857 three guns — the duke, Mr. Cotes, and Sir J. Trollope — killed 97 grouse on Hinedon Edge; while curiously enough the largest bag killed that year in Teesdale by the same guns only amounted to 52 brace. Hinedon, which may be described as the home moor at Raby, practically forms the south-eastern extremity of the Durham fells, and is a remarkably prolific shooting. It only extends to a little over 2,000 acres, of which a propor- tion is ‘ white ground ’ and reclaimed grass land, yet in 1904 it yielded a bag of 740 grouse, the best day being 13 September, when seven guns killed 142^ brace. The Raby moors in Teesdale are divided into eight distinct beats, known respectively as Middle End, Pike Law, Langdon, the Banns, Ashgillhead,the Weelside,Willyhole, and Widdy- bank, and of these the first two are incompara- bly the best. It is a regrettable fact that no records have been kept of the bags formerly made on these famous moors. The only authen- ‘ In 1906-7 the total bag on the Raby estates was 6,792 head — including a large proportion of rabbits — but this applies only to the comparatively small area retained by Lord Barnard for his own shooting, the whole of the Teesdale moors, and a great part of the low ground to the east and north of Raby, being let. OF DURHAM ticated one that has been traced is on Langdon in 1872, when seven guns killed 987 brace in a single day’s driving, and one of the party once informed us that the bag would have been con- siderably increased if the supply of cartridges had not run short early in the day. A thousand brace, more or less, are said to have been killed in recent years in one day on Middle End. Another excellent Teesdale moor, wedged as it were into the Raby estate, is Mr. Hutchinson’s at Eggleston, and crossing the march into Wear- dale we come to what is probably the mo; t attractive shooting in Durham, the Grove estate, belonging to Captain Surtees, where lovely scenery is combined with a first-rate grouse and covert shooting. The rabbit-shooting is also a great feature, and the theory that rabbits and black game will not exist in any numbers on the same ground is confuted here, the latter being remarkably plentiful for the county of Durham, where, as a general rule, they do not seem to thrive.® Beyond the Grove comes the vast stretch of moorland belonging to the Ecclesiasti- cal Commissioners that extends to the Northum- berland boundary. The Weardale moors are never rated quite so highly as those in Teesdale, but with one or two exceptions there is very little, if anything, to choose between them, and in a good season more than one Weardale shoot- ing will yield from four to five hundred brace in a day’s driving. As is usual in all the northern counties a small proportion of grouse are killed on the Durham moors every season which are smaller and paler in colour than the ordinary birds. They are invariably dubbed ‘ furriners ’ by the dalesmen, by whom they are held to come from Northumberland, just as in the latter county they are reputed to migrate from Scotland ! The reason for their slight but quite perceptible differ- ence in colouration — the writer has seen them almost golden in tint — has never been satisfac- torily explained, but the generally accepted and most natural theory is that they are birds of later broods whose plumage has not reached maturity of colour. It is impossible to say when grouse-driving was first introduced into Durham, nor by whom. Mr. Claud Hutchinson, of Eggleston, states that his grandfather not only introduced grouse- driving into Teesdale, but claimed to be the in- ventor of the practice as well. There is no doubt that grouse-driving in rudimental fashion was practised in Durham, as elsewhere, long be- fore it became a general custom. Mr. Fenwick, of Forester’s Lodge, Wolsingham, maintains it was in vogue on Colonel Hildyard’s Weardale moors over sixty years ago ; but the first person to introduce systematic driving into Teesdale seems to have been the late General Hall, of ® Black game are increasing in Teesdale. 410 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN Six Mile Bottom, who was lessee of the High Force moors during the sixties, from whence it gradually spread over the country. It may, however, be laid down that prior to 1865 nearly all grouse shot in Durham were killed over dogs.® Durham is happily little afflicted with the curse of grouse netting, which has proved so disastrous in other parts of England. It is, how- ever, openly carried on in several instances in Upper Weardale. The practice dates from 1877.^ Durham is not a good partridge country, grass land predominates over arable, and the latter is usually of a stiff clay inimical to a large natural head of wild game. Moreover, the natural dis- advantages enumerated above might be largely counterbalanced were driving more generally the custom ; but here again the broken and hilly character of the county intervenes, the whole of the north and west of it being practically a network of ‘ denes ’ and ‘ ghylls,’ which render the handling of driven birds almost an impossi- bility. Still there are certain districts where the stock of partridges could be enormously in- creased by systematic driving, notably the great level stretch of the Raby estate which extends for nearly nine miles from Piercebridge up to Staindrop. As a proof of what can be done in this respect we may instance the success achieved by Major Trotter, of Langton, on a not very large extent of ground, about 2,000 acres, near Bolam. Up to five years ago the largest bag to four guns walking up the birds was nine brace. In 1906, not a particularly good partridge season, seven guns killed 106 brace in a single day’s driving in October. This is sufficient proof of what driving can do on land by no means natur- ally adapted to a large stock of partridges.® Probably the best partridge-shooting in Dur- ham is on Sir William Eden’s estate of Windle- stone. Here in 1905, four guns — Lords Lon- donderry and Grimthorpe, Mr. Sutton Nelthorpe, and Sir William Eden — killed 138 brace of partridges walking in line. This may fairly be taken as the record for partridge-shooting in Durham, as although a considerably larger bag was made this year at Wynyard, a certain proportion of it consisted of hand-reared birds. Other good partridge-ground in the county is found on Lord Boyne’s estate, at Brancepeth ; on ® According to the volume on Shooting of the Bad- minton Library, G. Sykes, the head keeper at Rhys- worth, is considered to have been one of the pioneers of grouse-driving, and he was imported into Tees- dale to lay out the High Force moors for driving, but the date of his doing so is not given. ^ Mr. Joseph Peart of Rigg Foot, to whom we are indebted for this information respecting grouse-netting, adds that black game have never been so plentiful in Weardale. ® Major Trotter informs us that for the last two years he has supplemented driving by the practice of the ‘ Euston ’ system. Foxes are remarkably plentiful on this ground. Mr. Shafto’s at Witton, and Mr. Bewicke’s at Urpeth. But there is no doubt that the stock of partridges is not only much larger than was the case thirty years ago, but that it is still increasing, owing to more careful preservation, and especially to the constant introduction of fresh blood. Pheasant-shooting, or to give it its present appellation, covert-shooting,® has in Durham, as elsewhere, become a practically artificial sport — the era has long passed away when a warm October sun, a hedgerow, and an industrious spaniel formed the desiderata for a day’s pheasant- shooting. Durham is not naturally adapted to the pro- duction of a large head of game, even when hand-reared, and except at Lambton and Wyn- yard very heavy bags of pheasants are the ex- ception rather than the rule.^® In one respect, however, it possesses a most important ad- junct to good covert-shooting. Its broken and hilly character affords to those keepers who understand their business admirable opportunity for ‘ showing ’ their birds properly. Artificially reared wild duck, which in some parts of England bid fair to supersede pheasants, are practically disregarded in Durham. With regard to ground game the days have long passed, owing to legislation, when hares proved an important accessory to a day’s shoot- ing in almost any part of Durham. Indeed, in some parts of the county they are almost extinct. However, where coursing is permitted, hares are still remarkably plentiful, it being a point of honour with the pitmen, who are great sup- porters of ‘ the leash,’ not to disturb them. In proof of this may be cited the bag of 1,334 hares made at Windlestone in 1904. It is, however, the tenant-farmer and not the poacher who has been responsible for the diminution in the stock of hares, and especially in those in- stances, so common in Durham, when the shoot- ing over small, or outlying, properties is let to a game tenant. In the writer’s experience farmers will always try to preserve game for a con- siderate landlord, but the feudal spirit rarely extends itself to a shooting-tenant, no matter how open-handed or well-meaning he may be. Rabbits still hold their own, though now, not only tenants, but in some instances landlords also, are seeking to exterminate them. Lord Boyne at Brancepeth, and Lord Barnard at Raby, have both declared war on the coney, and other proprietors in the country are following their example. It is, however, the smaller class of farmers who are most bitter against rabbits ; tenants of larger holdings, who have sufficient leisure to kill them down themselves, or who are ® This has happily displaced the odious term ‘ battue.’ In 1858, 128 pheasants were killed in one day in Ladywood at Raby. This is the first ‘ century ’ that we can trace. A HISTORY OF DURHAM able to employ professional rabbit catchers to do so, are by no means averse to a certain stock of rabbits on their farms, as they have a definite and practically unfailing market value. A few years ago a friend of the writer’s, renting a shoot- ing in West Durham, offered to compensate the farm-tenants for crop damage by rabbits, if they would not avail themselves of the Ground Game Act. Only one man among them, the largest tenant on the property, refused, who sub- sequently admitted having trapped some 2,000 rabbits. As his farm was largely a grass one, and his rent only £220 per annum, his venture must have been tolerably profitable. With the exception of Wynyard, where enormous bags of rabbits are made, the preservation of them for sporting purposes is not a great feature in Durham. Despite its large extent of sea-board, wild- fowling in Durham is practically a dead letter. The coast line, save in the estuary of the Tees, offers none of those mud-flats which are the chief attraction to sea-fowl ; and with the growth of the ports of Stockton and Middlesbrough, this has lost its former reputation for wild-fowl- ing, though a shore-shooter who is content with a moderate bag may still find amusement here. Nor does the county inland afford any better sport, owing to its dense population, the rapid course of its rivers, and the absence of suitable marshes or sheets of water, though before it was drained, Morden Carrs is reputed to have rivalled an east-country fen. Of course a certain num- ber of wild fowl are none the less killed inland every year ; and the writer himself has, at various times, either shot, or shot at, the commoner varieties — teal, wigcon, scoters, and especially wild duck, in different parts of the county. The latter species is the one most generally met, and we could point out an estate within three miles of the cathedral city, where upwards of a hun- dred wild duck have been seen during an after- noon’s stroll in hard weather. The writer has been frequently asked whether poaching be not rampant in Durham — a question to which he is no less happily than truthfully enabled to reply in the negative. As a general body pitmen are not poachers. Whatever the fictitious joys of poaching, it offers but little at- traction to a hard-working man whose high wages enable him to indulge in horse-racing, dog-racing, rabbit-coursing, pigeon-flying, ball-playing, ‘ ex- cursions, ’ and a score of other diversions, far more to his taste than crawling about in a damp wood, with the chance of a broken head, and a visit to petty sessions — nay, perhaps to ‘ Dorm ’ itself, as the sequel. A keeper’s office is no more a sinecure in Durham than elsewhere, but in proportion to the population, the number “ Durham gaol. The vernacular expression that a man has been ‘ in Dorm ’ has only one meaning. of systematic poachers is very small. What poaching there is, is almost entirely confined to rabbits, which find a ready market dead or alive, and especially for that brutal thing — we know not what name to give to it, it is not sport — rabbit-coursing. The advent of the hand-reared pheasant has, however, created a new and rather deadly method of poaching with the catapult. The poacher secretes himself in a quiet corner of a stubble-field near