The Early History of the Town and Port of Hedon, in the East Riding of the County of York. L.P

Front matter

THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOWN AND PORT OF HEDON. t Of this edition only ioo copies are printed, of which this is No. 7£I.. H<-<fc^Æ ERRATA. Page 24, line 24, for regal read regnal. Page 52, line 1 1, for assize read assay. Page 61, line T,\,for constabalarii read constabularii Page 63, line II, for Y read T. Page 65, line 1, for Curia read Curia. Page 76, line 13, for in read with. Page 91, line 28, delete to. Page 94, line 5, for dissuetude read desuetude. Page 145, line 3, for Stcyvener read Scryvener. Page 171, line 30, for Cuprie read Curie. Page cxvi., line 21, for Burn read Bury. Page ciii., line 12, after Stephanus add Goldman. Page clvii., line IT, for fferi byuixta read fferiby ««rta. Page clxxiv., line 2, for and read et. Page ccvii., line 27, for Estreated read Escheated. Page ccxii., col. 2, line 54, for expect read except. '.< ■'(tti/ii.ifi ne'.> ( i/ii<rr/i, ,/(e,L THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOWN AND PORT OF HEDON, IN THE EAST RIDING OF THE COUNTY OF YORK.

BY J R. BOYLE, F.S.A. " Treuth is that when Hulle began to flourish Heddon de caied." — Letand HULL AND YORK : A. BROWN & SONS. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, & Co., Ltd. 1S95

Preface

. "\^7"HEN I commenced the preparation of * " the present work, I intended only to produce a pamphlet, to which I proposed to give the modest title, " Hedon : A Historical Study." But as my investigations proceeded, my design enlarged, and the volume now in the reader's hand is the result. I do not think it will be said that the subject does not merit the labour I have bestowed upon it, or that all that it was desirable to record of the history of Hedon might have been included within narrower limits. To the history of Hedon George Poulson devoted 77 pages of the second volume of his slip-shod and unsatisfactory History of Holder ness. He had access to records, of a comparatively unimportant character, which I have had no opportunity of consulting. Of the records in the custody of the Corporation of VI

PREFACE.

. Hedon he made considerable use, but it is clear that he confined his attention to those which were most perfect and most legible.* In this way many facts, only to be gathered from tattered fragments, totally escaped him. Of documents relative to Hedon, and preserved amongst the national records, he made scarcely any use whatever. The reader will readily discover that I have drawn extensively from this source. Of the Hedon town records, it seems desirable to give some account in this place. In the early part of the present century, these records were preserved in the room over the vestry of St. Augustine's. This room was the ancient treasury. Poulson conjectures that the muni- * Even of these his readings and translations are the reverse of accurate. A few instances may be adduced. Responaent de xv.s. inventis in truncis coram Cruce ad festum Invcncionis eiusdem (p. ciii), he translates, "Also of 15s. found in the innocents' box at the cross, at the feast of the same innocents" (p. 164).

Pro lavacione superpelliciorum (p. cv) he renders, "for woolen surplices" (p. 164). Referla in trunco aperto (p. ex) becomes, " discovered at the naked trunk" (p. 165). Una cum smigmate )p. cxiv) is turned into, " with one cloth " (p. 167). In una clave empta (p. cxv)—" for a lock bought " (p. 167). Eisdem Thome Mone et fatnulo (p. cxv) — " to the same Thomas Mone and his family " (p 167). Per ij. vices (p. civ)— " by two vicars" (p. 162). Redditus Domini Rogeri (p. clxxvii) — "the rent to our lord the king" (p. 158) Pro lotacione vestimentorum (p. clxxxvi) — " for a lock for the vestibule " (p. 160). But hundreds of similar instances might readily be quoted.

PREFACE.

. VII ments of Hedon had suffered in a great fire which occurred in the town, and also refers to a tradition that they had been, in great part, destroyed " by the demolition of St. James' Church or Chapel." What he calls "a long chasm " " in the historical and statistical account of the borough," he thinks, "may be partly attributable to both " thesti events. " But," he adds, '• from whatever cause it arose, the records and papers of the borough were removed to a room over the vestry of St. Augustine's, where the roof was in such a state as to allow the rain to enter, by which many were destroyed." she hypothesis that the records were, at some period, removed from St. James', or some other place, to St. Augustine's, is quite unfounded ; for as will be seen by reference to page 125 in the present work, the records of the town were kept in the treasury of the existing church at least as early as 50 Edw. III. Poulson's account, how ever, of what occurred to the records in the treasury, during comparatively recent periods, is perfectly accurate.

