The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Hemingbrough in the County of York ... Edited and enlarged by J. Raine

Front matter

r Akern___.o. Jitt Londo THE PAEISH OF HEMINGBEOUGH IN THE COUNTY OF YORK PRINTED BY Sl'OTTISWOODE AND CO., SKW-STRRBT SQ CA RB LONDON THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE PARISH OF HEMINGBROUGH IN THE COUNTY OF YORK By THOMAS BUKTON, Esq. OF TUBNHAM HALL EDITED AND ENLARGED BY JAMES EAINE, M.A., D.C.L. CANON RESIDENTIARY OF YORK $.htblislnb bn SAMPSON BEOTHEES YORK PEEFACE. It has fallen to my lot on several occasions to be the introducer to the world of the literary efforts of friends who have been taken away from their work before it was completed. Some are too diffident about the merit of their labours to bring them into the daylight. Others begin too late in life, and lack the special training and educational gifts which make research easy and composition fluent. The world is full of incomplete work.

The task of editing the book of a friend is a somewhat melancholy one, but there can be little doubt as to the way in which it ought to be discharged. It seems to me to be the duty of an editor to endeavour to grasp the mind and the aspirations of his predecessor, and to try to make what has been left as full and as complete as its beginner desired. Perfect accuracy is, of course, an impossibility ; but no effort should be spared in endeavouring to reach it. This should be the ideal of tbe editor of such a work as the present, and a true friend will always, I conceive, keep such an ideal before him. Let him never have cause to reproach himself for not seeking to lessen the number of the defects which meet him, by his own earnest and unselfish exertions. Thomas Burton, the author of this book, was born at Turnham Hall, and was baptized in Hemingbrough church on August 31, 1801.

He diei in the house in which he was born on May 30, 1883. The Burtons had been resident in Hemingbrough for at least two centuries. Mr. Burton's father was engaged in trade in Hull, and HEMINGBROUGH. VI through his marriage with Elizabeth, only child of James Keighley, Esq., became in early life the owner of Turnham Hall, a nice estate, of about 800 acres, on the bank of the Ouse. The house took its name from Robert de Turnham, the famous baron, and, after him, it passed into the hands of such noble families as Mauley, Ros, Scrope, and Man ners. The genius loci soon exerted its influence upon Thomas Burton, whilst the stately church of the neighbouring village of Hemingbrough touched his sympathies in another way. It had a grand history, of its own, but the neglect of centuries had brought it to decay.

Preface

. VII The principal evidences of the history of Heming brough lie, as is well known, in the muniment room of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, who have inherited the greater part of the documentary treasures of the Prior and Convent of that ancient church. Thither Mr. Burton, of course, went, about the year 1849 or 1850 (if my memory serves me), and there, in the cloistered solitudes of the sacred precinct, he spent several months at a desk, transcribing document after document with eager delight. It wTas at Durham that he made the acquaintance of the late Dr. Raine, who loved every honest searcher into the history of the past, and who assisted him in his work, and gave him, unreservedly, the help of his wise and cordial advice. Crook Hall, where' Dr. Raine resided, is on the bank of the Wear, among orchards and gardens, in full view of the stately towers of the cathedral and castle, and also of the river, whose waters come streaming down, as if making for the very house, from under the long-drawn arches of what has been erroneously called Ranulph Flam bard's bridge.

Crook Hall is an ancient manor-house of the time of Edward III., upon which a more modern man sion has been grafted. A fit home for a student it was, quiet and engaging. There was no scholar, passing North and South, who did not find his wray thither. In Dr. Raine there was the most charming companionship, and a sympathetic, intelligent appreciation of almost every branch of literary research. He worked hard, and pub lished much himself, but he did even more, if that were possible, by the influence wdiich he exerted over others, and by the school of history of which he was undoubtedly the founder. One after another, those who were brought within the circle of his attraction bowed to his genial influence, and followed his leading. There are many still livinowho will read these words with thankfulness and pleasure.

But how great should be the gratitude of one who had the filial privilege of sitting at his feet, and wdio HEMINGBROUCH. VIII offers as a tribute to the memory of his sire every little success which he himself has been able to achieve. Mr. Burton, after gathering together wdiat he could find at Durham and elsewhere, began to put his accumulations into form. It was his intention to publish them, and to dedicate the volume to the Surtees Society, which had done so much for Northern history. This dedication con stitutes the preface to one of his MS. volumes, but it was abandoned, and the author yielded to the temptation of waiting for fresh matter. He wras, in addition, very diffident as to his own powers, and was always making alterations in his MSS. as new facts presented themselves to his notice.