a covert, which he perhaps ground-baits with a few raisins, and bags his unsuspecting quarry as it feeds up to him at a few feet distance. There is no noise to scare the birds, or attract gamekeepers, and though it seems improbable that such a weapon as a catapult would kill so large a bird as a pheasant dead, a keeper once assured the writer that he tested one taken from a poacher on his own coalhouse door, and sent the bullets clean through it. It is noticeable that poaching becomes more prevalent in the west of the county, due perhaps to some inherent strain of the old forest-blood, and westward from the Aucklands is probably the worst district for it. Here have always occurred the bloodiest poaching affrays, the most famous of which is the ‘Battle of Weardale,’ which took place in 1818. About this time poaching had become so rife in Weardale, but especially on the moors of the Bishop of Dur- ham, that the episcopal keepers were unable to cope with it, and it was therefore decided to reinforce them with posses of constables from Bishop Auckland and Darlington, and capture the ringleaders of the poachers by a coup de main. Accordingly the Auckland and Darlington con- tingents trysted at Wolsingham Bridge on Sun- day, 6 December, 1818, and after a most adventurous night march across the fells, met the bishop’s head-keeper, Rippon, at St. John’s Chapel early on the following morning. Here they immediately effected the capture of two notorious poachers, Charles and Anthony Siddle, whom they found in bed, and after handcuffing and locking them up in the Black Bull Inn, started in quest of John Kidd, another poacher, who lived at East Dene Bridge. The mother of the Siddles was, however, by this time sum- moning the dale by blowing a horn,^^ and Kidd had escaped from his house before the keepers reached it, and as a matter of fact was waiting behind a hedge, gun in hand, intending to fire on them, only desisting from doing so on the repeated entreaty of a friend, who had hurried down from Chapel to warn him. The keepers then returned to Chapel, and placing their cap- tives in a cart, started for Durham with them, boasting before they left that they could ‘ sweep Weardale with a black pudding,’ a curious threat This exemplifies a curious survival of mediaeval custom. SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN that was fated to recoil on their own heads. The news of the capture quickly spread in the neighbourhood, and ere long six of the stoutest- hearted of the local ‘ free-shooters,’ armed with loaded guns, started in pursuit of the keepers, swearing they would release the prisoners or die in the attempt. As they hurried down the vale accompanied by a mob of sympathizers, which vires acquisivit eundo, they fell in with a travel- ling tinker at Park House, whom they pressed into their service and took with them as far as Stanhope. On arriving here they found the bishop’s officers had halted at the Black Bull — now the Phoenix — Inn for breakfast, and rushing into the house, a most bloody affray ensued, which ended in a complete victory for the poachers. Such of the constables as showed fight suffered unmerci- fully, two of them so badly that their lives were subsequently despaired of, one had his eye knocked out, another his arm broken, and all were more or less severely wounded. The floor of the ale-house swam in blood, which one of the poachers bade the landlady mix with meal to make the black pudding of which the keepers had boasted at St. John’s Chapel. Such of the bishop’s unfortunate men as were capable of flight sought refuge in neighbouring houses, and only two of their number escaped injury, having concealed themselves, the one under a joiner’s bench, and the other in the copper of the inn brewhouse,^^ as soon as the fight began. The released poachers were then marched in triumph to Stanhope market-place, where the impressed tinker was made to remove their hand- cuffs. The extraordinary part of the whole affair, as seen through modern spectacles, is that, despite the stir the affray naturally caused in the county, no punishment appears to have overtaken the offenders. A special meeting of the County Magistrates was indeed summoned to consider the matter at Quarter Sessions, with the result that the rectors of Stanhope and Wolsingham were elevated to the bench ; but beyond this their worships appear to have taken no steps to vindicate the law.^^ ‘ Parturiunt montes, nascitur ridiculus mus ! ’ However, as was usual in those days, the ‘ Battle ’ afforded rich material for the local poet,^® who produced a ballad, ‘The Bonny Moor Hen,’ of nineteen verses, dealing with it, which achieved enormous popularity at the time, A man of mettle jumped into a kettle, At the battle of Stanhope in Weardale. — Old Darlington Ballad. “ We have searched the files of The Durham .County Advertiser of this year (i8i8) in vain for any mention of this meeting. This gentleman is believed to have been one Thomas Coulson, the schoolmaster of Eastgate, de- scribed as a ‘ fair local poet and a contributor to the Ladies’ Diary.’ and is still sung in Weardale. One verse will, however, probably satisfy the reader : Ye brave lads of Weardale, I pray lend an ear, The account of a battle ye quickly shall hear. That was fought by the miners so well you may ken. By claiming a right to the bonny moor hen.''' Poaching continued to be rife in West Dur- ham until the formation of the new police force, and sixty years ago was practised to a degree, and in a manner scarcely conceivable at the present day. Gangs of men with blackened faces ravaged the country in open defiance of the law, and matters finally culminated in 1848 in the murder at Trundlemire Wood,^' on the Raby estate, by a gang of armed poachers, of John Shirley, the first whipper-in to the Duke of Cleveland’s hounds. Three of his assailants were arrested, two of whom, named Dowson and Thompson, were subsequently sentenced to death. The former was, however, respited and transported for life, but Thompson was hanged in public at Durham, 26 March, 1848.'® This vindication of the law was not without its proper salutary effect, and though poaching was of course not stamped out, it was practised in a less notorious fashion. It, however, broke out again in much the same form some years later in Teesdale, and about 1863 an affray took place on Middle End Fell, where two masked men were surprised poaching by three keepers under the command of the Duke of Cleveland’s agent, the late Mr. Scarth of Staindrop. When the poachers found flight was useless, they stood back to back, and on the approach of the party, shot two of the keepers — one of them^® so severely that his life was despaired of — and then escaped under cover of a dense fog. A man from Mid- dleton in Teesdale, who was believed to be the culprit, was arrested the same evening, and tried at the following assizes at Durham, but the evidence against him was not held conclusive, and he was acquitted. Here again, however, good resulted from evil, and at the present day Upper Teesdale is probably as free from poaching as any part of Durham. We are indebted for the above information to a pamphlet entitled The Bonny Moor Hen, written and published by Mr. W. M. Egglestone of Stanhope. We believe another of the R.iby keepers was shot in the same wood, but in this case his presumed assailant was acquitted at the assizes. Extraordinary precautions were taken to preserve the peace on this occasion, a troop of cavalry and a large body of police being drafted into the town. It is estimated that 10,000 people witnessed the execution, many of whom had tramped all night to Durham from every part of the county. This man, Beadel by name, was subsequently promoted to be head keeper on the Teesdale estate, but never really recovered from the effects of his wound. 413 A HISTORY OF DURHAM One last instance may be quoted as showing that the murderous instinct in the poaching fraternity still smoulders in the county. It is only eight years since Mr. Stobart of Witton Tower was deliberately shot, and left for dead, by a young man whom he found poaching in one of the coverts on the estate. In this case also, the person charged with the crime was tried and adjudged innocent by twelve of his fellow-countrymen, and it is therefore perhaps better to make no further reference to the matter. ANGLING Of angling in the county of Durham one is fain to cry Ichabod. In common with all the northern counties, with their hilly configuration, it is admirably adapted by nature for the con- templative man’s recreation ; it is bounded on the north and south by two important and prolific salmon rivers, a third — though alas ! a salmon river only in name — almost bisects it, and innumerable tributaries of these streams have their course down every valley. But the destroying hand of man has poisoned most of the river system of the county to an extent that is hardly credible ; and while it may justly be urged that the great industrial interests of the shire should not be subordinated to sentimental or sporting considerations, it is undoubtedly the case that much of this pollution is preventible, and should be prevented, if only those in autho- rity would exercise the powers that the legisla- ture has given them. Nor, if its economic side be taken into consideration, is the matter purely one of sentiment, a point which was once so admirably put by Charles Kingsley, that I cannot forbear quoting his words ; — Of all Heaven’s gifts of food, the one to be protected most carefully is that worthy gentleman salmon, who is generous enough to go down to the sea weighing five ounces, and come back next year weighing five pounds, without having cost the soil, or the State, one farthing.’ It is pitiable to see a river like the Wear, once famous for salmon, now only used of migratory fish by worthless bull-trout, and though we can never hope to see ‘ fresh-run fish as plentiful under Durham towers as in Holly Hole at Christchurch,’ ^ something could surely be done to attract the king of fresh-water fishes back to its old haunts. It may be safely affirmed that, from Bishop Auckland to Sunderland, there is not a single influent of the Wear which is not contaminated with noxious matter of some description ; and the sight, and smell, of such once charming trout-streams as the Cong Burn at Chester le Street, which now rolls a turbid gamboge-coloured flood ; of the Merring- ton Beck at Spennymoor, which can be dis- covered by the nose before it is apparent to the eye ; of the Gaunless, the Browney, and a score of other once pure brooks, is an object lesson in twentieth-century industrial civilization. Yet, even now, many of the less polluted of these * The Water Babies. ’ Ibid. streams contain trout, and given a fair chance of rehabilitating itself, the Wear might yet again become what it once was, a fair salmon river, and a first-class trout stream. As is the case with all rivers having lofty water- sheds and comparatively short courses, the intro- duction of land drainage during the past century has done much to alter the character of Durham streams. Formerly a heavy fall of snow or rain was gradually filtered into the main artery or river by means of its tributaries, taking days to get into it, and equally long to get out, keeping up a steady supply of fish food during the time, and maintaining the water at fishing size for long periods. Now the rainfall is at once caught up by the open ‘ grips ’ of the moorlands and the pipe-drainage of the agricultural lands, and promptly carried out to sea in one raging flood, after which in a dry season the river subsides into a mere succession of stagnant pools con- nected by trickling streams, its bottom becomes foul with green weed, and the fish grow languid, and even diseased, for want of proper aeration of the element in which they live.® It has always been a moot point with the writer whether these altered conditions have not largely conduced to confine the main run of the migratory salmonidae to the autumn, when a fairly constant supply of fresh water is usually forthcoming.