PREFACE.

. VIII " Charters, deeds, rent rolls, court rolls, inquisitions, writs of citations, records of the borough court, accounts of pro curators of chantries, and of masters of hospitals, and of wardens of chapels and churches, as well as lists of mayors and bailiffs of the olden time ; open to the winds of heaven, these documents, which lay in heaps, were, from apathy and neglect, allowed to moulder and rot. In addition to these devastating effects, large quantities were used for lighting the vestry fires, and others taken away by any persons whose inclination or curiosity induced them to fill their pockets ; what is yet left is a mass of dirty and useless rubbish." The present state of the Hedon records affords evidence of the substantial truth of this account. But shortly after the period when Poulson wrote, the late Mr. Gillyat Sumner, of Woodmansey, by methods which it is unnecessary to particularize, got the whole of the existing records, With the exception of quite recent volumes and papers, into his possession.

The loose parchments and papers he caused to be carefully mounted and bound in volumes, arranoing them in classes and in chronological order in a manner which reflects the greatest credit upon him. After Mr. Sumner's death, these records, with the rest of his valuable and extensive library, were advertised for sale, and were

PREFACE.

. IX purchased for the Corporation of Hedon, who, however, very properly declined to pay the purchase money, leaving Mr. Sumner's executors to recover the amount by action at law. This they did not attempt, as it would have been necessary for them to prove their title. The following extracts are taken from the sale catalogue ;* the sums added in brackets being the prices at which the various lots were knocked down : — 491. General Loft'sf Collections of Ancient Documents, some relating to Hedon (St Nicholas'). U>°-] 495. Sundry Vols. — Hedon Court Books from Edward * Beverley, Yorkshire. Catalogue of the very Valuable Collection of Old Manuscripts (many beautifully illuminated), Deeds, Documents, and Scrolls; Antique Oak Furniture, richly carved and inlaid, Carved Oak Figures, Roman, Old British, and other Coins and Antiquities ; Alms Dishes and Flagons ; Eight inlaid Mahogany Bookcases ; and a Valuable Library of about 5,000 vols. of Antique and Modern Literature ; several Oil I'aintings, etc., etc.

Collected (with great care) during a period extending over 60 years, by the late Gillyat Sumner, Esq., of Woodmansey, near Beverley. . . . The whole of which will be sold without reserve by Mr. Christopher Greensides, in the Assembly Rooms, Beverley, on Wednesday, the 31st October, 1877, and two following days. t General Loft was m.p. for the boiough of Grimsby from 1807 to 1812. His collection of Hedon Documents, though small, is most valuable, and furnished Poulson with most of the records which he prints. The use which I have made of it will be ascertained from my references. These documents are the only portion of Sumner's Iledon Collection which h; did not secure from the vestry of St. Augustine's. He purchased them in 1849 from General Loft's grandchildren, who had fallen into great poverty, for the sum of £2. I> X

PREFACE.

. III., Hedon and Hull Court Books (original), Hull Court Book from 1542 to 1560. [,£i5-] 497. Ancient Order Book of Corporation of Hedon, commencing Edward TV., 3 vols. [^80.] 498. Iveson's Collection, Deeds, Documents, and Papers, relating to Hedon and neighbourhood ; and 1 vol. Patrington Parish Papers, etc. [£&■] 499. Hedon Church Rates and Church Records, 2 vols. 500. Collections relating to Hedon and neighbourhood, with illustrations, and illuminated MSS., 3 vols. [£&■] 501. Hedon Corporation Records, 2 vols. [^25.] 584. Old Plan of Hull, and small box of documents relating to Hedon, from 1364. [.£15.] 630. Hedon Rent Roll, 12th year of Henry VII., and a Scroll in vellum, with tin case. A few of these documents, notably those included in lot 584, are not now in the custody of the Corporation, and to these I have had no access.

The very fragmentary form in which many documents in the Appendix are printed is due to the decayed and torn state of the orio-inals. I have never met with records which had suffered so severely from damp and neglect as those of Hedon, and the limited measure of success I have achieved in deciphering them has been attained

PREFACE.