About the year 1866 a topographical scheme was started which had a considerable influence on Mr. Burton's design. It was resolved, if possible, to make a combined effort to complete the history of Yorkshire. The volumes were to range with Mr. Joseph Hunter's great work on the Deanery of Doncaster, and it wras thought desirable that a guarantee fund of not less than 2,000/. should be pro vided for each Wapentake, to insure the carrying out of the scheme in a satisfactory way, and to protect the writers from any pecuniary loss. Three gentlemen pro mised the editor of this volume the funds requisite for four Wapentakes, and more, no doubt, would have come forward if the project had been more widely known; but the scheme came to an end, through the want of writers and collectors of sufficient calibre and experience.

The materials for such a general history are much larger and more accessible now than they were then ; but there is still a great need of further inquiry and research, before any History of Yorkshire can be written in a satisfactory manner. In the scheme which has just been mentioned, the writer was too greatly interested not to take an active part himself; and he made himself responsible for the gathering together of materials for the history of the small

PREFACE.

. IX Wapentake which takes its name from the rivers Ouse and Derwent, by which it is chiefly bounded, and at the south-eastern extremity of which the parish of Heming brough lies. Mr. Burton, I need not say, regarded this undertaking with great favour, and was most willing that the materials which he had already collected should be used and included in the larger work. For this under taking a large body of information has been collected by the writer, which, except for the purposes of the present volume, is as yet unused. The later years of Mr. Burton's life were spent at Turn ham Hall, of which he became the owner at his father's death. He amused himself with rural pursuits, and en joyed the rest of which his advanced age stood in need. But his care for the History of Hemingbrough never de serted him.

Not many years before his death, he had a scheme for coming to reside in York, that he might be able to complete it, and he specially asked me to allow him the use of what I had collected myself. His request, I need not say, met with a glad assent ; indeed, I had given him already many things that had occurred to me, in which he took the most lively interest. In the spring of 1883 he paid me two visits in York. The chief object of his coming was the publication of the History of Hem ingbrough, and to prevail upon me to bring it out after his decease, in combination with my own collections about the parish. I did not see my way at the time to assent to his request. I well remember the conversation of that last evening, and how my old friend opened his mind to me. We parted, neither of us imagining that we should never meet again in this world.

Within a fortnight I heard of his decease. He had passed away in his own home, carried off by olie of those comparatively slight ailments which are formidable only to the aged ; and he rests not far from the fine tower of the old parish church to which he was so deeply attached. X The request which Mr. Burton made to me, over and over ao-ain, in his life-time was renewed in his Will ; and the present volume indicates my compliance with it. The reader will, therefore, understand what this book is. It is the combination of two different collections of materials, and the plan adopted is that which Mr. Burton and myself regarded as the best. Mr. Burton's MSS. were prepared in the most neat and methodical way, but they required considerable alteration ' and abridgment. This has been done in accordance with his request.

Some portions have been almost entirely re-written ; to others large additions have been made, especially to the ecclesiastical part of the wrork ; and also to the pedigrees, a branch of archæological research of the most fascinating kind. The history of the land is the best representation of Mr. Burton's own work, and very much of it is in his own words, with additions and illustrations. For the architectural description of the church Mr. Burton was mainly indebted to Mr. Coad, a pupil of the late Sir Gilbert Scott. The account of Barlby and one or two other places was left unfinished and required much attention. The parish of Hemingbrough had the honor of being singled out by John Burton, M.D., the author of the " Monasticon Eboracense," to serve as a pattern of the way in which he proposed to treat a General History of the county.

He chose it because he was at that time, in right of his wife, the owner of the estate of Woodhall in the parish. His " History of Yorkshire" began and ended there ; indeed, if it could have been carried out, as its designer wished, it would have been thoroughly inadequate. At the time that John Burton was making his prepara tions, William Potter, the Vicar of Hemmg-broua'h, was quietly putting together in a volume a number of notices of his parish and people, which have been of much use and for the loan of which the writer has to thank Mr.

PREFACE.