* The Tees, which forms the boundary between Durham and the neighbouring counties of York and Westmorland, is undoubtedly the most im- portant of our rivers. The Tees rises on Cross Fell in Cumberland, and for the first few miles of its course is a mere moorland beck, until it widens out into the great pool or ‘ dub ’ locally known as the Week ’ During the dry summers of 1904-5 there were many places on the Upper Wear, where an active man could have picked his way across the river, dryshod. * There is abundant evidence that in the eigh- teenth century salmon used to be taken in great quantities in the East Coast rivers during the spring and summer months. On 15 July, 1771, upwards of 4,000 salmon were exposed for sale in New- castle fish-market, which sold for about per pound. One hundred and seven salmon were caught that morning at one fishery above Tyne Bridge ; Richardson, Local Historian's Table Book. The Tyne is still a fairly prolific salmon river ; but ‘ quantum mutatus ab illo.’ 414 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN This, which resembles a narrow lake, is re- puted to contain very heavy trout. It requires a strong breeze to fish it properly, though it must be admitted that this is a requisite rarely lacking in Upper Teesdale, After leaving the Weel, the Tees re-assumes the character of a mountain torrent, and within a distance of a few miles forms the cataracts of Cauldron Snout and High Force, the latter being the highest point to which salmon can ascend the river. Below the High Force the Tees cannot truthfully be styled an angler’s paradise, though the salmon-fishing has improved very much lately, and shows signs of still further amelioration. The trouting in the Tees is not very good, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that the trout of the river are of poor quality, usually small in size, ill-fed, and white-fleshed, though game as all fish of mountain-fed streams invariably are. The poverty of the Tees trout has been usually attributed to the ‘ hush ’ from the lead- mines in Upper Teesdale,® though as the latter are fast becoming exhausted, this complaint will remedy itself. But the hard, rocky bed of the river is probably equally at fault, as being de- ficient in fish food. The best trouting tributaries of the Tees are on the Yorkshire side of the river ; but mention must be made of the charm- ing little Langley Beck, which trips through •i Langleydale and Raby Park to ‘join the statelier Tees ’ above Gainford, and holds good store of well-fed fish. Near Darlington the angling is preserved by a local angling association, which does good service in protecting the fish, and introducing fresh trout. The salmon fisheries of the Tees have of late years been much improved, as is shown by the greater, and increasing, quantities of fish which ascend the river, not only at a much earlier date than formerly, but at every possible opportunity during the year. This is un- doubtedly due to the demolition of Dinsdale Dam, a wall of solid masonry which formerly stood nearly seven feet above the summer level of the pool below, and extended in a curve right across the river for nearly seventy yards. The question of its removal had long been mooted, but ‘vested interests’ proved insuperable until 1893, when the Tees Fishery Board, recognizing the necessity for its demolition, applied for and obtained a provisional order authorizing them to do so, an exhaustive inquiry having previously been held at Darlington by Mr. C. E, Fryer, the Chief Inspector of Fisheries. On his report to the Board of Trade the Provisional Order was obtained, and a Bill at once introduced to con- firm it, but this was naturally opposed by the owners of the dam. Negotiations were then entered into between these gentlemen and the late Mr, James Lowther of Wilton Castle, the then chairman of the board, with the result that the former finally accepted a sum of 3,500 in full compensation of all claims, and the dam was demolished from buttress to buttress. The results achieved by this have been entirely satis- factory. Salmon, which formerly could only pass the dam in times of heavy flood, now have an uninterrupted run from the tide-way to the spawning-beds, and the spring and summer runs of fish have increased to a remarkable degree. Still, the Tees is mainly an autumn river, at which season great numbers of migratory salmonidae ascend it, and it is scarcely exaggera- tion to say that in a wet year some of its tribu- taries are almost paved with spawning fish, of which, however, a large proportion is bull-trout. As a general rule the Tees salmon do not run heavy. The record fish — killed on the fly — is believed to be one of 32 lb. taken in 1905 near Darlington, and the best bag in a single day since the demolition of Dinsdale Dam is one of nine fish, weighing 57 lb., taken on Lord Barnard’s water on 12 September, 1903, by Mr, George Trotter, of Staindrop. Below Dinsdale the Tees is perhaps more of a salmon than a trout stream, and coarse fish are found in considerable abundance as far as the tidal water. The Wear, which is the chief river whose whole course is entirely in Durham, rises in Hillhope Law, within a few miles of the sources of the Tees and Tyne. The trout of its upper waters are small and not very plentiful until it reaches Stanhope. From this point the Wear was designed by nature for a first-class trout- stream ; it has deep, shady pools, and swift, gravelly streams, and flows through a fertile country that should provide an ample supply of fish food, and from contemporary accounts appears formerly to have been an excellent river for angling. But now this is all changed, and this beautiful river has become the common sewer of the district it drains. None the less, from Bishop Auckland, where the worst pollu- tion begins, down to Chester le Street, where it loses its character of a trout-stream, it still con- tains a fair number of lusty fish, while in a wet autumn bull-trout ascend it in great numbers. Even an occasional small salmon or grilse is netted in the lower reaches. Yet pollution is not the only factor that has tended to the depre- ciation of the angling capabilities of the Wear. If the fishing rights were carefully preserved, and some restriction placed on the number of anglers and the methods they employ, the river might recover itself to some extent ; but from source to mouth the riparian owners, almost * I remember once fishing the Tees at Snow Hall on a Monday, when the river was comparatively pure, owing to no lead-washing taking place on the preceding Saturday and Sunday, I killed a nice dish of trout in the morning, but about mid-day, when the first hush began to arrive from the upper reaches, the fish stopped rising at once. 415 A HISTORY OF DURHAM without exception, appear to have come to the conclusion that it is past redemption, and either made their rights over to angling associations, or practically surrendered them to the public. How far the interests of the few should override the pleasure of the many is a question that does not come within the province of this article, but there is no doubt that at present the river is fished to death with fly, and bait of every description from worm to salmon-roe. We could point to many beautiful stretches of the Wear — beautiful to the artist’s no less than the angler’s eye — where careful preservation and restriction of the number of rods would go far to restore its trouting capa- bilities ; but this could only be effected by a com- bination on the part of the riparian owners. Nor, perhaps, would such action be held to be specially desirable from a social standpoint, in view of the gratification that the less wealthy portion of the community derives from practically unrestricted angling. Praiseworthy as the efforts of the various angling associations are as regards pre- servation and restocking, they naturally look to the numbers of their members as the means for effecting these, and thus the remedies do little to counterbalance the evils. Nor are the tributaries of the Wear in any better plight. Nearly every one of them is ruined by pollution. Exception must, however, be made of the charming and and carefully preserved little Bedburn, which joins the main stream opposite the village of Witton le Wear. But below this, every other tributary of the Wear is merely an increased source of pollution, while two of them — the Gaunless, which unites with it at Bishop Auck- land, and the Browney, which does so at Sunderland Bridge — are of sufficient volume to merit the name of trout streams in themselves. It is only of comparatively recent years that the latter has become polluted to its present extent ; the writer can remember fishing it twenty-five years ago at Lanchester, when it was perfectly pure, and literally teeming with trout. This was a striking proof of what could be done by a determined riparian owner ; the then owner of the Ford estate near Lanchester, the late Mr. Kearney, though not a fisherman hims;lf, steadfastly refusing to allow the stream to be used as a conduit for colliery effluents. The Wear still nominally ranks as a salmon river, but it is difficult to fix even the approxi- mate date when it actually ceased to deserve that title. That its fisheries were once of con- siderable value is shown by the carefully kept accounts of the monks of Finchale ; ® but the ® The prior of Finchale derived great profit from his fishery of salmon. In 1 53 1 he sold not fewer than 51^^ dozen of salt salmon to the bursar of Dur- ham at 6s. per dozen. Fresh salmon were sold at a higher rate. From i March, 1532, to 13 April following, 173 salmon were cooked in the kitchen at Durham. In January a ‘seamyn,’ or load, of fresh river appears to have gradually lost its character, no doubt with increasing pollution through successive centuries, while the owners of dams on the lower waters appear to have had extremely selfish ideas as to what proportion of fish should pass on to benefit their neighbours of the higher reaches. One of the worst salmon obstructions was the dam at Chester le Street, and the writer was once told by the late Colonel Johnson, of the Deanery, that the fishery below this was of considerable value in the early part of the last century. None the less, the Wear does not give the impression that it can ever have been a first- class salmon river ; it is too small, and qi a drought quickly runs out of order, and for this reason the pollution becomes intensified tenfold. It is possible that if the latter objection could be abolished, or at least mitigated, salmon would again ascend the river in fair numbers, despite its comparatively small volume.^ Of other Durham rivers, only one, the Der- went, which divides the county from Northum- berland, needs mention. Here again, we have the spectacle of a lovely stream ruined by pollu- tion, though above Consett it is not yet past redemption, and the local angling association has done much for its betterment. Given proper care, and a fair chance of recovery, the Derwent might easily become the best trout-stream in Durham. Before finally quitting the subject of Durham angling, it may be interesting to recall the fact that one of the best salmon flies in existence — the Wilkinson — and in the writer’s opinion the very best trout-fly, the Greenwell’s Glory, were invented by residents of Durham. The former was the creation of the late Mr. Percival Wilkin- son, of Mount Oswald, and the latter of Canon Greenwell, no less renowned as an angler than an archaeologist, and its history may fittingly be given here. The actual insect of which it is the imitation was first noticed by Canon Greenwell when fishing the Tweed more than fifty years ago, and a pattern of it was dressed according to his directions® the same evening by James Wright, salmon cost 9/. The price of a single fish varied during the season from is. zd. to 6d. (Surtees Soc. vol. ii, 1837). All these salmon, however, were not taken in the Wear, many of them being brought from the prior’s fisheries on the Tyne. Trout, too, had a marketable value, as shown by the following entry in the priory accounts for 1361 : ‘ Et de ix*' v®' ob receptis de troudes venditis per tempus compoti.’ Compotus, the yearly reckoning or account of the priory (ibid.). ’’ Of late years salmon have taken to re-ascending the Northumbrian Coquet, which is a smaller stream than the Wear. Of course there is no pollu- tion here. * The proper dressing of the fly is — wing of the Inside of a blackbird’s feather, coch-a-bonddhu hackle, and pale yellow or tinsel body. The present Wright of Sprouston ties them better than any other tackle- maker of our experience. 