. XI at the cost of irreparable injury to my sight. I have often printed — especially in the series of churchwarden's accounts — a mere fragment of a sentence, but I have only done this when the incomplete statement revealed some fact, or contained some unusual word. I have to acknowledge the many obligations I have incurred in the preparation of this book. The first, and by far the greatest of these is to the Corporation of Hedon, who afforded me unrestricted access to their records, and, indeed, transferred to me the custody of such records as I required for the whole period of my investiga tions, which have occupied nearly two years. Mr. James Watson, of Holyrood House, has lent me many documents from his interesting collections, has permitted me to copy John Iveson's Plan of Hedon, and in other ways has most generously assisted me.

Colonel White, J.P., of Lambert House, has also kindly aided me in my enquiries, and has, on many occasions, helped to make my labour a delightful task. Mr. Johnson, Postmaster of Hedon, has lent me a

PREFACE.

. XII copy of Iveson's Survey, from certain anonymous annotations in which I have been enabled to identify otherwise unknown field-names. Mr. William Brown, b.a., of Trenholme, Northallerton, furnished me with the extract from the Yorkshire subsidy roll, printed on p. 40, and has compared many of my proofs with the originals in the Public Record Office, besides having helped me in many of the difficult parts of the Appendix. The Rev. H. E. Maddock, M.A., Rector of Patrington, has carefully read the whole of the proofs of the Appendix, as well as of most other parts of the volume, and has enabled me to escape many a pitfall. Mr. John Bilson, f.r.i.b.a., assisted me in a most valuable way with the account of the architecture of St. Augustine's, and when, on any occasion, I have needed his advice, I have never sought it in vain.

The Council of the Society of Antiquaries of London has permitted me to reproduce, in reduced form, the drawing of the oldest Hedon Mace which adorns the fifty-first volume of Archœologia. Mr. G. W.

PREFACE.

. XIII Tomlinson, f.s.a., has placed at my disposal the beautiful plan of St. Augustine's, which was issued in 1883 by the Yorkshire Archæological Association, and which, with slight alterations, re-appears in this volume. Mr. W. H. Crofts has made the necessary changes in the twenty five inch ordnance map of the parish of Hedon to adapt it to the requirements of my sixth chapter. Many other friends have helped me in various ways. Indeed, I have never sought assistance which has not been most readily accorded. Lastly, I have to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to the publishers of this volume, Messrs. Brown, of Savile Street, Hull, for their most liberal assistance, without which the completion of this book had been impos sible. It is due to them to say that they have readily seconded every proposal I have made relative to the illustration of this history, even when my wishes involved grave pecuniary sacrifice to them. Hull, December, 1894. CONTENTS. PAGE

Chapter I

— The Origin of Hedon I ,, II.— The Borough of Hedon 14 ,, III. — The Port of Hedon 66 ,, IV. — The Churches of Hedon 89 ,, V. — The Institutions of Hedon 156 ,, VI. — The Topography of Hedon 179 VII. — Tenure in Hedon 214

Appendix

. Note A. — Westi.and Gates i ,, B. — Westlands i C. — Charter of Henry II iii ,, D. —Extract from King John's Chakter to the Citizens of York ... iii ,, E.— Charter of King John iv ,, F. — Grant of Fair iv ,, G. — Inquisition as to the State of Hedon ... v ,, H. — Inquisition as to the Bakehouse at Hedon vii ,, I. — Ministers' Accounts x ,, K. — Inquisition as to the Value of Hedon and Paull Fleet ... xxv „ L. — First Charter of Edward III. xxvii ,, M. — Inquisition prior to the Grant of the Second Charter of Edward III. ... xxviii „ N. — Second Charter of Edward HI xxx ,, O. — Certificate of Immunity .. xxxv ,, P. — Charter of Henry V CONTENTS.

XVI PAGE Note Q. — Mayors' Account Roll xl R. — Bailiffs' Accounts xiii »> S. — Chamberlains' Accounts xlviii T. — Ordinances, Oaths, and Proclamations ... lxvi 1 1 V. — Receivers' Accounts for Paull Fleet ... xcvii i ' W. — Wardens' Accounts of the Church of St. Augustine ... ciii it X. — Bell Tower Account Rolls cxxxviii »> Y. — Inquisition relative to the Chantry of St. Mary exliii ii Z. — Miscellaneous Evidences relative to the Chantry of St. Mary cxlviii AA. — Proctors' Accounts of the Chantry of St. Mary cii ii BB.— Wardens' Accounts of the Church of St. James ... ... ... ... ... ... clxii CC. — Wardens' Accounts of the Church of St. Nicholas clxxiv ii DD. — Letter of Archbishop Giffard respecting Proposed Anchorage in the Churchyard 1 > of St. Nicholas clxxxvii EE. — Documents relating to the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen clxxxvii 'i ,, FF.— Letters Patent appointing John de Briggesley Master of Hedon Grammar School exc ,, GG. — Composition of the Tailors' Company ... exc ,, HH. — Account Rolls of the Officers of the Gild of the Holy Cross cxciv II. — Will ok George Painter cciii ii KK. — Grant of an Escheated Tenement ... ccvii ii Glossary ccxi Index ccxxvii LIST OF PLATES.