. XI E. T. Clark of Cowiek. The effort of Thomas Burton far surpasses all the labours of his predecessors, although there are deficiencies and weak places in it which I have been unable to fill op or amend. If the early Register of Howrdenshire Wills, which James Torre saw about the year 1680, had been now in existence, it would have sup plied a wealth of illustration for the history of the whole district. This book is humbly offered as a sample of the way in which the history of a country parish may be written. If it had formed a part of the annals of a whole Wapentake, considerable curtailment would have been necessary ; as it is, much has been omitted which appeared to be of minor importance. My readers must judge for themselves whether too much has been retained. But, putting this aside, I do most earnestly plead, in behalf of our parishes and towns, that they who essay to write. their history will at least take the pains to make original researches, instead of contenting themselves with extracts from printed books and newspapers, many of which are of no authority what ever.

There are materials for the history of a great number of the Yorkshire parishes quite as abundant as those wdiich have been unearthed for Hemingbrough. Has the natale solum lost its sweetness ? There are writers enough, but of what kind ? One untrained person after another springs up, and writes, and, of course, prints almost immediately, the history of a place, as he calls it upon the title-page of his book. What a misnomer ! I am not blaming the enterprise of the writer, or his long ing to do honour to what is, probably, his birthplace. Instead of that, I honour the feeling by which he is, no doubt, animated. All I say is, that if the place is worthy of the affection he bestows on it, as it probably is, it is worthy of a greater effort than he has cared to make in its behalf. If he is untrained, let him prepare himself.

Let me urge him not to be in a hurry, but to wait and acquire. So many records and evidences are being printed every year, that history, whether local or general, wdll soon have some chance of being written with precision and exactness. And yet this progress is too slow for some who wish to be in advance of it. " The more haste, the worse speed." Had this volume been printed by Mr. Burton himself, he would, no doubt, have thanked some for their help, whose very names, perhaps, are unknown to the writer. When they turn over the pages of this book, may it be a pleasure to them to think that they have had a hand in it. Unknown as they are to myself, I thank them heartily for the kind service which they rendered to my friend. On my own part, I have received help from many, wherever, indeed, it was sought, and especially from the Rev. C. B. Norcliffe and John Sykes, M.D., upon whose unvarying kindness and willing aid I can always rely.

J.R. York : Dec. 1888. EEEATA ET ADDENDA. P. 2, note, line 31, right hand, for espectamento read espeltamento. P. 21, line 5 from end, for Miss Barton, read Miss Beatrice Burton. So also on p. 45, line 16. P. 74. On Dec. 1, 1576, the administration of the effects of Wm. Whytehead, vicar of Heighington, was granted at Durham to his brother, Thos. W. of Monk wearmouth, gen. Thos. W. made his will 20th Jan., 1579-80, proved at Durham Jan. 3, 1590-1, in which he mentions his wife Barbara, and his children, Hugh, Robert, George, and Henry, Catherine and Mary W. P. 103. A small but kind attempt to remedy this state of things was made in Oct. 1880, when the York Diocesan Church Extension Society made a grant of 300Z. towards the improvement of the endowment of the living. P. 135, line 9, John Morfit.

He was admitted to serve the cure of Horsforth Chapel at the nomination of Henry Wickham, rector of Guiseley, on Oct. 26, 1744. On Dec. 20, 1750, he was instituted to the vicarage of Scarborough at the presentation of Wm. Thompson, Esq. of Humbleton. Mr. Morfit died in 1782. P. 154, line 24, for Morris read Francis Morice. P. 219, line 4. William Maunsell was one of Cromwell's creatures, and on that account was especially disliked. Writing to Sir Arthur Darcy after Aske's Rebellion, he says that a proclamation had been issued in Richmondshire that he should be be headed, if caught. In the State Papers for 1536, p. 555, there is a deeply interest ing confession of Thos. Maunsell, vicar of Brayton, William's brother, who was on the side of the rebels. If it be true, Wm. Maunsell was anxious to be with the winning party.

P. 269, line 4. This is scarcely correct. A fishpond, 120 yards long, in front of the house, is a remnant of one of the ancient moats, although much altered. In the cellar and staircase of the house are some ancient beams, probably of the 14th century. P. 273, line 21, for Gallicia read Galicia. P. 283, line 21, for south-west read south-east. P. 284, line 1, read Arthur Frederick Burton, Esq. i