416 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN the tackle-maker of Sprouston, with the result that on the following day it provided the canon with one of the best day’s trout-fishing he ever enjoyed, filling not only a most capacious creel, but his pockets to repletion. In those days a sort of informal club or Tabaks-Parlement of the notables of Sprouston used to meet every night at Wright’s shop, and on the occasion in question the chief topic of conversation was of course Canon Greenwell’s great catch. To mark so auspicious a day the canon had presented the assembly with a bottle of whisky, and in acknow- ledging his generosity, a hope was expressed that he would step down and name the new fly. This he kindly did, but pointed out on arrival that he could not be at once parent and sponsor, a piece of ‘ epeescopal ’ reasoning that only the schoolmaster was capable of appreciating. He however, rose to the occasion, and bidding the company charge their glasses, asked them to drink success to ‘ Greenwell’s Glory,’ by which name the fly has ever since been known. HORSE-RACING It is certainly curious that so little attention appears to have been paid to systematic racing in a county that has always been devoted to sport, and where certain districts have for centuries been noted horse-breeding centres. But legitimate race meetings have always been scarce, and no flat-race meetings under Jockey Club rules have existed in the county since the abolition of Durham races in 1887. Whether this be a subject for congratulation or not must be left to the reader’s opinion, but it is certainly remark- able in view of the pitman’s love for horse-racing and betting. How far this may have been due in the past to ecclesiastical influence is largely a matter of conjecture, but that the Bishop of Durham was a power to be reckoned with as late as the end of the seventeenth century is shown by the following extract by Surtees : — January, 1690. At the Quarter Sessions at Durham the justices resolved to give their wages * towards pro- curing a plate or plates to be run for on Durham moor, and Mr. Mayor, Chairman of the Quarter Sessions was desired to communicate the same resolution to the Bishop of Durham. Signed by Geo. Morland, and 9 others. Unfortunately the historian omits to give the bishop’s reply. Nor is the above the earliest record of public races in the county, for which we are again indebted to Surtees : — 1613. Thomas Robson and John Bainbigge, Gents, bound themselves (to Sir George Selby and Sir Charles Wren) in a recognizance of a hundred marks to provide a piece of gold and silver plate in the form of a bowl or cup to be run for yearly at the nozu usual weighing place on Woodham Moor on Tuesday before Palm Sunday. Although this is the first mention of recognized racing in the Palatinate, it would appear from the italicized words that Woodham had been already selected as a suitable place for the purpose. How long it continued to be so cannot be traced, but in 1619 James I journeying to Scotland, stopped ' From this it would appear that in those days the magistracy did not merit the title of the Great Unpaid. at Durham on Easter Eve, and on the following Monday ‘ rode to see a horse-race on Woodham Moor, and returned to Durham.’ ^ Another reference by Surtees to racing is of a less agreeable character, though probably the incident was not an uncommon one in turf his- tory in those days : — Dec. 4, 1636. John Trollop the younger, of Thornley, county of Durham, in a sudden quarrel at a horse-race fought with William Selby of Newcastle, at White Hall Dike Nook, and slew him on the spot. Trollop immediately fled, and was outlawed at the Assizes at Durham, 7 August, 1637. Races were also held at Bishop Auckland. Thus in 1662 we find that Mr. Arden, house- steward to Bishop Cosin, writing to Mr. Staple- ton, the bishop’s land agent, on business, inter- polates this little bit of gossip : — Auckland, March 3. This day wee have horse- races heare on Hunwicke Moore. Mr. Davison has a little nagg runs with the like of Captain Darcy’s. Mr. Bricknell rides Mr. Davison’s nagg. There will be much company there. Our Ladys goe in my Lord’s coache from heare. From this it would seem that the races had the ecclesiastical patronage, while the concluding paragraph makes it clear that the bishop’s lady had nothing in common with Mrs. Proudie of Barchester fame. Yet it is probable that the neighbourhood of Bishop Auckland can claim far greater antiquity in this respect, for it is maintained by Thomas Knight, the local historian, of Byers Green, that the Romans had a race-course at Binchester — Binovium — midway between Auckland and Spennymoor, to which he makes the following reference ; — Near to this village — Byers Green — is also a manifest Roman circus, all good ground and two miles in com- pass ; which, as being in the neighbourhood of the camp, is supposed to be that of Albinus, his principal camp being at Achnum, now Auckland, and the un- doubted Binovium of Ptolemy. This (circus) I pro- cured to be restored in the year 1778 by a subscription of the neighbouring gentlemen, and it is judged to be the finest piece of race-ground in the north of England.* * Surtees. * Thomas Knight, The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon. 53 417 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Towards the middle of the eighteenth century Auckland races had attained considerable impor- tance. They took place in the month of April, and extended over four days, the proceedings being enlivened with cock-fighting and other amusements. One ;^50 plate was run for each day, but this being of course on the ‘ heat ’ system provided a sufficiently lengthy programme for our easily contented forefathers. In 1753 the races had so far prospered that a second meeting was held for three days in October, but without cock-fighting. On the first day the only event — and with reason — was a match between Messrs. Hilton and Hopper, three four-mile heats, carrying 13 stone each.^ Of course these were ‘ cocktails,’ but it would be instructive to know how many horses there are in training at New- market at the present day that could ‘ get ’ twelve miles in an afternoon with 13 stone on their backs. How long these races lasted cannot un- fortunately be traced, nor curiously enough does any record exist of where they were held, opinion being divided as to whether the race-course was on Etherley or Byers Green Moor. The cock- fighting appears to have far outweighed the racing as regards the money at stake. Thus on 9 April, 1751, and following days ; — Captain Mark Milbank fought Doctor Dunn, showing thirty-one cocks on each side for lo guineas a Battle, and 200 guineas the Main. In which Main 16 battles, 9 won by Captain Milbank, and 7 by Doctor Dunn.* Heber gives a list of thoroughbred stallions standing for hire in Great Britain, but it is curious that from 1751— 3 Durham should be almost the only county in England without one, while among the eleven Durham subscribers to his book, there does not appear the name of any of the old county families, though the Duke of Cleveland, the Shaftos, Vanes, and Lambtons all had horses running in various parts of England, as well as Durham, at this time. The Auckland races appear to have gradually fallen into decay, though ‘leather-flapping’ and galloway races continued to be held either on the Flatts or on the site of the present railway station until at least 1816. In 1862 an attempt was made to institute a race meeting under Jockey Club rules, which took place in April of that year, and it is curious nowadays to read in Ruff's Guide of four-year-olds running four furlongs for a stake of £27, ! Only two of the stakes exceeded ^35 in value, and the programme included a hurdle-race, but the meeting did not take place again. A last effort was made to revive racing in the Auckland neighbourhood a few years later in the ‘ J Historical List of Horse Matches run, and of Plates and Prizes run for, in Great Britain and Ireland in 1753; edited by Reginald Heber. * Ibid. early seventies, at a time when the county of Durham was enjoying a period of prosperity such as it has never known before, nor since.® A race-course was laid out near Spennymoor, on the estate of the late Mr. Duncombe-Shafto, of Whitworth, member for South Durham, and a well-known figure on the Turf of those days, and meetings were held under Jockey Club rules. But the business was badly managed, and the ‘ Whitworth Race-course Company ’ came to an untimely end with the advent of the inevitable period of depression that followed the good times. According to Surtees the first races at Durham were run in May, 1733, on the Smyddyhaughs, ‘ where they have since continued with little interruption.’ These races were of the same character as those at Bishop Auckland to which reference had already been made. They were supported by the same owners and eked out with cock-fighting and other amusements, and judged by modern standards were no better than pony or galloway races. Thus in July, 1751, when the meeting extended over three days, there was a ‘j^50 Plate for horses 14 h. h. to carry nine stones, give and take, all above or under to be allowed weight for inches, 4 mile heats.’ This was won by Mr. Pearson’s ch. h.. Little Partner, 14 h. fin., carrying 9 st. 5 lb, 4 oz? This precision as to fractions of a pound avoir- dupois leads one to presume that the jockeys of those days must have been even more carefully trained than the animals they bestrode. Little Partner won the first and last heats, but was fourth in the second — the betting on these heats must have been instructive.® At the same meeting Sir Edward Blackett fought the Duke of Cleveland, showing 41 cocks on one side, lo guineas a Battle, and 200 guineas the Main, which consisted of 30 Battles, 1 6 won by his Grace, and 1 4 by Sir Edward Blackett.® ® This was due to the Franco-German War. ’’ Heber, Hist. List, &c. ® Little Partner won this race three years in succession. ® Heber, Hist. List, &c. Cock-fighting has been very properly condemned alike by law and public opinion for a great number of years, but the writer has reason to believe it would not be a matter of great difficulty even yet to fight a main in the county of Durham. Less than twenty years ago a gallant Irish- man was summoned by his military duties to reside there. Among the equipment that had accompanied him from the Emerald Isle was a magnificent game- cock of a strain long cherished in his family, which, to quote its owner, had ‘ cleaned out Connemara.’ Stirred by the Captain’s laments over the lack of Saxon enterprise that denied further gratification to his pet, one of his neighbours was moved to set the law at de- fiance, and sought counsel of a friendly gamekeeper, who at once volunteered to produce a bird from the colliery district to the north, capable of cutting the Hibernian comb. Accordingly a match was made, and the 418 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN The first official issue of the Racing Calendar was in 1773, in which the Durham meeting duly makes its appearance, to continue till 1851, when it lapses until 1854, reappearing in 1859 and in 1864, to continue until its final disappear- ance in 1887, when it shared the fate of the score of minor race meetings that have become extinguished of late years by gate money and big prizes. The Smyddyhaughs are now the uni- versity recreation ground, yet there must be many who regret the dangerous little circular track, and the quaint old stand where one poked one’s head out of a back window to catch a momentary glimpse of the horses as they flashed by. It is probable that Durham races would have succumbed even before this date, but for the support of a few of the influential north-country families — Lambtons, Vyners, Shaftos, and others. The actual cause of their extinction was the refusal of the university authorities to renew the lease of the race ground. The last meeting, extend- ing over two days was held in July, 1887. Mention must also be made of the races established in Lambton Park by Mr. John George Lambton — afterwards first Earl of Dur- ham. The inaugural meeting took place on 18 October, 1821.’° At first these races were private ones, but were soon thrown open to the public. The meeting, however, appears to have been instituted on much the same lines as those at Croxton Park and Hooton Park, where the racing was chiefly confined to gentlemen riders drawn from the influential patrons of the Turf. The second Earl of Wilton — in his day possibly the finest gentleman rider in England, whether on the flat or across country — and the late Duke of Portland, an equally good horseman, were among those who used to perform at Lambton. The meeting was discontinued after a few years, probably on account of Mr. Lambton’s increased devotion to politics. But one other flat-race meeting remains to be noted, and it is even questionable whether it can legitimately be regarded as belonging to Durham. Although the town of Stockton is in this county, its races, which I believe have existed more or less intermittently for more than 150 years,^^ were prior to 1839 run on ‘The Carrs,’ on the coach-house of an elderly maiden lady — to this day happily ignorant of the outrage — selected as a spot likely to be free from interference, whither the Dur- ham bird was brought — in a paper bag ! — by its owner, a bandy-legged little pitman. The contest was a severe one, but the Pride of Durham decisively van- quished its antagonist, and after an exhibition of weak brandy and water was re-transferred to its paper bag, ready, according to its master, to ‘ tak on ony bord in England or Ireland at ony time.’ Richardson, Local Historian's Table Book. *' Stockton meeting appears in the first official issue of the Racing Calendar in 1773, but Heber notes its existence in 1752, and there is reason to believe it existed for a ew years prior to this date. Yorkshire side of the Tees. In that year, how- ever they were removed to Tibbersley, near Billingham in Durham, when the meeting lasted for three days, during which time eleven races were run, the added money being ^^125 ! The races continued to be held at Tibbersley until 1847, when the meeting lapsed for eight years, and on its revival in 1855 once more transferred to Yorkshire.