PAGE St. Augustine's, Hedon (Etching) Frontispiece Plate of Seals .. 48 Hedon Mace 58 The Haven, Hedon 66 The Western Haven, Hedon 6S Seals of Sandwich and Dover 70 Seals of Faversham and Poole ... ... 72 Seal of the Admiral of the Humbbr .. 74 Plan of St. Augustine's Church .. 88 Plan of Hedon 178 Iveson's Plan of Hedon ... 197 Facsimile from Court Book .. 218 Charter of King John .. ,, Hedon not mentioned in Domesday. The Early History of the Town and Port of Hedon

CHAPTER I. THE ORIGIN OF HEDON.

T_T EDON is not mentioned in the great survey of England known as Domesday Book.* It has been said that this fact does not afford conclusive evidence that the place had no existence when that survey was compiled. This contention may be granted. It is, nevertheless, certain that we possess very conclusive evidence that the town of Hedon sprang into existence at * It is, perhaps, quite unnecessary to refer to the oft-repeated statement that King Athelstan granted a charter to Hedon. A wall painting, which formerly existed on the soulh side of the nave in St. Augustine's Church, Iledon, represenled King Alhelstan presenting a charter to St. John of Beverley, and on the charter were the well-known words, "Als fre," etc. A coloured sketch of this painting, in the possession of Mr. James Watson, of Iledon, shows that the picture was of no great antiquity, probably being not earlier than the seventeenth century, and also that it was a work of art of purely imitative character.

Its prototype, in fact, still exists at Beverley. The painting, however, was unquestionably responsible for tin. tradition of Athelstan's mythical charier to Hedon. B HIS TOR Y OF HEDON. 2 Carved out of Preston and Burstwick. some period subsequent to the Norman Conquest. An examination of the map of Hedon and the neighbouring district affords decisive proof that the greater part of its territory has been carved out of the great township of Preston, whilst a smaller portion has been taken from the town ship of Burstwick. Both these townships are described in Domesday as manors,* or rather, Burstwick is described as a manor, and Preston * " VIII. Manors. In Preslvne [Preston] Frane, and another Frane, Basinc, Macus, Tor, Gamel, Torber, and Turuert had ten carucates of land to be taxed, and two oxgangs.

There may have been ten ploughs there. Balduinus, a vassal of Drogo's,hasnow there one plough, and forty-five villanes, and three bordars having nine ploughs. There is a priest there, and a church. Three of Drogo's knights have there eleven villanes, and four bordars with three ploughs, and two hundred acres of meadow. Two miles long, and two broad. Value in King Edward's time twelve pounds, now six pounds." (Domesday Book, II., 325, a. 1.) "Manor. In Brocstewic [Burstwick] Earl Tosti had four carucates of land to be taxed, where there may be six ploughs. Drogo has now there one plough, and one bordar and thirty acres of meadow. Wood pasture four quarentens long, and the same broad. To this manor belong these berewicks, Paghel [Paull], one carucate, Nichuetun [Newton], one carucate, Holm [Paull Holme], one carucate, Notele [Nuthill], two carucates, Scachelinge [Skeckling], six oxgangs.

To be taxed together four carucates of land, where there may be one plough. Drogo has now there two ploughs, and twenty-six villanes, and four bordars having seven ploughs. To this same manor belongs the soke of these : — Sudtone [Sutton], two carucates, Scachelinge [Skeckling], two-and-a-half carucates, Camerinlon [Camerton], six carucates, Tome [Thorngumbald], two carucates, Holme [Paull Holme], one carucate, Diche [ ], four carucates, Sprotele [Sproatley], one carucate, Preslone [Preston], eleven oxgangs. To be taxed together twenty carucates and three oxgangs of land, where there may be twenty ploughs. Drogo has now there five ploughs, and six sokemen, and sixteen villanes, but they have no plough. The value of the whole manor, with the appurtenances, in King Edward's time was fifty-six pounds, now ten pounds."

(Ibid, II., 323, b. 1.) Ancient importance of Preston. Humbleton Beck as containing eight manors, the names of the former lords of which are given. The division of the township amongst so many proprietors in dicates its importance at the period of the Norman Conquest. No other township in Holderness boasts in Domesday so long a list of lords, and it was no doubt because of the pre eminence of Preston that the early Norman lords of Holderness founded within its borders the town which they intended should become the chief town of the seigniory.* It is necessary to our enquiry to ascertain, first of all, the line of the original south boundary of the township and parish of Preston. A natural stream, draining a large tract of middle Holder ness, and called Humbleton Beck, from the circumstance of its flowing past the village of Humbleton, is the stream which, from a point midway in its course through the township of Hedon, was known as Hedon Haven, although a small part of its channel, nearest its outflow into the H umber, is called in old records Paull Fleet.

For a considerable distance Humbleton Beck has been diverted, and its ancient *The derivation of the name Hedon has long been a crux amongst students of place-names. With great diffidence I offer the suggestion that the word consists of hy* (a haven) and tun (a town) = the haven-town. The / of tun would soon be lost in the pronunciation of the whole word, and the <5 of hy<5 would be hardened into d. HISTOR Y OF HEDON. 4 channel almost obliterated by the construction of one of those vast systems of drainage which now form so characteristic a feature of the valley of the River Hull. But fortunately, from the point at which this stream first touched the lands of Preston, we can trace its course with absolute certainty ; and we find very strong evidence indeed that from this point to that at which its waters joined the Humber it formed the original boundary of Preston parish.

Indeed, for the greater part of the distance to which I refer, it still constitutes that boundary. The existing Burstwick drain, in its somewhat tortuous course past the villages of Skeckling and Burstwick, may be regarded as representing the ancient channel of Humbleton Beck, but about a mile west of the last named village its course becomes a straight line, and here its channel, though no doubt following the general direction of the ancient stream, is quite modern. But two-thirds of a mile further west ward there is a very obtuse angle in the line of the drain, and it is precisely at this point that Humbleton Beck first touched the township of Preston. The part of Preston township which comes up to this corner of the drain is a detached portion, having been, in fact, severed from the main territory of the township by the acquisition, by the hospital of St. Mary Magdalene of Newton, of lands, now known as Magdalene Fields and Magdalene Hill, which are regarded, for reasons which will be hereafter stated, as forming part of the township of Hedon.

The detached part of Preston township, to which reference is now made, is known as Thirty Acres. Its eastern boundary and the greater part of its northern one are described by those straight lines which in modern divisions of land are indicative of allotment, and in older divisions are evidence of the adoption of the principle oi give and take. But the southern boundary of this same detached portion is formed by the ancient channel of Humbleton Beck, now occupied by a mere drain. Following the course of the original stream along this boundary, we reach the point at which its channel enters the township of Hedon, and here we find it taking an almost direct line towards the gardens behind the east side of Baxtergate, having reached which it turns south wards, crosses the east end of Fletchergate, close to the Old Hall, and pursues a course, still perfectly distinct, along the west side of the Thorn Road, till, close to the Thorn Road Bridge, it reaches the head of Hedon Haven.

From this point the original channel of the stream is almost identical with that HLSTOR Y OF HEDON. 6 Hedon sounded within the town ship of Preston. of the existing haven, a slight artificial divergence, close to Sheriff Bridge, being the only alteration in its course which is known to have been effected. From a point a few yards west of the Sheriff Bridge the mid-stream of the haven becomes the south boundary of Hedon, and this it continues to be till, opposite the footbridge at the south-west corner of Westlands, it resumes its original character as the boundary of the township of Preston, and this character it retains till its waters are lost in those of the Humber. It may safely be taken for granted that this ancient channel, from the point at which it first touches the township of Preston to that at which it finally leaves it, originally formed the boundary of that township.