^^ Organized steeplechasing is everywhere of comparatively recent development, and the first meeting in the county of Durham of which record exists took place in 1 846, at that hub of Durham sport, Sedgefield,^^ where steeplechases have been held uninterruptedly ever since. It would be interesting to know how many other steeplechase meetings in England there are that can claim greater longevity than this. The first meeting took place over West Layton Farm, and such good sportsmen as Mr. Baker of Elemore, and Mr. Cookson of Neasham, ran horses at it. The races were subsequently run over natural courses at Hely House, Ryal Farm, Harpington Hill, and Cote Nook, finally settling down per- manently at their present home on the Sands Hall Estate, a singularly appropriate venue, in view of the owner’s — Mr. R. Ord — close con- nexion with both chase and turf, he being a quondam Master of the South Durham Hounds, and one of the actual official handicappers to the Jockey Club. It is probable that the proximity of Wynyard Park had much to do with the institution of the Sedgefield Steeplechase Meet- ing, and the present Marquess of Londonderry has shown his sympathy with it in a very prac- tical manner. Since 1893 presented a challenge cup, and ,^25 added money to be competed for by tenant farmers in the South Durham Hunt. The cup has to be won three years in succession on different horses to become the absolute property of the holder, and it is interesting to note that three cups have been won outright by the late Mr. John Trenholm, Mr. Stephenson of Crawley, and Mr. George Menzies of Quarrington. The Sedgefield steeplechase course is a circular left-handed one, about a mile and a half round, and is exceedingly well laid out over gently undulating ground. Until about ten years ago it included a small proportion of plough, but this is now laid away to grass, to the regret of that alas ! small body of purists, who maintain that steeplechasing should always attain as nearly I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. T. Hunter of Stockton for most of the above information. Mr. Hunter, who is now in his eighty-sixth year, has attended Stockton races since he was eight years old. ” Races took place in Hardwick Park two hundred years ago. A book containing particulars of them used to be in the possession of the late J. Coates, who was private trainer for the late Marquis Talon at Hardwick. 419 A HISTORY OF DURHAM as possible to ‘natural’ conditions. In 1897 the meeting was extended to two days, and usually takes place about the beginning of April. A permanent grand stand was erected some years ago, which enjoys the rare distinction among its kind of being at once convenient and attractive in appearance. Another steeplechase meeting was inaugurated in 1890 under the title of the Durham County and West Hartlepool Steeplechases. Two days’ racing were provided during the year, in April and November, the course being at Stranton Farm, near West Hartlepool, but although the meeting appears to have received a fair measure of public support, it only lasted for two years, and is omitted from the Racing Calendar in 1892. Three years later a more successful venture was launched by the enterprise of a small syndicate of people interested in racing in the neighbourhood of Durham, of whom the Master of the North Durham Hounds was the moving spirit. A lease was procured of the flat table-land at Shincliffe Bank Top, about two miles from Durham, on which a course was laid out, and the inaugural meeting, under the title of the North Durham and Shincliffe Steeple- chase, was held on 15 May, 1895. So successful did this prove that the syndicate was resolved into a public company, the race-course enlarged and improved, a permanent stand erected, and a second day’s racing provided in the autumn. Since then the undertaking has proved so uni- formly prosperous that three days’ racing in March and May are now allowed by the National Hunt Committee, and not only pro- vide good sport for the public, but return a fair profit to the shareholders in the company. The course is oval, about a mile and a quarter round, and the run-in up a gradual ascent. It was probably owing to the success achieved at Shincliffe that a meeting of similar character was started a few years later at Grindon, about two miles to the south of Sunderland, by the en- terprise of a small syndicate of local sportsmen. The first meeting took place on 30 April, 1898, but unfortunately the venture seemed doomed to failure from the outset. Although in such close proximity to the teeming centres of industry on the banks of the Tyne and Wear, the public did not afford it the support that was reasonably to be expected, and persistent bad weather invariably affected the attendance at the first few meetings. Latterly the meeting was beginning to pay its way, but not to such an extent as to allow of the stakes being increased in accordance with the new rules of the National Hunt Com- mittee, and it was finally decided to abandon it in 1906. The course at Grindon was oval in shape, about a mile and a quarter round, and all grass. Point-to-point racing was inaugurated in Durham in 1889 by the members of the Zet- land Hunt over a course near Brusselton, the chief event being won by the present master of the South Durham Hounds, but the North Durham is the only pack that consistently sup- ports this admirable form of sport. ROWING North-country rowing has been famous from early days. But its history is a much wider subject than the history of rowing in the county of Durham ; for a history of rowing in the north would deal largely with the Tyne and Tyne- siders. It would, indeed, be difficult to exagger- ate the importance of the Tyne. The matches in days gone by between rival schools of Tyne- side professional oarsmen, and between Tyne and Thames, excited an amount of interest which is comparable to that displayed on the Thames when Cambridge met Harvard. The names of such Tyneside heroes as the Claspers and the Taylors, Chambers and Cooper and Renforth, were once in every mouth, and are still remembered. Old men still quote their sayings, and gossip about their triumphs to a generation that is devoted to football and to golf. The decay of professional rowing in these modern times was attributed by one of the admirers of the giants of old days to the spread of education and the growth of board schools — ‘ for,’ said he, ‘ to row well, a man must be strang i' th' hack and thick i th' 'eadd But it would be a mistake to suppose that Durham rowing was a mere by-product of the Tyne. The Wear and the Tees have traditions of their own. In the palmiest days of the Tyneside professionals there were men at Durham who were their match. Such names as Ebdy and Howson, Newby and Marshall, were almost as well known as the names of the Tyneside cham- pions ; and in more than one great race, at Durham Regatta and elsewhere, the Tynesiders had to be contented with second honours. If we turn to amateur rowing it may perhaps be claimed that Durham is rather the parent than the child of the Tyne. The stimulus given by Durham Regatta has had much to do with the creation and with the vitality of Tyneside clubs. It is impossible to say when rowing first began at Durham. The boys of Durham School, who 420 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN are interested in tracing back their modern institutions to their origins in the dawn of English history, assert in their school song that in the days of Aldhune . . . down below where waters flow, They learnt in coracles to row, While F,cho flung from crag and scar Their ‘ Floreat Dunelmia.’ This may be so ; but, leaving untouched the possibilities of early centuries, we find that Durham Regatta was first held in 1834, some years earlier than Henley, and we may conjecture that rowing had flourished at Durham for some time before the first regatta. Durham Regatta was established by Mr. William Lloyd Wharton, the squire of Dryburn ; and the name is still preserved by the Wharton Cup, presented in 1877 by the Right Honourable John Lloyd Wliarton, to be competed for by crews from the various clubs in the city of Durham. One of the most popular features of the early regattas was the procession of boats with which the regatta concluded. There is a sketch by ‘ Cuthbert Bede,’ the author of Verdant Green,^ of such a procession in the year 1848. This procession of boats continued to be one of the attractions of the day till comparatively modern times, and was only discontinued when the programme of races became longer, and boats became more frail and more liable to receive damage in a crowd. The details of the early races do not seem to have been recorded, but in 1886 the Reverend Robert Beaumont Tower, M.A., presented to the Museum of Durham University a silver medal which he won for sculling at the regatta in the year 1835. There is also in existence the oar with which a member of one of the crews of these early days used to row. It is a wonderful implement, the work of a local carpenter, and one feels that the Virgilian nunc, nunc insurgite remis must have been very applicable to the stout- hearted men who with such oars and in such boats — for one can deduce the boats from the oars — had to race from ‘Ash Tree’ to ‘Counts Corner.’ It is on record that, in 1838, there were on the river two University four-oar wherries named the St. George and the St. Cuthbert, and a four-oared wherry from the school named the Argo. The stroke of this latter crew was J. R. Davison, afterwards member for Durham City, Judge Advocate-General, and a Privy Councillor. The course, not quite a mile and a quarter in length, between ‘Ash Tree’ and ‘Counts Corner’ is as well known in the north of England as the Thames between Temple Island and Henley ' Although Verdant Green is a story of Oxford life, the author was an undergraduate of Durham Univer- sity. Bridge is known in the south. Well known as this reach is, and many as are the gallant races which it has seen, it cannot be described as an ideal course for racing. The river at Durham is tortuous and, except when swollen by floods, shallow and sluggish. Between the starting point and the finish there are two long corners, and about half way over the course the river is spanned and well-nigh barred by Elvet Bridge. The quaint narrow arches of this beautiful and historic structure barely leave room for the oars of a racing boat. It is a spot which tests a coxwain’s skill and nerve, and at Elvet Bridge some crews meet with disasters which are fatal to their chances, but accidents are not as common as one might anticipate. To equalize the corners the course is always buoyed out for races. Thus the crew which gets the advantage of the inside turn early in the race is driven far out at the second corner, which bends round to the finish. The result is that it is not uncommon to see a lead of two or three lengths over the earlier part of the course wrested from a crew in the last two minutes of the race. Those, therefore, who are taught their rowing at Durham learn, from the conditions under which their races are rowed, that a race is never lost till it is won, and that it is never won till the winning-post is passed. They learn to row races out to the bitter end ; and Durham Regatta encourages the kind of ‘stroke’ who is good at leading a forlorn hope and at snatching*a race out of the fire. As eight-oared rowing has never been seriously cultivated either on the Wear or the Tyne we find that the principal race at Durham Regatta is the Grand Challenge Cup for Fours, instituted in 1854, and that date may be taken to mark an epoch in the history of the regatta. Up to that time the programme of amateur races had not attracted much outside competition, the interest in them being probably subordinate to that aroused by professional races. The institution of the Grand Challenge Cup opened the principal amateur race to all comers, and from this time onwards the regatta tended to become an event of attraction to first-class crews from all rivers. The Grand Challenge Cup did not, however, at first draw entries from an extended area. Between the years 1854 and 1862 University College, Durham, won the Challenge Cup seven times ; but the opposing crews, were, as a rule drawn from Hatfield Hall and Durham School. In 1857, however, a crew appears from the Lady Margaret Club (St. John’s College, Cambridge), and carries the Challenge Cup away from Durham, for the first time. Next year the cup returned to University College, but the crews against them were both from Durham, one from Hatfield Hall, one from the School. In 1859 University College was again victorious ; but this year saw extended entries. The Lady Margaret Club was again represented, and crews 421 A HISTORY OF DURHAM from Sunderland and the Tyne appeared for the first time. Two years later the Tyne Amateur Rowing Club won the Challenge Cup, and a crew from the Durham Amateur Rowing Club was entered for the first time. Hitherto there does not seem to have been any organized city club in Durham. In 1854 a crew called the ‘St. Oswald’s Club’ rowed ; but no other city crew appears till 1861. The members of the first Durham crew were. — W. Brignall, P. Forster, C. Rowlandson, Wilson Story (stroke), R. Oswald (cox). Durham Regatta, and north-country rowing generally, has owed much to the Durham Amateur Rowing Club, and the first appearance of this famous club is an important event in the history of north- country rowing. The Tyne and Durham clubs were always among the entries for the next year or two. The D.A.R.C. won in 1863, the Tyne A.R.C. in the following year. The University and School crews were also regular competitors, and in 1864 a crew of old boys of Durham School was entered. This crew contained C. R. Carr, who had been president of the O.U.B.C. and had rowed in a victorious Oxford crew, and S. R. Coxe, who was a well-known member of the Brasenose eight ; so we may be justified in supposing that the victorious Tyne crew must have been of a good class. In other words, we may say that, by the year 1864, the institution of the Grand Challenge Cup had succeeded in creating an interest other than local in the regatta, and had raised the standard of Durham rowing. In 1865 the cup was won for the first time by Durham School, the boys defeating a crew from the Tyne A.R.C., and two crews from the D.A.R.C. Since the foundation of the race in 1854 Durham School, in weak years and in strong years alike, has sent in a crew. Most clubs have more or less picked their time. They have sent in crews when they have felt strong enough to do so. If they have had material which has not been up to the average they have thrown their strength into one of the minor races, and have not attempted the hard struggle for the greater honours. But the boys have always entered, and have always raced for the Grand Challenge Cup. Sometimes they have plainly been outclassed : more often their keenness and style have carried them into the later stages of the contest, and they have failed to win more from inability to last through a series of races, than by reason of inferiority to their victors. They have won six times. Only two clubs have a greater number of wins to their credit ; only two clubs have the same number of wins. Many clubs have striven in vain to win the Grand at Durham ; six well-known clubs have won it a smaller number of times than the school. But the number of wins recorded for the school is, comparatively, a trivial matter : what we wish to emphasize as important from the point of view of north-country rowing is that the various north-country clubs have all been strengthened by the material which Durham School has shaped by this steady aim at the highest honours. Let the crews entered at the regatta in any given year be analyzed, and it will generally be found that the best crews of the best clubs contain oarsmen who, having learnt their rowing at Durham School, have taken with them into the clubs of their choice not only their style and their pluck, but also their spirit of sportsmanship and comradeship. In 1866 and 1868 the Durham A.R.C. won the Challenge Cup ; in 1867 the school was again victorious. In 1869 the Tyne A.R.C. won. For the next three years nothing could resist the Tynemouth Club, whose crew was one of the fastest ever seen at Durham. It was not only unusually strong and well to- gether, but also was ahead of the rest of its com- petitors in adopting and mastering the use of sliding seats. It contained that fine sculler, W. Fawcus, who won the Diamonds at Henley and the Wingfield Sculls (the amateur champion- ship of England) in 1871. In 1873 and 1874 the cup went to Sunder- land. In 1875 and 1877 the school defeated all comers. In 1876 the Newcastle A.R.C., a club which competed with success at Henley, won for the first and only time. In 1878 the Tyne A.R.C. won ; and in the two following years the Durham A.R.C. were the victors. All through the sixties and seventies rowing flourished at Durham. The entries for the Challenge Cup were generally good in number, and in many years they were good in class. During these years rowing was the sport in the north. Regattas flourished at other places besides Durham, and boat races attracted keener crowds than any other sport. The names of prominent oarsmen, amateurs and professionals alike, were as well known as the names of the County XI are known in Yorkshire. But dur- ing the eighties there was a lull in the interest taken in rowing, and there was a general falling olF in class. The entries at Durham Regatta were small, and the average of rowing was poor. It was, however, remarkable that during these lean years the crews from the Durham A.R.C. maintained a high standard. This was due partly to the fact that the club had a run of un- usually strong men, but more especially to the hard work and the good coaching of Mr. J. A. Ornsby, an old Oxford Blue. Between 1881 and 1891 the Challenge Cup was won once by Durham University, twice by Durham School. It was won once by South Shields, once by Sunderland, once by Jesus College, Cambridge, and five times by the Dur- ham A.R.C. 422 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN Towards the end of the eighties the standard of rowing began once more to improve, and it became common to see several crews of a fair class entered for the Challenge Cup. In 1889 a Sunderland crew, coached by the Reverend A. F. Sim (who died abroad, ‘ multis flebilis bonis,’ a year or two later), showed both style and pace. A series of good crews came from Ryton — a modern Tyneside club, which has owed much to a succession of Durham School oars. Several university crews, of which Mr. Malcolm Buchannan, one of the finest oarsmen ever sent from Durham School, was the leading spirit, displayed merits of a high order. During the years 1900 to 1906 one of the most grati- fying features of the regatta has been the revival of the glories of the Tyne A.R.C. This revival has been largely due to the enthusiasm and hard work of Mr. James Wallace, who, in the sixties and seventies, was one of the most accomplished oarsmen in the north of England, and in these later times has toiled unsparingly as a coach and inspirer of the younger members of his club. But there is still much to desire in the class of the average Durham crew. This was clearly exhibited in the year 1901 when a crew of officers of the Royal Artillery stationed at New- castle rowed at Durham under the colours of the D. A.R.C. There was an entry of eight crews, but there was nothing which could touch the soldiers : in style and in pace they were im- measurably superior to any other crew. Yet when the same crew went to Henley it was quickly outclassed in the race for the Wyfold cup for fours. Nevertheless, in spite of deficiencies in class and style, there is good rowing and good sport to be seen at Durham Regatta. An analysis of the results from 1892 to 1906 shows that the Challenge Cup has been won three times by Sunderland, twice by Middlesbrough, twice by Durham University, twice by the Tyne A.R.C., five times by Ryton, once by Durham A.R.C., i.e. by the above-mentioned officers’ crew. A survey of the years since 1854, when the Grand Challenge Cup was instituted, shows that it has been won as follows : Dur- ham A.R.C., eleven times ; Durham University, ten times ; Durham School, six times ; Tyne A.R.C., six times ; Sunderland A.R.C., six times ; Ryton A.R.C., five times ; Tynemouth A.R.C., three times ; Middlesbrough, A.R.C., twice ; Lady Margaret Club (St. John’s College, Cambridge), once ; Jesus College, Cambridge, once ; Newcastle A.R.C., once ; South Shields A.R.C. once. Next in importance to the Grand Challenge Cup is the Wharton Challenge Cup which, as has already been said, was presented by the Right Honourable John Lloyd Wharton in 1877. This race is confined to the following clubs in the City of Durham, the Durham A.R.C., the University, the School, and Bede College. The racing for this cup generally provides good sport and much enthusiasm, as there is keen, though generous, rivalry between the local clubs. Since its institution in 1877 Durham A.R.C. has won seventeen times ; the University has won six times ; the school also has won six times. In the year 1892 the race was thrown open to the county of Durham for that year only, and the cup was won by Sunderland, who defeated crews from the Durham A.R.C., from Durham School and from Ryton. The Wharton Cup superseded the University Plate, one of the oldest races at the regatta, which, at any rate from 1854 onwards was, like the race for the Wharton Cup, confined to crews in the city of Durham. It is singular that the change of the name of the race coincides with a change in the relative strength of the competing clubs. In the years between 1854 and 1876, when the race was called the University Plate, crews hailing from the university won fifteen times, the D. A.R.C. won five times, the school three times. The Corporation Challenge Cup for junior oarsmen was instituted in 1892. It does much to encourage rising talent, and produces keen struggles over the short course of little more than half-a-mile. Short races of this kind are a feature of north country regattas. At Durham there is a special reason for the popularity of a race over the short course. The windings of the river make it difficult to view a race over the long course from start to finish. Such a view is, indeed, only possible for those who are prepared to gird up their loins and run. But it is more than doubtful whether a scramble over half-a-mile fosters a good style of rowing. The Corporation Challenge Club has been won by Sunderland five times, by Ryton three times, by the Armstrong A.R.C. twice, by Middlesbrough twice, by Tynemouth once, by the Tees A.R.C. once, by Bede College once. The Corporation Challenge Cup superseded an older race for junior crews called the Stewards’ Plate. From 1854 onwards it seems to have been a popular race, attracting a large number of entries. It was won in turn by most of the leading clubs in Durham and Northumberland ; while an occasional winner hailed from York, and even from Cambridge. It is much to be regretted that the revived interest in rowing that has marked the last twelve or fifteen years has not led to a revival of pair-oared rowing in the north. Pair-oared rowing is the supreme test of watermanship ; and those who remember such pairs as Wallace and Ayton, Chisman and Brignall, Mason and Dunn, will regret that our northern clubs do not devote themselves now-a-days to this most ex- quisite type of the oarsman’s skill. An attempt was indeed made some twelve years ago to revive pair-oared rowing at Durham Regatta, but the 423 A HISTORY OF DURHAM attempt was not very successful. For a year or two, however, the Tyne A.R.C. and the Durham School Club sent in crews, and on two occasions at least the race afforded capital sport. This was notably the case in 1896, when A. Appleby and S. Sutherland, from the School, won a very fine race against a Tyne pair by a foot or two. Nor has Durham in late years attracted much sculling talent. T. Bourn of Ryton was a good sculler in the nineties ; and in earlier days the Tyne A.R.C. had high-class scullers in Pickett and Wallace. In the seventies the regatta saw Lawton, a sculler of great power and style from York, and Fawcus of Tynemouth, who was in a class by himself. Professional rowing in these days is not what it once was. There are still professional races at the regatta : a handicap race, in clinker-built fours, over the short course, attracts many entries and is the occasion of much enthusiasm among the supporters of the various crews. But the rowing is not of the class which characterized the days of the great north-country champions. In the fifties and sixties and seventies there were races for professionals both in fours and pairs over the long course. Thus in 1856 a crew containing Chambers, R. Clasper, H. Clasper and Jack Clasper won the Patron’s Plate for fours, while Jack Clasper and H. Clasper won the pairs. A four-oared crew of much the same composition won in 1857. In 1858 the crew of Claspers — father and sons — won a celebrated race against the Taylor brothers. The same great names occur for many following years. The families of Clasper, Chambers, and Taylor, and men like the Matfins and Winships and Cooper raced at Durham Regatta in fours and pairs and sculls. To meet the heroes of the Tyne Durham turned out Ebdy and Howson, Newby and the Marshalls, who rowed with strong limbs and stout hearts and varying success. Later on the Tyne sent Renforth. It was at Durham that poor Renforth rowed his last race. He came with the four (Percy, Chambers, Kelly, Renforth) which was just about to start for America to row a great match. It will be remembered how during the American race Renforth was suddenly taken ill and was lifted out of the boat to die. Durham rowing owes a great deal to these professionals. Their matches inspired a great deal of enthusiasm. The men themselves were enthusiasts in their sport. They were first-rate exponents of oarsmanship and fine watermen. Rising amateur oarsmen