It follows, therefore, that so much of Hedon as lies north and west of this channel — about three-fourths of the whole — was formerly part of the township of Preston, whilst the part which lies east and south of the same channel has been carved out of the township of Burstwick. Taking, then, the position of Hedon in relation to the boundary which has just been traced, we read in that position, in most legible characters, the intention of the founders of the town to plant it within the territory of Preston, and on the bank of the stream which was to become its Limited territory of Hedon. haven. It may be said that had the town been built nearer to the mouth of the haven, it would still have been within the township of Preston ; but whilst it must be granted that, for the larger shipping craft of subsequent centuries, a position lower down the stream would have offered great advantages over the site which was adopted, it must be remembered that naval architects of Norman times could have no prevision of the size of vessels which would be built in the days of the Plantagenets, and whilst the higher reaches of the haven abundantly accommodated such ships as they possessed, the site chosen for the new town had the two-fold advantage of being distant from the pirate-infested waters of the H umber, and within a mile of the important town of Preston, itself a centre towards which such roads as then existed converged from every part of Holderness.

One striking evidence that Hedon has been carved out of the lands of older townships, and does not itself represent an independent English settlement, is found in the very limited area which it occupies. According to the Ordnance Survey the extent of Hedon — township, parish, and borough — is only 320a., 2r., 23p. When this area is com pared with that of neighbouring townships, its Hedon had no common lands. very restricted character is seen to be exceedingly significative.* But, perhaps, the one most decisive evidence that the town of Hedon had its origin in post- Conquest times, is the fact that it never possessed a single yard of common land. The essential characteristic of the English township is agricul tural. Frequently, of course, the rural village of early times became the commercial town of later centuries.

Lines of defence were formed around the inhabited centre. But, outside the walls or the moats, the fields and commons remained, and constituted part of the township. But in the case of Hedon we find nothing of this kind. The town was formed, and, except on the sides on which it was protected by its haven stream, an encircling moat was drawn round it. Stream and moat together enclosed the inhabited village, — its streets, quays, churches, market-place, gardens, and, perhaps, as much land as was needed for the pasturage of the burghers' beasts of burden, — but nothing more. Outside its defences Hedon possessed nothing, — no fields, * According to the Ordnance Survey, the township of Preston has an area of 5,012 acres; Sutton has 4,759 acres; Burstwick 4,337 acres; Ottringham 4,304 acre; ; and Keyingham 3,54s acres.

All these places are described in Domesday as manors. The Ordnance Survey gives the area of Paull as 4,956 acres, that of Thorngumbald as 1,656, and that of Camerton (with Ryhill) as 1,571 acres. These latter townships are surveyed in Domesday as berewicks in the great manor of Burstwick. Founded by the Earls of Albemarle. no common land, — and to anyone acquainted with the constitution and character of the English village, this circumstance affords decisive evidence that Hedon must have been founded at a time when the purely English system of village settlement had become a thing of the past.* Hedon owes its origin to the old Earls of Albemarle. They planted the town and fostered its early growth. In 1086 or 1087, the Con queror granted the lordship of Holderness, which had been forfeited by Drogo de Brevere, to Odo, Earl of Albemarle, the third husband of his sister Adeliza.t It is not necessary to trace the line of Odo's successors in the lordship, but it is clear that to him or to them the founding of Hedon must be ascribed.

The haven afforded a suitable harbour where the produce of the whole seigniory might be shipped. Here, therefore, the new port was planted, and the supreme rights of its overlords are distinctly recognized in the * In stating that Hedon never possessed any common lands, in the true sense of the word, I am not unaware of the existence within the township of a large field which yet retains some at least of the characteristics of a common. The field to which I refer is known as Westlands, and contains nearly 39 acres. It belongs to the Corporation of Hedon, and in 1663-4 was let to various tenants in stints, or, as they are locally termed, " gates." (See Note A in the Appendix.) Prior to the Reforma tion, however, this field belonged to the Guild of the Holy Cross. (See Note B in the Appendix.) t See a paper on "The Early Lords of Holderness," by J. R. Planchc, in the thirtieth volume of the fournal of the British Archæological Association. c charters of Henry II. and John.

It is not to the burgesses themselves that the grant is made, but, in the first instance, to William, Earl of Albe marle, and, in the second, to Baldwin, Earl of Albemarle, and to Haweis, the countess, his wife, and these facts indicate proprietory rights on the part of the grantees, which can only be reasonably explained on the assumption that they were the representatives of the actual founders of the town. eariy0U No'Jm in As t0 tne precise period when the town of Hedon sprang into existence we have no evidence. It must, however, have been early in the Norman period. Several circumstances point Ha^n?' °f to tn^s conclusion. The charter granted by Henry II. to William, Earl of Albemarle, gives to the burgesses of Hedon such privileges as we cannot imagine being conferred upon a very recently formed community.