watched these men row and received the same sort of stimulus which the young cricketer receives when he watches Hirst or Rhodes or Hayward. North-country rowing drew an impulse and a strong vitality from the northern professionals. While Durham Regatta has done good work in fostering rowing in the north, it may also claim to have done no small service to rowing in general by affording an early training to a number of oarsmen who have afterwards dis- tinguished themselves at Henley and in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race. Durham School has sent out a number of men who have won their blues, and it is certain that Durham School rowing would not have been what it has been without the stimulus of Durham Regatta. Before the institution of the Challenge Cup in 1854 W. King from Durham School had rowed in the Oxford Eight. In 1854 we find the name of J. Arkell in the school crew. Arkell rowed in the Oxford Eight in 1857 and the two following years. He was president of the O.U.B.C. in his third season, and as presi- dent instituted the Trial Eights at Oxford. At Henley he won the Silver Goblets for pairs. Two years later (1856) in the school crew were B. N. Cherry and H. J. Chaytor, of whom the former rowed for Cambridge in i860, the latter in 1859, i860, and 1861. C. R. Carr appears in the school crews from 1857 to i860. He rowed in the Oxford Eights of 1862 and 1863 and was president of the O.U.B.C. in the following year. From 1865 to 1867 W. H. Lowe was in the school crew, and in 1868, 1870, and 1871 he was in the Cambridge Eight. Contemporaries of these men, although never in the school crew, were J. H. Fish, who rowed in the Oxford Eight in 1867, as did E. S. Carter in 1868 and 1869. In 1871 and 1872 C. D. Shafto was learning in the school fours at Durham the style and generalship which he displayed as stroke of the Cambridge Eight four years later in 1876 and again in 1877 — the year of the dead heat. E. H. Dykes belongs to the same period as Shafto. He was not a ‘ blue,’ as he was too light for the Putney course, but he was one of the most perfect oarsmen and watermen who ever rowed at Durham or at Cambridge. He did work for Durham and for Jesus College, Cambridge, which puts him in the very foremost rank of north-country oarsmen. In 1878 another Durham boy, E. H. Prest, who had rowed in three school crews, stroked the Cambridge Eight, and a schoolfellow, LI. R. Jones, who had been in the school crew from 1875 to 1877, bow. Prest was presi- dent of the C.U.B.C. in 1879 and 1880, row- ing bow in these years. His schoolfellow, Jones, was secretary of the C.U.B.C. in 1881 and rowed in the University boat race of 1882. In 1879 Prest and Jones were stroke and bow respectively of the Jesus College Eight which won the Grand at Henley. They had had in 1875 as companion in their school crew R. H. J. Poole, who rowed in the Oxford Eight in 1880 424 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN and 1 88 1, and in the Leander Eight which won the Grand at Henley in 1880, He was secre- tary of the O.U.B.C. in i88i.^ In 1881 two old Durham boys, A. M. Hutchinson and C. W, Moore, were in the Cambridge crew. Hutchinson had been in the school four of 1879. Moore, though he rowed at Durham, never reached the crew. Hutchin- son was secretary of the C.U.B.C. in 1882, when he again rowed. Moore rowed again in 1882, 1883, and 1884, and was president of the C.U.B.C. in his last year. Hutchinson was afterwards captain of the Thames Rowing Club and won the Grand and many other races at Henley. It will be seen, therefore, that in three decades Durham Regatta trained up a line of oarsmen who carried the fame of north-country rowing to the south. Nor does a list of Blues exhaust the record of the debt which the rowing world owes to Durham and its regatta. Besides those who in after days won the coveted blue cap there were many others who did good service in college crews at Oxford and Cambridge and who only failed to attain the highest honours. Since 1884 only two Durham trained men have rowed in the University boat race. These were G. C. Kerr, who rowed in the School crews of 1888, 1889, 1890 and in the Cam- bridge Eights of 1892 and 1893, and C. T. Fo22:-Elliot, who rowed in the School crews of 1887 and 1888 and in the Cambridge Eights of 1891 and three following years. Both these men were presidents of the C.U.B.C ; Kerr in 1893 and Fogg-Elliot in 1894. But during this period Durham School has sent to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge three other men of quite first-rate class. The first of these was W. A. King, who was in the School crews in three seasons and who was chosen as 7 in the Oxford crew of 1886. Ill- health caused his retirement from the boat about three weeks before the race. The second was J. VV. Fogg-Elliot, who rowed in the School crew of 1885, and was reserve man for the Cam- bridge Eight in 1888. He rowed in 1888 for a Thames crew which won the Grand at Henley. The third was H. Graham, who rowed in the School crew from 1892 to 1894, and was reserve man for the Oxford Eight in 1896, and rowed at Henley for Leander. His rowing career at Oxford was damaged by a serious, and almost flrtal, illness in his first term. So it will be seen that the break in the chain of Durham oarsmen is more apparent than real. We should also mention ^ Special reference must be made to Mr. Poole’s services to Durham rowing. As a schoolboy he stroked a winning crew at Durham Regatta as far back as 1873, for more than twenty years has been practically responsible for the many good oars- men turned out during that time from his old school. — Ed. the name of Malcolm Buchannan, who rowed in the School crews of 1896 and 1897 afterwards went to Durham University. Had he gone to Oxford or Cambridge he would almost certainly have added another name to the list of Durham blues. Contemporary with Buchannan was S. Sutherland, who rowed in the School crews of 1895 and 1896, and was in the trials soon after going up to Cambridge. He would have had a great chance of winning his blue. ‘ Dis aliter visum.’ He went on a voyage to Iceland in the long vacation of 1897 > the ship was lost and has never since been heard of. Such are the men whom Durham and Durham Regatta have trained. It is an honour list which in itself would go far to establish the claim of Durham Regatta to be considered as one of the most important aquatic events in the year. But it would be easy to make an equally long list of oarsmen who have done all their rowing in the north, but who, had fortune taken them to other scenes, would have made their mark in any company. Most of the well- known north-country clubs have had, at one time or another, men who were first-rate oars- men. In the early days of the Durham A.R.C. W. Brignall, C. Rowlandson, and P. Forster were men who did yeoman service. Later on the same club had a really first-rate man in C. E. Barnes. Again, they found a race of high-class oarsmen in S. F. Prest, A. Ward, L. Ward, all of whom received their early training at Durham School, and would have been welcomed in the strongest eights on the Thames or the Isis or the Cam. In the eighties and early nineties the Durham A.R.C. was fortunate in having, in E. A. White, a stroke who was consistently successful, with Rickerby and E. Bulman and F. Bulman to do the heavy work in the middle of the boat. If at the present time there is no single oarsman in the Durham A.R.C. who stands out as prominently as some of those whom we have mentioned, still there is a quantity of young and improving material. If we turn to other clubs whose colours are well known at Durham Regatta, we can point to such first-rate men as J. Wallace and W. J. F. Ayton of the Tyne Club, as L. James and L. Armstrong of the same club at an earlier date, as the members of the victorious Tyne crew of 1903, S. H. Lawson, R. W. Glass, H. Molzer, F. H. Edwards. Glass and Edwards were also in the winning crew of 1904, when they had as colleagues M. M. Snowball and F. S. Dyke. It is true that these men are not, strictly speaking, Durham oars, but Durham Regatta has been the scene of their races, and Durham Regatta is the central event in the north-country oarsman’s year. F. Mason of the Newcastle 425 2 54 A HISTORY OF DURHAM A.R.C., W. H. Potts and M. A. Graydon of the Sunderland Club, T. Atkinson, C. Renold- son, and R. Purvis of the South Shields Club, W. Fawcus, G. R. Ramsay, J. Morrison, J. L. Browne of the Tynemouth Club, were all men who, in the seventies or early eighties, made no ordinary mark. Durham University has had at various times men who have impressed good judges of rowing as being of far more than average merit. Such were L. Taylor in the fifties, C. H. Brown in the early sixties, E. W. J. Symons in the later sixties, A. Hemstead, A. A. Cory, W. H. Macaulay, and F. E. Lowe in the seventies, H. B. Smith in the early eighties, G. C. Pollard in 1895, and M. Buchannan, whom we have mentioned above. The above names are only a few of many which might be selected as types of oarsmen of sterling excellence who have been trained by Durham Regatta. Of late years no club has been more successful than Ryton. C. M. W. Potts, G. Oswald, C. C. Maughan, G. K. Walker, T. W. Bourn, and E. Bateson are names of high-class oarsmen whom it is easy to enumerate from the crews of this club. In the late eighties and early nineties W. Greenwell, G. F. L. Preston, L. Browne, and F. Ranken of Sunderland were men whose victories were the due reward of sterling excellence. The history of Durham rowing, then, is practically the history of Durham Regatta. Durham Regatta, at any rate, is the centre of the history. It gives the impulse and the motive to north-country oarsmen, and affords a training for those young oarsmen who hope afterwards to distinguish themselves at Henley or at Putney. It is satisfactory that the regatta has flourished for more than seventy years. That it is at the present date so prosperous is largely due to the whole-hearted devotion with which it has been served for many years by its secretary, Mr. John Chisman. It would be difficult to over-estimate the value of the services which Mr. Chisman has rendered to north-country rowing. The record of our rowing is full of the names of good oarsmen, good comrades, and good sportsmen. No one who knows north-country oarsmen need hesitate to apply to them the words which the late Lord Esher spoke at the Jubilee dinner of the University boat race in 1881 : ‘Our boating career taught us persever- ance and energy ; and perseverance and energy, and much more a manly generosity, make, as far as my experience goes, everybody succeed in any career in life.’ GOLF The history of the royal and ancient game begins in the county of Durham with the year 1873, when the late Dr. McCuaig, a physician in practice at Middlesbrough, began play on the fine turf that grows amid the sand-hills along the coast at Seaton Carew, about two miles from West Hartlepool. The keen eye of the Scots- man saw that here was undulating turf of the true golfing quality, with such plenty of wide and deep sand bunkers and bent-covered hillocks that the place was ideal for his national game. His enthusiasm soon bore fruit. In the next year a society was founded under the name of the Durham and Yorkshire Golf Club, with the doctor himself as captain, to play over a course of fourteen holes along the tide-washed shores of Tees estuary. By the year 1884 four more holes had been added ; a well-appointed club- house was built, and the club was refounded as the Seaton Carew Golf Club, which thus plays over one of the oldest courses in England. It claims with justice that its golf is of very high quality. The soil is sandy, the turf through the green and on the putting greens is excel- lent ; the hazards, consisting of sand bunkers, ponds, and mighty ramparts and spurs of the sand-hills, afford a fine test of golfing skill ; while the holes, varying in length from 140 to 500 yards, are admirably planned. The total length of the links is some tniles ; and if it must be conceded that a few of the holes are somewhat flat and grassy, the sporting character of the remainder of the round more than com- pensates for this slight defect. The short seventh hole, a mashie shot over a lofty sand-bank on to a perfect blind green, is as good a hole of its kind as may be found anywhere. The amateur and professional records of 76 and 74 respectively testify that consistently accurate play meets with its due reward. But an ideal score is hard to come by in that wilder- ness of sand-hills, and Bogey is contented with a modest 84. The principal prizes of the club are the Londonderry Cup, the Gray Trophy, the Calcutta Cup, and the Thompson Medal. With Seaton Carew we take leave of the only real seaside links in the county ; for though the courses of the South Shields and the Sunderland (Wearside) Golf Clubs are within sight and sound of the sea, neither of them has the sandy soil, the natural bunkers and the fine turf that are the pride of the premier club. The South Shields course is one of eighteen holes. It is on high ground overlooking the Vale of the Wear, and commands fine views of the coast-line between Redcar and Newbiggin. The Wearside Golf Club, founded in 1892, has its course at Coxgreen, some six miles from 426 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN Sunderland. On that long and narrow stretch of land on which the course is laid out are eighteen holes providing a round with a total length of about three miles. The links, which are for the most part on clay soil giving heavy grassy lies, are diversified by broken ground which, with some hedges and artificial bunkers, serve as hazards. There are seven inland courses in the county, of which the oldest is that at Pinker Knowle, about two miles south of the cathedral city. The Durham Golf Club, founded in 1887 on the initiative of Mr. Thomas Milrain, Captain Roberts, the late Sir Hedworth Williamson, and Dr. E. S. Robson, played here at first over a short course of six holes. Three new holes were added in 1894, whereby the course became 2,200 yards in length. The links are on undulating pasture land with a sandy soil, and accurate driving and careful iron-play are essential to success, since rough grass and whins border the course ; and roads, a railway cutting, and a deep ravine that has to be crossed twice, are dire traps for the careless player. The par score is 39 for the 9 holes ; and the amateur record made by Dr. T. E. Hill is 79 for a double round. The going is good all the year round — possibly best in the autumn. The ideal golfer is, we know, impervious to the charms of scenery ; but the glorious views of the city and the beautiful country about it which are to be had from most of the tees may well excuse him if he allows his eye to wander now and again from the ball. In the early nineties golf had taken so firm a hold on the affections of Durham folk that five more clubs were established in quick succession. That at Sunderland has been already mentioned. The year 1 892 saw the foundation of the Barnard Castle Golf Club, which has a good course of nine holes at Wyse Hill near Startforth in Teesdale. The chief hazards here are fences and gorse ; and the course enjoys the unusual advantage that summer play is the best. In 1893, the year in which the South Shields Club was founded, a very sporting course of nine holes was opened two miles from Shotley Bridge, a charmingly situated little watering-place which lies embowered in the beautiful woodland country on the banks of the Derwent between Newcastle and Bishop Auckland. The links are on high land, 700 feet above sea-level, with natural hazards of quarries, whins, roads and hedges. Yet another nine-hole course is that of the Bishop Auckland Golf Club, founded in 1894, at High Plains, on the outskirts of Auckland Park. At High Coniscliffe, overlooking the valley of the Tees between Darlington and Barnard Castle, is the course of the Darlington Golf Club. Founded in 1896 as the High Coniscliffe Club by Mr. (now Sir) James B. Dale, Mr. E. Hutchin- son and the late Mr. E. E. Meek, this club was renamed on entering upon its new course of eigh- teen holes in 1906. The links are on reclaimed moorland with heavy pasture and a clay sub- soil ; but the course gives promise of affording capital golf when it has emerged from the ex- perimental stage, and has had more play. The hazards are stone walls, fences and a brook, with a few artificial bunkers of turf and sand. Spring and autumn are the best seasons of the year for play. The Tees-side Golf Club, founded in 1900 by Dr. Randolf Smith and Mr. W. Ridley Make- peace of Stockton-on-Tees, has a nine-hole course at Mandale Bottoms near Thornaby, about mid- way between Stockton and Middlesbrough. The links are on pasture land on a peat soil, and the hazards are becks and made bunkers. Play is possible all the year round ; but spring is perhaps the best season. The principal club prizes are the William Warner Memorial Trophy and the Crosthwaite Cup. FOOTBALL In recent years Durham football has come very prominently before the public by reason of the county’s frequent successes in the County Championship. But years before the champion- ship was instituted county football in Durham was on a firm footing. So far back as 1873 the county team met and defeated Yorkshire at Dar- lington, and the fixture has been continued ever since. In the first three matches between the two Durham was successful, which speaks well for the proficiency of the players of that day in the smaller county. It was not until 22 March 1875 that Yorkshire gained their first victory at the Holbeck Recreation Ground at Leeds by two goals to one. In 1877 it was deemed advisable to form the Durh_am Union on a constitutional basis. Mr. A. Laing of Sunderland was elected the first president, and other leading spirits in the movement were Dr. Sanday, principal of Hatfield Hall, J. H. Kidson, J. H. Brooks, and P. B. Junor. For many years subsequent to this the large increase of clubs in Yorkshire and the great strides the game made in that county led to a long sequence of Yorkshire successes in the annual tourney, though Durham always gave their opponents a good game. Northumberland was added to the county fixtures in the season of 1878-9. Since the decline of Yorkshire foot- ball Durham has assumed the chief position in the north. The team’s first victory in the County 427 A HISTORY OF DURHAM Championship was gained in the season of 1899-1900, when they defeated the holders, Devonshire, at Exeter by eleven points to three. The following year they were runners up to the same county. In 1901 -2 the northern county regained the championship by defeating Glouces- tershire, a performance they repeated against Kent the next year, a magnificent dropped goal by the veteran J. T. Taylor just giving them the victory by four points to three. Kent, how- ever, turned the tables in 1904 by the narrow margin of eight points to six. In the final against Middlesex in 1905 Durham won by a single point, but in 1906 Devon again wrested the championship from the northern county. In 1907 Durham somewhat unexpectedly drew with the holders, who had no less than nine international players in their team. After two draws had been played in the final it was decided to divide the championship honours between the two counties. It will thus be seen that during the last eight years Durham has won on four occasions, tied once, and been in the final three times, a performance which speaks for itself as to the high standard of play in the county. In 1902 Durham, as champion county, had the honour of playing the Rest of England, but suffered defeat by thirteen points to nil. They have also played the powerful teams which have visited us from New Zealand and South Africa. Against the former they were the first side to cross the Colonials’ line, but were eventually beaten by sixteen points to three. In their match with the South Africans the team were at a disadvantage, since this was their first appearance of the season, but even allowing for this, their play was disappointing, and resulted in a defeat by twenty-two points to four. The prominence of Durham gained them a seat in the Rugby Union governing body so far back as 1879. Their first representative was J. Lowthian Bell, a member of the Sunderland club, and a devoted follower of the game. He was succeeded by the late C. Kidson of the same club. The present Durham representative is Mr. H. E. Ferens, and Mr. J. Marsh holds the position of county secretary. Club football in the county is in a well-organized state. There are both senior and junior inter-club compe- titions, the former instituted in 1880. Of individual teams the Hartlepool Rovers, winners in 1907 of the County Challenge Cup, rank among the strongest in the kingdom. Founded in 1881 they have contributed many prominent players to the county fifteen. West Hartle- pool, founded at a somewhat later date, is another powerful combination. In point of age Darlington was the doyen of Durham clubs, and supplied a powerful nucleus to the team. Founded in 1865, the scene of their exploits was the Darlington Cricket Ground. The club, how- ever, was disbanded some years ago. Sunderland, which is again redivivusy back to 1870, and was for many years the most powerful organiza- tion in the county. It enjoys the distinction of having supplied in the person of H. E. Kayll the first Durham man to obtain his English cap. Mr. Kayll played for the North in 1877, and against Scotland in the following March. A noted athlete, he took numerous running and jumping prizes in the north, and won the amateur pole-jumping championship in 1877. Football and club football especially owe much to the missionary zeal of an enthusiastic Scotsman, P. B. Junor. This fine player, an old Glasgow Academical, lived in the ’seventies in the county, and founded many clubs. To his energy the Houghton, Tudhoe and other clubs owe their inception, and when at Durham in 1874 he inspired the city team, of which he was captain, with great activity. Another famous fifteen in the early days was the Bensham, from which was largely formed the well-known North Durham Club in 1875. T. M. Swinburne, for many years the Durham representative on the Rugby Union executive, was first captain of the N.D.C. The team won the County Challenge Cup in the season of 1882-3, occupies a prominent position among northern teams. Durham School, though probably better known for the fine oars- men it has produced, is by no means without football honours. F. H. R. Alderson’s distinc- tions are alluded to elsewhere, but in addition to him the following old alumni of the school have played for England : — E. B. Brutton, who also captained Cambridge, R. W. S. Bell, N. S. Cox, F. C. Lohden, and J. W. Sagar. The univer- sity has also placed a team in the field for many years, and has at times turned out some good players. The other prominent clubs in the county comprise The Hartlepool Old Boys, Stockton Heath, Westoe, and Hamsteels. Among individual players a foremost place must be assigned to F. R. H. Alderson, the respected head master of Hartlepool Grammar School. Though a Northumbrian born, he received his football training at Durham School, and his later residential qualification led to his renewed association with the county, whose captain he was elected in 1890. At Cambridge he had represented his university against Oxford on the three-quarter line, and in 1891 he was selected to play for England in a similar position. His knowledge of the game and judicious handling of a team subsequently led to his being appointed captain of the English side, a position he very worthily filled. Mr. Alderson still takes a keen interest in the game, and his school proves a valuable nursery for young players. Another Durham county player, H. Oughtred, more recently captained the English team. A clever and capable half-back, he had in his day no superior in England. Co-temporaneous with Alderson in the Durham and English teams was 428 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN W, Yiend, a player of fine physique, and an honest pushing forward of the old stamp. Though a native of Gloucestershire, Yiend’s football days were chiefly passed in Durham, In 1884 the county received a great accession to their strength by the presence of the Rev. C. H, Newman, the Welsh captain, one of the finest half-backs of the day. He was elected captain of the side which he very ably led for some seasons. The most striking personality, however, in the county team of recent years, and an important factor in its success, has been the veteran J, T. Taylor, His record is remarkable. Grounded in the grammar of the game at Castleford, he graduated in the Yorkshire fifteen, and was first chosen to play for England in 1897. Subse- quently in 1901 he migrated to Durham. A long and accurate kick, he has dropped numerous goals, and his knowledge of the finer points of the game is equal to that of any three-quarter now playing. Altogether Taylor has played nine times in the English team, and has preserved his form over a much longer period than the generality of football men. Other notable Dur- ham men who have worn the red rose of England are F. E. Pease of Darlington and C. H, Elliott of Sunderland. Both began as Association foot- ballers, the one at Harrow and the other at Repton, As will be seen by the above list, Durham has in several instances benefited sub- stantially from services rendered by residents not native born. On the other hand, prominent players such as A. E. Stoddart and the late C. W. Alcock settled elsewhere, and were lost to the county. In addition to those already mentioned the following Durham men have gained international honours : — R. Poole, Hartle- pool Rovers ; N, S. Cox and E. W. Elliott, Sun- derland ; R. H, Oakes, J. E. Hutchinson, J. Jewitt, G. Summerscales, T. Imrie, Durham city ; J. Duthie, S. Murfitt, and J. Bradley, West Hartlepool; and J, Hall, North Durham. 429 •r* > \ ■***'■ "t* 4 t:. 'i ir ' Ic • * 4 * 1 f 1 • V’: 1 4 f .. ^